Way Back When-esday Feb 2010

Maddox's love of books and reading was becoming apparent, as she would spend time sitting in her bed retelling the stories that went with the pictures.

After a few hours of stroller research I decided to order a Phil & Ted's Sport stroller, since it has a removable second seat.  I found an awesome deal online on a discontinued model, and the day after I ordered it and paid for it they emailed me to say it was out of stock- so they were providing me with the new model at the same price.  SWEET!  The box said "Baby not included".  Ha!

I was amazed at how this was going to turn into a stroller.

Marshall figured it all out.

Mdx was thrilled and made me push her around the house quite a few times.  

How we roll

Now that Mav is large enough to ride in the stroller without his infant carseat (and now that it is above freezing for a few hours each day) THIS is how we roll.  :)

At first he wasn't really sure he was going to like the stroller, but as soon as we were one block from home he fell asleep.  

We went to visit Maddox's favorite restaurant, a Greek place run by two lovely Korean ladies named Sunny and Honey. Or Hunny.  Except, that's how Winnie the Pooh spells it.  No matter what they are doing when we get there they always come over and talk to Mdx.  They move the space heater close to our table, and talk to her.  Sunny gives her paper to color on, and always cuts her food for her.  It is HILARIOUS.  

The restaurant has a basic menu with mostly meat kebabs and Gyros.  

It must have been an Italian restaurant before, because it has these funny murals on the wall that look more Italian than Greek.  On second thought- it could just be the Korean interpretation of Greek looks Italian to my American eyes.  Confused yet?

On our way home we stopped at Heavenly Bread Company.  Once again I forgot to take a picture while we were there, I'll try and do that next time.  I got this interesting looking pastry- it was about 6 inches in diameter and looked like it had maple syrup in the middle.

The bread was not sweet, it was very floury, and had dark colored sesame seeds in it.  It was 1200 won, so around a dollar.

In the middle was a very thin layer of something that tasted like molasses, but it wasn't sweet.  Again, just another example of how Korean preference for sweets is very different than American.  It was a pretty interesting flavor.  I love trying all these new things- next time I'll get something different.

Happy Valentines Day!

Maddox probably thinks that Korea is so much fun with all the holidays we've been having around here.  Right after we got here was Pepero Day, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then the New Year, then the Lunar New Year, and now Valentines Day.  Whew!  We need a break from all the specialness!  :)

I got a few things for Mdx for V. Day, and my Mom sent some things too.  Thanks Mom- I can always count on you!!  So far her favorite thing is her new toothbrush which has a light that flashes for 1 minute while she brushes.

I got this outfit last year on clearance after the holiday, and it barely fits her- it's a 3T. She still wanted to wear it, but today might be the only day she does!  I got those boots downtown for 4,000 won (less than $4.00.)  Score!  Funny story about this outfit- Mdx said "When Daddy's song plays I put my hand on my heart!", and I said "Yep, you sure do".  And she said: "NO!  THIS heart!" and covered the heart on the shirt.  I guess that's one way to teach a kid what to do during the National Anthem.

I got some beautiful flowers in a special delivery all the way from California. :)  Actually they were delivered by Kenny, our realtor- he said Marshall got in touch with him.  Very thoughtful Marshall!!

There was even a special package for Maddox.  There are 3 boxes of Pepero, and a really pretty flower.

Mdx took Nerds and Valentines to school today to share with her friends.  I couldn't remember all the children's names, so I just wrote "To: My friend! From Maddox" on each one.  :)

Happy Valentines Day everyone!  We miss and love you!

It's not always easy

.....getting pregnant.  Staying pregnant.  Delivering a healthy baby.  Raising a healthy child.

I can't remember how I found Sarah's blog (not the one I'm linking to, but her more private infertility blog) but I started reading her story about trying for a family over a year ago.  I think I was pregnant with Mav at the time, and had discovered a whole online community of women dealing with infertility.  Even though I never struggled with that particular problem, I know people who have, and it is just gut wrenching to know that month after month they put on a brave face and try again.  I can't imagine how it feels to want a child so badly and just not have the power to do anything about it.  Even though infertility is not something I suffer from, I have my own set of struggles (lactation issues, weight, being a military wife) and have found that the wealth of knowledge and support that can be found through other people is tremendous.  Truly, there is so MUCH GOOD to be found here in this place called the internet.

You are just going to have to trust me.  Sarah....she's "good folk".  She gets it, she really does.  She has an online auction running this weekend to help raise funds for their adoption, which is possibly just a few months away.  As we all know- adoption is not easy OR cheap.  Even after jumping through all the hoops, dotting the "I"s and crossing the "T"s....it can come down to red tape or money that keeps you from having a family.  I want this for her, and wish there was more that I could do.

So- have you been to Starbucks recently?  How about Krispy Kreme?  (can you tell I'm a Carolina girl stuck in Korea??  HA!)  If you don't see anything in the auction you need or want, there is a "Donate" button, please consider donating the cost of a Latte or a dozen glazed donuts to helping Sarah have a family.  You will feel warm and fuzzy inside- and it's calorie free!  :)

Link to the auction:  The Scott's Blog

Separation anxiety

This seems to be the only way to get stuff done around the house nowadays- as soon as I get out of Maverick's sight he starts to cry.    I love my Beco, especially now that Mav is big enough to ride in the back! You'll have to excuse our shower curtain, that is what happens when a man picks out a shower curtain.  :)

Playtime in Maddox's room.

