My Parents in Korea

On Christmas Day my parents flew across the Pacific to visit us here in lil' ol' Pyeongtaek, S.K. and Marc drove up to Incheon to retrieve them. Actual Christmas Day was just another day for us since we wanted to wait to all be together for the gift-opening explosion. Let me tell you, this was a long day with the boys anticipating their arrival. They've only asked me about it every day for the last three months. The reception was just as I expected - giggles, squealing, Toby talking a mile-a-minute, and lots of hugging and kissing.

Reunited!

Inspecting the robot monster pajamas before bed.

The next day we hung out, let the folks rest, did some baking, last minute wrapping and this stuff...

Cozy reading with Nonny

This is always a big favorite. Papa Bob lays down, then one of the boys lays on top of him and they pretend to sleep. (Muther is napping on the couch)

This is the big favorite with Nonny - cozy, cocoa-sipping under a blanket.

Friday was our Christmas morning! We managed to sleep in to a decent hour then came downstairs to see what Santa brought. Toby kept asking if Santa comes to Korea and how he would get in since we don't have a chimney. I told him of course he does and that I'd leave the back door cracked, which I did. Christmas was a wild success! The boys got so many nice things that they really love and are still playing with two whole weeks later. Can you believe it?

We even had a blazing fire cracklin' on the TV

"This one spells T-O-B-Y!"

Trying on his toe socks

Matching Spider Man jammies. What could be more thrilling?!

Toby has a Buzz Lightyear and Jonah got Woody.

We spent the day playing with the new toys and cooking. That evening our sweet neighbors came over for a belated Christmas Dinner.

BRAG ALERT! I just have to say that my parents are seriously geniuses with the boys. As soon as they get together, my parents transform into child-whisperers and completely take over the entertainment, well-being, feeding and sleeping of the boys. I wouldn't have to lift a finger or ever get out of bed if I didn't want to. My Dad is up at the crack of dawn every day to receive any child that decides to get up early and trot downstairs. The very next day after they arrived my mom started potty training Jonah.** Oh, believe me, I tried! We have read books, tried on undies, discussed the benefits of dryness, sat on the pot and observed the older brother for months, all to no avail. Then my mom swoops in one day, tells him the plan and he just does it. I'm not kidding, the child was trained in less than 24 hours for both #1 AND #2. Night time training has had a few set backs but full daytime training and only one diaper per 24 hours is more than I ever expected. In the first two weeks he's only had two accidents, but both were totally understandable and my fault for not checking in with him soon enough. Who's a big boy wearing underpants??

THIS KID!

I don't know if it was the first or second full day they were here, but my mom took both boys upstairs and somehow got both of them to sleep in the same bed within 5 minutes. When I've tried that, it's nothing but poking, yelling, fighting and laughing and no sleeping. She said she just touched their faces and they went out like lights. WHAT??? The only explanation is Nonny Magic.

Papa Bob also possesses magical powers. He gets down on the floor, lets the boys climb all over him, and shows them fascinating YouTube videos of space shuttles taking off and baby elephants splashing in the water. He also speaks Kid. He knows what to say and how to say it to really communicate on their level and make them laugh and feel big and important. He's always had this special power with kids. He takes a sincere interest in them and they flock to him.

Mini-Bob?

There's no such thing as too much lovin'! (Poor Muther is still snoozing on the couch)

Stickers with Nonny. So sweet.

As I said, I wouldn't have to lift a finger if I didn't want to. They can and would take over everything from bathing, feeding, napping, entertainment and even cooking and cleaning. They roll up their sleeves and just get right into it. It's such a great feeling leaving the house and not having one single concern about them knowing what to do or something going wrong. My boys are truly lucky to have grandparents like these! And Marc and I get a nice break, too. We scheduled all sorts of appointments because we finally had babysitters!

Nothing relaxes me more than someone playing with my hair. Thanks, Mom!

Despite the cold weather, we got out and did a few fun things. We took them to our favorite restaurant, Hwa Hwa, where they had a sampling of Korean BBQ. We went to a traditional village where people still live and work, a pro volleyball game and also to a Buddhist Temple. Even our local grocery/department store, Lotte Mart, was a unique cultural experience.

