Sunday, April 24, 2011

Lent is over!! Happy Easter!

Praise God!  I don't think I will ever do a blogging every day challenge again!  At first it was interesting, but then became more mundane, and there is nothing I hate more than feeling obligated to do something that I don't really want to do!  I definitely phoned it in on some days.  Oh well- I hope you all enjoyed it, for what it is worth!!  :)

Here are some pictures of our Easter celebrations:

On Saturday we went to the Easter Parade and Easter Egg Hunt on base.

The Easter Bunny started the Parade in a Jeep.

Osan Enlisted Spouses Club

The end of the Parade was the Command Chief and Base Commander on a fire truck.

The football field was covered in eggs.

Mdx picked up about ten, and then said she was done!

Marshall helped her see what kind of goodies she got.

Later on that day we dyed five Easter eggs.  Yes, only five!

Aren't they pretty?  We used these to play the egg cracking game that we always play with my family on Easter- the Green Egg won!

The Easter Bunny had to improvise this year, but the kids were still pretty happy!

Mdx had more fun with Mav's stuff than he did.  

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The Great Cloth Diaper Change

I wish I could participate in this!  Oh well- maybe next year when we are in Germany!
I haven't been using our cloth diapers as much as I would like to since being here in Korea,
but my new goal is to use them more.  Especially since I brought them all the way here!
There are so many new styles of cloth diapers, and they are now affordable AND adorable.
What a great way to get the word out and hopefully educate more people about using cloth!

The Great Cloth Diaper Change




Friday, April 22, 2011

Funny

 DEADLY TERMS USED BY A WOMAN.

 (1) "FINE"- this is the word women use to end an argument when they know they are right and YOU need to SHUT UP.


 (2) "NOTHING" - really means SOMETHING and you should be very worried! 


(3) "GO AHEAD" - this is a dare, not permission, DO NOT DO IT. 


(4) "WHATEVER" - is a woman's way of saying SCREW YOU. 


(5) "THAT'S OK" - she is thinking long and hard on HOW and WHEN you will pay for your mistake.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Oh no

Yesterday Mav was sick.  All over the place.

Today, Marshall is sick- at least he has better aim.

I feel a ginormous target on my back.....please please please please please do not let me get sick.  This stuff is brutal.

I'm going to sit in the bedroom with a canister of Lysol aimed at the door.

Post edit: 3:40am......Mdx has been sick all over her bedroom, Marshall is cleaning it up.  There is no Lysol in this house   I am doomed.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Green and Blue

Even though this photo is a little washed out, I love how you can see the colors of the kids' eyes!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

What jet lag feels like

If you've never tried to turn your days into nights and nights into days- then you definitely haven't ever felt this before!  Marshall's mom changes her work schedule all the time-I have a new admiration for her, because let me promise you...this is so hard on your body, brain, emotions, common sense, you name it!!

-first you think you may have gotten lucky and not gotten it.  This is simply adrenaline folks, and don't you worry, that b*tch jet lag is waiting just around the corner with her party hat on.

-then you start to have to think just a little too hard for words like: suitcase, fork, and anything besides a swear word.

-next comes a little dizziness and loss of appetite.  The appetite will reappear right after you get into bed to try and catch some Zs before one or both of your children wake up screaming because THEY are also hungry.

-so you get out of bed, you down a thousand calories of whatever you have to chew the least, and as you are slowly nodding off into your bowl of oatmeal (yep- great jet lag food along with yogurt) your kids wake up!  Surprise!!  You won the lottery!  NO SLEEP FOR YOU (said in the "No Soup For You! voice....Seinfeld)

-congratulations.  You are now officially slap-your-mother-tired.  At least this what I call it, because you are honestly so out of your mind that you'd slap just about anyone....and we all know slapping your mother would bring you instant death.  But at least then you'd be getting some rest.

Monday, April 18, 2011

It never gets old

We are sitting in the hotel outside the Incheon airport.  The kids and I have been up and playing since around 4am, Marshall is sleeping.  He took the first shift with the kids and let me sleep a few hours, now I'm letting him sleep a few hours since he actually has to work the second half of today.  :)  In about 1 hour we'll get showered and pack up to head back to the airport to catch the first bus back to the base.

