How fun is our neighborhood?
Our teens ROCKED it out even more this year.
This was our 2nd annual back to school kickball tournament in the hood.

Click HERE for pictures from last year.

This year, they took it to the next level:

They even planned out the teams BEFORE the game this year.
But no worries, if you showed up and didn't have a team you still got to play.

Captain of the RED TEAM!

BLUE TEAM captains!

The game was VERY SPIRITED this year!

And he was SAFE!!

I love how you can see the sand flipping off the top of his sandal.
Even though he missed the ball, he still made it safe to 1st base! :o)

That boy can KICK!

This year he had it all figured out and didn't run past one single base.

There was no shortage of Popsicles!

Those that were too small to play found other ways to entertain themselves.

Mud puddles are seriously fun.

I'm not sure which team won.
It really doesn't matter.
Well, maybe it does if you ask the kids.  I'm sure there is a big dispute.
In fact, I just ask my kids who won the game and they said the blue team, but they were all on the blue team.
I wonder what the red team would say....

For me it doesn't matter.
It was just another fun day on the ROK.

Beondgi, or boiled silkworm is a popular Korean snack sold by street vendors across the land. You always know when you are approaching someone selling a nice boiling pot of silkworms as the smell is something you will not mistake for anything else.  In fact you may not even think the smell you are smelling is food. (Ummm, because it IS NOT - it's bugs, FREAKING BUGS!)

For years I have avoided putting one of these tasty treats in my mouth.  The smell alone is enough to make one cringe, and you guys know I will eat most anything, including yummy delicious (not) snake eggs in Cambodia. I like pushing myself to do things and most of the time I feel proud...I tried it, I did it!  I conquered the beast!
These silkworms though....they were a bigger beast than I was hoping for....

Crunchy on the outside and as you bite down they squirt.  They squirt NASTY bits of squishy slime that I can only imagine to be yellowish green in color into your cheeks.  The taste just resonates in your mouth, growing larger and louder by the millisecond.   It makes you want to gag and really makes you think that cutting out your tongue is a good idea.  It is that bad.  This is a taste that stays with you for hours.  Even makali can't cut that taste....

So, what are you waiting for?  Go out and find yourself a ajumma selling a big pot of beondegi  and have a taste.  Just make sure you have a big bottle of soju to wash it down with.

Oh, and just swallow, don't bite.

With love from Korea.

Neighbors think I'm crazy.
Maybe I am a little.
But I LOVE monsoon season.
Really, I do.
I like sitting outside on the back porch in the morning drinking coffee and just taking it all in.
I love the sound of rain pouring off the side of my house.....

I really like running in the rain. 
This day I almost drown while running up hill, so on my way down the hill when the rain took a break I had to snap a picture - check out the rain pouring out the drain on the wall.
It was seriously fun.
I was seriously NOT PRETTY when I returned home.

I LOVE dragging my friends outside to workout in the rain.
**If you follow me on FB you will know all about this. 
We work on in the park 4 mornings a week, rain, shine or monsoon!
My friends were not sure about this, but in the end we laughed so hard it was a bonus work out.

But the thing I love the most about the rain and monsoon season ~
The giggles, laughter, squeals and puddles.
Yes, I'm one of those moms.
I send my kids out in the rain.
Then I hide and take pictures.  :o)
It's a win, win for all.

I mean check out that smile:

This was the last pictures I was able to snap before I was caught:

BUSTED!  :o)

So the next time it rains, don't be a hater.
Embrace it.
Love it.
Send your kids out in it....
Heck, go out with your kids in it.
Splash in puddles.
Make memories.

PS.....If there is lightening, stay in side.  :o)

Summer.
I love almost everything about it.
Popsicles
Water sprinklers
The swimming pool
Field trips
MORE popsicles
Bare feet
Swim trunks
Bathing suits
Tan lines
Fruit that squirts juice when you bite into it
Rain
More popsicles
Water balloons
The beach
Sleeping late
Water slides
Late nights
Drinks on the porch with friends
Random kids in and out of the house
I EVEN love that stinky dog smell our kids have after playing outside all day long.

