So much random smushed into one post

9.02.2014

  • Not even 8am and both children have been in multiple timeouts. There is also a 100% chance of rain for the rest of the day. This doesn't bode well for that bottle of wine sitting on my counter.
  • In case you are wondering about our apartment inspection, let me calm your fears- our building is still standing and everything is fine. Apparently there was some sort of issue with a warranty inspection that the complex had a few years back, blah blah blah. So we had to go and point out each individual problem with the house while a man who spoke no English took pictures of the deficiencies. A woman who spoke English accompanied him. Every time the man bent down to take a picture, Sam and Molly would squat down with him, and thoroughly inspect the damaged area to see if they could provide further insight. I showed them some areas that had been damaged when we moved in (in case it somehow helped their case? We all know I don't know what I'm doing here) and when I would point out a crack in the flooring, Sam would bend over and chime in with, "Oh yeah. Four's boken. I boke da four." Woman: "Oh! Ahahaha! You boke dis four? How you do that?" Sam: "I jus did it. I boke it." Me: (all the nervous laughing you can imagine) "Sam! Quit being so silly! You didn't break the floor! It has been like that since we moved in! I swear it's been like that since we moved in. We did not break it. Promise." (daggers shoot from my eyes towards Sam)
  • The kids started back at preschool yesterday. No one wanted to go at first, but once they walked in the door, they dropped their backpacks, took off their shoes, and ran to play. What bliss! Then Steve and I went to a coffee shop for breakfast, browsed the PX in peace (no cats to herd!), and then had beef and leaf for lunch. This is the life.
  • Just wrote out a very long, ranty bullet point about how much I hate patrolling the playground and how the complete lack of parental involvement is driving me to drink. I decided to delete it because it was very ugly and whiny. But in summary: Just because your kids are older doesn't mean that you don't need to monitor them.
  • And on a related note, I am already sad about leaving Korea. We've got under a year left and it makes me teary just thinking about it. I see the asshole Americans at our apartment complex and I am sickened at the thought of being surrounded by nothing but that again. I want to stay in this kid-friendly, safe, polite, smiley society. Granted, every country has its downfalls, but I see so many more in America than I do here. I never imagined I would love this place as much as I do, but I find myself wanting to freeze time here. I love our little town, our favorite kids cafe and the owners who know my kids by name, the endless pedestrian options, the beautiful nature that surrounds us, how close we are to the big and bustling city of Seoul, the sweet old ajummas at our beef and leaf, the myriad of playgrounds, the pure love of children, this list could go on forever. Steve doesn't share my "freeze time" sentiments because the Army is tres stupido here (where is it not?!), but I have a feeling I am going to be SO VERY DEPRESSED when it comes time to move. (Prepare yourself for many a sad blog post- coming Summer 2015.)
  • Lest you think all of my English-speaking neighbors are the pits, I do have a few friends in our apartment complex. We succeeded in convincing one of the gals that she needs an inflatable bounce house in her living room so that our children don't murder our sanity come winter. AND SHE ACTUALLY BOUGHT ONE. I'm paying my admission in fresh bread.
  • Related to the above bullet, my confidence in the kitchen has grown by approximately 8,000% this past month since I have successfully made pizza dough AND sandwich bread from scratch! I am naturally scared of yeasty products, so this is A Very Big Deal for me. And after tasting the finished products, Steve has declared that he "can't go back", so I ordered a bread box off of Amazon and committed to an entire JAR of yeast instead of the tiny packets. Oh there's no turning back now!
  • The highs for next week are in the 70s. YOU GUYS. My bread-making skillz could not have come at a worse time. I refuse to online shop for jeans, so I MUST fit into the ones I have here. That, or leggings. (Let's be real, it's probably going to be mostly leggings. Because homemade bread.) 
  • After much internal debate (Casey and Kelly, you know the struggle was real), I caved and got the Fitbit. Let me tell you, that little bracelet is motivating. Does anyone else have one? Let's link up so you can taunt me to get up and move during naptime.
  • We spent this past Saturday at our favorite friend's house.
  • We had big plans to go to the zoo, but poor Luke got called into work at the last minute. So after he got back, we picked up some lunch and hit up a semi-shaded park.
  • During what should have been naptime, the kids watched a movie and played while Steve slept on the floor, I drank beer, and watched Aggie skillfully decorate her house. We had dinner (and wine!), sang happy birthday to Luke, watched the kids blow out his candles, and then bathed everyone. We drove home and chucked the kids straight into bed. Such a fun day.
  • Molly's most recent timeout turned into a nap. It's only 830am. Apparently 530 is too early to wake up for the day. Ummm..... TOLD YA SO.
  • Was alerted to this field of flowers exactly one week before Steve goes to the field for a month. Since I cannot bring any clients out here for pictures, I drug my poor offspring out and made them stand awkwardly while I snapped photos and Koreans stood behind me and stared at our ginger sideshow.










