Legal

I'm now legally able to drive the car in Korea. I passed my driver's test this morning, even though some of their road signs don't make sense.

Thanks everyone for voting! Cory and I are both actually surprised at the results...Shows what we know, huh?

Vote

While you should absolutely get to the polls this year (because in case you're living under a rock we are electing the leader of this country for the next 4 years!)
More importantly, you should vote on baby names. Now, I'm not saying that the name that wins will be chosen, or that the name we pick will even necessarily be on the polls. But, they will be taken into extreme consideration and I'd like to know what the people closest to me think about my child's name.
You can vote (anonymously of course) on the right side bar underneath my blog roll.

So, get out there and vote, vote, vote! Your next grandchild/cousin/friend/godchild/niece/nephew depends on it!

Extra, extra read all about it!

National Treasure 2 = the most unrealistic movie ever.


And, the baby moved this evening! Prompted either by the horrible movie or by a big piece of yellow cake with white icing.

Balls?! Balls?! Balls?!

We went to Everland again this weekend. I'm really tired of being stuck in this house during rainy season, so we decided to take our chances and try to get out for a while. The weather was perfect for the first hour or two that we were there. We went to a different section of the park this time. (Maybe one day we'll see all of the parts!) We went to Aesop's Village. They had a lot of rides for the little ones and of course the good 'junk food'. Unfortunately Carter didn't get a churro this time. On one of the signs they have an ad for "New Yorker's delight". I didn't spend a whole lot of time in New York when I was younger, but I don't seem to remember people hungrily standing in line for fried squid. We brought Carter's 'leash' and he loved walking around! All of the Korean people (which it was pretty crowded this time) thought he was so funny. They all wanted to talk to him and touch him. Carter's not big on other people touching him. We found this play area full of little foam? balls and vacuums and ball guns and, well, I'll let you watch the video. Carter had a great time. We could have stayed there all day. What a PERFECT place for an 19 mo old. Carter was also able to ride his first amusement rides! Cory took him on both, and while he was really quiet and reserved during the ride, all he could say was MORE, MORE, MORE! After it was over.

Mail is so exciting

Mail was never exciting before we moved here. It was always junk and bills. An occasional Parents Magazine or Reader's Digest was a nice surprise but mostly, It was a pain to get the mail in Tucson and there wasn't ever anything worth going for.
But, since we're reduced to very few bills and there's nothing on TV here we look forward to the mail. Especially since I've been ordering stuff for the new baby. I got my sling today. I've been looking forward to it for 2 weeks!
What's great about it? I can hold a toddler (up to 35 lbs - and at this rate Carter will be 15 before he hits that) or a newborn! Obviously the only downside is that I can only carry one at a time. Carter can be carried on my hip or on my back. The new baby can be held in traditional sling style or once it can hold its head up, sitting up against my tummy.
Carter wasn't thrilled about it when I put him in. He was too busy telling me he wanted to brush his teeth (since we took pictures in the bathroom and he could see his toothbrush).
One thing I'm looking forward to is being able to carry Carter around those shops outside of the gate that don't have room for strollers and require you to climb very steep stairs to get to the 'back room'. (Which - is all of them)
Also, when taking Bailey out I have to just park Carter in the stroller on the sidewalk and let Bailey lead me around the grass until she finds 'that special place'. She wont poop next to the stroller. We'll see how taking the dog out tonight goes. For now, I'll leave you with pictures of my new favorite thing!

I'm officially disgusting

Today I ate vienna sausages and tuna fish mixed together on saltine crackers.

While it was exactly what I wanted while I was eating it, it makes me throw up in my mouth a little to think about it now.

Yellow+White=Light yellow

This made me giggle, go check it out.

stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

And I won't mention any names...but you know who you are. Go visit

stuffyellowpeoplelike.com too.

