click, click, clique?

poor little neglected blog. sigh. i keep vowing to turn over a new leaf but every time i do, that little jackass flips right back over on me & i don't notice for about 2 months & then hey! yet another neglected blog post! shameful. just shameful.

so i quit the homeschool group. (travelling circus, stop reading NOW...you're already heard it.)

it was a great group when it started. many different people, many different views, but all meshing together nicely. and plans were emailed & everyone knew what was up. AND THEN THE GREAT PCS EXODUS OCCURRED.

and the group changed hands and whee hoo, yippity yahoo, it all went to crap. for me at least. i'm sure everyone else is happy with it. cause they're a part of the CLIQUE. and i'm not. so poo on them.

i was always the awkward kid. the nerd kid. the funny-looking kid. the doesn't fit in with the "in" crowd kid. and i wasn't the kid that took it gracefully and went about with my other nerd friends, my other awkward, funny-looking friends. i was one who tried to fit in. and by doing so, probably signed my death warrant as the nerd kid who will NEVER fit in. i didn't have the right clothes or the right hair or the right attitude. or the right overly-permissive parents. i didn't have any of what THEY had. not that i care at this point. but back then it was hard. and it seeped into me and now it infuriates me when it happens again. because my 4th-9th grade self creeps out and pouts in the corner while the cool kids flounce around in their name brand clothes.

and that's where the homeschool group went wrong for me. i get that i'm not exactly part of the in crowd with my not-army family and my kids too big or too little to fit in with the mean age of the group. and i don't get all the acronyms and i don't feel the deployment pain and my life isn't totally bound by the rules & regs of uncle sam. but i'm here, with you, away from home, away from any co-op, looking for support in the jungle that is korea. BWAHAHA. shame on me for expecting it.

getting left out of the planning once is one thing. being informed at the last minute about a time change for someone who didn't even bother to attend the event-fine. we'll let it slide. eff me once..shame on you.

but for it to happen again. and for no one to deign to call me, email me, FB me for heaven's sake. for me to have to call around & sort things out from afar, eff me twice...shame on me.

i don't need it. i dno't need the aggravation. i don't need the competitiveness. i don't need the rearing of my childhood's ugly head once a month. i don't NEED it.

so have at it. with your meetings and your cookouts and your field trips. i'll continue on as before except this time without digging up aggravation meant to have been buried 20 years ago.

and if anyone reading this ever catches me acting like the ass i'm accusing these other catty women to be, please do slap me. heaven forbid i ever be an accessory to making someone feel as unworthy as anyone has ever done to me.

just for you, j.b.

so, last night was 1's bowling night. which means it was also 1's go out night. he promised he wouldn't be late as biggest had to be up at the butt crack of dawn to go warm up for his game. and he rolled in later than expected. but he had a good excuse.

remember "R", mr. "homeschool's the debil"? apparently he is also "general civility is the debil" man, too. the normal hangout is a little bitty bar with about 15 bar stools, 2 tables & a pool table. it's a nice little place. it's...just...little. no biggie. when everyone has their manners on. and last night they didn't.

a fella was playing pool & was in a position where he needed to take a corner shot. which meant he would either have to 1-stab the person in the corner bar chair in the belly with his pool stick or 2-ask the person in that chair to move momentarily so that he can take his shot. he chose 2. he had his manners on. guess who was in the corner bar chair?

apparently chaos ensued. R refused to move. period. his excuse? i'm drinking a drink here in this chair & i'm not moving because i don't have to. quite a few people attempted gently assisting him with seeing the error of his ways but no good. the bartender/owner & the previous owner came on the scene. funny thing that the bartender pointed out? that R didn't have a drink. so his flimsy little argument held no water. or jack. or whatever assholes drink.

what the hell is his problem? again with the sense of entitlement. was this a parenting failure? did his parents instill this sense in him? this sense that he has to listen to no one about anything and that, no matter the subject, he wrote the book. or is his ego just naturally supersized? i will never understand how a person can get to the age of (approximately) 40 and not be able to fit themselves into the world without constantly bumping heads & knocking shoulders with the other inhabitants.

is it really that difficult to move your tail for 30 seconds so a man can make a shot? i'm sure that doing that would have endeared him more to everyone-instead he seems to have accomplished the opposite. he was gently removed from the bar. i don't guess it's a lifetime ban & judging by his attitude, he'll be back in there next week stirring the pot just because he can.

and, oh yeah, the kicker? he was out last night. on his wife's birthday. so i guess it's not just complete strangers and/or acquaintances that he treats like dirt. i feel like that should make me feel better. i don't think it does, though. it makes me feel bad for her.

and the rant goes on

You didn't think I'd forget, did you?

