How to... beat the winter blues.

1. Go sledding on the man-made snow at Everland.  Actually, N wasn't that interested in sledding himself, he preferred to watch his Dad and little brother go down the hill, and just drag his sled around.  Mind you, this is the same child who 30 minutes later was asking to "do dat roller coaster 'gain?"  Go figure.
2. Play in the God-made snow in our apartment's parking lot.  We don't really have much of a yard here, so we just do the best we can.  It turns out if you make snowballs without gloves on, your hands get really cold and your dad has to warm them up.  For the record, our neighbor actually made the snowman, we just borrowed it for a picture!
3. Go to swim lessons at an indoor swimming pool.
4. Take the subway to Seoul and go to the aquarium at the COEX mall.  Both boys loved looking at the fishies.  e cracked me up, because he was meowing at the cat fish.  He just started meowing at cats in books, so I thought it was very perceptive of him to find the cat fish and meow at them!  He also loved, I mean loved, the big shark tank.  Think squeals of delight every time a shark swam by.  He was saying 'ish (instead of fish) by the end of the day.  So cute!

A little "tail"

So we were driving home the other day when N saw a dog on the side of the road.  The conversation went something like this: 

N:  "I see a doggie!"  

Me: "You do see a dog!"  Very exciting conversation.  

N: "doggies have tails!"

Me: "You're right N, doggies do have tails."

N: "Kitties have tails too!"

Me: "Good job, N, kitties have tails too."  Then, lest you forget who's kid he is...

N: "Airplanes have tails, and helicopters have tails!"  

Yes, only in our family could we make the jump from doggies and kitties to airplanes and helicopters...

Seoul survivors...

It's official.  We are now those crazy Americans.  E and I have always tried hard to try to be "cool" while traveling around Korea, but this weekend we went to Seoul with some friends and were slightly less than "cool."  But we had a blast!

On Saturday a bunch of us left our kiddos with sitters and headed to Seoul for the afternoon to see a show.  Our first stop was for a little shopping.  I got some flip-flops and a T-shirt for $8... I'll be putting those in the closet for a couple of months until it gets warm!  Then the real adventure began.  We took the subway to the theater.  We have taken the subway before, and it has always been cumbersome, but we just thought it was because we had the boys with us.  No, it's just cumbersome.  

Here we are on the first train.  Yes, crazy Americans taking pictures on the subway.  At this point we were traveling at a leisurely pace on a non-crowded train.  The girls, Amanda, Christie, Lynn, me, and Kathy.

And the guys, Mike, E, Brian, and Patrick.

Then we had to transfer trains.  This second train was beyond crowded.  I couldn't take a picture, because it would have been a feat to just get the camera out.  Think no personal space.  None.  You are pressed against other people on all sides.  We couldn't hold onto any of the hand holds, but there was really no need.  We weren't going to fall down, because there was nowhere to fall!

We had one more transfer to make, an at this point, we were way late for our show.  So we were running.  What we didn't know is this was the longest transfer of all time.  We ran through a tunnel, up stairs, down stairs, through another insanely long tunnel, up and down more stairs.  We looked at a map later and found out that the two lines are actually a whole city block apart!  No wonder it felt like we were running forever!  Here are Mike and Kathy running through the station.  It was actually their wedding anniversary.  Nothing says romance like a sprint through a Korean subway station!

We finally got to the show, winded, but ready to enjoy it.  It was so much fun.  It's a percussion-type show with cutlery.  Think Stomp meets Benihana and you've got the idea.  Not much plot (or many words) so the language isn't a barrier, although there was some English with a Korean accent.  "Cabb-ag-e!" (They pronounce the final 'e' here, making cabbage a three syllable word, I know it's wrong, but it makes me chuckle every time.)  Here's the whole group after the show.

After our earlier adventure we decided to take cabs, not the subway, to dinner.  The girls all climbed into one, and somehow I ended up with all the husbands.  Here is a picture of us in the back seat, a little crowded, but it took much less time!  

Lastly we had a wonderful dinner at a not-so-kid-friendly restaurant.  The best part was dessert.  Lots of chocolate!  At one point we realized our bus home left in 15 minutes, so we sort of had to run to catch it, so I worked the chocolate off!  Anyway, it was a great day and I was glad that we were running through the subway as a group instead of by ourselves!  Thanks for planning it Lynn!