I think I want one...one day

Since Carter, I've only been able to imagine myself with boys. From the day he was born I began seeing mud and dirt and bugs and finding cooked critters in the dryer that had been hiding in little pockets. I think about if I should ever let my boys grow their hair long or how the whole girlfriend thing is going to go. I think about how Cory will take them camping and fishing and to see scary movies. And, I've been okay with all of that...because it's what's always been in my head. And even when I think about having a girl, I imagine her to act and look just like Carter, just with pigtails.
But, for some reason lately I've decided that I need at least one girl. There are some things that only a mother and daughter can share. I want to put her hair in bows and take her to ballet class. I want to share the things I loved as a little girl with her. I want us to get our nails done and I want her to call me every 3 hours when she's a mom, lost in the 'fog' of new motherhood. I want to be the 'mother of the bride', not always the 'mother in law' to all duaghters I may gain.
While I think this one's another boy (or well- I'll be really surprised if it's a girl) I'm pretty sure I'd like to have a girl, one day.
Until that happens though, here's the commercial that makes me laugh out loud (out of fear) when I envision myself with all boys.

..and they want to give me MORE hormones?

Dr. Kim called the other day. Well, it was more like he was yelling over the phone. Not sure why he was yelling, maybe he was on a cell phone and he has the same disease I have "iyellwhenitalkonacellphonebecauseithinkpeoplecanthearme" disease. He had decided that they were going to put me on progesterone. Progesterone has been shown to reduce the chance of pre-term birth and miscarriage for certain women. Since we're not completely sure which started first,'actual' contractions or the water breaking, it may or may not work. Regardless, it shouldn't hurt, and it's made me feel a little better about the pre-term thing. I won't go into details about how this medicine is administered unless you you would like to call me and then proceed to throw up. But, I have to take it until the day I deliver...which is kind of a PIA. But, the ease on my mind is definitely worth it.

Just can't imagine being more hormonal than I already am. So, when y'all are praying for me and baby include the huz in there occasionally...he's gonna need it.

Barney to the rescue

Last week our DVD player died, WITH BARNEY IN IT! The apocalypse almost happened and you guys didn't even know it.
It wasn't able to be saved so I had to order a barney DVD from amazon.com that same night. Luckily today we were pleasantly surprised when it arrived in our mailbox.
I'm pretty sure Carter had tears of joy in his eyes when I put it in just a few minutes ago.

Only a parent's love

After I had Carter I found myself feeling so embarrassed and guilty about the way I had treated my parents, especially in my teenage years. I yelled at them, I lied to them, I even told them I hated them. I couldn't understand why I had the rules I did and why 'everyone else got to do it'. I didn't understand why my parents were nervous to send me to Los Angeles for 2 weeks when I was 17. I couldn't understand why they didn't just trust me. (And believe me, they were right most of the time NOT to!) But for some reason I still expected them to? Probably because I thought I was being so sly, that there was no way they actually knew what I was up to. Ha!
Even though sometimes I'm ready to sell Carter to the gypsies, I can't resist that cute face and that innocent smile. I kiss him probably 100 times a day and tell him I love him when he's throwing a fit. I'm scared to death that one day he's going to make his own choices, he's going to grow up and not listen. He may even partake in underage drinking and sneak around with girls I don't think are 'appropriate'.
When I think about all of these things I feel so helpless! All I can do is try my hardest to raise him with morals, and a love for God and self respect. But sometimes, that's not always good enough. Sometimes as a parent our best isn't good enough!
We have to realize that they turn into separate human beings! With their own opinions! And sometimes we're not the biggest influence in their lives! And thinking about that almost makes me sick.
And it's utterly amazing that we can't understand that fear, and that love our parents have for us. We can't understand that they really do want to make our lives easier than theirs were. We can't understand how HARD it is to raise kids, we can't understand how trying we can be as kids and teenagers! We just can't grasp it until we're parents ourselves.
So Mama and Daddy: I love you and thank you for wiping my butt, and kissing my scraped knees, and staying up for days at a time when I was sick. Thank you for loving me and giving me rules, and trying your hardest to make me understand that you really loved me and everything you did was because you loved me.
And Carter: I know it'll be a long time before you understand, but I love you.

My mom would have been embarrassed

I made chicken and dumplings tonight. I don't have 'quite' the right pan for it, but I've made it several times in a deep boiler that we have. I usually just have 2 layers of dumplings on top and the cover cooks them through. While my mom was visiting once in Tucson she made the dumplings in a large shallow pan. Since we were having company over I wanted to make more dumplings, so I tried to cook them in the shallow pan I saw my mom make them in. Long story short, somehow I ended up using the whole box of chicken broth and the dumplings and chicken still burned to the bottom of the pan. There was no "yummy dumpling goo" or tender chicken. Just, some mushy breaded, burned mess.