Ah, yes, breastfeeding. Nature's first food. Asshole's second target.

Somehow he managed to draw a parallel between homeschool & breastfeeding. I THINK it had something to do with mamas having issues with letting their children go, thus keeping them home for school & also encouraging extended breastfeeding. I think that's where it came from. This was the second part of his monologue so I may have been confused by all the BS the first part held.

I was (quite luckily, I might add) informed of the fact that DOCTORS (oh, very important! i better listen up!) have said that breastfeeding past 4 months is BAD for babies! And does anyone want to know the reason that doctors say this? (looks around to make sure everyone is paying very close attention) It's because of the PAIN involved to the mother due to the fact that at 4 months, most babies are teething. Yes, that's right, folks! You heard it here! Everybody put away that boob right now if your baby is more than 4 months old! Don't you know that the fact that baby MAY at this point in his life be teething &, therefore, could cause a little pain to your boobies at some point is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than the antibodies, health benefits and generalized well-being that nursing imparts? *coughcoughbullshitcoughcough** I took a deep breath. The bar has a new owner & I'm still trying to make friends so I didn't want to make a scene. But if some jackass 40 year old with one child & no boobs thinks he's going to tell me that breastfeeding mothers are doing irreparable damage to their children by feeding them the way God intended and that I would smile & nod & agree with him, he had another think coming. The entire time he was rambling along, I had my eyes on 1. Who was biting his lip & watching me out of the corner of his eye. Possibly waiting for me to explode. He's known me too long.

Here's what my research tells me. Nursing with no other form of supplement or food is recommended until the age of 6 months. Nursing a child provides that child with antibodies from the mother, provides them with the proper amount of calories to help them grow without becoming little fatties, creates a bond between mother & child that, in my opinion, cannot be matched, produces children with fewer (I did not say no) allergies and promotes mental & physical development. One of my mother's favorite sayings is that breastmilk builds brains, not bones. Not to mention the convenience (no stumbling to the kitchen in the middle of the night to groggily mix a bottle), the smaller amount of "stuff" that has to fit in the diaper bag, never having to worry if the milk is at the proper temperature. This list could take over my blog. Once baby food and, eventually, table food is started, supplemental nursing to one year is accepted in most pediatric circles. Should a family take a "no vaccination" or even "selective vaccination" stance, breastfeeding is recommended until the age of 2, due to the additional antibodies & health benefits imparted by mother's milk.

We are a selective vaccination (at least for littlest) family. Had I known as much about vaccines with middlest as I do now, I may well have been even more selective that I was. (middlest is allergic to pertussis vaccine and to this day does not get it). That & if I had had a more parent-supporting pediatrician at the time, that probably would have helped too. But I digress, as usual.

Littlest is still nursing. She will be 21 months 2 days after Christmas. We are down to morning, nap & night. She asks to nurse several times during the day but, for the most part, does not get it. Littlest has a wheat allergy &, as such, her diet is rather limited. Nursing does not take the place of any meals but I do feel that it supplements her nutrition enough that she is not in need of any additional vitamins or medical intervention of any sort. I am seeing signs that our nursing journey is coming to an end but am not forcing it. Apparently I have also become a member of the child-led weaning camp (or is it cult, R? hahaha!), as well. Also there is the fact that littlest has not had an ear infection in her life. Lots of children littlest's age that I know have had quite a few & several already have tubes in their ears. I'm not saying that this can definitely be attributed solely to their mothers' decisions to nurse or not. I understand that genetics play a big part in health. I'm reasonably healthy and, as such, so are my girls. But I do feel that nursing littlest this long has certainly played a big part in keeping her healthy. To date, she has had several colds, a case of the stomach flu (thanks, dad!), one case of undetermined cause of barfing all night and a case of roseola. All normal childhood issues. Nothing out of the ordinary.

