Korea

Well, I am back from my pregnancy adventure in South Korea. The plane ride was mighty long, but I'm glad that I went and saw this part of the world. My choir sang a lot and didn't have much free time on our hands to do touristy things, but here are some shots of what I experienced.

All the buses we rode had these kind of curtains in them. I thought they were tre' shiek. :)



Here some of us are in a Vietnamese restaurant. I had never tried Vietnamese before. I really enjoyed it. However, Korean food I think I have sworn off for life now. I took plenty of pictures of the Korean food, but didn't want to put them on here for everyone to see. Let's just say it's not my thing.


Koreans are serious about their toilets. In the Seoul airport they had these noise makers in the stall that you push and it sounds like flushing to mask any noises you make in there. Those noise makers are loud by the way. In our hotel we had the supreme toilet of all time in my opinion. It had a seat warmer that kept the seat warm all the time. It also had a feature that when you sat down a little water was put into the bowl to "get you into the mood." THEN, as if it couldn't get better... you have little buttons for the bidet and then the little red headed girl (that's what we called it) was for female urination it said. It was like a bidet, except further up. All I have to say is that the Korean toilets were a far cry from the hole in the ground that I was expecting.


This is me walking around the city of Incheon where our hotel was. It is about 1 1/2 hours from Seoul.


In Incheon, they are doing tons of construction and trying to make this city "the" place to come. In fact, here is an artist's rendering of the future skyline of Incheon. They are building the world's tallest sky scraper here.


Downtown Seoul. We spent the last day in Seoul before going to the airport. It was nice to shop and look around. There were lots of people and they had many stores that we have. Prices were not super cheap like we thought, but you could haggle which I enjoyed. Korean people wear western clothes and I was surprised that the Korean young women wore short skirts and high heels a lot. We were a novelty there and several times I got my picture taken on the sly. I'm not sure if they see fat blonds much over there. :)


This is a lady that the department stores hire to welcome customers into the parking garage. She has a microphone on and says stuff on it. I thought it was cute.


Shopping in Seoul.

Humm....

Today I was cutting vegetables and minding my own business when I came across this. Wowser!! A conjoined carrot!

Tuber Roses

I've posted a lot today, but I guess I have a lot on my mind. (huge shock) These are the flowers I got at the farmer's market in Lawrence, Kansas on Saturday. They are called Tuber roses and have a smell similar to jasmine or gardenia. They are lovely!

Birds of Paradise

I personally found this fascinating.

Gwen

Here she is speaking!



This justs goes to prove that anything can be a game.

18 1/2 weeks

What does it feel like to be 18 1/2 weeks along with baby #2 many people have asked me lately. This picture pretty much sums it up.

Of course, that could have something to do with the peanut butter cookies that are now in the oven. Don't judge me! :) Seriously, I'm starting to feel the coconut. That's what I call the feeling of not being able to bend over without feeling like you're bending over a coconut. Quite an imagination huh? Well, not much else going on except we are painting like mad people on the hallway upstairs. I figure if we don't do some more house work now, I'm going to be so big I'm not going to want to do it and once baby comes... forget it! So, Ben is helping me in my goal and we are plugging along at a pretty good rate. Everything in this house is wood color, so we have to prime everything and then paint. Whew! I'd show you pictures, but would you really get goose bumps looking at pictures of a hallway? What's going on with you these days?

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Do you like to cook with your kids? This is a perfect one to have a kid help with I think. Um, Gwen didn't help me, but still. Only 4 ingredients. Can you believe it?

1 C peanut butter
1 C sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix, shape into balls, put on cookie sheet, flatten with a fork, bake at 350 for 16-18 min. I added chocolate chips just 'cause.

Meal Plan

Stuffed zucchini, salad
paneer stir fry, vegetable paji (spicy and non spicy)
roast, potatoes, carrots
green bean casserole, hamburgers
javaneze chicken
chili (made from left over roast) and cornbread
hash (made from left over roast and potatoes and carrots), salad

Vegetables

Here is Gwen carrying a purple pepper from our garden.


