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Co sleeping and a product review

Welcome back to another mommy Monday! Just from the title I might have already lost a few blog followers… Why? Just saying that word “co-sleeping” out loud is so controversial in our culture. Or, perhaps you just have no desire to read my thoughts on it (that’s okay too).. Whatever the case, if I’ve still got you, thanks!

In Korea I’ve discussed co-sleeping with many newbie moms like myself, as well as the more seasoned. Co-sleeping and attached-parenting is something the Asian culture practices as the norm. The differences to the western culture are that some Korean families all sleep together in their bedroom on a heated floor with a sleep mat.

Trust me when I say, we get it. Yes, we were the couple, kidless mind you, making that judgement from the outside swearing we’d never co-sleep and have our baby in bed with us. Hahaha…. Let’s fast forward shall we?

Enter our little bumblebee into our crazy life equation. The first few nights we had her in our room, but in a bassinet near our bed. It was working out…eh…okay. There were a lot of up and downs for feeding, as expected, but also separate up and downs for comforting, soothing and rocking. There were some nights I was so exhausted that I’d feed bumblebee while I’d lay in our bed, begin to burp her and we’d both pass out. I’d awake startled to realize what I’d done, only to find her still on my chest sound asleep and peaceful as could be. We continued to have this pattern a few nights and were both waking in the morning much more rested. ((Praise the lord!))

It wasn’t until I was researching some other baby products and doing some browsing on Amazon when the light upstairs finally popped on. She’s most comforted by us holding her and feels more safe and secure in our arms. Just my luck I came across an item, Snuggle Me Co-sleeping Cushion
, that claimed to replicated that sort of secureness, among other benefits, all the while keeping your little one safe in a co-sleeping environment.

Eek… Co-sleeping…I was conflicted. However as I started to really think about the past few nights, that’s essentially just what we were doing….

I was intrigued and decided to discuss the Snuggle Me with the Mr. before hitting that handy one click ship button on Amazon. We both were in agreement to try it out and decision that this was a safer way to co-sleep.

Let’s product review the Snuggle Me co-sleeper and lounge cushion. (No specific order)

This is a product designed for little ones aged 0-6 months.

The design and shape of the cushion not only hugs and comforts, but also helps to prevent and protect your little one from turning and rolling over, keeping them safely on their backside.

The cushion is made in the USA!! When does that ever happen?! Woot-woot! We strive to do our part and support those businesses, even while living abroad!

We have a King size bed so there is plenty of room to stretch out to begin with, however even if we didn’t have a King the Snuggle Me co-sleeper doesn’t take up that much room and should be ideal for other size beds as well.

The one we specifically purchased is made from 100% organic cotton, twill and fleece with a hypoallergenic fill. Also a very important note to mention is, the products are all free of lead flame retardant latex and phthalate bpa.

The cushion comes with a muslin travel bag! How handy! It easily can fold up, bend, basically act like a pillow in your weekend or luggage bags. Check plus! We absolutely plan to use and take it with us on scuba weekend trips and any future country hopping trips.

The Snuggle Me is all the listed above versatility plus the fact that it’s great for tummy time, infant massage and helping with ideal positioning in cases of acid reflux relief.

Our bumblebee now usually falls right asleep in the evening and we concluded it’s one of her favorite places to sleep, so much so that she almost sleeps through the entire night! Need I say more?? We’re incredibly pleased with the purchase and absolutely recommend to any soon to be parents! Get it added to those babyshower lists!

What are your thoughts on co-sleeping? Did you and your family do it? Did you use anything special to make the co-sleeping situation safer and comfortable for all? Would you try the Snuggle Me co-sleeper?
Love to hear from you!

Click, Ship & treat yourself…or in this case the bébé !

Making Latkes

Latkes, potato pancakes, or potato cakes as we know them in central Pennsylvania, are a traditional meal for Hanukkah. I thought this would be a perfect post for this time of the season, besides… tonight I had a craving for some good old potato cakes. I’d like to publicly acknowledge and blame my fellow Instagramers for that craving…Thanks guys for all of your recent delicious photos! So we whipped up a non-traditional form of a potato cake using sweet potatoes from a recipe out of my Forest Feast Cookbook.

