Tot School...brought to you by the letter F

We did a quick letter review for the letters A-E before moving on to F.

I made a "color by letter" page to make it look like an Easter egg since that was recently.

 

C loves sticker books, so he did some work in his number sticker book...

 as well as in his match the pictures sticker book.

 

He used an ink dauber to identify all the F and f on the page.

 P saw fit to "help" his big brother.  :)

 

C glued pictures of things that start with F to a big construction paper letter I cut out.

He matched big letters to little letters for A-F.

G....Here we come!

this and that lately

In an effort to share many random things with you, here is a smorgasbord of pictures from the past few days.  Enjoy!

Connar insists on sleeping with at least three items every night.  The standard two are his monkey and his flashlight.  The third varies from night to night, ranging from Spider Man to his shark figurine to his daddy's watch.  This night, he took it upon himself to grab more than usual when we weren't looking.

 Then when he turned over, I realized there was practically an ocean of animals under him...way more than I originally thought he had!  Ha!

My hubby has traveled to Singapore recently, and he brought some money home from there.  I think it's so neat that I just had to share!  Notice how you can see a fuzzy Connar in the picture below?

Now look at the money below.  Specifically, look in the top left corner where there is a clear portion.  I took Connar's picture through that circle!  AND the entire bill is made of what feels like wax paper.  It's the weirdest thing!

We went out to eat yesterday, and we noticed something on the receipt that made us giggle.

Look at the items detailed in English.  Check out the fourth item: "re-coke" .

That was a refill on my drink.  :)

 With guests coming to visit this summer (WOO HOO! :) ), we were doing some research online to buy an air mattress.  Check out the description in red under this picture.   :)

"2 PLACES LARGE" = it'll fit 2 large people

"JUNIOR 3 PLACES" = it'll fit 3 small people

Someone got asked to prom via a note in the sand.  :)

Now that's a spiffy outfit on this Korean guy!

We're talking his murse, cardigan over the shoulders, capris, and rainbow socks.  That's all kinds of awesome!

I tried a popular Korean street snack called a hotteok.  It's basically a pancake with brown sugar syrup filling inside.  And the best part was that it was only 1,000 won (90 cents)!

 They fold it in half and stick it in a cup for you to enjoy as you walk and shop.  :)  I actually thought it was good once I got closer to the goodness that is the sweet filling in the middle of the hotteok.

Connar came out of his gym class today to tell me something while I was in the hall, and he was wearing this helmet on his head and sweating like a mad man.  Before he could run back in, I, of course, was all, "Hold on, buddy!  Let Mommy take your picture!"  :)

 How darn cute is this kid?!  LOVE him to infinity and beyond!

 Talton came to C's gym class to surprise him.  It was like he could smell him in the hall, because it wasn't long before he peeked his head out the door and invited his daddy in to watch him.  So sweet.  :)

 This boy was drenched in sweat today....and had a ball getting that way.  :)  He is all boy.

And let's end the post with this picture.

How stinkin' sweet is this picture of my three guys?!

Talton was reading a book to them before bed time, and they were both reading along with him.

I'm so blessed to call the three of them all mine.

Fuzzy Navel Tacos

It's crazy how little time restaurants and other businesses stay open and how quickly they close & reopen in such short spans of time around Busan. I must walk up this street near where we live at least 2-3 times a month, if not more, and when we walked up there on Friday night, we spotted a new restaurant that I had never seen before.  It's called Fuzzy Navel Tacos, and being the Mexican food nuts that we are, we had to stop in and give it a shot.

Before moving here and living in Texas all my life, if it said "taco", I was in with no questions asked.
Since living abroad, my taste buds have been on an adventure of their own, branching out and meeting new foods I wouldn't have introduced to them before.  I'm so glad we went for it, because it ended up being pretty yummy.  No, it's not the same as Mexican food back home, but for Korea, it's definitely good and worth visiting again in the future.  I have to say, though, that if I have time to sit and eat a long dinner and want Mexican food here, I'll be hitting up Artista in a hot minute (see pics to make you hungry here and here  :)  ).....delicious Mexican food!  But if I need to get in, order the food, and get it to go, Fuzzy Navel Tacos will be our go to.