Here she is with a vegetable called a bitter gourd. Not from our garden, but from an Indian market. I am learning how to make a vegetable paji, which a friend made for us this week. It's delicious. It turns out I got the wrong kind of gourd. It's supposed to be bottle gourd, not bitter. I made a fool out of myself asking the kind Indian people in the market what everything was. I really would love to know how to make more Indian dishes since I love them so much and are healthy and require less meat which equals cheap!


Here's a close up of the bitter gourd. Apparently, it is pretty bitter. Sonia will tell me how to cook it.

I'm Obsessed

Disci-Plans and Mini Vans

Yesterday as I told you, we went to the library. One of the books I checked out is called "Discipline the Brazelton Way." I checked it out because in the table of contents it had a whole section on a year to 15 months which I thought was unusual. First off, I want to say that I use no method of anyone for anything. People sometimes asked me what method I used to get Gwen to finally sleep through the night... well, my own method, namely time and continuous effort! Anyway, back to the book. I am not surprised anymore that people say in books not to spank kids. I mean, lots of parents don't even want to talk about it if they do. It's just this quote that struck me... see if it "strikes" you. (pun intended)

"Using physical punishment today needs to be avoided as much as possible. I was switched whenever I 'deserved' it when I was little, but I don't remember anything I learned from it, except to hide the switch from my parents. Hitting a child is not respectful. It shows that you are bigger than he (which won't last) and it says: 'Violence is the way to settle issues.' In our present violent society, I can't recommend this as a way of helping a child learn to control himself.
I would avoid using force as a way to control a child. The goal for discipline is to teach the child how to control himself. Force won't lead to that. These days we can no longer afford to take the 'spare the rod, spoil the child' dictum so literally. It is time we took it to mean 'spare discipline, spoil the child'-- a challenging but essential warning for every parent."

I disagree with his opinion of what the goal for discipline is anyway. I believe the goal for discipline is obedience to God first and to authority... and of course, self discipline is an accompaniment to that. He acts like kids have the reasoning ability to know how to control themselves the right way all the time. I mean, I don't even think your brain is done forming until age 50! (at least the reasoning ability) I didn't like how he quoted the Bible and basically changed it. I'm talking about and reading about this because I am facing base camp of the mountain of discipline (or correction as I'm going to call it) with Gwen. She's too young to spank at this stage I feel, but definitely knows when she is about to do something wrong. She doesn't understand fully what I say, but enough. It is a tricky age I think to know how to discipline properly. It all started with throwing food off of the high chair. We have swatted her hand about that from the beginning and never treat it as a game. I ain't playin' that one, ya know? So, has it worked? Well... sometimes, but she still tries to do it. I have also taken the object out of her hand that she is threatening to drop and she doesn't like that too much. It's a puzzle really. Now she has graduated into wanting to stand up on her rocking chair and dive off. I have graduated to swatting her leg for such a thing after I tell her in a low voice and firm "no". I'm not getting worked up or anything, and I'm not angry when I do that. It is literally amazing to me to see her reaction to not getting her way of things. She gets really upset and then a second later will laugh at me whispering in her ear that I love her.

I've got another bone to pick with this dude from the book. You know, I don't remember why I was spanked a lot of the times either...but I do remember some times. I'd like to know any kid that remembers time outs and why they were there too! Kids have a short memory span. Ok, enough of my rant. :) I try not to rant much on this blog. Not many people want to read rants.. or maybe that's just me.

Do you see this beautiful van? We are now the proud owners of a minivan! My parents came up in July and gave us their "old" van and got a new one for themselves. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed and cried like a baby. We are so grateful and thankful for their generosity and we are LOVIN' the minivan life! It will be so nice with two little ones.

Korea

Ok, so Ben, Gwen and I all went to the library tonight. I found a book on Korea so I checked it out. I looked at the picture on the cover and thought... "boy, don't they look warm and inviting." Here it is:

Baby Names

So I was looking at the meanings of baby names tonight. I looked up Georgia and it means "farmer". I also looked up Morgan and it means "great circle." I told Ben that and he said "well, that's better than a little rectangle."