Luckily my husband (and guest) were gracious enough to have seconds....
As for me, I ate 3 or 4 bites and pitched the rest.

I just kept thinking in my head, "I'm so glad my mom's not here to see this debacle, she'd be so embarrassed."

I always wanted a sauna

I couldn't figure out why that as soon as you walk outside here, you started sweating and couldn't stop until you stood in front of the freezer for 20 minutes. And then really, that just froze the sweat to your body. It's not terribly sunny here. But then I remembered, I'm just used to Tucson hot. It's hot because the sun shines for about 2 hours a day, and then it rains and the clouds don't ever go away. It's virtually a sauna. The heat comes, we add some moisture and the clouds keep us sweating all day long. I think we're going to invest in a dehumidifier soon.

My Place in this World

Sometimes I sing that Michael W. Smith song "My Place in this World" in my head, wondering if I'll ever find mine.
I'm not saying I don't have a wonderful life. I've produced 1 1/2 beautiful children, I have a fantastic husband, I have everything I need to live not only a livable life, but a comfortable one. I'm extremely lucky.
Sometimes though, I feel like I'm so caught up in this Air Force wife and motherhood role that I don't know who I am. I'm [insert call sign here]'s wife, I'm Carter's mother, I'm "that little pregnant blond over there". And while I'm thrilled to be blessed with a wonderful family so young I think that it's hard to unravel your own identity while you're following someone else's.
I think it's hard for any military wife or stay at home mom to keep their identity. It's something I'm pretty sure you have to work at. But, what else do I have that distinguishes me? I don't even have a college degree. I can't even be labeled as a teacher, or a nurse, or an engineer, or a clown for that matter. Sometimes it's really hard for me to be a part of conversations in 'the bar' about work or what you did before you had kids. I was a highschooler, a college student for one year and then a year later I was a wife. Which is great. I love being a wife, but I don't feel like that's my identity.
I want to be something that only I can be. I want to have my own 'specialty'. Everyone that I'm friends with is 'a wife' over 50% of my friends are 'a mom', but then they have their own identifier.
I always thought it was so neat how people from both sides of the family would/could call my mom at all hours of the day (and night) to ask for medical advice. One day I want people to call me for advice, not just give it, for whatever I decide to do. I want people to think that I know what I'm doing for once that I didn't just learn everything I know from trial and error. I want people to know I'm smart too, and that I can contribute great things to this world (other than children). I think it's easy for people to unknowingly talk down to me since I'm the youngest on mine and Cory's side of the family. I know I'm the youngest, but that doesn't mean that I don't know anything.

Second Yongsan visit = success

I went to the Dr. today. I saw a Korean doctor at the army hospital who spoke fairly good english. Enough to get all the important items across, but it's not the same weighing choices and making pro-con lists with someone who doesn't speak your language. I think we got everything across to each other that we needed to though. So, the plan is...we'll find out the sex on the 6th (that'll also be my next appointment) and we'll take things as they come. I'll continue to be seen at Yongsan since I am now officially 'high risk' or in Dr. Kim's words, "We want to keep good watch on you."
It looks like I will more than likely end up with a repeat c-section since he was trying to explain that a VBAC can be very traumatic for a preemie and if I go to 39 weeks they'll do a section anyway. So, If I can go into labor between 36-39 weeks then I could attempt one. But other than that, it's one more of the magician-saws-a-lady-in-half-routine. I'm hoping I'll at least get to meet the doctor that will be delivering me (since it all depends on who's delivering that day). I just don't think I will ever be able to silently listen to an American woman explain about her lack of choices and sub-par prenatal care again without poking her in the eye with my finger.
Oh yes it's hard when your doctor won't sit down and answer your questions as slowly and lingeringly as you'd like but at least he speaks english. Yes and I know it's hard when you've made a birth plan and you don't get to follow it. I'm sure if I showed up in that place with a birth plan I'd be the laughing stock of the peninsula. It's all about saving life, limb and sight here and unless any of those things are in danger they'll do what they please when they please and how they please or you won't get medical care at all. You actually get to pick your doctor, I basically get to hope there's one working when I got into labor. You pick the hospital (you know the one with a level 4 NICU and the best of the country's neonatal and OB team). There's not even military neonatologists on this peninsula and if -God forbid- my baby needs one he's shipped to a nearby town and Korean hospital in Suwon.
Granted, babies are born in this country everyday and are fine. I just want Americans to realize how lucky (and a lot of times very ungrateful) we are for the choices we can make.