For those of you who know what Freebirds is, this place reminds me of that with the laid back atmosphere, music playing, and simple tables and chairs.

How to order:

(1) Main menu -- taco, burrito, quesadilla, chimichanga, or nachos

(2) Meat menu -- seasoned beef, seasoned chicken, seasoned pork, grilled shrimp, bacon & egg & potato

(3) Taste menu -- guacamole, refried beans, fajita style (grilled onions and peppers), ground beef chili

(4) Side menu -- pickles, jalapenos, guacamole, pico de gallo, nacho cheese, mild salsa, spicy salsa, sour cream, sliced avocado

They have appetizers -- chili fries, tortilla pizza (pepperoni), taco salad, fries, "hot & buffalo wing"

You can order "sets" (a full meal with drink) or individual items.

Their drinks range from: coffees, teas, soft drinks, juice, "jutail" (juice + cocktail), beer, to cocktails

This is the chimichanga (on the left...the lettuce and stuff Talton took off are on the right).  It was pretty good.

The description on the menu says it contains "cheese, fried rice, pico de gallo, salsa, jalapenos, olives, and lettuce".

This is a soft beef taco with "salsa, onions, jalapenos, olives, lettuce, sour cream, and cilantro".

I took off most of the stuff on top and added refried beans and sour cream (we ordered both as extras) and then some cheese from my fridge.  :)  It was pretty yummy if I say so myself!

We also ordered guacamole...

 ...and salsa with chips as sides.

 Look at the words on the red banner in the middle of the menu:

"What do your feel like eating?"   :)

Man, typing this post made me very hungry and craving some Mexican food.  If my husband wasn't about to grill steaks for us, I'd be heading on over to Fuzzy Navel Tacos right now...

our precious time

Around a month ago when Connar started going to his gym class for an hour three times a week, I quickly realized that Parker and I were getting something out of it too.

We got time alone.  Just the two of us.

I can't tell you how precious a gift this is for us, but I'll try to explain.  You see, when I had Connar, he was our only child so he got every second of our attention...one on one.  Then, when I had Parker, I found myself a bit sad that (1) that time was cut in half with Connar and (2) that Parker would never get our full attention in the same way, simply because we now had multiple children that we had to divide our time between.

It wasn't until we dropped Connar off at gym class on one of his first days and walked to a nearby playground that I realized I was at the park with only one kid...and it was Parker!  He was finally getting some good quality time with Mommy that didn't have to be shared.  

Some days we go to the grocery store together and gawk at the fish and other animals in cages and other days we play at the playground.  He loves to swing.  Oh, how he loves to swing!  He loves to take my hand and lead me to different places on the playground.  And if he wants to go play in dirt and find rocks to throw, I'm good with that and happy to follow along, because I don't have another kid with me going in the opposite direction that I'd have to chase down.

I'm soaking up all this alone time with him, because I know from experience that it's not often you get time alone with just one of your kids.  It has also reminded me how important that is.  They need their own time to talk to you or just be with you.  And while my kids do love each other and enjoy playing together, it's good for them to learn how to play alone sometimes.

This time is just so special, and I'm so happy that both of my boys are enjoying their independent time a few times a week.  Connar loves going to his gym class, and Parker loves playing with Mommy.

Here's a glimpse of our most recent playground date.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Cars tent

Somehow this tent made its way into my shopping cart.

It might've had something to do with Parker trying to jump out of the stroller to climb inside the one the store had set up in the middle of a major aisle.  Nice marketing, people...it worked!  

Every morning he brings me the boys' box of cars and says, "Help me.  Open.", at which point he dumps all 328 cars on the floor in a heaping pile.  Because he LOVES playing with their box of cars and especially loves the Cars character cars, I might've intentionally pushed the stroller right next to the tent at the store knowing he'd fall in love on the spot.  :)

It actually turned out to be a much sturdier tent than I thought it was going to be.  I mean, it's a real deal camping tent.  As soon as we got home, I had two little boys waiting on pins and needles for it to be set up.

