Shopping in Americaland

We got in late on Thursday night. The kids slept until maybe 5 or 6 on Friday morning. Saturday morning they were up somewhere near 3:30 am for the day. After keeping them quiet for a few hours while huddled in the back room of my in-laws' place (which is no small feat, by the way) we got dressed and headed to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and kill some time. We arrived about 7, which is the perfect time, if there ever is a good time, to shop at Wal-Mart.

As we were turning into the parking lot (after the 10 minute ride where we were all giddy talking about how great the car is, how smooth it rides, how roomy it is, that it has a DVD player, and how it is definitely NOT the Korean Batmobile we left behind that we love to hate) Ryan asks, "What is this place?" I tell him that it's Wal-Mart. I guess his memory has faded after 6 months on the ROK. He then asks what this Wal-Mart place has. My response, "It's Wal-Mart, what doesn't it have?" I told him it has food, toys, bath stuff, books, clothes, etc. He replies in an awe-filled voice, "Wow, so it has everything that people need?" Yup. Pretty much kid.

We got out of the car and walked toward the store. I retrieved my military id and ration card from my wallet and approached the doors of the store I have vowed to never shop in again. Several times over. Yet I keep returning. Very quickly I tucked them both back in my purse in just enough time to spare myself the embarrassment of showing them to the greeter to gain access to the store. We are creatures of habit. I know those of you who have been stationed overseas have also done this and are laughing!

We grabbed the items we needed and checked out. We weren't sure where to go next, as it was only 7:45 and we knew the rest of the house would still be sleeping. We climbed into the Odyssey (which I have missed so much...and swore I would NEVER EVER drive, but thank God that I have it and that it is paid off) and arrived at Target when it opened at 8. The kids were ridiculously overtired and Ryan was a crying mess off and on the whole time, but it was so great to be back in America, shopping in Target, and in a place where people understood the language I was speaking. We checked out, got a muffin for the kids and a Starbucks for me, and headed back to attempt to reprogram our clocks and distract the kids from their overtired crankiness with a swim in Grandma and PaPaw's pool before nap.

Our Trip to the US and Some Travel Advice

If you have ever traveled great distances, I don't have to explain to you what a beast jet lag is. We are literally upside down when we come and go. Korea is 13 hours ahead of Florida and boy do our bodies get confused. We have made this journey four times now (three of them just me and the kids) and it still takes us a good week to adjust. In a way it does get easier because we know what to expect, even though we are still waking up at 3 am because our bodies think that we just woke from a nap. It was also easier this time because I could throw the kids in the pool. By far the best way to beat jet lag. Fresh air, sunshine, and lots of energy burning activity!

We took an evening flight and even though Delta completely sucks compared to Korean Air, our flight was pretty good. The only benefit of the near complete inattention of the flight attendants on our flight was that they didn't interrupt our sleep. Or more importantly the children's sleep. They woke me once to scold me for letting a child sleep in a bed I made on the floor, but Kaitlyn transitioned well and both kids slept with their heads on my lap while I dozed from my middle seat, straight up, but thrilled that the kids were sleeping. There is definitely a lot less leg room on the Delta flight and the seats barely recline, but the kids slept and that is all I care about. Good thing too because the only (almost) kid-friendly movie was the new Alice in Wonderland and the only thing animated was a few Cartoon Network cartoons, not really appropriate for young children. Not one G rated or animated movie. Or anything that would keep a toddler's attention. Let's face it. If the toddler isn't happy the whole plane isn't happy. This was a serious shocker after flying Korean Air, which caters to children's needs and makes a mom's life much easier. Fortunately, the little guys were awesome for yet another flight and I thanked God, once again, for blessing me with the children I have. While they aren't perfect, they are great kids and I am thankful.

Here are a few things that helped on this trip that I would like to share with my friends who also make the 24 hour trip. I swear, every trip I learn something new.

1. Take the night flight. This is the first time we have done an evening flight. Usually our plane takes off mid-morning and we have to wake the kids wicked early to get to the airport on time. Then they sit all day without expending any energy and Kaitlyn has been known to not even sleep a wink. This flight was scheduled for 5:30, but didn't take off until closer to 6:30. We were ready early and were able to spend an hour or so at the park before having lunch with Daddy and going to the bus station.