How to... buy groceries (according to a 2 year old)

First you have to pick your cart.  Make sure you find one that is just the right size for everything you need to buy.  

Then you get what you really need off the shelf, and hope it's not too high to reach!  The video below shows the best technique...

Then when you get home, you put everything away... 

sometimes little brothers like to help too..

As you can see, getting groceries is a family affair in our house!

Fish & Chips or Sushi?

Fish and Chips!

We just found out our next location will be England!  E got a slot back in the jet, and sometime this summer we'll be off.  Our first stop will be Florida for training, then it's off to the UK... I'm already practicing.  I'll have to take the baby carriage out of the boot and mind the gap as I step onto the lift.  Whoo, hoo English!

How to pay rent

So, for those of you who don't live in Korea, I thought you might enjoy hearing just how it is we go about paying our rent.  Let's just say, for lack of a better term, that there is something not quite right about it!

1. First we wait for our gas and electric bills to arrive at our apartment.  They just show up in our door.  We think our landlord puts them there, but we're not sure.  There is absolutely no English anywhere on these bills, not even our name.  The only way we know they are ours is the fact that they are in our door.  We look them over for the largest, most bold number on them and assume that is the amount due.  Remember, everything is written in Korean script!  Think of it as an expensive treasure hunt... 
2. Then we transfer money from our bank in the states to the bank here on base.  Ironically, they are both branches of the same large American bank, but we can't withdraw money from our stateside account here.  Lovely.
   
3. Then it's off to the bank on base where we pull out a large amount of American cash, mostly in $100 bills.
   
4. Next we go downtown to a money changer where we exchange our American dollars for Korean Won.  For some unknown reason, the largest Won bill we have ever been given is 10,000 Won, which is like $10!  We don't know if there is a larger demonination or not, I have personally never seen one.  So, needless to say, this is an extremely large stack of money!  They have these money counter machines that count the bills for you, because there are just too many!
5. Finally we go to our realtor's office.  He is sort of a go between for us and our landlord (who doesn't speak much English.)  Our realtor speaks very good English (thankfully!) and takes care of paying our rent and all our bills... in cash.  (Notice the huge stack in the above photo!)  All these transactions occur only in cash.  At first I was way skeptical, but then I figured out that's just how it works here.  Everything is paid for in cash, from rent, to suits, to purses, to cell phone bills.  All cash.  Right...
   

Super Bowl pancakes?

Yes, we had pancakes for our Super Bowl party!  Because of the huge time difference, the Super Bowl happens here on Monday morning, and there is even a down day so the guys can all watch it! So we woke up, got the boys dressed, and made pancakes for 18 people who started arriving at 8 am!  We had a great time, any only missed chips and dip a little bit!  Here is a shot of E the pancake maker.  

Here are the guys, Patrick, Conrad, and Joe, checking out the game.  Unfortunately, we don't get real commercials, so the only part I really watched was half time, when the ladies and babies took over the couch.  Here  are Angela and Madeline, along with Lynn and Adeline, and e.  (Side note:  N gets Madeline and Adeline mixed up, and sometimes calls them "two Adelines!")  Too cute.Meanwhile, E and Patrick play with their matching toys, I mean computers.  Yes, we have a new computer and have joined the Ma.c world, because frankly, I wanted to throw the HP out the window.

The game didn't turn out so well for the Patriot fans, Conrad, Maya, and Curtis.  Curtis took the loss especially hard as you can see...

Anyway, we had a really fun morning, and may have started a new trend of Super Bowl foods.  Who knows, maybe next year it will be Super Bowl omelets!

How to use a spoon...

This post is especially for you, Dad. I know how you just love a messy eater!

So e's new thing is wanting to be Mr. Independent. He does not want me to spoon feed him anymore, he's all about doing it himself. However, he doesn't completely understand the concept of the spoon. This is what happened when I turned away to cut up N's pizza at dinner the other night. Notice the technique. Spoon in one hand, the other hand in the yogurt. The smearing action is quite nice!

Although, to be honest, he didn't do much better with the spoon!
This do-it-myself attitude applies to other foods as well. No no longer will he let me rip up his toast or pancakes, and he wants the whole piece of pizza! Again, notice the fine technique! I swear I need to hose him off after almost every meal!