We go to a place called the Hospitality House on Friday nights, for dinner and fellowship.  It is right down the street from where we live.  The Friday night dinners remind me of the Wednesday night dinners we used to go to back at FLC. and Gloria Dei.  After we eat people sit around and talk, drink coffee, play board games, play guitar, etc.  So many of the people here had to leave their families back home, Mdx and Mav get a ton of attention.  The first night we went Maverick must have been held by 10 different people!  Here he is sleeping with one of his favorites, T.  She can put him to sleep in about 5 minutes (she's definitely got "the touch" having left her own little girl back home in the States).

Here's a shot of everybody socializing last week.  

With Marshall gone on a TDY we've done a lot of this recently:

It's Rug Time!

If you are not part of the Sid the Science Kid fan club, well you certainly should be!  This PBS show became one of Maddox's favorites from the minute she saw it, and I have to say that even as an adult I can sit and watch the entire thing (for a kid show- that is rare!).  I love the way they tell jokes, introduce new concepts, and use music to facilitate learning.   One of the things I love about PBS is that it does not have commercials, so I don't have to worry about my kid begging to go to Chuck E. Cheese's or for the latest Barbie doll....but now that we are in Korea we don't get PBS.  SAD FACE!!

During every show they go into the Super Fab Lab to investigate something....well lately Mdx has started saying: "Let's go to the Super FLAB Lab!"  HAha!

 Here is Mdx singing one of her favorite songs from the show called "Rug Time" (Teacher Suzy uses the song to get the kids to sit down for rug time).  Mix it up with a little girl who loves to dance AND sing AND watch herself on video and you get this:

Cardboard fun

Marshall is so good at coming up with things to do with Maddox.  She loves playing games like Superwhy on my iPod touch, and she already knows how to use the trackpads on our computers.  With all the technology around nowadays you start to wonder if kids will ever just play with things like cardboard boxes anymore.  Well- Marshall answered that question for us, by creating technology out of cardboard boxes!  Ha!

Robot Mdx.

We are definitely a Mac family.

Mdx and Mama doing some "work" on the computer.

Marshall also made an iPod Touch for her out of cardboard, but took a picture of it using his webcam, so I don't have it here to share.  It's pretty funny!

They also made a racecar!

We welcome any other packages people want to send so we can make more fun playthings!  Hahaha!

Way Back Whenesday- Jan 2010

I took my 6th graders to the library for some computer time.  The librarian didn't bat an eye when I told her I had a computer project for my kids!  They were investigating various Symphony websites for kids and had to answer questions about each website.

I miss these guys so much!  They are big 7th graders now!

We got our first peek at Maverick (at the time known as Minimac).

Mdx showed her new found love for sunglasses.

We took our first trip to Coldstone Creamery!  From this point on, every time we drove past the shopping center where Coldstone was, she would ask for ice cream!

That's all until next week!

Fun Facts

1. Korean light switches are sideways.  No more up for ON, down for OFF.  Not that it would have mattered because in our house on Harbor Dr. all the light switches were backwards.  Maddox probably thinks we are just constantly playing mean jokes on her by changing the light switches.

2.  As mentioned in a recent previous post, I stopped biting my nails finally, at the age of 31.  I have no idea why or how- I just stopped halfway through my pregnancy with Maverick.  I blame the hormones.

3.  In the 4 years I was a lifeguard I never once had a water rescue.  I had to put a guy on a backboard after he fell off the roof (he was working on the roof), had a kid get his weeny stuck in a zipper (for the love of ALL holy don't let your little boys swim in things with zippers), and had to call 911 for someone having a heart attack.  But no water rescues.

4.  I played the oboe for less than a year in high school.  The band needed an oboist (is that right?  Oboe player?) to fill in a part, and I was curious.  My orchestra teacher was driving me bananas, so I made a deal with her that I'd borrow a school oboe, practice it on my own time, and if I learned the part I could join the band for the next few months.  (This had NOTHING to do with my boyfriend being in band....nothing at all.)  It worked.  I learned the bare minimum to participate in band.  Let me say- oboe is HARD!!

5.  I love Christmas music.  Pretty much ALL of it.  There are very few Christmas songs that I would say I don't like.

6.  National Geographic is one of the best magazines in the world.  Every household should have a subscription, and every copy should be saved forever.  Children should be allowed to look at them as much as they want to and ask questions about what they see.  The world is so SMALL- they should know that.

7.  I can sing "You're So Vain" like nobody's business.  I perfected it in college.  Being surrounded by music majors will do that to a girl.

8.  Marshall snores and drools in his sleep.  You didn't think all these facts were going to be about me did you??  LOL!    Maverick has already shown his drooling skills, I'm just waiting for the snoring to start.  Love you babe!

9. "Free to Be...You and Me" was a formative part of my childhood.  Thankfully.  My parents also had a few records of Air Supply, Neil Diamond, We Are the World, John Denver, and Harry Chapin...all of which are in my iTunes library at this very moment.  I sure hope I'm making good choices for Mdx and Mav to listen to!

10.  I still have an AOL email address.  Yes, I am one of the 30 people left using AOL.  It was my very first email address, which just so happens to be my maiden name, and so many people have that address, I use it for so much....I will never get rid of it unless AOL closes down and forces me to.

The End.  Now- what should I know about you?