Some good news...

In addition to a move followed immediately by a deployment, we've also been waiting on the release of a promotion board. It was delayed over and over. Originally, it was to be released in late December. Then, it was going to be January. It was pushed back to just before Sam was to leave. Then it was delayed again (and again). Finally, it was released today. I'm happy (and relieved) to say that Sam was selected for promotion. I wish I could say, "Show me the money." But chances are that he won't actually be promoted until next year after he returns home. But then we'll have 2 things to looks forward to, won't we?


Congratulations to everyone who was selected!

So I'm not a gardener....

Today a neighbor asked me if I knew anything about jasmine. It took me a moment before I realized she was asking about the plant, not the Disney princess. This is just one of the perils of having princess-crazed little girls. Another is a berry pink room...

Squirrelly

You've just got to love what comes out of a 2-year-old's mouth, usually in public and embarrassing ways. Take today for example, L'il Sis and I are standing at the library counter, sending a fax. Other than the librarian and one other mom and little one, everyone else in sight is a young male Marine. So what does my little angel do? She keeps poking my belly fat, finally asking, "What's that?" Before I can answer, she decides that's really not humiliating enough, so she points to one side of my chest and asks (loudly, is there any other way?), "What are those?"

She's just very tall...

L'il sis and I went to the library for the first time this morning. The librarian told us that we could just make the tail end of the storytime for her age group. Well, no. The storytime that was wrapping up was for 4-6 year olds. So, clearly, this woman assumed L'il Sis was FOUR. Yes, she's tall. And she has long hair. But she is TWO, I tell you. Okay, two and three-quarters, but still technically two. Nowhere near four.

Happy Valentine's Day

These came this afternoon. What a nice surprise, especially the cards for each of us. I put the girls' roses in the vase Big Sis made during a pottery field trip in Korea.










I just realized that the last post was dated Feb. 14. I guess something on my computer is still on Korean time. That was yesterday (the 13th). Today is the first full day of married single parenthood. Happy Valentine's Day to me!






L'il Sis crawled into bed with me last night, but (this is the important bit) let me sleep. Big Sis got off to school this morning with only a minimum of whining (much less than usual).



So far, so good. Yes, I know it's early days, but I need all the optimism I can get right now.

Hopefully, NOT a sign of things to come...

Today was the day. Sam left for his year-long deployment today. And I began my year-long journey as a single parent. I almost titled this entry, "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride..." but, hopefully, that won't be (too) true.

Big Sis came home from school this afternoon and, after a snack and checking to be sure all homework was done, I convinced the girls to go outside for a bit. That was a mistake. Shortly after arriving at the playground, the skies opened up and poured buckets of rain on us. There were no warning sprinkles. One minute it was overcast but pleasant, the next minute we found ourselves in a deluge. I grabbed L'il Sis, threw her into the wagon, and ran for home while yelling at Big Sis to run home. Usually, when L'il Sis sees rain she sings, "It's raining/ it's pouring/ the old man is snoring/ bumped his head/ and didn't get up 'til morning!" Today, she screamed because she was getting wet (she doesn't enjoy getting her face wet in the bath and this was like a power shower!). By the time we made it to the garage, we were all soaked. So, plan B, everyone was bathed and dressed in PJ's a short time later. And I decided I could hobble something together for dinner instead of going out.






Well, let's hope we have nowhere to go but up from here.

Readjustments

• After living overseas for 2 years, there are a few things that take a little getting used to upon returning to the States. For example, we lived in a country roughly the size of Indiana and, frankly, didn't drive all that much with all the public transport available. So I'm not sure if it's me or the kids having more difficulty in adjusting to how long we are in the car here, whether it's running errands around town or driving across the state(s) to see relatives. And speaking of driving, I'd forgotten just how HUGE those trucks on the interstate are. They have trucks in Korea, but they're not THAT big. And I miss the rest areas on Korean highways. Not only were they a place to stop for a bathroom break, but they usually had a convenience store, food court, food stalls, restaurant, and information center (with a person in it). Often, there would be a playground as well. Plus, there seemed to be one of these rest areas about every 15 or 20 miles.
• Another silly thing to get used to is pennies. Seriously, the only place I ever saw pennies was a the military post office in Korea. Everywhere else on the base, we rounded up or down. So when my daughter's first grade teacher suggested parents start using pennies to practice counting, etc., I seriously wondered where I was supposed to get all these pennies. Of course, there's something to be said for only having to keep track of one type of currency.
• A nice thing to get used to is not having to account for a 13-15 hour time difference when calling friends and family. Trying to remember what time it was (and what day) where you were calling was such a pain that my husband didn't bother with it. He just asked me.
  