Hwa Hwa. Its chaotic dining but soooo good.

Gakwonsa Temple

At the outdoor market trying the Cinnamon Pancake of Insanity

This wasn't the only time that a gaggle of Korean kids swarmed around my Dad. They wanted to know where he was from and practice their English. So cute.

A freezing rice paddy walk with the neighbors.

At Toby's first basketball practice.

Our days were mostly filled with just hanging around and enjoying each other's company. I got some naps, we made nice dinners together, and the boys got to spend a lot of quality time with their grandparents - something they don't get to do very often.

Saying goodbye at the bus station.

Come back soon!!

**Muther will be offering her "Potty Training in 24 Hours" seminar in most major cities! Call 888-GO-POTTY for tickets and information!!

Oh, Balls!

Numero Three Update

Last weekend Marc and I drove up to Seoul for my 21 week ultrasound to check if the babe is growing, healthy, etc. The boys stayed with my parents who are in town for a few weeks - yea! The ultrasound went along as normal with the tech taking measurements and making comments. At one point I thought I saw something suspicious betwixt the legs, but told myself it could just be the umbilical cord or who knows what. Then she asked that fateful question: Did we want to know the gender. I think I already knew but it wasn't yet confirmed. As I said in my last post, I was planning on waiting for the birth, but I looked at Marc, who really wanted to know, and the anticipation of being able to find out right then was too overwhelming so I caved in. She looked at me and said, "It's a boy!"

My eyes widened and right away I muttered something like, "Oh my goodness, three boys. Wow." I was stunned. I kind of figured all along it would be a boy but I really, really had myself believing that maybe, just maybe, I would hear the shocking, surprising, incredible news that its actually a GIRL! When she was all done we walked out to the waiting room to wait for the doctor and I will shamefully admit that I cried seventeen tears. I had this vision built up that my boys would get a sister and she would have two doting older brothers and Marc and I would get a daughter and there would be pigtails and striped tights and squeaky giggles. Instead, I had the exact feeling I was worried about and why I wanted to wait until the birth.

PLEASE DON'T GET ME WRONG. I am SO grateful that Numero Three looks good and is growing and that we've been given the gift of a third child. That is more important and wonderful than anything. And I know for a fact that he will be loved as much as I love my boys to the point that my heart could explode. I was just kinda sorta hoping for a shift in family dynamics, ya know? I wanted my boys to grow up with a sister so that they could be more sensitive and understanding to the mysterious ways of women. I really feel like a daughter would be good for Marc. I wanted to meet and know and see my girl. She would have been called Greta. She was not to be.

BUT... there will be balls! And more balls! And cars and trucks and sports and wrestling on the floor and underwear dances and dirt and destruction and more balls and sword fighting and stinky feet. Our house will be full of noise and life, which is such a blessing. I'm not all into enforcing "gender roles" and I'm totally cool with whatever and whomever my boys grow up to be. I encourage all kinds of play including things that are considered more "girly" and I'm so tickled when they play kitchen and dolls and dress-up and when Toby wants to make me look pretty by brushing my hair and putting chapstick on me, but the likelihood is that there will just be a lot of balls, sports that I don't understand, and chaos. If Grandma Dori could see me now! She love, love, loved telling everyone about her THREE SONS. This is my destiny. She and I are alike in more ways than one - three sons and lots of moving around!

So that's the news! Almost a week later, I think I'm pretty well over the shock. This sweet boy will be at least the fourth or fifth child to wear all the clothes we have, or what threads are left of them, since they were already hand-me-downs when Toby wore them. I won't need to buy one single thing until he's a teenager. We're totally equipped, clothing- and toy-wise, for Male Numero Three. Whether we're equipped to handle three boys is yet to be determined. I can't wait to see his precious face and get to know him. His big brothers are going to love and adore him and take such good care of him. I know it! Jonah likes to tell me, "I be'd happy to baby." That's Jonah for "I don't intend to harm the wee one...much."