    18 comments :

    1. AH! I LOVE THAT SUNFLOWER FIELD. Yes, that had to be all said in caps. I can't believe that you are going to miss Korea. I remember the anticipation you had. So glad it worked out for the better. Also.. picturing your kids inform maintenance that they caused the issues, just made me laugh. That's the worst. But still somehow hilarious.

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    2. first off your kids are adorable!!!! and second Homemade bread is to die for!

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    3. Fresh made bread is my favorite! I used to make it all the time in our bread maker, but then I accidentally threw the paddle attachment away, so now I lug a bread machine around from post to post without the ability to use it. Perhaps I should add "reorder paddle attachment" to my to do list and get on that.

      I'm guessing that Fort Lee is in the works for you when y'all return back to the States. They have a Cookout outside the gates, and while that may not be Korea, their milkshakes will change your life. Plus, I have a friend stationed there, and they have a program at their Commissary where you can order your groceries online and then just go and pick them up. As in you don't have to park…or get your kids out of the car. And that might just be worth coming back to America.

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    4. Such cute pictures!!!!!! I think it would be awesome to live in a place that was so kid friendly. When you talk about all of the kid cafes, I'm jealous!
      Yea for preschool!!!!!! I'm sure it feels pretty amazing, huh??
      Your kids are too cute!!!!

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    5. That bread looks amazing. I'm one week bread free and it's not been fun.
      I love those pictures in the flowers, sooo pretty!

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    6. You accurately described how I felt about Okinawa and leaving it. I'm still somewhat sad. Every once in a while, I get super sad and homesick for it. I never even liked Asia before I lived there! Who knew I would fall so in love with it! Living in a foreign country makes you notice all that's wrong with ours. It's sad, but true. My husband couldn't wait to leave Okinawa, but now he sees the error of his thinking.

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    7. Your ginger babies look so cute in green! And will you really hate leaving the un-air conditioned humidity in Korea? Methinks central air is one point in the American scoreboard.

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    8. Share your bread recipe woman!!! Glad the kids are back in preschool! Send me some beef and leaf!

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    9. Korea sounds so great. Soak it up! Any chance of extending your stay?

      Also, what's your bread recipe? I recently started getting fat making homemade bread. Love it.

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    10. You always have such a great outlook!

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    11. And here I was thinking I was quite the domestic goddess for letting frozen bread dough thaw and cooking it ;-) Also, does that bread cut nicely to make real sandwiches? Because all the kinds I've tried have not quite measured up and that makes me sad.

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    12. All I got from this post is... What bread maker do you use and what's that recipe?

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    13. I feel the same thing about leaving Korea... I'm not really itching to get back yet.

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    14. So much to say like:
      - I totally don't blame you for feeling that way about coming back state side.
      - YAY preschool! Wil starts Monday. And really Molly stop looking so grown already!
      - Homemade bread is soooo yummy... I hope to bake, cook and experiment more come December/January... tiny kitchens & my cooking don't mix.
      - I want to hear more about your FitBit... if I ever get off my butt and start doing much better I might have to invest.
      - we have had those mornings multiple time outs & breaks very early in the day... I totally understand the feeling. Chocolate is my friend.

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    15. Ohhhh, I've been eyeing the fitbit. Do you like it? Does it only count calories burnt by walking/running/etc, or will it count stuff like my girly push-ups that Evelyn thinks are hilarious? Love the flower field pictures! I'm going to miss Korea when you move - and I've never even been there (other than a couple layovers).

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    16. So much to say about this post, seriously!
      1. That bread..YUM!
      2. Timeouts here are becoming an all too often occurrence. Sigh.
      3. LOVE the sunflower pictures! Adorable!
      4. I'm so glad you guys have such good friends out there! Everyone always looks so happy together!
      5. A positive to you coming stateside is you can come visit!!! :)

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    17. That bread looks delicious, pretty popular to say that everyone wants that recipe!

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    18. I love the flower fields! And that bread, TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW.

      About leaving... I had the same dread of returning to America. You know, being surrounded by AMERICANS. But it has actually been really great. People have been really warm and welcoming (maybe it's the south? our neighborhood? Montessori?), and it has been a surprisingly easy return. Hopefully the same goes for you!

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