• I can buy something in a shop here AND return it if I need to. I couldn't do that in the markets in Korea. Returns were possible in department stores, but I just didn't have the language skills or confidence to manage it. This is especially important when trying to buy clothes for the oldest since she is both hard to fit and hard to please (and hard of head).
  
• Commercials have been another adjustment. And one the kids have embraced a little too much. It's also been strange to have so many radio choices. In Korea, unless I wanted to listen to Korean (usually I only found talking and very little music), my choices were limited to AFN on FM or AM. I still find myself switching between AM and FM instead of scanning through the FM stations while in the car. The first time I drove for any length of time, I found myself listening to a station I didn't care for mile after mile until I finally remembered that there were CHOICES out there and I didn't have to listen to that station!
  
• It's the little things.

Hawaii in December

As promised, here are a few pictures from our stop in Hawaii on our way back to the mainland after a 2 year absence.

We attended a luau at our hotel one evening. L'il Sis enjoyed the evening more than Big Sis, who wouldn't even cooperate with having her photo taken. The MC was Glenn Medeiros. Does anyone remember him? (hint: think '80's pop) Apparently, he is from Hawaii and is now teaching elementary school in addition to MC'ing luaus.

The USS Arizona Memorial

These are some of the "scenic" pictures I took.

This was the view from our hotel balcony, looking out over Waikiki Beach.

Timeline of an international move

For those of you curious about what an international move (with kids!) over the Christmas holiday might be like, here's our move:

• October 17: Ship the car (note to other military movers: This was WAY too early!)
• November 7: Our Household Goods shipment is packed and loaded into large wooden crates. This is our "big" shipment and probably goes by ship, making it the slow shipment. The fact that it only took them one day to pack and load should tell you that we didn't have much to pack. In fact, the inspector looked around and shook her head and saying, "Not much, not much."
• December 5: Our "express shipment" or "unaccompanied baggage" is packed and taken away. This is the small shipment of "essentials" that we want to have right away on the other end. We had some kitchen items, linens and our computer in this shipment. This is also the day we moved out of our home in Korea and moved into a hotel, marking this as the starting point for living out of suitcases. In the time between moving into the hotel and flying off the Korean peninsula, we stay busy saying good-bye to good friends made during our time in South Korea.
• December 10: This is the big day! We fly from Seoul to Honolulu. That's right, Hawaii! I'll post pictures later. Now, don't think about this next part too much as it will give you a headache. We leave Korea Sunday evening and arrive in Hawaii about 8 hours later on Sunday morning. Crossing the international date line can really mess with you! We are met at the airport by my mother and stepfather (they come armed with leis for the whole family). They came to Hawaii a few days before and stayed to spend time with us (okay, the girls).
• December 15: We fly to Raleigh, North Carolina, where we are picked up at the airport by my very pregnant sister and her toddler (who we hadn't met before as she was pregnant with him when we moved to Korea).
• December 18: There is a revolving door at my sister's house today. Sam's parents drove down the day before and are ready to take the girls with them this morning. Sam and I rent a car to go in the opposite direction, to Jacksonville, in order to find a place to live, among other necessary errands. That same day, after we leave, my mother arrives to help my sister. The baby is born a few days later.
• December 18 - December 21: We stay with a friend while picking up a new car, meeting with a realtor, looking at houses, buying a cell phone, etc. We return to my sister's on the 21st to visit her and the baby in the hospital.
• December 22: We are back on the road. This time, we are headed to Sam's parents and our girls. That evening, our oldest, Big Sis becomes ill with a stomach virus. She has little more than saltines, water and Sprite for the next 2 days. But no one else is sick. Yet.
• December 25: Merry Christmas! Big Sis is feeling better. But when she sees the candy in her stocking, she puts it aside, shaking her head and saying, "I'm not eating that! I got sick from sugar last time!" (Not to worry, she got over that a few days later.)
• December 27: We rent another car. This time Sam drives across North Carolina then to Portsmouth, Virginia, to pick up the car we shipped from Korea. The next day, he drives back across Virginia. Meanwhile, at his parents' house, his brother comes down with Big Sis's bug. Then, I come down with it. Fun.
• December 30: We leave Virginia and return to my sister's house in North Carolina to celebrate Christmas with her family and my mom.
• January 2: We return to Jacksonville, again staying with our friend, but this time we have the girls with us. What a great friend!
• January 3 & 4: We sign the lease for base housing and get the keys to our new home. We've decided to paint 2 of the rooms, so we head to the home improvement store to get what we'll need. I get Big Sis registered at her new school. This turns out to be more complicated than expected and requires 3 trips.
• January 5: Sam's mother arrived the night before to watch the girls while we paint and otherwise get the house ready for move-in. We get the girls' room painted today and paint the living room the next day.
• January 8: L'il Sis was taken to my sister's yesterday. Today, Big Sis starts school, Sam starts work, and I get the house ready for the movers to arrive the next 2 days. We are still staying with our friend. We still need to buy a bed for L'il Sis. (She went to Korea while in a crib and transitioned to a twin bed while we were there, but it wasn't our furniture.)
• January 9: Two shipments are delivered today. The first is our express shipment from Korea. Then, our storage shipment arrives. This is all the stuff we put into storage over 2 years ago before moving to Korea. Wow, why do we have some of this stuff? Big Sis begins taking the bus after school to our new neighborhood.
• January 10: Our household goods shipment from Korea arrives. All of our "stuff" is here. Now, we just need to unpack, hang pictures, and on and on.
• January 11: L'il Sis's bed is delivered.
• January 12: After Big Sis gets out of school, she and I drive to my sister's to spend the night and return with L'il Sis the next day. We think this is Grandma's last night in NC. Sam moves into the house while we are gone.
• January 13: This is our first night in our new house as a family. This is the first night since Dec. 5 that we are not living out of suitcases. There are still boxes everywhere and lots of work to be done. But, at least, we are in our own space.