Why is it so hard naming people????? Any suggestions?

Meal Plan and Babysitter

taco salad
scalloped potatoes, pork chops, steamed broccoli
beef barley soup
chicken and dressing, cranberry sauce
tuna sandwiches, salad

Tomatoes and Conversations

Here are the tomatoes I harvested just tonight. Aren't they beautiful? Woo hoo! I feel like such a gardener!


The weather has been so nice lately we ate out on our back deck the other night. Here are some dinner topics that have come up recently... so imagine what it will be like when our kids get in on the conversations.

Do spiders have brains? Well, then do earthworms have brains? How do spiders know how to make webs and I wonder what it feels like to have a web coming out of their nether regions.


Here is Ben trying to convince Gwen to try lettuce.

Ben let her have a bite of his ice cream sandwich. She liked it would be putting it mildly.


I have a new favorite TV show. I don't watch a lot of TV (which is good) but I particularly like this cartoon called Rupert. It's about a bear that goes on all these crazy adventures. This is kind of sad, but sometimes Ben asks me what I'm thinking about and I tell him all about the Rupert episode that I last watched. Here is a picture of Rupert. Don't worry... my next child will not be named Rupert.

Gwen Overload? I didn't think so!

I know I've posted lots of Gwen lately, but she's just too adorable not to!! This is today. She sat in her block box.


Tonight we got a child's rocking chair for her since she's wild about the one at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Craigslist strikes again.. $15. I hope she enjoys it.

Sometimes you just need a little Jackson 5. I was trying to sweep and mop and she loves to dance.



This is Gwen walking a few days ago. She has improved every day. She can almost cross a room now without falling. It's so cute seeing those first steps! Her first few steps were on Independence Day... don't think I'll forget that!

Hummm...

So I was reading to Gwen tonight from a book called "shapes" and these always make me think. I mean, how many kids know what an oil funnel is? Couldn't they think of another example of a triangle?


You really don't see many pig crossing signs in Kansas.

Meal Plan

burgers (with free buns given away at church), zucchini parmesan crisps
Leah's Mary Poppins rolls, roast (ok, so I didn't buy it last week), potatoes, carrots
tortellini spinach casserole, salad
teriaki glazed salmon, salad
chicken and rice, peas
oven fried chicken chimicangas

Home and The Farm

Gwen is all about fitting into small spaces. That task is getting increasingly more difficult as she gets longer. This is where we found her Saturday. :) Oh, and don't bother her, she's on the phone.


Today we went out to Ben's Grandma and Grandpa's farm. It's always nice to go out there to see the beautiful flowers and wildlife and hear pure quiet and eat home grown vegetables. Grandma graciously found some little dolls for Gwen to play with.


These dolls weren't just any dolls. You all know I'm amused by strange things.. well, this qualifies in my book. These dolls have the funniest expressions! Look at this one. It made me laugh out loud. I told Ben it looks like this doll has been smacked.


This one is winking. Since when have you seen a winking doll with its tongue out?

Trunk Monkey

Gwen Speaks

Gwen and the Doll

I know the lighting in these photos kind of stinks...but I thought they were so cute I'd post them. I've never seen Gwen pick up dolls like she has in the last two days. She has been carrying around with her today and in the first picture feeding it a shrimp! :) I'm also trying to get a video of how she speaks all day. It is adorable. What a beautiful age.

What Do You Think?

What has happened to personal responsibility?

Meal Plan

It's been a long while since I posted what we eat out here in the Kansas wilderness. A friend's blog inspired me to share.

roast, carrots, potatoes in crockpot (haven't bought the roast yet, but I will ok?)
spaghetti, turkey meatballs, salad
easy beef stroganoff- had tonight... liked it
chili
roasted chicken and corn chowder- Ben about flipped over this

Easy Beef Stroganoff

4 1/2 C uncooked yolk-free noodles (I used however much I had of egg noodles)
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (not a shroom fan, so didn't put in)
1 large onion, halved and sliced (I diced it in the food processor)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T butter
2 T all-purpose flour
1 can (14 1/2 oz) reduced- sodium beef broth (I used just regular)
2 T tomato paste
1 C fat-free sour cream (I used light instead of fat free)
salt and pepper to taste

cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook the beef, mushrooms, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Remove and keep warm.

