P.N., R.N.

My mom's cousin (my first cousin, once removed!), Paulette, came to visit us for a week. She was our first out-of-town, flew-across-the-ocean guest. The plans started back in June when I went home for my cousin's wedding. Paulette spontaneously (as she does) asked if she could use her vacation time to visit us and of course I gave her a huge YES. Korea is one of the few places this seasoned traveler has not seen so it made perfect sense. She graciously offered to take the bus from the airport since its almost a 2-hour drive one way for us. With anyone else I would be worried. How would they know where to go? Will they figure out how to make an international call to reach us? Would they get on the right bus? Will they be totally overwhelmed? With Paulette, I knew I had nothing to worry about. She's smart, savvy and self-reliant. I gave her the bits of information she requested and she took care of the rest. NBD. Even Marc questioned how this was all going to work to which I simply shook my head and said, "she's got it." And she did. She had it all figured out and we met her at our local bus depot on Wednesday evening. Yippee!! A familiar face! A blood relative! Here!

Upon arriving at our house she unzipped her rolling suitcase and, like Mary Poppins, began removing an absurd amount of gifts and Trader Joe's treats for all of us, including wine! Among other things, the boys each received big pencil cases full of colored pencils, pads of paper, sharpeners, stickers, and markers. It was getting to be bedtime for the boys so I did the routine and then thoughtful Paulette took over the book reading with some Ballpark Mystery books she brought herself. Jonah went to bed that night with his pencil case. As I turned off the light he was proudly removing each item one at a time saying, "I have this. I have this. I have this..."

Playing with his new Magformers shapes.

Helping to carve the pumpkins. Jonah says, "Ew".

At Toby's soccer game.

On Friday we picked Marc up early from work and got Toby at 11:30 after school, then we headed to Seoul. The plan was to shop, eat all the foods we can't get in Pyeongtaek and get Paulette on a tour to the DMZ. That night, of all things, we ate at an Austrian restaurant very close to our hotel that a friend recommended. It was super shmekt and nice to eat something other than Korean food at a restaurant.

I'll never tell who let him taste the beer bubbles.

Ehh...maybe not.

Now we're talking. Real Austrian hot chocolate.

Saturday was the big walking/shopping day so we took her to our favorite corner of Seoul - Samcheong-dong, a cute, artsy/trendy area of restaurants and artisans. Its kind of a refuge from big, loud, crazy Seoul. Anyway, it was perfect for Paulette, who likes to find unique jewelry and bags. The only disappointment, since she kind of has a "thing" for shoes, is that the biggest size in Korea is an 8 and she's an 8.5. Boo. I already know not to bother trying to find 9.5/10 for myself. I would need to custom order shoes. I guess it would be like a woman in America trying to find size 14. Good luck.

Slightly disturbing flower pot.

Thai noodles for lunch. Just break open the box and share!

One of those candid photos that turns out kinda cool. Thanks, Marc.

We were both successful in finding a few cute things for ourselves and Christmas gifts for others. I don't go shopping very often mostly because I'm exceedingly indecisive. I can stand there comparing two items for 30 minutes, arguing with myself about which one is better. And then after I decide and purchase something, I almost always immediately regret it and feel like I should have bought the other one. Paulette can look at two things, ask a few questions, and give me good reasons why one or the other is the best decision. Its so simple! I need that single voice of reason to make the squabbling voices in my head shut up. She just knows what she's talking about. She's also dangerous to shop with. She will convince you that you need something. But I think its just fun watching other people spend a little money on themselves especially when they really like what they've found.

I needed a new bag and wanted to find a cute backpack. I like what I have now but its basically a big shoulder sack and I get so frustrated digging around for my ID, keys, a diaper, chapstick, etc. Whatever I need seems to be at the deepest depth of the bag. A backpack has compartments, feels nice and even and doesn't bang the heads of little ones next to me. We went to a few bag places and I wasn't feelin' it. Then we rounded a corner and I found Cute Backpack Store! That's what I'm calling it. It came down to two different styles of the same pattern. (A huge predicament, for me.) Paulette quickly helped me resolve the issue and I'm so pleased with it. She was right. Plus it was waaaaay cheaper than I thought it would be.

I don't always shop, but when I do, I should shop with Paulette.

This backpack screams "AMY"

After a day of casual strolling, we finally had dinner at Vatos Tacos, the legendary, hip Mexican food restaurant that every ex-pat-who's-anyone in Korea knows about. We had a 45 minute wait and it was worth every bite. OH! I have been craving these flavors and was ultimately satisfied and stuffed. 

Some kind of beer-margarita concoction. Obviously what Marc needed after a long day.

On Sunday, Paulette hopped on a tour bus to the DMZ and Marc and I took the boys to Children's Grand Park...again.We met her that afternoon and drove back home.

Have I mentioned that Paulette is a nurse? A real, live nurse. We could ask her any question and she would have an answer faster than Google. She just knows stuff. She's been doing medical research for several years and that's what takes her all around the world. She even visited me in Paris back in 1999. How cool is that? She's the perfect house guest because she gets up early to make the coffee, doesn't need to be entertained, offers to help out and is just really enjoyable and interesting to talk to. I guarantee you would love Paulette. She's fabulous.

One of the most memorable parts of her visit, for me, especially because I got sick on Sunday, was that she offered to cook. (And she's a really good cook, too.) In one day she made chili, stuffed peppers,  veggie lasagna and chicken soup, then potato pancakes the next day. Anyone who's sick needs someone to take care of them, but it was especially meaningful to me, as a mom, who usually still has to take care of everyone else even when I feel like Death. I got to rest, take naps, eat her delicious food and basically take care of ME for a whole day. I think that's why I got well so much faster than I usually do. And I've barely had to make anything since she left because we're living off the leftovers. Love it!

Weeeee! Paulette is fun!

Learning colors with the help of 99 Birds

Saying goodbye

After dropping her off at the bus depot, poor Jonah kept asking, "Where Pa'ette go?"
We loved having you, Pa'ette. Thank you for using your time and money to visit lonely, little ol' us in our corner of the earth. I wonder where we'll meet again?? XXOO