Now for a solid name...

Prego Time

Baby #1: Portland. Baby #2: Pasadena. Baby #3: Pyeongtaek. What? Yes.
If you're not a relative or a friend of mine through Facebook, it's time you knew. Baby Numero Three is well on his or **her** way. He or **she** is due in early May.

I've always known that I wanted three kids. I grew up with one sister and wished we had more siblings. It just sounds like fun. The more the merrier, I always say. But let's not get carried away. Four kids is another story and I think too much for this mama, especially at this point in my life. I'm no spring chicken. So three it is! I feel very blessed and lucky that it's turned out this way. I often think of people who can't or don't have kids for whatever reason (and really want them) so I'm very grateful that I get the opportunity to do this in my life. One child is already such a precious gift and now I get that times three. I don't take it for granted. It ain't easy, but there is nothing I would rather be doing...except maybe doing it in a castle in Switzerland or something.

I've taken a lot longer to announce this one to my friends. With my first two, I couldn't wait to immediately tell everyone I knew. But then earlier this year I had a miscarriage at nine weeks. After everything I've experienced in my life I should know better than to put anything in the That Won't Ever Happen To Me file. But that's what I did. It was pretty shocking because my first two pregnancies were so "easy" and uncomplicated. I found out from my doctor that 1 in between 3 or 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Some women don't even know they're pregnant and so may not be aware that's its happening. I didn't realize it was so common. This time I was scared and I kept thinking it would happen again. Once I got past nine weeks I felt a little better but still not able to completely rest easy about it.

I am one of the lucky few who doesn't get morning sickness. No nausea, no never. Well, I felt gross one day but that may be because I ate a large donut for breakfast. Don't hate me! *More on donuts below.
What I do get is very, very tired. Right around noon after I've picked up Toby from preschool and am making lunch for the boys, I hit a wall. A big, hard wall. If I don't lay down soon it's highly likely that I'll face-plant in the peanut-butter&banana sandwich I'm making for the kiddies. Jonah still takes naps (mostly) and Tobin, my former marathon-napper, is forced into "quiet play time" which he would be doing anyway except it starts much earlier because mama has to crash on the couch for a solid 45. Even well into my second trimester, when the nausea and, in my case, fatigue are supposed to taper off, I still feel so dog-tired. By 3:00 I'm wishing it was bedtime for the boys so I could vegetate on the couch with a movie, a couple of burritos and a hot chocolate chaser and be in bed by six. I have an exam I'm supposed to be studying for but that isn't really happening right now. And I'm always out of breath. The process of getting the boys in socks, shoes, coats, hats and out the door makes me feel like I just sprinted around the block. But all of that is waaaaay better than feeling like throwing up all the time, so I'll deal with it.

What I'm really craving, since the three of you reading this are just dying to know, was at first banana-peanut butter-almond milk-cocoa powder shakes. Now its mainly Mexican food. O cruel world!!! I'm from San Diego, like an hour from Mexico, with authentic restaurants on every corner...except now I live in Korea. Its not there for me when I need it the most! I don't even really care if its authentic. Just a burrito with rice and beans and guacamole and salsa fresca! GAHHHH!! Rico's, Fidel's, Las Olas, any of the various 'bertos taco shacks...why are you so far away? The best substitution I can get here in a pinch is a frozen Amy's Bean and Cheese Burrito with a blob of greek yogurt and doused in half a bottle of Cholula. Anything I can dump Cholula on sounds good to me...which brings me back to all the Mexican food not here for me to dump it on.

I can't seem to get enough Cholula in my diet.