And they loved it!

 

It wasn't long before pillows and blankets were thrown in for comfort.

 

All three of us even laid in there and watched a movie together.  Fun!

 

It's so fun to watch them get excited about things and this tent was no different.  They love to make tents with blankets, so there was no doubt in my mind that a real tent would be a big hit!

 

It's all fun and games until...

...someone loses their pants.

While I was making dinner a couple nights ago, I heard thunderous laughter coming from the living room where the boys were playing together. I grabbed my camera and recorded this.

Then, as I went back to continue making dinner for them, I could tell that the tables had turned, so I turned back around to see what in the world was going on this time.

our Thursday

Some days I don't have much to report and then there's other days when I could go on and on.  Today was the latter.  It was good day full of fun stuff.  Here's how our Thursday panned out...

When I went to check on Connar, who tells me "Leave me alone" when he's going #2 on the potty because he likes to do his do in peace (hmmmm....I wonder what that's like!) , he looked up from the toilet and told me, "It fell in the toilet."  The "it" was the air freshener that sat on the ledge next to the toilet.  Awesome.  Thank God it was floating around on the top of the water and not below with all the unmentionables.  Gross, I know.  Feel bad for me since I'm the one who had to fish it out.  Again...awesome.

I found Parker like this on the table playing with his cars.  

Why?  I don't know, but it was obviously comfortable for him.  He often sits in questionable positions that make me laugh.  :)

I took the boys to the aquarium....for free!  I'm so happy that I bought a season pass for us last month.  This is our third time going since, and we've totally paid for the passes at this point.  Of course the boys had a blast.  Parker seriously loves the Rock Pool where you touch the sea creatures in a shallow pool of water.  If I let him, he'd sit smack dab in the middle of the thing and play in the water with the crabs hanging out of the shells, the tiny sharks, and the starfish.  When a group of kids gathered around us to get a chance at touching the creatures, Parker gave the top of the water one good SpLAsH! which made all the kids take a step back and wipe their faces.  That was our cue to move on.  :)  Connar swears to me that he loves the tarantulas, which I just don't understand, because he wouldn't let me hold him up to the window to see them really close.  I reassured him that they couldn't get out, but he was content with standing back to see them.  Silly boy.  By the way, I love love love hearing him say, "That shark has yuck mouth!" every time we go to the aquarium and sees the sharks with their hundreds of teeth poking out in every direction.  I also love that he walked up to this photo op area where you stand in the mouth of a big plastic shark and told me, "Take my picture, Momma."  He proceeded to do the following pose with THREE fingers up instead of two, the usual Korean way, before I corrected him.  :)

I was giggling so hard on the inside, because is the second time in the past week that he has made the peace sign on his own when I'm taking his picture.  He has obviously been watching every Korean that takes a picture around us do this.  Soooo funny!

After the aquarium, we swung by Burger King for some nuggets and fries.  I couldn't help but think the same thing I thought at the aquarium about the boys growing up and being able to listen better and just sit when I need them to.  It's so nice.  After we ordered our food, Parker wanted to sit in the chair and asked for the iPad.  Connar followed and they sat there silent for the wait for our food.  They're such good boys who are getting to be bigger every day.  :)

 While we waited on our food, these American flag shoes walked in....on a Korean teenager.

 And this restroom sign was posted in the hall near BK.

"Lady" and "Gentle"   :)

I took Goofy Connar and Parker out to play in front of our building.

 P was searching for treasure in the dirt.  :)

 C brought me flowers.  I'm training him early.  ;)

 They played with their friend, Liam.

 P had a barking conversation with a dog.  Hilarious!

 Hey, handsome!

 To top off the day, C made toilet paper train tracks when he was suppose to be taking care of business (read more about that here).

I call this a fun and full Thursday.  :)