As we made the cakes, of course we had some inappropriate banter and jokes between us, but we also really reminisced about the first time I ever tried potato pancakes. Yes, it was actually when I first started dating Mr. B. I was sitting in his parents kitchen and we were discussing potato cakes and I believe I happened to mention that I’d never tried one before. Gasp!? I know..talk about sheltered. Well Mr.B’s mother decided right then and there that I had to try one. She immediately started whipping out potatoes, crisco, onions, etc. and made them on the spot! What a woman my mother in-law!

You won’t find any crisco in the version we made tonight, but I do believe that these potato cakes we made would make my mother in-law proud. The entire time I scarfed down my two potato cakes I couldn’t help but think of her with each bite. ‘Tis the season and all that nostalgic stuff, right?

We didn’t change a thing in the recipe. We paired the potato cakes with a nice piece of mahi mahi. It hit this homegirls spot and there were no complaints from the Mr. Victory in my book!

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Latkes

Grate 2 sweet potatoes (I don’t bother peeling).

Combine with:

4 beaten eggs
1 clove minced garlic
1 Tablespoon bread crumbs
Salt & Pepper

Fry:

3 Tablespoon heaps (forming patties) in a generous amount of olive oil until golden brown. About 3 min each side on med/high. Remove & drain on paper towels.

Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt & a sprinkle of chopped scallions.

From The Forest Feast by Erin Gleeson

Tied up with string

Packages and post are all officially in the mail and with a little holiday luck, these things may actually all arrive before Christmas Day! Oh hey, and we got some snow too!

This evening I made clementine wreaths to hang on my neighbors doors. You know, spread a little extra holiday cheer… This time of year I’m always feeling extra giddy about all the little packages and cards that are beautifully tied up with string, sprinkled with glitter, and thoughtfully picked for the receiver.

To make a DIY clementine wreath you will need the following items…

Ingredients:
7 or 8 nice looking (smaller) clementines
a roll of clear cellophane wrap, cut 10 – 12 inch wide length-wise.
Tape, any type will do you
Twine
ribbon
cinnamon sticks if you are fancy…. (not included in mine this time)

Directions:

1. Lay down a piece of clear cellophane on a smooth surface.
2. Line up your seven or eight small clementines onto the 10-12 inch side of the cellophane, about two to three inches from the edge.
3. Space out your clementines, about a pinky finger-width apart, leaving a bit of the cellophane at the beginning and end of the clementine row.
4. Now Tightly roll up the row of clementines.
5. Where you left the ends longer, crises-cross them over one another once and tie it with ribbon. It should now resemble a circular wreath at this point.
6. Cut seven or 8 pieces of twine or ribbon, each about 10-12 inches long, and start to tie one between each of the clementines (I used a candy cane striped red and white twine for mine).
7. Adjust as needed and you are finished!

Wasn’t that simple?!

Now go deck some halls and spread that holiday cheer!

Vase Arrangement class

Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower — Albert Camus.

A few weeks ago I enrolled in a vase arrangement class in Seoul, at Cosmic Mansion. Today was the class, so I woke up and jumped on the train bound for Seoul. I really didn’t know what to expect, but I still remained very excited to try it out. All of the photos I got to see beforehand had me swooning.

There are different levels of the class, as well as different techniques. To name a few, there is French basket arrangement, hand-tied bouquet, and wreath.

I arrived at Cosmic Mansion and immediately was greeted by the store owner and Sunmi the class instructor. Sunmi spoke limited English, but was ever so patient and incredibly kind to me. I was truly grateful that she was willing to actually teach me.

There were only two of us in the class, it made it feel very personal and private, it was perfect! A special shout out to Gray! Hi Gray! Thanks again for being so sweet and helping too! Your arrangement was gorgeous!

All the materials were provided During the class and you will leave armed and bagged with everything you have made along with the confidence for arranging flowers on your own in the future.

What I learned from this class:

1. Don’t be afraid to work with a different colors and textures.
2. Measure the stems in comparison to the vase and remove any bottom leaves from the stems so that they look clean in the vase
2. Cut all the flower and greens stems at an angle
3. Various greenery sets the size and shape of your entire arrangement, so play close attention to height and shape as you go.
4. Once you have your greenery set, next start filling in your main focal flowers.
5. The last additions were the fun fuzzy wispy stalks (that is the formal name, right).
6. Stand back, admire and enjoy your handiwork.