Yesterday during our travels there were lots of little reminders of being a military family.  First, when I got to Raleigh and checked in I was browsing in the Borders bookstore they have in the concourse.  I picked out a little paperback book to read and Mdx found an Easter booklet she wanted, but I didn't have my "Borders Rewards" card to get my discount.  Then the cashier saw my military ID and gave me a military discount- I didn't even know they offered one!  Sweet!

We got to our gate and almost all the seats were full.  There was only one open one left, and it was next to an Army soldier in uniform.  I had Mdx sit next to him and he offered me his seat, but Mav was snoozing in my baby carrier, so I explained that if I sat down it would probably wake up the baby.  I asked where he's headed and he said he was going back to Afghanistan after his R&R.  I wished him luck, and asked where his home base is.  It ends up he lives in Germany!  So we chatted about that for a while, and about life in Korea.  We were interrupted when a cute old man hobbled up and said "Son, are you coming or going?".  The soldier jumped out of his chair and said "Going sir!" and the man shook his hand and gave him a HARD pat on the back and thanked him for his service.  Then we watched him slowly walk down the concourse to every gate and shake the hand of any person in uniform he saw.  Now, THAT never gets old.  Next time you are looking to fill your time in an airport........

Once we were on our plane to Atlanta, there was another reminder.  The plane was full and they were asking for volunteers to give up seats.  One of the last guys to get on the plane sat in the row behind us.  He had been moved from his original seat close to the front of the plane because a woman pitched a fit at the desk about how she wasn't sitting next to her friend.  He lost his window seat and was stuck in the middle- but was being a good sport about it.  The flight attendant came back and was apologizing profusely to him for the rudeness of the other passenger, and said that they would provide him whatever beverages he'd like to drink for the flight.  He looked a few rows up at another soldier in uniform (different than the one I had chatted with) and said: "You can give all my drinks to him, he probably won't have many more for a while!".

So, whether you are giving handshakes or alcohol- saying "Thank you" and recognizing that just wearing the uniform means you have given up something- that will never get old.  At least not to me!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Traveling today

Today I'm headed back to Korea with the kids!  So, probably nothing interesting going to be posted until I get back, unless I can get some free internet in one of the airports.  I am hoping that our international flight will have free wifi.....but I'm not holding my breath.  I'll catch you all on the flip side- when we are finally back "home"!  :)

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Teacher Pay

The next question in my series of questions from friends comes from my friend Susan, who is a fellow AF spouse.  I met Susan when I was part of the online spouses group, and she has been a valuable asset for me.  I know I can always go to her if I have questions regarding almost anything having to do with AF life, and if she doesn't know the answer she will find it for me!  She's also very intelligent and witty.  Susan is a wildly independent woman, jetting around the country on ski trips, and supervising the construction of their vacation ranch- I think you have to be independent to manage life as a military spouse.  We can't sit around and wait for our men or we'd be sitting forever.  Gotta live life NOW!  Thanks for the question Susan!

Susan asks: Why are teachers so grossly abused for such little pay?

Obviously as a teacher I will have a biased opinion about this.  But trust me, I don't have the answer to any of it!!  I think that it is unfortunate that teachers are having more and more responsibilities added to their day, well beyond teaching in the classroom.  Hall duty, bus duty, lunch duty, tutoring, sponsoring clubs, mandatory field trips, etc......things that have to be done.  However, when you add more students to classes, and you take away planning time that teachers could use to make copies, write lesson plans, grade papers- teachers can only give so much.   It is very frustrating.