What I don't love is the fighting between brothers.  The two youngest to be exact. These two have a love/dislike relationship that just drives me bonkers as I am sure it has done with many mothers before me and will continue long after I am gone.

We are a family that believes in "natural consequences".  We try to discipline by using natural consequesnces.  Sometimes that is seriously hard to do.  Sometimes I've had it and I don't  want to figure out what that natural consequence is. Sometimes it is easier just to ground the kids from their favorite things, or send them to their rooms or make them do PT.

A few nights ago the typical fight broke out in our house at bedtime. 

Boys 2 & 3 share a room.  Boy 2 is an introvert and he loves things to be the way he likes them.  Boy 3 is an extrovert and is care free.  (One could say that Boy 2 is a neat freak and Boy 3 is a slob.)  Boy 2 is a rule follower & a truth teller.  He is the child that will remind me that I grounded him from specific things when I forget.  Boy 3, not so much. These two boys are as different as night and day.  And did I mention that they share a room?  And did I mention that Boy 2 wants to be the boss of Boy 3 and did I mention that they fight over something EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT when it is bedtime even though I typically put them to bed at different times? 

Back to the fight.  I don't remember what it was about.  I never remember what they fight about, I just know it happens almost nightly and I am sick and tired of it and I don't know what to do about it anymore. (PS...I'm the disciplinarian in our family for the most part, while Hubby is "The Big Guns".) Well, the other night when this started again I couldn't take it anymore.  I looked at Hubby and said "You take it."

And take it he did!  OH MY GOODNESS.  I just remember one more reason why I am head over heels in love with this man.  Do you know what he did?

Hubby called the instigator (Boy 2) into our room (This is the point where I would have had a long discussion with him - he would tell me why he was fighting with his brother and he would get grounded - blah, blah, blah - and it would have gone on for 10 more minutes.) and said to him:
"Where do you want to sleep tonight, in the bathtub or on the couch?"
Boy 2's mouth dropped open and he replied that he wanted to sleep in his bed.
Do you know what my ROCK STAR husband said next?
He said:  "You lost that privilege.  You may choose the bathtub or the couch."

And that was that.
Boy 2 slept on the couch.
And do you know what else?
It has been 4 nights since that happened and there has not been one fight at bedtime since then.

Bathtub or couch.
Easy as that.
My husband ROCKS.

I know I have said this before.
And if you live here you already know this.
BUT...
BABY ITS COLD OUTSIDE!!
It was 3 degrees when I went to the gym this morning.
It felt like NEGATIVE 12 degrees.
It is so cold out that my workout buddies car wouldn't even start.
And it is a new car -not a hooptie.

I know, I know all my friends in Alaska are rolling their eyes and saying - "HA - 3 degrees, that's a heat wave!"

I've learned that anywhere we live Dear Ol' Mother Nature is always playing games with us. 
The week before last we were up in the 30's.
People were wearing flip flops and it felt like Spring was in the air.
BUT THEN
we had this super cool sounding thing come through:
Shanghai Low
How awesome does that sound?
I was expecting something spectacular.
And I got it.
Shanghai Low is just a fancy term for BUNDLE UP! It's going to be FREEZING COLD with LOTS OF SNOW.

So last Monday, Super Bowl Monday, after our 1st Shanghai Low I woke up early (as always)  and found out school was cancelled - so I did what any good mom would do - I went outside to play in the snow ALL BY MYSELF!
I was the first one in the neighborhood to make footprints in the snow and my snow angel was the first in the neighborhood! 
I'm sure that if any of my neighbors looked out their windows they thought I was C R A Z Y .
And they would not be completely wrong.