We had lots of green scraps and small flowers left over so Sunmi told us to make a little hand tied arrangements to take along home as well.

I had such a great time, I signed up for another class!

Location:
Cosmic Mansion
용산구 한남동 684-62, Han nam dong, Seoul, South Korea

Uncle Tomato and Turkey

I know what you are thinking, first what in the world is on that menu? Doesn’t rice ball flying fish spawn sound delightful? Ha-Ha! Second, I’m not really seeing tomatoes, Uncles, or Turkey in these photos. Okay, maybe one tomato in that salad. Hmmm… You’re correct.

The restaurant that I enjoyed a dinner date at with my dear friend Mary is called, Uncle Tomato. The restaurant offers a decent sized menu and quaint atmosphere. You can order anything from pasta, pizza, steaks and salads. There was something for everyone and in Korea that sometimes is the challenge. We kept pondering why didn’t we go here before?

Unfortunately and fortunately Mary and her family are moving to Turkey in the next few days. Now the puzzle pieces are coming together. I say unfortunately because this woman has become a sister to me and the selfish thoughts of loosing her, her friendship, love and family all currently and conveniently within a quick stroll down the road, is going to break my heart. I say fortunately because TURKEY!!! Come onnnnn the food, travel, meditation lifestyle! I’m so there! Making my plans as we speak, of course after I was extended the invite 😉 (Thank you Mary and family!)

More fun and special moments shared….

Not only have I watched these two beautiful children grow, you have too! Can you believe how grown up the are already? It really puts time into perspective. Eek! I miss them already! Guess I better keep saving those coins for my Turkey trip to see them again soon!

Uncle Tomato
719, Jihaeng-dong 2F-#201, Pine Hans Bldg., Dongducheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
031-865-0999

Delicious Post-op

What a delicious post-op we had this weekend in Gangnam. Surprisingly after living here over three years, we’ve never really ventured out in Gangnam. Kelsey met us before our eye appointment with plans to grab lunch together afterwards.

The weather was just beautiful! A perfect Spring day! After getting an all clear on both of our eyes we strolled around the main and back streets of Gangnam, with our shades on of course. There were just so many delicious choices! Eventually we settled on Indian.

Mano is an Indian restaurant with some Korean fusion. I think the photos below say it all. Spicy and delicious! We’d defiantly will go back in the near future for more. Plus I’m lusting over their collection of Le Creuset serving dishes. Just gorgeous! (On my wish list)

We had to take Kelsey to experience the cutesy Ann House Cafe. Her only request for this weekend was to enjoy Potbingsu before leaving on her holiday to Japan. We all ordered different versions of Potbingsu, butt spoons and all. Can you guess who ordered what?

Until our next post-op adventures.

Directions:

Mano

By subway: Gangnam, outside Exit 4 of Sinnonhyun Station. The restaurant is on located on your left. 2F of 619-18 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Phone Number: 02-568-2007.

Deliveries available: http://www.머노.com

Jeepers Peepers

So after three years of Mr. B talking me into getting LASIK we finally took the plunge! I cannot express the felling I have being able to wake up each morning post surgery and instantly be able to focus of things around our bedroom and not straining to see very fuzzy objects. The sun light pouring in is just amazing! Buh-bye twenty some years of wearing corrective lenses!

South Korea is known for medical tourism as well as having state of the art medical technology. The icing on the cake is, for the most part is that, procedures in Korea are also significantly inexpensive when comparing to that of the states. For example, in the states LASIK can cost anywhere from $2,500-$3,000 per eye. Also if you have poor vision, you could be subject to paying additional costs. In Korea the average cost for both eyes regardless of your prescription, ranges from 1.2-1.5 million won ($1,200-$1,500 USD).

So now you have a bit of the background. What happens next? Well mr. B and I wore our glasses for two weeks. Reality, you only need to wear glasses for a week, however we wanted to give our eyes a break from the contacts we constantly wear.

We made our appointment with Seoul Eye Clinic, Glory eyes in Gangnam. That was quite the experience in itself. When I called I was told that someone would call me right back to set up an appointment. Just as the secretary said, I received a call back 5-10 minutes later. I spoke with a gentleman, he spoke very well and was clearly understood. The only thing was that after speaking for a few moments he proceeded to tell me he was drunk. I was a bit shocked but in the same breath I thought to myself, well this is Korea the land of one-off. He eventually told me he was going to need to call me back tomorrow and apologized because his mother was very ill.