On top of that, depending on where you teach, the pay you earn is really low compared to the education and training you are expected to have to get a job.  I know that when I was teaching in NC I was earning less than $27,000/year my first year.  I had a Bachelor's degree, and was licensed.  NC's teacher pay uses a tier system, and for every year that you teach you get bumped up to the next level, where you earn incrementally more money.  I estimate it takes about 6 to 8 years of teaching to reach a comfortable income where you don't feel poor anymore.  With the recent budget problems, teachers have been advancing to the next tier, but not getting the pay raise.  If you are part of a family where both parents are teachers- imagine the impact this has on your finances!  Add to that the furloughs that have been added to the equation last year, and you have the equivalent of not just no raise, but a pay cut.  It's disappointing to say the least, when you've worked hard to get your degree, get your license, work your tail off all year, and get no reward for it.  It's no wonder that many teachers quit the profession before they've even taught for 5 years.

In Virginia the only position I could find was a half-time position.  Since I had earned a Master's degree I was on a higher pay scale than if I had a Bachelor's degree- so with my 3 years of experience I was earning $21,000/year to teach HALF TIME.  I was very happy with that!  I was just glad to be working, and thrilled that I could earn that much and work 20 hours a week.  However, with the budget problems that Virginia (let's face it EVERYONE) is going through- since I was half time and didn't have tenure, I was in the first group of teachers laid off at the end of last school year.  Luckily we weren't living off of my income, but if we had been our family would have been having a very hard time!

One thing I DO think needs to be addressed and changed is the system of determining tenure, and attaching teacher pay to performance.  Tenure seems to be a good idea in theory, but I think it ends up protecting teachers that don't necessarily deserve it, making it harder for bad teachers to be fired.  As a military spouse I may never stay in any school system long enough to earn tenure, meaning I will always be on the chopping block first.......but what if I'm one of the best teachers in the school??  I'm not being arrogant, I'm just making a point- giving a teacher tenure has NOTHING to do with their ability to educate.

As far as using test scores to determine teacher pay.....I can see positives and negatives about this.  First, of course there should be some kind of system to determine who the good teachers are and reward them, and who the bad teachers are and either retrain them, or fire them.  BUT- using standardized tests does not seem to be working.  How long have we been doing this?  There have been NO MAJOR gains in the state of education in our country, and anytime people claim that they can use test results to prove progress...it is debated because of accuracy of testing data, and accusations of cheating.  Sometimes fantastic teachers teach their asses off, yet the test scores don't reflect the blood, sweat, and tears that went on in the classroom.  As an Orchestra teacher, there is no standardized test to prove what I am teaching my students, so how would they decide what to pay me?  How would I prove my worth in a system like that?

Many people say, "Oh it must be so nice to get the summers and holidays off"...as if we just sit back and collect our paycheck for not working.  There must be a misunderstanding- teachers work for 10 months and only get paid for 10 months.  Or you can have your paycheck spread out for 12 months and you get smaller checks.  Have you ever gone without income for 2 months?  It's pretty difficult! Some teachers even end up getting summer jobs to cover them.

I think teachers have become the unfortunate scapegoats in a world where we want someone else to blame.  At some point parents and students have to be held accountable for their own successes and failures as well.  Teachers don't choose the profession to get rich, or because it a nice, easy, cushy job.  With all the teacher bashing and union debates going on recently, it has certainly started to feel like being a teacher is not a respectable thing anymore, and that is a shame.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Day off

Yep......even when you are blogging every day for Lent you get to take a day off now and then.  You didn't know that??  Hahahahaha!  I mean really- what do you think Martin Luther and the Protestant revolution were all about?   (Trust me, it had nothing to do with blogging after all).  Sorry to all my devoted readers out there....all *3* of you.  Tomorrow hopefully I can write something interesting.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

I'm in trouble now!

Mav is mobile...and he is SO proud of himself!
This video was taken today at the Greensboro Children's Museum.


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

May need another suitcase

Thanks for my new jammies Aunt Em! 
 For the record- Bubba wears 12 months sized clothes!


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

It's a hard life

Marshall's computer is fixed!!  *no Geniuses were harmed in the completing of this task*

New camera acquired!!  *the old fashioned way, not Marshall's way*

Jet lag is defeated!!  *let's not talk about how I get to do it again next week, mkay?)

Target trip completed!!  *so hard to leave things on the shelf there*

We aren't having any fun back here in the States....no sir!

Monday, April 11, 2011

AAARRRRRGGGGG.