***I need to make a correction, I believe that there is one place in the US that having a baby can be equivalently ridiculous: Alaska. Per my very good friend Erin's labor/delivery experience there. So unless you're having a baby at a military hospital OCOCNUS then keep your trap shut, I don't want to hear any bitchin'.

Everland

The huz was home all weekend (including Monday) and we were able to enjoy some quality fam time together without having to worry about traveling too much. Our car was ready to be picked up on Friday so we traveled to Yongsan and picked it up and then drove home. On the way we stopped by Everland. I'd say it's in between SixFlags and Disney Land, closer to the Disney Land side. We went ahead and bought season passes (the kids are free!) so we can go anytime we want. A lot of families go in the evening even after work to watch the fireworks at night. We could barely get in the gate before Carter knew he had arrived at the place of his dreams. He squealed with delight and ran from fountain to fountain, touched and hugged all the character statues, and smelled all of the flowers he could reach.



To finally get into the park, we had to convince him to get into the stroller. The perfect accomplice: a 3 ft. long churro



We only made it into the 'zoo' section and had a blast. They had a room full of birds that flew around and ate out of your hand, a room full of baby chicks you could hold, baby bears, baby tigers you could pet and any other animal you could think of. It was kind of strange that the animals weren't in their 'natural habitat - far away from humans, etc.'. They were all 'on display' mostly and there for our enjoyment. I know not as great for the animals, but what's neat is that the Korean kids that are able to touch and hold these animals are so much kinder and polite to these animals than any US kid would be. I kept thinking that there's no way we could have animals this close to Americans, we would feed them trash, throw stuff at them, kids would step on them, etc. That wasn't the case here.




Not to mention I learned that fish speak Korean. No wonder we can't understand them.

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.

Today, in a nutshell, was just one big headache. I was supposed to have my OB appointment at Yongsan today, but guess what? We spent the 12,500 won and took the hour and ten minute bus ride and then a 3,000 won taxi ride to the hospital. We navigated to horribly laid out building and found out...THEY WERE CLOSED FOR TRAINING! I've been looking forward to this appointment so these doctors can decide my fate of childbearing, we drug a VERY CRANKY, IRRITABLE, TEETHING, CRYING BABY on a bus and they were closed. The RN who handles the logistics of the OB clinic here told me when my appt. was and...it was wrong. Needless to say, the huz and I were a little more than frustrated. We got ice cream at the bus station and took the next one back. Carter had been doing really well without a binky during the day, but today was one of those days where you've gotta know when to give in.

Hateful

Let me start off by saying I'm an extremely proud American. I am grateful that I can sit here and type whatever I please without fear of censorship. I am grateful for our democratic processes that allow our nation to change and adapt. Most of all, I am grateful for the people who have given their lives to keep those democratic processes available to me and you. People gave their lives so that Americans can burn their own flag to the ground. Men gave their lives so that people could write and say hateful things about them posthumously. And you know what? Those men who died (as well as their families) aren't sorry for their sacrifice, even if hateful people choose to do hateful things with their liberties.
This is one reason I'm so angry and scared for this country when Gen. Clark makes comments like he did about John McCain. Who is he to judge the torture and sacrifices that John McCain went through for 5 years. And who THE HELL is Jane Fonda to 'out' those prisoners from the 'Hanoi Hilton'. I'm a peaceful person who avoids confrontation, but I've dreamt of shooting her between the eyes. I hope she dies knowing she has blood on her hands.
But I digress - Gen. Clark you're right when you say John McCain is "untested and untried". You're right that John McCain doesn't "understand risk" He can't "gauge opponents" or be "held accountable".
While I'm not saying that Gen. Clark has to agree with McCain's views (each to their own), to say something so IGNORANT doesn't reflect well on you.

**editor's note, my husband informed me that my SARCASM about Gen Clark being right wasn't coming across. Just to clarify I do not agree with his statements.

Busy

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. Our life could not be more hectic. I have tons to write about, but it will have to wait until things slow down after this weekend. Check back soon my devoted fans!

In the meantime here is an awesome video I saw on MetroDad. It made me laugh and cry. It reminds me why this world is so great. It makes me wonder why we can't just all do this and be one big happy world.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.