There is no time…

…for anything.

TheFry looks out over his dominion, planning his next campaign.

 

Our days generally go like this:

-get up at 9am when TheFry wakes us

-make breakfast, clean

-go to work

-come home from work

-entertain TheFry until he’s tired

-put TheFry to bed (hopefully) before 1:00am

Right now it’s 1:00am, and he’s still not sleeping on his own.  He will be up at 9:00 tomorrow morning.

TheFry looks cute but he is really a time-stealing megalomaniac!

So here’s the shimmy, quick-and-dirty:

1. We bought an oven!  We bought it on gmarket.  Maybe I’ll post a link to it later.  It was about 82,000 won.  It’s a portable electric convection oven but it has 3 trays and can fit a bunch of stuff in it.  The only problem is that if you use the top or bottom tray, things get cooked unevenly.  Still, it was a godsend.

Halleluja!

2. TheFry is still not talking or walking.  He prances around on his tippy-toes while holding onto walls.  He also blabs all the time but his speech is incoherent.  He can recognize a few words, namely “mom”, “dad”, “milk”, “blanket”, “sucker”, “snack”, and a few Korean words, as well (words for “dad” and probably some other things).

 

3. How did TheFry learn Korean, do you ask?  Since mid-November we have put him in a nearby Korean nursery school.  Our main reason for doing this was that we anticipated PapaFish would find a job.  He is still interviewing for several jobs without much luck.  Everyone wants him to be able to work a swing shift between the hours of 5:00am and 10:30pm.  What’s up with that?  Apparently shifts are not cool anymore.

Secondly, it came to our attention that TheFry gets cramped in our teeny little apartment.  There is not enough space for him to explore.  We are bad at coming up with things for him to do.  We are busy people, needing to clean and cook and do laundry.  TheFry does not tolerate this.  Because he is so persistent at fussing and keeping us from daily chores, and especially since he does not sleep much during the day (his naptimes are a joke – more like ridicule!) or night, we found that we do not have enough time to give him the attention and exercise he needs.

TheFry has crossed “the line” into the kitchen.  The look on his face says “What, did I do something wrong?”

So, in hope that we would have a place for him to go in the case that PapaFish found a job and also to give him some entertainment and a healthy dose of exposure to the Korean language, we put him in a nursery school part-time.  The first week was difficult, of course, but he grew to love it quickly!  The lady in charge told us it usually takes 4 weeks for babies to get used to going to the school, but after one and a half, TheFry was doing great!  He eats and plays well, and he is the star of his class.  His picture has been in the newsletter almost every week.

TheFry steals my crochet patterns and litters them across the living room floor.  He lost his blanket in the aftermath.

4. We had a Thanksgiving pot-luck with some of my coworkers and it was fantastic!  I made cranberry sauce with real cranberries.  Where did  I find them, you ask?  Costco was selling huge bags of craisins so I rehydrated them and followed the recipe from there.  I didn’t say they were fresh cranberries, did I! *^^*

Anyhow, to rehydrate the cranberries you just put them in a pot and cover them with cold water.  Bring the water to a boil and boil them for 20 minutes or so, until you can see that the cranberries are fully rehydrated, plump and juicy.  The longer you boil them, the more delicious the water will be, so when you drain them, be sure and reserve the water.  An added benefit of making cranberry sauce this way is that you don’t have to use as much sugar in your recipe since craisins are already loaded with sugar.  Or you can add the regular amount of sugar and just have super-sweet cranberry sauce!

My husband claims he can’t bake.  He lies!

5. I have several informational posts I would love to write.  First of all, I would like to give some information on the difference between getting vaccines at a hospital in Korea versus at the Community Health Centers, because there is a huge difference (and you pay for it).  I also want to post on where to find some great baby stuff that I have found rather cheaply online.  This month, if PapaFish lands the job we are holding out for, we will be buying a number of items online that I would like to review, so stay tuned for that, too.  I’m also hoping to start blogging more about our neighborhood, what there is to do and see, and places to find good deals on normally expensive stuff (which means probably a full post on district recycle centers, because I’ve been to a couple of them, but have as yet chickened out on buying anything).

 

I really apologize to any family and friends (but especially family) who watch this blog because this last month has left me wondering how I will ever have any time to myself again.  I suppose this is one of the seasons of parenthood!  Maybe it’s called “having a toddler.”  Who knows?!

Ha, ha, you fool!  I switched the glasses while your back was turned!  

And yes, this is our kitchen, complete with table, sink, oven (not the one we bought online – that’s another story for another day), and washing machine.