Korea again! : by jean

Hello from Korea!  Check out our last trip to Korea here .

Since we made the trip last year, I already knew what to expect.  The jet lag will suck while we are there and then once we get back.  The biggest concern this year is that Miles is now too big for the bassinet.  Miles is still under 2 so legally I don't have to purchase a seat for him which is a huge plus but also a huge concern.  We were banking on the possibility that the plane wouldn't be full so that we could have an extra seat between us for Miles...and luckily we DID get an extra seat!  Miles did pretty well for the most part.  He didn't enjoy the kids' meal but rather liked the bibimbap that was for the adults. (He's a true Korean...loves rice!)

Our flight was at 1pm which is around his nap time.  Because he was so fascinated by the plane he was fine past his nap time and went down around 3pm and slept for about 2 hours.  He comfortably laid down in between us while we made room for him to stretch and sat awkwardly.  He went down to sleep for the night a little after his usual time and was able to sleep for about 6 hours, leaving only about an hour left once he woke up.  All in all, he slept well, but we (husband and I) were SO uncomfortable and pretty much pulled an all nighter! :(

The one major item that helped us through the flight was the iPad.  I used to judge parents (sorry being honest here) who used to give kids their phones/iPads during dinner to keep them occupied.  I TOTALLY get it now!!  Anytime he started to melt down, an episode of Sesame Street or Barney helped us.  Did you know that Asiana Airlines now has USB and power plugs at your seats?! Amazing!

We are now dealing with day one of jet lag.  Hopefully we will adjust soon!

being a working-stay-at-home-mom (WSAHM) : by amy

I'm taking 5 months of maternity leave-- did the same with Logan, but I'm enjoying my leave much more the second time around.  Logan is going to day care full-time, so that leaves me with just one child at home to look after for most of the day which is a total luxury!  Logan gets to be engaged with music, books, outdoors play and socialize all day, and I get to take a productive "break" during the day when Charlie is napping.  ("break"= shower, eating, tidying up the house, laundry, cooking) This is a totally different stay-at-home experience than I had with Logan.  But there is one thing I learned about myself this time around: I am a very expensive stay-at-home-mom.

What do I mean exactly?  Learning from my first maternity leave, I know I can't stay in the house all day.  I need to go out at least once a day.  Fortunately for me, I live in the most convenient location of arguably one of the most convenient towns in New Jersey.  I live <10 minutes from every major retailer, Wegmans and Korean grocery shopping and restaurants; 5 minutes from a decent mall, 15 minutes from a nicer mall, and 25 minutes from a "baller" mall.  Oh, and Uniqlo just opened up in 2 of those malls.  Now that I'm somewhat nap-training Charlie, I make a field trip during his 2nd nap.  Today, I went to HomeGoods.  Yesterday, I went to Target.  Friday, I went to Nordstroms and learned that it was their half-yearly women's and kids sale.  Gap keeps giving me 40% off everything.  I double-stacked coupon codes at Piperlime and got $260 worth of stuff for only $60.  My co-worker gave me the Friends and Family coupon for PB Kids.  Restoration Hardware and Bloomingdales just had their Friends and Family sales.  Oh, and did I mention that Uniqlo opened up in 2 locations near me?

Aside from the food shopping, all of this "window shopping" and sales alerts have got me spending more than I did when I was actually going to work.  I don't actually shop every time there's a sale, but I definitely am tempted to buy more stuff just because it's on sale!  I used to be a bit of a sale-aholic before having kids, but once I had kids, I somewhat lost interest in shopping unless it was for food or for the kids (my mom calls it "maturity").  And it doesn't help (or perhaps it does) that I'm still getting a full-time paycheck.  But now that I'm at home, I feel like retailers are coming at me!  Hey, welcome to the SAHM world!  We have a sale so come spend your money here!  After all, you deserve a little retail therapy!  Even though I've been spending a bit more than usual, I feel like it's mostly been constructive spending.  Perhaps it feels like I'm shopping more since I actually have the time to get things that I've always been meaning to get,  like flannel sheets and a nightstand for Logan's room, picture frames for new family photos, fall and winter sweaters for Logan, a bigger diaper bag, a new hutch for the dining room, black ankle socks and stretchy transitional pieces for me as I slowly start to lose the baby weight, more Heat-tech shirts for Charles (the last 3 things were all from Uniqlo).  These purchases don't sound too bad, right?  When I was working, I typically did all of this discretionary shopping online if I had a lucky few minutes during mental breaks...or I just didn't buy them at all.  Is this what all SAHMs do?  I doubt it.  Since I'm a WSAHM (meaning, I'm a temporary SAHM), I'm not making any effort to join any mommy groups to make new local friends or sign up for baby classes at my local Gymboree.  I'd rather have a relationship with my American Express card.  Just kidding, sort of.

I actually had a conversation with my father-in-law about me being an expensive WSAHM.  He laughed and told me I was truly living the life as "Mrs. Chang" (my mother-in-law has always been an expensive SAHM).  The husband and I (and my father-in-law!) agreed that it's better for our bank account and my social life if I return to work in February when my leave ends.  From now on, I'm focusing more of my energy on reorganizing rooms and cleaning out stuff in our house.  It's therapeutic, something I likely will never do once I return to work, and way cheaper.  Too bad I don't get Amex points for it though.

Tangent: Uniqlo has been my savior during these post-baby days.

 This Heat Tech lounge dress is like wearing a toasty cloud.  Winter must-have for only $30.

 Post-pregnancy magic pants.  Stretchy denim leggings that come in S/M/L with an ahjumah-style elastic waist band (which I shamelessly love).  The best part?  Only $20.

milk or night light? : by jean

(It's been a while since my last post as well.  Sorry! Life's just been busy. :p)

Miles has relapsed again.  He SCREAMS when we put him to bed now.  Not just a whiny "I don't want to go to bed" type of thing, but a painful scream that is exhausting to listen to...and I'm sure exhausting for him.  We let him cry it out a few times.  Each time it lasted about 20 minutes.

Then the other day I thought, could he be screaming because it's so dark in there?  Normally there's still some day light when we put Miles down but now that the days are getting shorter, it's dark by the time it's Miles' bedtime.

My roommie thinks it's because we haven't been giving him milk after dinner.  When he doesn't ask for it, I haven't been giving it to him.  He normally eats very well for dinner so he definitely doesn't NEED milk before bed.

So we tested Miles.  We gave him milk AND had a little night light for him.  He whined for 30 seconds and then was off to bed.  I think it was the night light, but roommie thinks it was the milk.  The next couple of nights we alternated giving him milk and not giving him milk while the night light stayed on at all times.  Unfortunately, after he whined for 30 seconds, he then continued to cry/scream for about 20 minutes.  Last night was 6 minutes.  Tonight it was 3 minutes!

The next couple of nights was up and down.  At one point, I thought maybe Miles was more upset about being stuck in the crib so we tried letting him sleep on the floor.  FAIL.  I was so close to converting his crib into a toddler bed which means he can get out whenever he wants...but the roommie and I decided it wasn't time yet and that he must just need another review on how to sleep.

The moral of the story is that there's absolutely no rhyme or reason as to WHY they relapse.  Does it ever end?  Please tell me it does before they turn 18 and are out of the house. :p

Update: now we are dealing with daylight savings.  With the time changes, Miles is exhausted by the time its his bedtime and doesn't even really fight with us anymore.  Maybe a whine but that's about it. However, he's now waking us up at 5:45am! Grrrrreeat!  Anyone else hate daylight savings??

they are cute until they wake you up at 5:45am!!