In the same pan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth and tomato paste. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Carefully return beef mixture to the pan. Add sour cream, salt and pepper; cook and stir until heated through (do not boil). Drain noodles; serve with beef mixture.

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder (do you like soup? gotta try this)

4 slices bacon, chopped (I used turkey bacon)
1 C diced onions
1/2 C each diced celery and diced red bell pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 T minced fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
2 T all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C chicken broth
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, well drained
1 can cream style corn
2 cups chopped roasted chicken breast (I just boiled some chicken and chopped it up)
1 T hickory-flavored barbecue sauce (I just used what I had on hand)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook chopped bacon and chop up (I cook mine in the microwave). Not too crisp. Put it in pan with onions, celery, red pepper and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. (you may have to add some butter to your pan if you don't cook bacon in the pan or if you use turkey bacon because it doesn't give off enough fat)

Add thyme and flour. Mix well. Stir in broth and evaporated milk. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and stir continuously until soup thickens slightly.

Reduce heat to low. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and let simmer for 10 min stirring occasionally. Serve hot. (like you needed that advice huh?)

Let me know if you try these and what you thought.

Baby Bap Update

I went to see the baby doctor today and she made my due date January 11th. So, that means I'm 15 1/2 weeks along today. I heard the heartbeat and it was pumping away in there. I'm so curious if it is a boy or girl, but I know Ben will not want to find out again. Oh well... it will be a nice birthday present for me. Maybe our baby will share my birthday of January 6th.

Something Good

Ben is in a computer class from 6-9:30 part of this week and next, so that means I get the nightly routine to myself. Gwen's routine is a bath with the usual teeth brushing and all and then books and then the lights go out and she drinks a bit of milk and I sing to her. I have been singing hymns (cause you know it breaks my heart to think of her not knowing all the hymns I grew up on) and other songs. In the midst of "I Surrender All" and "Just As I Am" I sang this song. I love this song from The Sound of Music. That has to be my all time favorite movie I think. I looked at her when I was singing and I am sometimes struck by her beauty. I mean, don't get me wrong, I look at her all the time and think she is beautiful... but there is something to that private time before bed when it is just the two of us (and the baby within) that makes me see all of her. How long she's getting, how beautiful her eyes are, how she knows me and is my constant companion, how her personality and joy have captured my heart.

Noah's Ark

I know the Noah's Ark is a popular theme for kid's stuff. I understand why... I mean, the animals, the boat and such. But this plate makes me think. I mean... look at the top right hand portion of this plate.

I think of the real Biblical story and all of those people dying in the flood and I think... what a weird thing to put on a children's plate. Oh well... I'm probably the only one who thinks that.

Swimming

The other day we went and visited Ben's Aunt and Uncle and swam at their house. Here is Gwen in her bathing suit holding a naked Barbie that she named "Dee."


Entertaining the masses. P.S... she loves the huge dog they have.


Refreshments anyone?


All tuckered out.

Need a Laugh?

No, this is not Gwen...but it's FUNNY!

Cat's In the Cradle

I heard this song today and it about made me cry. I think it was an attack of the pregnancy hormones, but it is a sad song that I haven't heard in a while.

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Baby Bap

In Britain, a bap is a big bread roll... so we thought it would be cute to call our next little one Baby Bap for now. Here are the sonogram pictures from July 2nd. I was according to the sonogram 12 weeks and 5 days along. It was moving all over the place and seemed very happy in there. :) In the first picture if you look closely you can see fingers and a foot.

Purple Peppers

Here are some purple bell peppers in our garden! I told Ben I am disappointed because they really look black instead of purple and his reply was, "well, I'm sure black bell peppers are pretty rare too." Peter Piper picked a purple pepper... makes it even better I think don't you?