Coming soon....

We have arrived in North Carolina and are still getting unpacked and settled in. New entries will be coming... eventually!

New name?

We'll no longer be on the ROK soon. Which makes this blog's name a bit obsolete. So, any and all suggestions are welcome. Either email me or leave a suggestion in the comments.

On the road again...

How time flies! It's almost time for us to move from Seoul, South Korea to the East Coast of the U.S. Yes, that would be on the other side of the planet for you geography buffs. And, lucky us, we get to deal with the Holiday madness AND look for a new home all at the same time! Since we are moving into a hotel next week and flying shortly after that, I'm making my list now of the things we will and will not miss about being on the ROK.

We won't miss:

• traffic and insane drivers who think traffic laws are just a suggestion to be ignored (seeing 5 lanes of traffic trying to fit in one painted lane is a prime example);
• the itty, bitty, teeny, weeny apartment we had in Daejeon -- I think it was roughly 800 square feet, including the enclosed balconies, and only boasted a kitchenette to cook in ;
• soju, a potent rice liquor, often featured at whay-shiks (a male-bonding extravaganza that Sam says he won't miss either);
• monsoons, enough said;
• smog, so bad you can't see the hills and mountains that completely surround Seoul; and
• yellow dust, courtesy of China, that infiltrates everything every Spring (and Fall this year);
• being 13-14 hours ahead of East Coast time (14-15 hours of Central) and trying to remember what time and day it is back home before calling.

We WILL miss:

• Ms. Cho, our aujuma, who cleaned our house and helped out with the kids once a week;
• Mr. Alex, the care giver at the daycare who usually watched L'il Sis on the occasions that she went;
• AFN "commercials" -- they were mini-lessons on history, geography, military life, etc. While some could be a bit on the corny side, my kids don't really ask for much because they haven't been exposed to commercials for toys, etc.;
• the ease of public transportation: cabs, buses, subways, even "bullet"-type trains for outside the city;
• maintenance workers (and movers, etc.) who actually show up when they say they will;
• really cheap entry fees to museums, palaces, and other attractions;
• Korean foods such as bibimbap that will be hard to find in the States (Sam will also miss speaking Korean on an almost daily basis); and
• all the wonderful U.S. and R.O.K. friends we've made in our two years here.

