Wandering Browns

We loved this last assignment in Korea- the crew was awesome, the customer was pretty good, and our living arrangements were perfect for us. House mother spoiled us rotten (more on that in another post) and I was so looking forward to going back to the United States after Austin finished this assignment. Most of all, I was looking forward to getting a little break from being full-time mommy/caregiver with trips to my parents' and in-laws' homes. Austin and I could actually go on a date! I could leave the kids with someone for a few minutes during the day to do something else! Yay! Although Korea was a great assignment for us, I was/am exhausted. Between trying to take care of the boys and not really having a break for months on end, coupled with a few weekends where Austin was working or getting eye surgery (more on that in a later post), and then less helpful because of eye surgery, I was completely spent. If we stayed too many days in Samgilpo without going on excursions, La...

OWEN! How has another month passed already? This month, Owen proved that he is a rascal, but a sweet rascal! He learned to climb up stairs. He can't get himself back downstairs safely, but he loves to practice going upstairs to Landon's loft. To him, it's like the ultimate hang out! He can also open the baby gate that we set up to cover the stairs, so we really are in trouble. For now, I follow him up the stairs and then have to be super vigilant to make sure he doesn't topple down the stairs or through the railings (covered with fishing net, but still, I worry). Owen also loves to unplug things, his favorite being the wifi cord. So if my phone or computer's internet turns off, I always check the wall first. He loves to play with our shoes in the shoe cabinet by the door and pull things out of drawers and off of shelves. Owen is standing for a few seconds independently and has even taken a step before falling. He is getting better leg strength and is able to slowl...

The Beehive cake and my boys Way back on August 10th, I celebrated my 29th birthday, which might be the most depressing birthday ever. I don't feel old enough or mature enough to be almost 30! Where is the time going? My birthday happened to fall on a weekday in the middle of a very busy period at Austin's work. They gave him impossible deadlines, and he was working his tail off to try his best to meet them. So, I was very surprised when he arrived home on my actual birthday with a beehive cake and an interesting plant. I had ordered my birthday present (new running shoes!) during the Amazon Prime Day, and my parent's present to me was shipping them here to Korea. So, I already had my presents and was not really expecting anything before the weekend. What a sweetie! Sansiviera "Velvet Touch" aka Snake plant or mother-in-law tongue I guess the plant deserves some explanation. Austin was trying to get me flowers. He found a florist and pointed to every p...

 Four years ago this summer, I was super pregnant and nesting like crazy while watching the 2012 Olympics. This summer, I'm watching the Olympics a little at a time, and we celebrated Landon's 4th birthday! Because of our traveling, his birthday celebrations have not always included a kid party, but this year, we had friends to invite from church here in Korea! Landon decided he wanted to go to the local free water park for his birthday party, and some wonderful Korean families joined us. Austin and Owen, the watermelon eater! I had no idea what to expect from this party. I was not sure what Koreans do for birthdays, and I was just crossing my fingers that our guests would show up at the right place at the right time, because I told one lady at church that speaks English and told her to pass it along to all the Primary kids' parents. I planned on having enough food for everyone, and we brought along a couple picnic mats so everyone would have somewhere to sit (...

We love our Korean mother here at Sky Baragi pension. She bought Landon a pool and squirt gun at the beginning of the summer, only to have it be too cold to set up for weeks. Finally, she set it up on the "party deck" right outside our room. It is great because it's shaded, so I don't have to worry about sunscreen, but the water does not warm up very fast. So, Landon didn't really want to swim in it because it was too cold. Seeing this dilemma, she found a pink tub that is now the "warm up" tub. We haul water from the shower and put it in this tub. Landon swims in the pool until he gets too cold, then warms up in the tub. Since these photos were taken, she also got Owen his own pool, a tiny soft and inflatable one, that he loves to splash around in. When we are just hanging in Samgilpo for the day with no car, the pool is on our agenda every day! Baby swallows in their nest Korean mother cleaning the pool Korean mother not only bought the p...

As some of you know, I am a physical therapist. While we are doing this whole traveling thing I am not able to actually practice much PT. My PRN boss said that I can call her up and get on the schedule for a Saturday if I'm back in Chicago, but other than that, not much work happening for me. That doesn't mean I don't watch people with my PT eyes though. This is an AFO, it is used for a variety of reasons, commonly used to prevent toe drag in those with hemiplegia In India, there are some issues with quality of medical care for those that are less fortunate. In Reliance Greens where we stayed, there was a good hospital and clinic. Most of the people I remember seeing in Reliance Greens with orthopedic/neurologic issues had access to this facility, but I'm not sure there was a PT on staff there. I'm not sure about utilization of PTs outside the United States. Anyway, I saw many people who had clearly either had a stroke or were a hemiparetic  from a brain inj...

Even with skies threatening rain, we ventured out to the Munhak Sports Complex in Incheon to for a baseball game. The sports complex also had a huge soccer stadium and a brand new pool complex that is going to be used for the Asian Games. It was raining on our way there and back, so we didn't go see the pool, but it looked cool from the outside.  The SK Wyverns have won the Korean league three times in the past 7 years, but this year they are struggling. They were playing the Dexen Heroes. Landon has been obsessed with a soccer shirt I got him on sale after the World Cup, so we decided he needed a baseball shirt to go with his collection, and to give him something else to obsess about.  Before the game started It rained off and on lightly until after the 4th inning, when it started pouring. It stopped for a bit, and then started again full force. We left at this point, because it was about an hour back on the train and Austin had to work the next morning. Even t...