R rambled on for awhile about breastfeeding & when 1 could get a word in edgewise, he spoke up. The look on that man's face when he found out that littlest is 20 months & still nursing was close to priceless. To his credit, he didn't backtrack on his views. He just continued to spew out more ridiculousness. We did our best to defend our stance but when you are dealing with an arrogant idiot of this caliber, there is no penetrating his armor. He has girded himself with stupidity for so long that he has finally managed to convince himself that he is right, be all & end all.

Next up - the breastfeeding/homeschooling cult. AKA "why I should move to California".

Oh, and Belynda? I'll fight you for first in line. Bring your easter eggs, traffic cones & forks. (how'd ya like that plug?! )

caution...rant/tirade ahead

If someone comes up with a miracle drug to rid the world of assholes, please do let me know. I’ll be first in line to purchase.

1 & I went out for a bit Friday night. (Ok, well, I went out for a bit & came home due to mommy guilt. He stayed out for quite a bit & boy did he pay for it the next day & the next. Hungover people can be quite annoying. Nuff said). So we're sitting at the bar & some fella (R) walks in. Apparently 1 knows him. He introduces me & the first thing R says is "homeschooler, huh?" And I’m all "how did you know" which, of course, if 1 knows him, maybe that's how he knows. But I don't know how well 1 knows him so I discount that idea for the moment. The 2nd thing R says is "you've just got that ultra conservative look about you." !!! And he says it with a look on his face like he just bit into something nasty. And then the fun begins.

That man is apparently against EVERYTHING I am "for". Or, as will be revealed, have been "for" at some time in my life. I was treated to an oral dissertation on how homeschooling beyond 6th grade is a grave disservice to children, that breastfeeding beyond 4 months is NOT recommended by doctors, that it is "interesting" that middlest's bio-asshole (see! another one!) is black & that homeschoolers who breastfeed past 4 months are a cult. Oh, yeah, and that I should move to California because I’d fit in well there. There may have been more but by that point, I had decided it was either tune out or get out & it was way too cold to venture back out yet.

This man is 40 years old, has one daughter the same age as middlest & apparently thinks he owns the world & all the information in it. Thus, anyone who disagrees with his narrow-minded &, at times, incorrect & backed up by research incorrect views must be beat about the head with said views until they fall down on the floor & acquiesce to his larger brain, thus assuaging his super ego which was the whole point of the treatise to begin with. I could not believe his audacity.

First he attacked our decision to homeschool. I’ve had to defend it before so that was no big deal. Sometimes I attack our decision to homeschool after a particularly miserable week, or day, or hour. I’m ok with that. Practice makes perfect. He had all kinds of reasons for why homeschool is a poor decision. Let’s see if I can recall...

1-the socialization myth. Good try. Biggest & middlest have all kinds of buddies on post. They don't see them every day (see: miserable day) but do see them at least every weekend, if not more. With basketball season starting up, they'll see them even more. I don't keep my kids isolated in my home. If we were in the states there would be even more of an exposure to other people. Alas, homeschool co-ops here = nonexistent in this area so we make do with what we've got. Neither one of these children is lacking in social skills. Cleaning skills? Listening skills? Acting like a decent human being rather than a teenager skills? Yes! Social skills? No!
2-socialization myth spin-off. Something along the lines of if my children were in public school, they would ALREADY KNOW ALL ABOUT SEX & SEXUALITY & therefore wouldn’t have any curiosity about it. Part of his "research" to substantiate this pig-headed opinion was that a "friend" of his homeschooled & sent her 2 children off to college in other states. One of them came home pregnant 8 months later. (don’t people always have friends of the same race, color, creed or mentality of the people they are currently de-
meaning?) That’s plain out & out stupid. My children don’t NEED to be exposed to garbage to make them “normal”. Again, they are not completely sheltered in our home. Their father & I allow them freedoms based on their age & our estimation of their maturity level. This does not include movies based on gratuitous sexuality, pornography or video games with sexuality or great amounts of profanity. I know that they have both seen & heard & played these things before since, try as I might, I cannot control the world, other people’s children, other children’s parents or bio-idiots. But they don’t get that garbage in my home. They’ll be out there in that big, bad world soon enough. My job is to give them enough of a moral background to stand on to support themselves in all manners - social, moral, intellectual, logical - the list could go on. Should they choose to take a different road than the one I set them on, I can only hope & pray that they find their way home again quickly. I feel that garbage in = garbage out (as they have proven to me in the past). I refuse to feed the landfill.
3-And I can’t forget the blurb where told me something about “if your daughter goes off to college with her virginity intact…blah, blah, blah”. I had tuned out the sex talk at that point. I really wonder what he will do the first time he walks in on his daughter in bed with her boyfriend. Break out the champagne?

