Top 10 things I won't miss about Korea.

Not to be all negative... but there will be some things I won't miss about living in Korea!

10)  The drivers.  Let's just say that I'll be happy to be driving where most of the people on the road are following the local traffic laws, even if they are on the wrong side of the road!

9)  Roads that are way to small for the size and quantity of cars that are on them.  I mean waaay too small.  Which brings me to my next item...

8)  The traffic.  I mean seriously.  One Saturday it took me 4 hours and 15 minutes to get home from the airport, with two little boys in the back seat!  (This is normally a 1.5 hour drive, yikes!)

7)  The lack of maps or named streets.  I'm ready to give directions by some manner other than landmarks (drive till you see the Up Mart on the corner and take a left...).  As far as we can figure out this isn't just because we can't read the Korean street signs or maps... I really don't think there are very many!

6)  Our bathrooms.  They are always wet, mildewy, and smelly.  No matter what.  I can't wait to sit outside the bathtub to bathe the boys without getting soaked because I'm sitting in the shower!

5)  The itty-bitty oven in my kitchen.  I'm really looking forward to baking in something larger than an 8 x 8 pan!  Also the dishwasher that doesn't so much wash as just rinse... 

4)  The rock hard couch and bed that are in our apartment.  I mean, the mattress is like a box springs.  It took two mattress pads and and egg crate to make it sleepable.  And the couch... my butt falls asleep if I sit on it for longer than 30 minutes.  You think I'm kidding?  Come watch a movie over here sometime...  Actually, this seems to be a problem for most people who have Korean furniture.  I'm not sure if they have something against padding or what...

3)   Communication issues.  Yes, I could have learned more Korean, but thankfully there are many people that I are speaking English, however they often have an accent so strong I still can't understand them.  I'll be happy to leave that behind.... oh wait!  

2)  The really slippery, really hard, really pointy marble stairway with railings so far apart that small children can fall through, that we have to walk up to get into our apartment.  I am soooo ready to be done with that.

And... wait for it...  the number one thing I won't miss about Korea...

1)  The exercises!  Can you say no more big giant voice?

How to speak one-year old.

So lest you think little e doesn't have anything to say these days, here's a glimpse of life with him!

Whenever we see an airplane, taking off, landing, way high in the sky, or even on a stick, e points at it and yells with all his 1-year-old might, "air-na!"  I'm telling you, the kid has good eyes.  He is often the first to spot them, beating his dad and even his big brother.  Now that's saying something!  He also yells "choo-choo!" at any train, near or far, and the newest addition to his repertoire is "digga!" when we pass one of the 50 trillion diggers here in Korea.  Seriously, I think they must have more diggers per capita here than anywhere else in the world.  Oh, and cranes, there are a ton of those here too.  

At home, e loves to play with cars and balls, so I am often greeted in the morning by him yelling, over and over, "Car, car!  Ball, ball!"  Yes, he is a very excitable child.  He knows where the playgrounds are, and if we drive by one without stopping, he yells "slie, slie" (slide) and pitches a fit.  Or if I open the refrigerator, he has started saying "ya-ya" for yogurt, or "cheese."  He still has a very sweet sign language "please" and "thank you"  which sound more like "eese" and "ah-do."  (Side note:  N and e say the same "ah-do" for thank you.  No idea why they both say it that way!)  Lately though, both thank you and uh-oh have been followed by his own name.  So they come out, "ah-do Ei" and "uh-oh Ei."  Too cute. 

Mmmm... yogurt!

N the artist

So instead of moving all of N's creations from the past year, I decided to photograph them and then save them in the computer.  Since I was at it, I thought some of you might enjoy seeing them as well.  

This first one is from what we call N's "basketball phase".  All orange circles, all the time.  We think he takes his inspiration from his Uncle T.  (The spirograph work on the bottom is his Dad's... don't get all excited!)  
This next one is typical of his "I just got a box of new markers" period.  Notice the bright vivid colors, and random scribbling pattern.  This is an earlier work then the "basketballs" above.  

Next we have two pieces of work from the CDC (the little preschool type class he goes to twice a week.)  This first one was his first attempt at water colors.   Just look at those brush strokes.
Finally, we have his only titled piece, "My daddy".  This piece was done with brown marker on brown construction paper.  Can we tell he's a daddy's boy?  He's drawing pictures of him at school!

Say it isn't so!

Apparently N is on a roll lately.  He cracked me up twice yesterday when we were discussing our big move.  

First of all, we had to go buy bus tickets to get to the airport in Seoul.  He was all excited about riding the big bus...

N:  I ride big bus!

me:  Yes, where are we going on the big bus?

N:  Airport!

me:  Then where are we going?  (I'm going for Florida or England here...)

N:  Big airplane!

me:  That's right, we will go on a big airplane!  Where is the big airplane taking us?  (Again, aiming for Florida...)

N:  Another airplane... maybe medium airplane!

Yes, N, thank you for reminding me that after our 14 hour flight to Atlanta, we do have to take another airplane, maybe a medium one, before we can actually get to Florida.  Leave it to N to appreciate the journey more than the destination...

Than later in the day I told him I was getting his toys ready to move...

N:  We moving!

me:  yes, where are we moving to?

N:  Another house!

me:  true, where will that house be?

N:  (long pause for thinking)  ... maybe China?

Oh no, I hope not!  It sort of just cracks me up that a three-year old knows China is a place people could move to!  He's so worldly!

You know it's bad when...

... your three-year old knows the word "paperwork!"  

Yesterday we picked E up after he dealt with more stuff for our move.  I told N to look for Daddy in the parking lot.  When he spotted him he said, "Dere's Daddy!  Carryin' paperwork, and wearin' green shirt."  Yup, that describes Daddy these days, carrying paperwork!  Can you tell we're trying to move?  

Another unrelated, but equally funny N comment happened today.  He fell down outside the BX and skinned his knee a little bit.  There was no blood, but from his reaction you would have thought his leg was going to fall off.  We cleaned it up and went home, where he continued to discuss his knee.  At one point while getting him ready for a nap, he pointed to his knee and said, "dat's my skinny knee!"  Yup, I hate it when I fall down and my knee gets skinny!

Happy Birthday N!

Yup, it was a fire truck cake this year.  More bright red frosting!  As usual, I let him pick out what kind of cake he wanted.  Since I couldn't take him to the store, I found some pictures online and let him have his choice of Thomas, Lightning McQueen, or a fire truck.  A fire truck it is!

We even got to have a little party for him while his Grandma was still here.  (E and I were in China for his actual birthday, so we celebrated a few days late... great parents aren't we!?)  We had four other families over, so there were plenty of kiddos to help celebrate.  I had a rather lofty goal of getting a picture of all the kids at once... and we actually succeeded!  Eight kids sitting nicely on the couch, I think that might be a record!  e, N, Curtis, Drew, Madeline, Josh, Adeline, and Charlee pose for the camera.

His buddies Drew and Josh helped N pick out what presents to open next, while Curtis helped him open his Lincoln Logs.  There were lots of building type toys, so I think daddy was very excited too!  

Of course N wouldn't wear a party hat... but at least we got one on e!  Thanks for coming everyone, we had a great time!