Happy Birthday, Marines!

We celebrated the 231st Marine Corps Birthday at the Seoul Hyatt this year. Included among the guests were the current Republic of Korea (ROK) Marine Commandant and 9 former ROK Marine Commandants. Our guest speaker was GEN B.B. Bell, the U.S. Army general who commands the American military forces, the U.N. forces, and the combined U.S.-ROK forces here in South Korea.


Although the U.S. Marines here are a small group, the Birthday Ball was a big event and the Marines did a great job organizing and hosting the Ball. We filled the ballroom at the Hyatt and had a great time. Unfortunately, the Marine in charge of the event placed a bottle of soju at each table. His wife (a good friend of mine) thought it would be a good idea, or at least very funny, to have her friends each do at least one shot of the stuff. It is horrible. A bit like trying to drink rubbing alcohol. I don't know how Stretch stood it last year. Despite that experience, we really had a great evening with our friends.


Usually, I get one token slow dance a year at the Birthday Ball. This year, Stretch actually danced quite a bit with me, even to faster music. And while my shoes started off comfortable enough, I eventually had to kick them off, along with many of the ladies on the dance floor. Then, after the taxi dropped us off outside the base, we had to walk about half to three-quarters of a mile to get home. Yes, in those shoes! Plus, I was trying to keep up with Stretch. You may have noticed in the picture that his legs are a little longer than mine (by about a mile!) He was sweet and tried to carry me part of the way, but that didn't really work.


All in all, it was a memorable Birthday Ball made more so by the company of good friends. We will definitely miss our many wonderful friends here when we leave the peninsula next month.

*Despite the picture, but I'm not really that short. I'm 5'4" but Stretch is 6'8".

Trick or Treat!

Halloween came early for us on Yongsan. Official Trick-or-Treating hours were on Saturday night from 6:00 to 8:30. We ran out of candy before 7:30. This year, Big Sis decided she didn't want to go trick-or-treating, so she handed out the treats. Apparently, the candy wasn't worth having to dress up. Big Sis explained to one mom who came by with her little ones that she already had enough candy. L'il Sis, on the other hand, had a blast. She had no qualms about going up to strangers, saying, "Trick or Treat!" and holding out her bucket. Sam said even the scary masks some kids had on didn't bother her once he told her they were okay. Once her bucket got too heavy for her, we cut her off. But L'il Sis still wanted to walk around the neighborhood and see everything.

C'mon, Dad! There's candy out there waiting for me!

Big Sis decided she liked handing out the candy better than getting the candy. Probably because she could just toss things into bags without actually saying anything.

Loose teeth and mummies

Big Sis finally has some loose teeth. Okay, one wiggly tooth and one sort-of-wannabe-wiggly tooth. But they both start better start doing some serious wiggling soon as the adult teeth have already pushed through her gums behind the baby teeth and are anxious for their debut. Silly me, I thought this was something to be concerned about and rushed her to the Pediatric Dental Clinic on Wednesday morning before school. Yes, we were late for school that morning, but I thought this was more important. There I was told it was perfectly normal and nothing to be worried about. Of course, I started asking questions regarding at what point we should be worried. Anyway, x-rays were taken, and I was told to have her wiggle the teeth to encourage them to come out at home. Otherwise, we're to come back in a couple of weeks. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.


Now for the "mummies" portion of this entry. We found Big Sis asleep in her bed tonight with her top sheet pulled off the bed and wrapped tightly around her, kind of like a mummy. Or a baby burrito. You know, when babies are newborns and you wrap them in receiving blankets like burritos so they feel secure. What I can't figure out is how she managed to get the sheet wrapped so tightly around her 3 or 4 times. That had to take talent!

Happy Birthday, Big Sis!

Big Sis's birthday fell on Chusok this year. Chusok is the biggest holiday of the year here in South Korea. It's a harvest celebration, as well as a time to reconnect with family and pay tribute to ancestors. Most Americans compare it to our Thanksgiving, but its also very different. At any rate, between Friday being a day off for Chusok and Monday being an American holiday (Columbus Day), we decided to hold Big Sis's party next week. Big Sis decided her actual birthday would be for our family "fiesta." Have I mentioned she's in a Spanish "immersion" first grade and receives Spanish instruction the last half-hour of every school day? Yes, I know, how ironic: We live in Korea but our child is being taught Spanish. But back to the birthday...