Korea Jitters

Coming up in August I will be going to Korea... South Korea. I'm going there to sing with my choir in a choir festival. They are paying for my plane ticket and also a room for me, so I thought it was a once in a lifetime opportunity I couldn't pass up. I know absolutely no Korean and I basically do not know anything about the culture other than what I have read online. I don't know exactly why, maybe it's pregnancy hormones, but I'm starting to feel nervous about it. The long flight... I mean LONG. It's something like 20 hours I think. Me being pregnant... I'll be close to 20 weeks then... and then there is kimchi. I have a feeling I will have to try that stuff when I'm there. It is a fermented and pickled and super spicy substance that Koreans eat with every meal. Here's a pic to whet your appetite.

Want some? Didn't think so. Ben says to just decide in my mind that I will soak up the experience of being in a new country and not worry about the flight or the little petty things I'm worried about. I think he's right... why does he always have to be right? :) You can betcha I'll let you know what happens on my pregnant adventure to Korea.

What To Expect

You may be wondering what books a mom of a one year old and pregnant again has on her nightstand. (I know you have... stop denying it) Well... here you are!


I've got one question for you all. Does she look remotely happy? I look at this book so much and think... she must be in the early stage...but no, look at her belly. I guess it would be a little freaky if she had a big toothy grin, but still. A little grin with no teeth would have been nice is all I'm saying.

By the way, I can read these books until I'm blue in the face and I still won't know what to expect, but it makes me feel better, so I read them occasionally. :)

Don't Blink

I saw a friend at church and we spoke about her daughter turning 6 yesterday. She said to Ben and I, "just don't blink... it goes so fast." I thought of this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ySSg4QG8g

Garden Update and Play

I feel like I haven't blogged in a while... but then, sometimes you get a little dry on topics to tell people about. So... I thought you might be interested in a garden update.

Here is one of our bell pepper plants. See the little peppers coming?


These are just two of our tomato plants. A normal dowel rod wasn't enough to hold up these bad boys. They have already bent the tomato cages. Ben had a brilliant idea to use our tee kee torch holder things. These plants are lovin' some Kansas dirt.


Here are some of the tomatoes just waiting to get in my belly.

Last, but not least, here is a video of Ben playing with Gwen. He somehow got the plastic bacon to stick to his forehead. I know I put a lot of videos of Ben playing with Gwen. I play with her too...but it's not near as funny and I never get it video taped. She is becoming such a ham! She waves at everyone and says "hi" every chance she gets. She's absolutely enchanting and people can't help but stop and smile at her.

Plastic Food

I get a huge kick out of kid stuff. I have narrowed it down to my three most favorite plastic foods that Gwen has in her new kitchen. In the picture you see bacon, tofu I think, and a shrimp. I these are so cute!

Kitchen

So many things have been going on at the Barreth house. My mother-in-law, Pam, and my brother Preston both had surgeries and have stayed or will stay at our house. My parents are here now and so it's just a flurry of activity around here. My sister, Stephanie, has two of her own kids- Clay and Chloe, and so she very generously passes on things that they don't play with anymore. My mom and dad this time brought up a little kitchen from them. What a blessing! I mean, this thing is AWESOME! I would have loved something like this as a kid and Gwen loves it already. My sister and I had an easy bake oven and I thought that was awesome as a kid. There are all kinds of plastic foods that go with it.. sushi rolls, hot dogs, asparagus... you name it! Here are a few pictures of Gwen enjoying her kitchen.


In other news, I had my first sonogram of the little baby #2 yesterday. They did an early sonogram to come up with the due date. With Gwen they told me a due date of May 31st and then when I had an ultrasound they backed it up to June 9th and she wasn't born until June 17th... so I guess I'm a little hard to predict. It was amazing to see that little baby in there moving around with arms and legs and I could see the fingers. Mom and Ben and Gwen were with me and we all heard the little heartbeat for the first time together. I have some pictures that I will try to have scanned and put up on here to share with you. I'm further along than I thought. According to the sonogram I'm almost 13 weeks... and I thought I was almost 11. So.. it looks like my due date will either be January 11th or the 16th. We'll see what the doctor says next time.