Marshall's computer was on the verge of not working.  We have had 3 Macs and this is the first time we've had a problem with one.  I looked for authorized service centers in Korea, but on the Apple website, when it has you searching for service centers in other countries- as soon as you select Korea as the place you are searching- the website switches into Hangul (written Korean).  No English option.  GRRRrrrrr.

When I decided to come home after Grandmom died I told Marshall I'd bring his computer with me and take it to the Apple store to see what was wrong with it.  When I took it in a week ago they ran all kinds of diagnostics on it and couldn't find anything majorly wrong with it.  However, when he tried to restart it, it sat and pinwheeled for over 5 minutes.  The guy looked at me and said "Hmmm....that's not good.".  DUH!! He told me that they'd have to take it in and keep it for 5 to 7 days....BUT since we hadn't backed up everything that was on the computer I bought the cheapest external hard drive they sell there so that they could back up everything to that.  I was under the impression they would fully restore the computer when they were done with it (that's what I get for ASSuming).  Grrrrrrrr.

I hadn't heard anything by Sunday (the 7th day) so I called them to find out what was going on with it.  The girl who answered the phone said "Oh yeah, it's ready for pickup!".  I said "Was someone going to call me and tell me??".  She said "Yeah, we are really behind on our phone calls.....".  WHATEVER.  Grrrrrrrr.

So I went today to pick up the computer.  When I got there they were packed and I had to wait for a couple minutes before anyone was free to go and get the computer.  Then he took me right to a cash register and told me I owed $99 for Data Transfer since they had to replace the hard drive and they backed everything up for me.  I said "Um, NO I DO NOT, the guy that took this computer just said I needed to provide the external hard drive, he didn't say anything about a charge....not to mention we have the extended AppleCare plan, AND a one-to-one membership!".   So after searching in his computer he decides I'm right and starts the paperwork to give me my computer back.  Grrrrrrrrr.

Then he shows me the piece of paper taped to the hard drive- it says they could not restore the data to the computer, or create a user, and I would have to do it manually.  I said "If you couldn't do it, then how am I supposed to know how to do it?".  Blank look from him.  Blink-blink.   He said  "Oh, it's really easy, you just plug it in and transfer everything over".  Feeling annoyed and like I'm being rushed out the door, I sighed....signed the papers, and left.   GRRRRrrrrr.

Get home.......no data transfer happening.  The computer shows the hard drive icon on the desktop, yet when I try to use Migration Assistant to transfer all the data, all the sudden the hard drive is not showing up as one of the options to transfer from.  Grrrrrr.

Tomorrow I'm going to Apple at Friendly Center and going to Say hello with a smile, and then give a big fat knuckle sandwich to the next GENIUS who rushes me out the door, or won't help me transfer my stuff.   We are a MAC family, no doubt.  We love their products and have had great experiences (previously) with their customer service.  But this is ridiculous.  Don't sell us a computer with a faulty hard drive and then replace it and give us a empty computer, and no help getting it back the way it was before it bit the dust.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Just a few

Em and I tried our best to get some good shots of the four cousins together.  However, poor Anderson wasn't feeling well and did not want to get his picture taken at all.  Finally he allowed us to take his picture, but no smiles.....so here are a few of the shots I got.  This is the best we could do!





Saturday, April 9, 2011

When I travel:

* I leave something everywhere I go.  If it's not a camera, it's an ipod cord, a sippy cup, a sock.....something.  It used to drive me crazy, but now I almost expect it.

*I forget what day it is.  Heck, that happens to me whenever I'm not working.  But the days all start to blend together and I find myself having to ask people what day it is.

*My children get fed whatever happens to be around at whatever time they act hungry.  This doesn't really bother me as much as it should.

*I sit and watch TV shows that other people watch, that I really have no interest in.  Since we live with Korean tv and watch our shows online, it really makes you think twice about sitting in front of the computer to watch a tv show.  But when someone else is already watching tv, I get sucked in and just sit there and rot.  I would love to get DVR if it's even possible when we are in Germany, so that we only watch what we want to watch when we want to watch it.