Pretty much everything I crave is impossible to get. I want Chipotle. Nope. I want In-and-Out Burger. No can do. I want the Whole Foods salad bar. Sorry, sister. I want a sandwich. A SANDWICH!!! Is this too much to ask?! Yes. Yes, it is. Sandwiches haven't caught on here. There is no such thing as a deli or at least not the kind of sandwiches I'm talking about with really good bread and 3-inches-worth of stuffings. I have to make it all myself which isn't the same. I want someone else to make it for me so I can just walk in and grab it. Nope. Only sit-down restaurants here. There are a few Mexican places but they're in Seoul, which is over an hour away. I was liking Korean food just fine, even craving a few things. That all went away once Numero Three came into being. I will eat some kimchi if we happen to be out somewhere but none of it ever sounds appealing to me. Speaking of kimchi, our sweet and hilarious little neighbor, Ms. Kim, is very thoughtful, but a few weeks ago she brought the biggest heaping pile of fresh kimchi that no one family could or should ever possibly need. Marc was excited because, like the Koreans, he eats it with everything. It wouldn't be so bad except that every time I open the fridge, the STANK smacks me in the face like so many cold dead fish. Koreans usually have separate refrigerators to store this stuff! Sadly, not us. I also have a hard time walking around the outdoor markets because of all the said kimchi and actual cold, dead fish!

Aren't pregnant women supposed to have glowing skin, or at least better-than-their-usual-skin skin? Not I. For several months, even before Numero Three, my usually manageable eczema has raged out of control. I pretty much look like a constantly-molting reptile/lobster. My skin is so dry that it adds extra creases under my eyes making me look 10 years older than I am. My face and neck are red, blotchy and peeling. It's quite a sight. People are probably thinking, "Can someone please tell this woman to exfoliate??" But I'm telling you, no amount of sloughing and thick cream can control the dry flakiness around my eyes - and everything I use burns. I know a lot of people here have issues with their skin because of the tap water, but I can't not get water on my face! I do have to shower. So I don't know if its the water, something in my diet, something in the air, or just a wacky combo of hormones. I had a similar issue last year but it went away when the seasons changed. This is definitely lingering. So, no "glow" for me. It's more like a red, blistered reptilian glare.

Look away. I'm hideous.

Some people may want to know if we're going to find out the gender of Numero Three. Of course I want to know, but I think we're going to keep it a surprise until the end. Here's why: I would really like to have a girl. I never cared about having a girl before. I always wanted boys, which I got. I'm not a super girly-girl into all the pink and frills and huge headbands. But now I feel like it would be so nice to have a more balanced dynamic in our family. There are just too many balls ricocheting off the walls here. Plus, Toby really wants a sister. He has mentioned this to me several times before he even knew about Numero Three. He says stuff like, "I want to have a sister so we can give her a Princess Party." He really likes girls and is fascinated with all their "things" - dresses, hair accessories...all the stuff I don't really care about. And he would be such a sweet brother to a little sister. Another reason is that I always wished I had a brother, especially an older one. I'm lucky enough to have a sister, but to this day it bothers me that I have no idea what my brother would look like and be like. It would be so interesting to see what a girl child/sister would look like and be like and I'd love for my boys to get to have that in their lives. But, kids are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. Soooooo...if we find out early that its another boy I might be the teensiest bit disappointed which isn't fair to the poor baby. If we wait until the actual birth, I won't think twice about it - I'll be thrilled no matter what. The other thing is, I'm fresh out of boy names. I've looked and nothing is standing out to me. Boy or girl, I'm hoping for health, wellness and an uneventful pregnancy and birth - I guess what every mom hopes for. Think pink, but if it's blue that's wonderful, too.

*Back to the donuts, as promised.

If traveling to Korea to visit us was not on your to-do list, come for THIS....
 

Soft, chewy, crispy, hot and filled with melted cinnamon and sugar.

I consider myself a connoisseur of fried dough. An epicure, if you will. So you can trust me when I say that this cinnamon donut-pancake-thingy is hand's down the best fried dough I have ever had. I know what I'm talking about. So at least I have this going for me here. A little agjima at the outdoor market on the 3s and 8s of the month makes them in the cold season with her bare hands! Somehow she's not affected by the scalding, spitting oil that the pancakes are frying in. And they only cost about 65 cents! It's worth a trip here just to try these!