So we had a small cake and Big Sis opened gifts from family. She had a pretty good day and was very gracious, sharing all her new toys with her sister. Then, Big Sis spent the rest of the 4-day weekend telling us at every opportunity, "I'm six, you know," or "Well, I'm six."

So what's in your purse?

My friend shannon challenged me to do this. I'm sure it's meant to be revealing about your personality, but here goes anyway! What is in my purse...

First, I switch between this black "Prada"-esque bag that I won during the raffle at an Armed Forces Spouse Club luncheon last year and an earth-toned striped "Kate Spade"-esque bag that is not quite as tall. And sometimes not everything makes the shuffle! Anyway, when I inventoried the contents this morning (Friday), I realized not everything was present to be accounted for. So I've put in ( ) the items that can often be found in my bag that were mysteriously missing this morning.

Compartment 1:

• 1 small bottle of ReNu rewetting drops
• 1 Clinique Long Last Soft Shine Lipstick in Blushing Nude [I don't even know why that is in there since I rarely wear lipstick anyway. It probably got left behind from last Sunday!]
• Thursday's (yesterday's) "to do" list
• Tuesday's "to do" list [don't ask about Wednesday -- I don't know]
• 1 receipt proving I paid the cable bill for both Sept. and Oct. (it saves me a trip next month)
• 1 size 4 Huggies diaper
• (travel-size container of Huggies wipes)
• (sippy cup)
• (bottled water)

Surprisingly, there was nothing in the zippered middle compartment.
Compartment 2:

• wallet
• checkbook
• pen
• (cell phone)
• (sunglasses)

I think this just proves that I'm nowhere near as high-maintenance as my husband sometimes thinks I am.

So, what's in your purse?

(I'm tagging Amy of Savage Stories, as a working mother of twins, she's got to have way more interesting stuff in her bag than I do!)

Red alert: "Fuffy" withdrawal

In an effort to curb L'il Sis's pacifier addiction (she calls it her "fuffy"), Sam snipped the tips off all her "fuffies" on Sunday night. She did okay Sunday night, but then it got ugly. On Monday, she took only a 45-minute nap. Then, after she went to bed that night, she woke up around 10:30 p.m. and was up for most of the night. At first, she was inconsolable. Since I found her on the floor next to her bed, I thought she'd fallen out of bed at first even though I didn't hear that "thump." But now, I'm beginning to think she was just hacked off about her pacifiers being "broken." Of course, the real question is "Why, oh, why did we have to mess with the pacifiers Sunday night when there is a perfectly good 4- day weekend in just a few weeks?"

make-up artist

You can get the idea although this picture isn't that great -- it doesn't really show the full impact of what L'il Sis did to herself. She kept spinning away every time Sam tried to get a picture. Imagine! A 2-year old who didn't want to cooperate.





L'il Sis decided she needed a bit of color last weekend. Somehow, she found some crayons after escaping from her room in the early hours of Saturday morning. We found her like this -- the area around her mouth covered in purple crayon. She was also grinning away and laughing. Fortunately, she didn't eat the crayons -- she just used them as lipstick. So in addition to scribbling on the walls and doors any time she finds a pencil (muralist), she's now adding make-up artist to her coloring resume.

Butterflies and more butterflies

Big Sis has been on a butterfly- catching kick lately. She could spend hours at it. Sadly for her, she doesn't have a butterfly net and had to make do with a net that came with some Sassy bath toys. I was amazed at how many butterflies were placed in captivity by that little net. Big Sis waited for the butterflies to land on the ground before pouncing. She began by putting them in a jelly jar with holes poked in the lid but that was too small, apparently. She moved on to the plastic container you see in these pictures that Sam slashed in many places to allow air flow. The new hobby came in handy when Big Sis had an assignment to catch an insect and bring it to school to share.
L'il Sis has only been mildly interested in what Big Sis is doing. The running about is what she enjoyed. Although, she did get jealous when Big Sis was hunkered down showing a butterfly to a neighboring 3 year old girl. She ran across the play area to where Big Sis and the other little girl were and knocked the poor girl over. I made her say she was sorry.