*I become much more aware at what a bad hostess I am.  I never remember to give my guests towels.  I never make special things for them, or offer them a drink,or go out of my way to make sure they are comfortable- even though other people do this for me.  I promise I will try harder in the future!!

Friday, April 8, 2011

First Horseback riding!

Yesterday we went with Em and her kids to a barn a little north of Wake Forest in a place called Franklinton.  Em knows the family from their school, and they have twin boys Taylor Anne's age.  They board horses, and own three of their own.  When we got there Em got one of the horses from the pasture and we thinned out her winter coat and brushed her.  She lost so much hair it looked like there was a Shih Tzu on the concrete!  After we were done with the first horse, they went and got the horse that Taylor Anne was going to ride.  We were surprised when the owner said that Maddox and Anderson could ride her too!  (SOooooo glad, because if Mdx didn't get on a horse, there was going to be a meltdown!)  These pics are from Em's camera....still no word on my missing one.  :(

Cousins having fun!  Yes, she is the same height as he is.
 Brushing Maddie the horse.
 T.A. was in jail.
 "I'm a rock star"
 A little scared and very excited.
 She said "Walk Maddie!"
 Going about 1 mph.



Thursday, April 7, 2011

Action shot

Have you ever seen jet lag?

The meanest Mama in the whole world made this video around 4pm one day....when a certain little girl was passing out on the couch.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Back in the Boro

Whenever I come back to Gboro there are certain things I really try to do.  Of course, now that we are living overseas I have a new appreciation for the things I used to just want to do.  Now I NEED to do them!  I always make a trip (or five) to Friendly Center, and of course Toys & Co.  After working there for so many years, there are still people that I know working there, and I still seem to know the inventory pretty well!  Maddox is old enough to enjoy going there to play without tearing the place apart, and pretty soon Mav will be able to play too! 

I've talked about Yum Yum before, so of course that is on the list.

Downtown Greensboro has changed a ton, so I always make a trip down there for beer(s) or food.  This trip we ate at Fincastle, which is a diner style restaurant.  I had a Magnolia Burger- YUM!!!  Bacon, Onion straws, Cheese, Tomato, on a Sourdough bun.  They had a Simpson's car with the characters inside that Mdx played with almost the whole time we were there. 

I like to drive by Grimsley and check out the school to see how it has changed.  I wish I could take the time to walk through and see some old teachers, or see if they are there....but I never find the time.  Hmmm....it is softball season, maybe there is a softball game we could go to!

Of course I love to go back to First Lutheran and see all our friends and family there.  I've known most of our congregation since I was in Elementary School, there's a lot of great memories there.

Just in the last year or so I've started getting back together with girlfriends from high school who are still local.  When I'm in town we try to meet up for lunch or dinner...just whoever can make it.  It's so nice to see people again, and no matter how much time passes we always find things to talk about.

I haven't even made it to Target yet this trip, but that will be soon!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Cultural Differences

Update: last night's sleeping was no better.  This jet lag is really painful on the kids, and I hate it for them....but I am just about at my limit of how much one person can function with such little sleep.  Thank goodness my mother and sister are helping with the kids in the morning so I can catch a quick nap.  Still....I'm getting about 5 hours max (night and day combined, never consecutive), and that's just not enough!  I feel a permanent state of blurriness.

The next question in my series of questions provided from facebook friends comes from my friend "E".  E lives up in Virginia near Langley, and I met her through a mutual friend while we were stationed there.  She sells Scentsy, is a party planner, and we always had some great conversations.  So, I'm not surprised by her question: "What do you think are the major cultural differences between Korea and the U.S.?"

Besides the obvious differences of language and food, one of the things I have noticed the most in Korea is the respect paid to elders, and the way they use their "elder-lyness" (not a word??) to tell other people what to do.  The older Koreans are the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, and command a certain level of respect.  In my interactions with the members of the community around Songtan, I have been told multiple times by an Ajumma (an older Korean woman) that it was too cold for the baby  "Agi choo-woh" when I had Mav in my Beco and we were out walking around.  They would walk right up to me and pat the baby's back, looking worriedly at his face.  Now, yes- most of the time it was below freezing...but he was in a fleece snow suit, his head was covered, he was up against my warm body, AND the whole Beco was zipped into my North Face jacket.  The child was toasty warm.  So I would nod and say "Ne" (Yes...) or something like that and walk away.  With an air of "mind your own beeswax" but without saying it.  I'm not staying home just because you think it is too cold for me to have my baby out!