2. Beach balls. I usually try to make the children sit quietly with books or toys before we board our flight. This time I wanted to make sure they were properly worn out so that they would sleep. I figured it was way more important for them to behave on the flight than in the airport, so I let them run around. Many thanks to my friend Terese who gave me the beach ball idea that she uses during layovers with her four. We kicked, passed, blocked, and chased two big beach balls for an hour and a half. The kids were sweaty, I was sweaty, and we definitely had an audience. We also had a lot of fun. While we played where it wasn't crowded, we did have to utter some apologies to people walking through or when a ball went astray. Everyone smiled and said it wasn't a problem. A few loved that we were playing hard and blowing off steam before the long flight. It worked like a charm and when they called us for boarding, we deflated our toys and slipped them back into the bag, where they hardly took up any space.

3. Something to block/minimize light and sound. I have been doing a lot of sewing lately due this this awesome place to buy beautiful, fun, and inexpensive fabric. I let the kids pick out fabric and I made them each a two sided tent/sheet to go from the backs of their seats to the seat in front of them. I attached big safety pins in case we had cloth seats and brought sticky backed velcro in case of leather seats. I didn't have to use either, but was able to tuck the material into the crevices of the headrests. Bring it anyway cuz ya never know what you're gonna get. Then I put the airline blankets across the top of that in the other direction making a dark tent for the two of them. This kept out the light from the other passengers and the lights of the aircraft when the crew turned all the lights on and allowed the kids to sleep. I also brought ear plugs and put them in the kids' ears before they fell asleep. Kaity wanted to keep hers in, but Ryan took his out. I slipped them back in after he was asleep and they both got about 8 hours of sleep. Ryan may have even gotten 9. Praise God!!! Just that leg of the flight is 14+ hours and without movies geared towards children could have been heinous. I really didn't even have to bust into my arsenal of travel things until the flight from Detroit to Tampa. Did I mention how awesome these guys are?

I know there are more tips and many more to be learned, so if you have any fresh advice for traveling with little ones, please feel free to comment.

An Overdue Update

I know, it's been a while. We haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just slid on over to the other side of it. We are back in the land of the free and the home of the brave and it feels so good to be back in America where there are no (or few) language barriers. The land of Wal-Mart (which I have sworn, more than once, I wouldn't go back to, but can't seem to stay away from), Target, Costco (the America version), Chick-Fil-A, and all other things American. Most likely made in China. I haven't been able to do much shopping at all yet, but can't wait to do so. Especially since I brought so few clothes.

Upon arriving nearly 3 weeks ago, we kicked the jet-lag and went down to Naples to visit my grandparents. Just before we left, my Grandpa was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and was not given very much time left with us. After a very emotional roller coaster, we found out last week that though the power of prayer and the grace of the Good Lord, my Grandpa's cancer is not only contained in the esophagus, but with radiation and low doses of chemo and due to the location of the mass, he may have painless years with us instead of mere months. And, with just three radiation treatments, the stint they put in to keep his esophagus from closing on him as the cancer grew, fell out! The mass shrunk (at least enough to not be able to hold the stint in) and he can go back to eating whatever he wants and living life as he did before. Well, when he isn't wiped out by chemo and radiation anyway. The change in the spirit of my grandparents when they got the news from the PET scan was as noticeable as the difference between night and day. The relief that washed over them both was as visible as the car they stepped out of. Grandpa said that he almost dropped to his knees in praise in the middle of the hospital parking lot! What a relief. Many thanks to all of you who kept them in your prayers. Please continue to pray for them as they go through this process. While the news is good, the situation and the treatment still sucks and continues to take a toll on both of them.

We have also been spending the past two weeks with my sister and my nearly 14 month old cutie pie of a niece Rylee. While it has been anything but relaxing, we have been enjoying watching her warm up to the family and getting to know this cute little bundle of personality. I will be posting some very precious pictures of her and her visit soon. She took to Kaitlyn right away and it has been fun to watch them interact. Kaitlyn has such a kind and gentle spirit and it has been sweet to watch Rylee go to her for comfort when she is heartbroken that mommy left the room and didn't take her. When they leave tomorrow, I think it will be Kaity who will be heartbroken. We will miss them and it is so tough to be apart from the little sugar when she is changing and growing so fast. Especially when we don't know when we will see them again.

We've had a few funny stories since we've been back and I hope to get them blogged soon. I've been out of the technology loop while here, trying to entertain the kids quietly when home during the day and visiting with family at night and have been lucky to return e-mails, much less blog and check facebook. Maybe one day I will be able to find a happy medium between too much technology and too little, though I am not holding my breath. As with many things in my life, it seems to be all or nothing. I suppose it is the perfectionist in me. :)