 I mentioned that we are talking about Super Bowl Monday.
That's right, I said Super Bowl MONDAY.
And did I mention that when you live in South Korea on a military post that Super Bowl Monday it is a DAY OFF for the soldiers? 
True story.
Isn't that AWESOME?
Anyway -
After playing in the snow for a little while, checking to see if the Navy Club was still having their Super Bowl part I woke Hubby & Boy 1 at 5:30AM so they could go reserve seats for us to watch the Super Bowl while I secured a babysitter for the wee ones.  
By 7:30AM I was off to the Navy Club for a little Super Bowl fun with family & friends!

On the way to the Navy Club I literally sat in the window of the car (Don't worry, I wasn't driving!) to snap a few more pictures of the spectacular snow fall.

Right after that pictures as I was crawling back in the car window my cell phone dropped to the ground.....my white cell phone in white snow - good times!
No worries. 
I finally found it and it still works.

Super Bowl Monday was off to a GREAT start! A snow day for the little ones, day off for Hubby, a fun Super Bowl party with great friends, OK food & a great game & WIN for the Baltimore Ravens! 

Since arriving back on the peninsula in June I have wanted to learn to make kimchi.  Something I NEVER thought I would say a few years back!  You see kimchi is something many American will turn their nose to and say "OH YUCK...I don't want to eat something that has been put into an urn and buried for awhile so it can turn rotten."  And to be honest, before I moved to Korea the first time back in 2008 I said the same thing.   It's amazing what living in a country and opening your mind, heart and taste buds can do for a person.  I will admit that it took a long time for me to like cabbage kimchi (I liked the cucumber and bean sprout kimchi right off the bat) and I had to try cabbage kimchi many times before I could actually say I liked it, but I think that has more to do with the cabbage than the kimchi.  AND there are many different types of kimchi - there is the kimchi that most American's think of - the type that is fermented, it takes about 2 weeks to prepare, but most Korean's don't bury it anymore, they have Kimchi Refrigerators they put it in.  That is right a refrigerator dedicated to JUST KIMCHI so the smell and the taste doesn't seep into your other foods.  (And I have recently just learned that a kimchi refrigerator is very much needed as our piano teacher brought us a bunch of this type of kimchi and our entire house smelled of kimchi until it was all gone.)  Another type of kimchi is fresh kimchi - this is my favorite type of kimchi.  Fresh, you make it, you eat it.  No fermentation required. 

SO, when I heard there was a kimchi making trip to help the orphans and elderly I was in!  On November 7th I hopped on a bus and headed to  Paju, South Korea to help make 6,000 heads of kimchi!  I was totally psyched - I get to learn to make kimchi and I get to help people in need!  It's a win, win!
 

As soon as we arrived Stanley and I got dressed in our green apron and pink gloves and headed straight to work!

This is the line I worked on.  Sweet little Korean ajummas were showing me how to open the leaves and pat them down with the filling....

This is the filling stuff you put in between the cabbage leaves.

While I was working this lady came into our line and worked right beside me.  She had a camera crew following her around, turns out she is the wife of some big wig - maybe equivalent to a mayor - anyway, she worked by me for a little while, I met her and her hubby and who knows, maybe I was on Korea TV....

Quality control.

The kimchi we made was D E L I C I O U S ! While we were working people kept putting food out on the kimchi table - they put out steamed pork and before I knew what was happening the ajumma I was working beside was wrapping some up in the fresh made kimchi and shoved it in my mouth!  Yum-o! I loved every second of it! 

My work here is done.

Even though I had a GREAT time and am very happy to have helped those in need, I still don't know how to make kimchi!  They had everything prepared before we arrived - I just helped put it together.

GYEONGNAM, that's the name of the team they played back on October 7th when we attended this game! (Thank you Google!)  How could I forget that?  And I think FC Seoul won, don't quote me on that, but I think it is true - there was lots of smoke in the stadium that day, so I'm pretty sure it was a winner!

As with many great adventures in Seoul this one started with a subway ride where you really get to know the person standing next to you.....

Hop on subway line 6 and get off at Seoul World Cup!  It is THAT easy!  Once you get off the subway just follow the signs to Seoul World Cup Stadium!  Go up this super high escalator...