Korean Wedding

I wasn't planning on blogging about this, but it's been awhile, so here goes. One of Marc's Korean co-workers invited us to his wedding last Saturday up in Seoul. We were told it was going to be "Western-style" so I curious to see what their version of a Western wedding would be like. Just so we're all on the same page, this is not Western as in cowboy boots and mechanical bull rides. According to them, anything not Asian is Western!
We arrived at noon to a large judicial building where many weddings are held.

Prosecutor's Office. Romantiiiic!

Somehow we figured out what level to go to and entered a lobby area with a table on either side and two receiving lines for the bride and the groom. The groom and father in suits and the mother in a traditional Hanbok dress took our hands and greeted us very sweetly. Marc wrote our names in a book and then we were given a blank envelope and four meal tickets. The envelope is for money. Instead of gifts, guests bring cash. The amount depends on how well you know the couple. We gave less because I had never even met the groom, let alone the bride. At first it seemed rather impersonal to give cold, hard cash, but really it's for the best. Instead of having a dining room table covered in crystal vases, the couple gets a nice chunk of change to put towards whatever they like! I would love to know how much they raked in! It also solves the predicament of how many people to invite. Invite every single person you have ever known, met or passed in the street because they all have to bring money!
Once we stuffed the envelope, they gave us the four meal tickets. It kind of felt like, "Give us the cash and we let you eat."

The lobby

Blue tickets for the groom, pink for the bride. This is curious because from what I've been told, Korea doesn't have "gender colors". Baby boys wear pink as much as they wear blue and vice versa. So now you know. If you ever dress your baby boy in head-to-toe blue and someone asks, "What's her name?" you can then reply with, "By any chance, are you Korean?"

As we entered the wedding hall I could see a little room off to the side with a flock of women hovering around a seated bride. But I only saw a corner of her dress! She was still a mystery!

Theater-style seating

We didn't have to wait long for the ceremony to begin. First, the mothers walked down together, climbed the stairs, each lit a candle and then there was a lot of clapping.

There were no bridesmaids or groomsmen, just these helper gals who I think work at the building.

They bow and we all clapped.

Then the radiant groom enters with more clapping.

Bowing and clapping.

AND NOW...the moment we've all been waiting for. The bride in the blingiest dress I've ever seen. Looking at her dress was like standing in front of the paparazzi with their flashing cameras all pointed directly at your face.

With her father.

Another random attendant helping her not trip up the stairs.

There was a long Christian sermon. The only way I know this is that I heard a lot of "amens" from the crowd. Other than that, I didn't understand a single, solitary word.

He did well considering he would normally be napping at this time of day. Jonah, that is.

The couple exchanged vows and rings, then turned to face a piano where two girls sang a song to them, then turned to the crowd for lots of clapping. There was no kiss! They walked down the stairs to the brides parents and hugged each one, then across the room to the groom's parents and hugged them. Then the couple and their two sets of parents faced the whole crowd for more clapping.

Reading their vows.

Hugging the groom's parents.

And it was over! Without any ceremony of exiting from front to back, everyone got up and made a b-line for the elevator or stairs. With Wedding Day Food Coupons in hand, we made it to the dining floor and found a cafeteria-style room with a very long line of food and people. There was no seating chart and definitely not enough tables for everyone. Somehow we squeezed in at a table with some other folks.

They had sushi, Korean food and their version of "western food".

My good eater.

After the eating it was pretty much over. From beginning to end it was maybe two and a half hours. There was no cake cutting, no dancing, and no reception to speak of. Their posed pictures had already been taken, printed and were on display. From what I could tell there wasn't much of a personal touch from the couple. It felt more like a generic wedding package: preacher, flowers, food. Maybe that's the norm here or maybe just what this couple wanted. Its the first Korean wedding I've been to so I really can't say. But it definitely looked a lot more simple and easy to plan than the elaborate, very personalized weddings going on in the US. We did see the couple on our way out already changed into their getaway clothes. I assume they were making the rounds thanking people for coming but we didn't hang around. Instead, we hit the road for home and let the boys finally take much-needed naps.

I'm not sure if this was a Korean wedding with Western influence or a Western wedding with Korean influence. I wonder if traditional Korean weddings still happen. That would be really interesting to witness! 

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