I think I’ve pretty much covered the gist of his stance on homeschooling. Are you disgusted yet? I was. I haven’t figured out why I stayed around for my ears to be further abused. I’ll have to plea the BELOW FREEZING weather outside. We hadn’t been there for that long & I really wasn’t ready to brave it yet again. And since this post is threatening to turn into a massive book, I think I’ll continue it further next post. Stay tuned!

white rabbit

so we had a field trip last week. it was supposed to happen on thursday but since the forecast called for rain, it got postponed to friday. had to listen to some bent-out-of-shape whining from biggest & middlest who were really looking forward to a day off of school - apparently it hadn't occurred to them that they were still getting a day off, just not the same one - and that meant i had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6am 2 days in a row but i digress. (oh, and for the record, littlest usually has me up that early but for the most part is content to just lie in the bed & nurse so it's not like my brain has to function or anything)

so friday - again up at retard-o-clock, into the shower & then banging on doors to awaken children who, for all their excitement about the field trip, sure weren't moving real fast to get us there on time. remember that statement...ON TIME.

manage to make it out the door 10 minutes before take off with 3 kids, 2 backpacks - one full of diapers & the other full of sandwiches - light jackets & no toys for the bus ride. see, that's what happens when i am made to move before my brain is awake. and, oh yeah, add the phrase "light jackets" to your list of things to remember.

we made it to the pick-up point with a minute to spare. and jumped on the bus. and then we sat & waited. and waited. and waaaaiiiiittttteeeeedddd. because apparently 8am doesn't mean the same thing to everyone. like, to some people it means 8:30. nice. i wasn't really on a time constraint because i didn't have other kids to pick up from school. so it didn't much matter to me that we left 45 minutes late because i didn't have to be back any time special. hell, we could have stayed up there all day. 1 is remarkably self-sufficient when he has to be & weiner was in the bathroom so if a mess had to be made, he was in the right spot! but, alas, we were on their time schedule.

we went to the zoo. and holy hannah was it cold! so those light jackets? not so useful! windy? oh yes. the best part of the trip? the seal & dolphin show because for half an hour, we were inside! out of the wind! and there were cool seal & dolphin tricks! that zoo is so dang big, we barely saw any of it. after the show, we had lunch on a bench while freezing our tails off & the big kids got churros. mmmm, churros. and then it was time to hot foot it back to the bus so that we could make curfew. which was 1pm. and then we waited. and waited and waited some more. mind you, i didn't NEED a curfew. my kids were all with me. but to be nice & respectful of those who did need a curfew, we found our way back to the bus at the predetermined time. but no one else found their way back for another 20 minutes. sigh. good thing for a bus driver prepared for the inevitable kid boredom who found a scooby doo dvd which had all 3 kiddos transfixed for the better part of the ride. well, 2 at least. biggest is too cool for scooby doo so he plugged into his ipod & spent the ride with a jacket on his head. finally the rest of the group made their appearance (yes, the rest...we were the only ones on time! imagine that! the C____s on time! my goodness!)