And when you get off you will be here:

I mean how cool is it to be in Seoul World Cup Stadium which was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup?!?!

You can buy tickets in advance or you can just purchase them at the window. 

Ticket prices are start as high as ￦20,000 for reserved seats in the West Stands but also go for as low as ￦10,000 in the North stands and only ￦3,000 for kids.  They didn't charge for Boy 3 who is 7 years old....I'm not sure this is normal, and we did tell them several times his age - so maybe children 7 and under are free?  I have no idea and just went with it after they gave us the little 'x' with their fingers several times.

I just ask Boy 3 what his favorite part of soccer games are and he answered  "When they make a goal, they make fire!"
It is true, when they make a goal here they shoot off flares in the stands.  The first time I saw this it freaked me out a little, but now it is just SUPER COOL! 

OH, and check out the cheerleader...
More specifically, check out her shoes.

Time for chow....this is the closest thing they have to hot dogs.
The great thing about professional games in Korea - you can bring in your own food and drinks.

Unfortunately I blogged about this a few days late.  It appears the last game of the season was just 3 days ago.  But don't worry, they start back up in March!  So start making plans for the spring to attend your first FC Seoul game - you won't be disappointed! 

Really in the end it is all about good fun, great memories and happy kids.
FC SEOUL! 

Check it out!  Look who I met.  Yeah, I was one of those - he had just finished his meal and I ask him if I could take a picture with him. He was very gracious and asks very quizzically, "You know who I am?"

I have to admit that I only knew who he is because someone told me.  But now that I have googled him - WOW!!

For those of you that don't know who this is, it's Tim Hawang Young Min, better known as Tim.  He was born and raised in Phili and is now a Pop singer/Actor here in Korea.  He has released at least 5 albums and has appeared on many Korean TV shows and at one time had his own show on MTV. 

He is a KOREAN HEART THROB!!  Girls swoon over him....and I got to touch him.....nanny, nanny boo-boo!  :)

We had high hopes for this restaurant as it is very close to our house: just exit the walk out gate, turn right, cross the street and bam, there it is - maybe a 10 minute walk.

After looking over the menu I decided on Jjamppong - otherwise known as spicy seafood soup.  Yes, I'm totally excited!  Seafood soup that you cook at your table - it served 2-3.  The kids were ordering something different. 

When I ordered our server, the lady pictuered below said "NO" and gave us the little 'x' with her fingers and then she said 2.  I again told her 1 order of soup, not 2 orders of soup.  She said "NO" again with the little finger 'x', but her no was stronger and she waved her hand in front of her mouth like it was hot.  I tried to order it again giving her the thumbs up that I am OK with spicy.  Then I got the BIG  arm cross "X".  No.  No soup.  Then she waved her hand at me and walked off and I could tell she was totally annoyed with me.  For real?  I thought they must be out of soup and I just misunderstood.

So when she came back (still seeming annoyed) I ordered Bibimbap.
Which was totally YUMMY.

Then the ladies at this table came into the restaurant.  We were finished with our meal when THE SOUP NAZI  delivered MY SOUP to these ladies!!!  Are you kidding me?  It was the EXACT SOUP  I was trying to order.  GRRRR......  I'm not sure where the miscommunication was, I still want my jjampong!  I totally felt like I was in this episode of Seinfeld. (Seriously, click the link.  Instead of an Italian accent imagine a Korean one.)

In the end our meal was good, and the boys have had a fun time mimicking our Soup Nazi.
Anytime I mention soup this is what I get now:
The big arm cross 'X'.

Followed by their best interpretation of the Soup Nazi:
NO.  NO SOUP FOR YOU MOM!

(I still have NO IDEA why I couldn't have jjampong.)

FOLLOW UP:  I now know why I could not have jjampong.  It does not SERVE 2-3 people, you have to order 2-3 servings to order this!  Thank you to my readers for setting me straight! 

I'm not so grumpy anymore.  :)