I was also told to sit down on the train by men (Ajussi) and women.  They have seats reserved for old people, pregnant women, handicapped people, and women holding babies.  As soon as an older person would see me with Mav in the baby carrier they would walk over and grab my sleeve and nudge me toward a seat.  When the seats were full, they would gesture to someone else to get up.  This is something I would be shocked to ever see happen in America!


Another cultural difference that I notice is how safe it seems to be in Korea.  I'm sure there are some shady places, just like everywhere else, but I feel very safe when we are out walking at any time of day or night.  People leave things outside their houses and apartments, and merchants leave things outside their stores, and they are not stolen.  If they ARE....suspect a foreigner.  There is a bathroom store down the street from where we live, and they leave stacks of very nice (and probably expensive) tiles right on the sidewalk.  I have never felt threatened or scared of any Koreans, and have found them to be very friendly to us, as long as we are respectful.


One negative thing I've noticed is the amount of garbage and pollution.  There is smog visible over the neighboring city of Osan sometimes, and all along the roads there is trash.  There is no specific garbage day, and it appears that every corner is a garbage pick-up area.  I think Korea would be a much more beautiful place if there were less piles of trash everywhere.  Part of the problem is probably how quickly the country has industrialized, it's hard for them to keep up with the growth.  It is also very windy near us, so the garbage is blown right out of the containers.


There you have it- just a few of the cultural differences I have noticed in the last 5 months in Korea!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Jet Lag

The flights over from Korea went surpringly well!  So many people were friendly and offered to help me with whatever I needed.  On the first plane (Seoul to Tokyo) a businessman in a suit held Mav while I installed his car seat (glad he didn't spit up on him!).  Right before our second flight (Tokyo to Atlanta) we met some lovely people who had a granddaughter Maddox's age, and they thought Mdx was just cute as a button.  They were seated exactly one row in front of us and said they'd be glad to watch Mdx so I could go to the bathroom, or to hold Maverick if I needed a break.  I ended up not needing their help much at all, but it was nice to know I had the option.  Diaper changes were an interesting experience- airplane restrooms are tiny anyway, and the only ones with a changing table are the handicapped ones.  The changing table folds down over the toilet and doesn't have any kind of ledge, so I was very worried that Mav was going to roll off.  Then, after I'd change him I'd use the facilities while holding him- which is a strength challenge since he's such a hunk of love!  For the third flight (Atlanta to Raleigh) the plane was full, and we were surrounded by a group of High School kids returning from a school trip.  Mdx slept and Mav waved and smiled at everyone until the last 10 minutes.  Right before we landed they both cried, and I thought "We seriously made it this far and NOW you want to cry?!"  Once we landed Mav was asleep and Mdx was too excited about seeing Gramps and her cow carseat. 

I'd love to show you pictures, but I can't find my camera at the moment!   ARG!!  I may have left it on an airplane, which is the last place I remember seeing it.....but I'm not too sad if that's the case.  It was at the end of its life anyway, the battery would only last for about 15-20 pictures, Maddox had dropped it multiple times (note to self- get child her own camera), and I had already downloaded all my pictures off of it, so I didn't lose anything important.  However, I haven't been able to take any pictures here yet during our visit!  I'll have to borrow some from Em, otherwise these posts may be pretty boring!