as soon as we departed seoul, the cell phones made an appearance as arrangements were made for other children to be picked up and/or stashed until we made our (belated) arrival at post. um. perhaps if you had been ON TIME when told to be, you wouldn't be stressed/pressed for time now. i thought the army was supposed to teach things like that. course, these were (i believe) army spouses but you would think those core values would rub off. or something. if i, the most disorganized & scatterbrained person on the planet since gaining another child, can manage to get somewhere on time with everything i need (toys were wants, not needs...get off my back), then what excuse do they have? not to mention that the majority of them live ON POST so, what, a 5 minute walk to the pick-up point? c'mon now. get it together.

course, if people WERE to get it together, i wouldn't have anything to bitch...err...blog about, now would i?

points to anyone who gets the title reference!

ah, yes, everything IS broken.

so. BN & G's wedding has come & gone 2 weeks ago. apparently it was wonderful & beautiful & all those other little "ful's" that a bride hopes her big day will be. hopefully pics will be available for my viewing pleasure eventually.

and anyhow...my synopsis on how, once again, everything is broken.

BN & G registered at a certain department store. they didn't have a huge registry as housekeeping has already been set up for quite sometime now. but i picked something off of it that was kind of a result of a (admittedly bad) joke i made upon the first view of the registry. but, of course, the item was marked "sold out for delivery". grrr. and if we have one of those stores around here, i've yet to find it. not to mention that with all the broken stuff around the world, they would have probably received their gift for their 5th anniversary. so i call my mama. she has one of those stores in her town so i figured that perhaps she could run down & pick one up for me. and then i discovered the option on the website allowing ME to pay for it but my MAMA to pick it up at the store. you know...the store in S_____, USA. where i'm currently not. please keep that fact in mind.

i happily punch in my options & then my info & my mama's info. meanwhile, i'm on the phone to my mama filling her in on what needs to be done on her end. in S_____, USA. after i finish my ordering, it sends me an email that the store is currently closed but that my order will be processed when it opens. which will be sometime my evening, mom's morning.

so that evening i checked my email. and, sure enough, there's an email from the store that tells me that my order has been filled & that when I, BRANDI C____, come to pick up the item from S____, USA, I must bring proper ID. um. brandi c_____ is not in S_____, USA. not in usa, period. @#$^@#%%^*$%E.

i mean, for once could something work the way it is supposed to? i mean really. how difficult is it to do what you say you are going to do? in other words, make your website perform properly? after much gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair & watching the clock to allow my mother enough time to wake up over there around the world in S_____, USA, i call her up to see what she made of the newest ridiculosity (yes, yes, i did just make that word up. wanna make something of it?). and she reminded me that she, in essence, could be "me" at the store as she has a power of attorney in my name! well, duh! how could i forget that small detail? and with that short conversation, my mind was at rest & BN & G had half of their present.

sure would have saved my nerves a little bit had the durn thing just worked the way it was supposed to, ya know? what the heck is the point of advertising a service & then it doesn't work? it seems as if most everything around the world suffers from the outright stupidity. the government, the systems, the PEOPLE. dear Lord, don't get me started on the people. just absolute stupidity., makes me wonder how we have survived for so long without blowing ourselves up. course, rate we're going? that's probably just around the corner.

disillusionment...

and it all began with a field trip.

we spent the day on a cultural tour. it involved a tour of the OB brewery-including free beer for those of us in the family that are 1-of age & 2-like beer. there's only one of us that fit those criteria. then there was lunch. i won't elaborate on that. it wasn't great. and then a visit to the folk village which was nice but, just like last time, way too much dust/dirt for me.

and then we came home & i had a headache. one of those all consuming headaches where you pray that the end of the world will come just so your pain will end. don't know if it was the bus rides or the loud farmer's dance music or the fact that i forgot my allergy medicine or that i have managed to catch 1's nasty cold but my head was throbbing so much that curling up in my bed and not coming out for, like, 3 days sounded like a good idea. alas, it was not to be. tonight starts the friday night bowling league for 1. so off he went & left me with the headache of the century & 3 kids who acted like, for all intents and purposes, they were starving and hadn't been fed in 3 years. (damn, 3 must be my number tonight).