The next morning I waited until mid-afternoon for a call back. It didn’t happen, so I took matters into my own hands and called back. This time I spoke with a more coherent voice on the other end of the line. I was able to set up an appointment and hotel. Get this, the hotel was free! Score! We thought even if it was basic Korean rooms we were up for whatever because we were both getting the surgery done the same day.

Two weeks flew by and the next thing you know it was the morning of our appointment. We hopped on the train and sought out for Gangnam. The building was very easy to locate and is conveniently right near the subway line / exit.

We were immediately greeted by the receptionist. We only sat for about 10-15 minutes (we were early). Then we were individually taken for a standard series of vision tests and examinations. Seoul Eye Clinic is pretty busy, but is fairly large enough to accommodate the constant flow of foot traffic. Korean style, the entire process is set up like an assembly line and waiting queue. We each finished different portions of our test at various set up stations, then take an eye examination with the standard cover this eye read that letter, etc. then sit back down and wait to be seen by the doctor.

We were called into our doctors office and he is the one to tell you whether or not you’re a good fit for LASEK or LASIK and then proceeds to explain how the procedures is done for each. Thankfully we both were candidates for both procedures because of the decent amount of eye cornea thickness. We both decided on LASIK because of a shorter recovery time and significantly less discomfort post-surgery recovery. The doctor said excellent, let’s get prepped. Just like that we were on our way up the elevator to another floor in the building for surgery.

We waited about 10 minutes, there were three others in front of us. We could hear the laser machine buzzing as we waited and you could also watch the procedures as there were going on. At this point my stomach was in knots. The anticipation leading up to this crazy decision was eating me alive. Could I really do this?!

Just then, Mr. B was then called and taken into the surgery room. The staff cheerfully said you can join him to me. I don’t know what I was thinking, I followed along behind him. The automatic doors closed behind us and Mr. B was directed to lay down and they assisted him with putting on a silly medical cap on. Then they proceeded to scrubbing his face and placing a very sticky mask over your entire face (later to rip out some of my eyelashes and hair on my head), letting your eyes still peep through for the surgery. They then numb/dilate his eyes. Next was the most awkward feeling for the both of us, they suction cup your eyes open so you’re not able to close them during the procedure. Honestly the suction cups were about the only part that feels the worst…but you really cannot feel it, if that makes sense?

After his eyes were suctioned open, the doctor tells him to look at a flashing green dot and then proceeds to peel back a thin membrane off of his eye (Mind you I only know this from the random squeamish peeks and the doctor talking while doing the procedure). The intense part was that You can actually see your membrane being peeled off. Eek! Then the craziest and indescribable feeling follows when they wash out your eye with cold water after peeling back the eye membrane. Don’t worry, none of this experience was painful or hurt, it’s more psychological. The other part that messes with you is that you can smell the eye burning in the air during the procedure.

Bamb 10-15 minutes later Mr. B was done and I was next. A protective contact was put into each eye to protect the recent surgery for the day/night. Mr. B held my hand during the entire procedure and next thing you know I was done. I found it was easier to focus on the opposite eye each time they were working on the one. I also wiggled my thumb to try to take the focus off of my eyes too. Whatever gets you through it.

The doctor then said let’s get a photo! Of course, only in Korea ha ha! We were escorted up to the pharmacy to pick up three sets of drops (Antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and re-wetting drops) . Then back down to the waiting room again, where we sat with hazy vision for the next twenty minutes, putting in eyes drops every ten minutes.

Luckily Kelsey met us at the doctor’s office before hand and volunteered to escort us afterwards. We left the office and the sun was shining so brightly outside, we were instructed to bring sunglasses before the appointment so we thought we were prepared. Then as we walked, in between drops here and there, I just couldn’t shake that feeling of wanting to just close my eyes? We grabbed a very quick-lunch at a Twosome Cafe, then my eyes started to feel slightly better, however Mr. B’s eyes started to feel very irritated. We both decided it was best to just get to the hotel, get checked in and rest our eyes.