I can't believe how hard the jet lag is on the kids.  I feel bad because I've adjusted pretty quickly, but Maddox and Maverick both have been sleepy and somewhat cranky during the days.  I did let them nap the first day a good amount, and then today tried to limit their naps and keep them short in hopes they will sleep tonight.  BUT- last night was awful and made me rethink this whole lets-change-13-time-zones-in-one-day plan.  First, Mav was tired and cranky so I put him to bed right around 8:30.  Then Maddox went to sleep shortly thereafter at about 9.  I didn't go up to bed until 11 because we were up working on Gmom's Eulogy.  I had been in bed 10 minutes when Mav woke up.  I fed and changed him and rocked him back to sleep.  He slept from 12-1:30am.  At 1:30 he awoke and was up until 2.  Then he slept from 2-2:30 and woke up again.  I got him back to sleep around 3:00, and then Maddox woke up and said she wanted to get up and play.  I said NO and made her stay in bed, but she was awake and tossing and turning.  Mav woke again right before 4, Mdx was still awake, so I gave up and brought the kids downstairs.....having been awake since 2:30am.  Luckily I snuck in 2 short naps during the day.  The kids took shorter naps too, and hopefully will sleep better tonight!  By 7:30pm Mdx was delirious because she was so tired and melted down- so I put her into bed.  I'm crossing fingers to make it until at least 5am before both kids are awake tomorrow morning!!

So, to make a long story short- International airplane travel alone with two kids = not too hard at all!
Dealing with jet lag with two kids = much harder!!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Mother's Day ideas

Probably sleeping off jet lag today- so I'm posting something I've been working on for a while!  :)

To my dear sweet wonderful husband, who loves it when I tell him exactly what I want:  Here are some ideas of things I'd love for Mother's Day.  I realize Mother's Day is still pretty far away, but not when you live in order-everything-off-the-internet land.  I don't need all of them, but ANY of these awesome things would make this Mama happy!!  I'll point you in the right direction, let's see if you can execute.  (LOL!)

P.S. If you order something form Etsy, make sure you message the seller to ask them to send it Priority, otherwise instead of a Mother's Day gift it will be a "Happy Summer" gift.  :)

P.P.S.  Other guys out there who have wives: take notes.

P.P.P.S. Father's Day?  Going to need some guidance.

Bird Nest Necklace- love this, for my two babies.

Vintage Jello Mold- my Grandmom O. had one of these, and I will always think of her every time I see one.  I need this.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Buddhist Temple

Part of the Korean Folk Village is a beautiful temple that is up on a hill, I don't think I even noticed it was there last time.

The first part you come to is a pavilion that overlooks a little pond.

Maddox said: "Mama, look at the SWAMP!"  Forgive the outfit.  Folks, she chooses her own clothes as much as I can stand it.

An archway leading up the hill to the temple.

Beautiful painted colors, such detail must have taken forever!

Really pretty stone stairway.

Mdx was not scared by these guys, I felt like we should walk a little faster though!

At the top, clear blue skies and a statue.  If I could read Hangul I'd know what it said.

Big drum!

Big bell!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Korean Folk Village

My Grandmom passed away early yesterday morning.  :(  She is in a better place, and no longer confused or upset.  I'm sad for myself and my family that she is gone, but there is almost a sigh of relief for her (I hope that doesn't sound awful!!)  The kids and I will be flying back to the States for a few weeks for some good family time.  We are leaving the same day as Carla, but not on the same flights.  By the time we get back the yellow dust might have shown up (not sure why I'm interested to see it- I'm from the South where you can see the pollen blowing in the Spring breeze).  Flying with two kiddos will be a challenge, but we'll make it.  We have much less stuff than we had on the way here, and Maddox is used to walking.  I'm looking forward to seeing some family members that I only see once or twice a year, squeezing my friend Brandi (!!!) and eating at Yum Yum.  

We took Carla to the Korean Folk Village in Suwon this past Monday.  It was a chilly day, but we still enjoyed walking around and saw new things that we hadn't seen the first time!  I didn't get nearly as many pictures as Carla, this lady is the ultimate tourist!!

Marshall learned how to make a woven rice mat.  This man showed him using sign language!

One of the many types of houses they have there.

Another house.

This was in the Government Building, where the business of the town would be performed.  Including flogging.

A sign at the town gate.

A Kimchi farm.  Is this a whole town's worth of kimchi, or just one family?

On the bus ride back to Suwon Station, Maddox was falling asleep.  Check out those curtains!