The Provista hotel wasn’t that far away from Seoul Eye Clinic. At that point I had some dryness but it wasn’t too bad. We both experienced a soft halo glow. We checked in and immediately went to sleep. We slept for four hours with our super awesome protective goggles on (check out Instagram). We woke up and decided to grab dinner at Outback Steakhouse, conveniently located in the lower level of the hotel. We then even felt good enough to venture out for a walk around Gangnam.

The next morning, Sunday, we checked out and headed to our post-op appointment. Our eyes felt much better. Still slightly sensitive to light but absolutely bearable. The doctor examined our eyes and removed the protective lens from our eyes. He said everything looked great. Hugh sigh of relief!

What an experience! After everything, I’d still recommend getting LASIK done at Seoul Eye Group in Korea! The care was excellent, very foreigner friendly and at an excellent price too! What is stopping you from going?

Now I’m researching where we can donate all of the miscellaneous glasses, contacts and contact solutions to.

Directions:

Glory Seoul Eye Group / Seoul Eye Clinic

822-4 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Or subway: Exit 12 from Gangnam Station (Line 2/Sinbundang Line) and walk straight about 30 ~50 meters. Artbox and Daiso will be on your left. Seoul Eye Group clinic is located in the building right next to the Daiso on the left. Take the stairs up to the second floor, you’ve made it!

Tel: 010-7191-9769

http://www.seouleyegroup.co.kr/event/event_175.php

Provista Hotel

1677-8 Seocho-1dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul

Tel : +82-2-597-1140,1141
Fax : +82-2-597-1170

Or subway: line 2 or 3 Exit 1 Seoul nat’l univ. of education 3 minute walk to hotel.

Easter Sunday & Herb Island

What A big, beautiful weekend! Strawberry picking, tIme shared with Kelsey, dyeing Easter eggs with the twinkies, an Armenian Easter feast, celebration of new beginnings for dear friends and a trip to Herb Island. I hope you all had a fantastic, laughter filled, delicious weekend too (just check out the food below)! Happy Easter, Happy Weekend friends!

Silly Herb Island fun….

Address:

Herb Island
35, Cheongsin-ro 947beon-gil, Sinbuk-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
경기도 포천시 신북면 청신로947번길 35

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1051901

Other Side

The original plans were to dive this weekend at the east coast, relax, stroll on the beach and get carried away with a good book. That fickle mother nature had other tricks up her sleeve. The waves and wind were definitely ideal for a surfer, not a diver. We decided to improvise, road trip and meet up with a new couple along the way.

Part of our unplanned road trip led us to visit the most northern point of South Korea’s east coast. The area we traveled was the Goseong Unification Observation Centre. If you recall from past post, we’ve seen the DMZ from the west coast along the 38th parallel, however this was the opportunity to check it out from the east coast. The observation platform is a small educational center about the North with the history about Korea’s divide. I felt like it was much more relaxed and less tense (if that is even possible) in comparison to the west coast observatory. For example you can drive your own almost right up to where you will get to view North Korea!

From the platform you get to see Mount Geumgangsan, Haegeumgang, and islands of the coast in the distance. I stood there for a long time just staring through the telescopes to the other side of Korea. I couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful the beach and view were but how ugly the other side truly was.

The holiday weekend wasn’t a complete bust, Sunday the sun greeted us bright and early, Mr. B got in some diving while I returned to my original plan of getting wrapped up in my book and taking a stroll along the beach. This day was truly a reminder of how life is good.

Happy Labor day to everyone out there, enjoy! No cookouts on the grill for we Bees this year…but I do see Johnny Rockets in our near future… 😉

Goseong Unification Observation Centre address:
457, Tongiljeonmangdae-ro, Hyeonnae-myeon, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do
강원도 고성군 현내면 통일전망대로 457

Find out more information here:
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264161

20 Degrees

After a wee little snafo with forgetting a tripod piece…oops…who would have thought that piece belonged to that thing…

We crazily ~~shivered~~ captured ourselves in the beautiful snow covered belly of the Soyo mountain. Yes, in 20 degree weather.

Brrrrrrr.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for leading my heart to this very patient and kind man. Bless his huge heart for not putting up a fight when his crazy wife comes up with silly little things….

well…not that much of a fight.

Happy Holidays 2012

Cheers to the new year!

With Love,