so i decided to brave the wild world of korean delivery. it's been advertised to me as being way much better than delivery in the states. if the mul man is any indication, i can buy that. i found an english menu & called the place. got an english speaker on the line. placed my order, gave my address & answered the questions. hung up & felt pretty good about myself. ran downstairs & opened the door. figured since korean delivery in on such a high plane, leaving the door open for a few minutes wouldn't cause any harm. after 30 minutes & no food, i ran down to check that the door was still open. and discovered, to my dismay, that 2 of the 3 bikes parked in the entryway are gone. fuck. only 1 of those missing bikes belonged to us. fucker. now i've got to go tell someone that their bike is stolen, it's my fault & now i've also got to buy a new one. fuckest.

i rang both the neighbors doorbells but apparently they were being antisocial as no one answered. i headed out to the porch to watch for the (still missing) delivery man. and the upstairs neighbor was on his porch. come to find out that, not only was the bike there on their behalf, but it wasn't even his. they don't have a car & apparently he was borrowing the bike from a friend to get himself to & from work. oh man. things just keep getting better! i'll be visiting the PX tomorrow to purchase a new bike. and probably a new lock b/c i'm sure the lock was on the bike when it took its walk.

biggest & the neighbor are cavassing the neighborhood right now. they've walked all around & are doing it again. thing is, there are so many alleys & little side streets that who knows where to even start? and it's been 2 hours since delivery now & still no food. so i'm thinking we got jacked by the korean delivery guy. man am i pissed.

biggest & neighbor just got back. no such luck. and apparently the food place is playing "no speak engrish". funny, since when i placed my order, i sure was speaking engrish & they sure seemed to understand me. seems someone needs to check their delivery guys scooter boxes. i'm betting they would find some bikes.

apparently this is what happens when i let my guard down. guess i'll need to put those walls back up now. assholes.

permit me to rant for a minute

so biggest & middlest have LOT of science experiments this year. like a ton. like we may be doing 2 in one day sometimes? but it's cool. and we get to use real lab equipment which will be valuable experience down the line. and that's where the trouble starts.

has anyone actually tried to order this stuff? oh, ordering it can be done. no problem. there are millions of websites out there for this kind of stuff. no biggie. the trick is finding one that will ship APO. and ship APO for a reasonable amount of money. no, i don't want to sell my first-born to obtain test tubes, thank-you-very-much. i was happily filling up 3 shopping carts last night...price comparing & all that...when i discovered upon checkout that 2 of the sites didn't ship APO. it would have been very nice to know that before i had a full shopping cart (yes, i scanned the sites for that info. & figured no news was good news). what that meant was that i had to go to the one site that did ship APO & empty the other 2 shopping carts into that one. and believe me when i tell you that it wasn't near as easy as, say, emptying carts into others at e-mart, for example. it was downright frustrating. and then i got tired & went to bed. and then this morning i got up to continue my emptying & refilling & damn if the laptop wasn't dead again. and then when i got onto the big computer to attempt to complete the process since school starts in, like, a WEEK, the internet went down. anyone up for a good conspiracy theory right about now? fiddled with the stupid internet all day to no avail, 1 came home & kissed it AGAIN & up it came. sickening, i tell ya, sickening.

and i finally got to a point tonight where the internet cooperated, the shopping carts were full again and i only had to mortgage the korean apartment (no skin off my nose!) to pay for it & what do you know?

THOSE ASSHOLES WANTED TO CHARGE ME $22.00 TO SHIP $14 WORTH OF STUFF. wtf? i said i DIDN'T want to sell my first-born. weren't you freakin' listening? probably not. probably they were affected by the same bug that affected my kids: http://notthemonster3.livejournal.com/40342.html
and so off i went to transfer carts again. this time to a completely different site. pisses me off that i wasted all that time doing price comparisons to be gutted by shipping in the end. damn it.

i told biggest (as he is the only one available at the moment) that they better enjoy these science experiments, what with all the insanity i'm going through to get the stuff to perform them. and that was just the 1st QUARTER. do the math. i'm gonna have to do this 3 MORE TIMES this year. absolutely ridiculous.

whatever, dude

sometimes i just have to wonder about people. several people, in fact.

1-we were supposed to go visiting this weekend. but stayed out a huge chunk of the night &, though we made it to church in the morning, that was about all we could accomplish. i have been going & going since we got here & just couldn't go anymore. and, yes, we had made plans to go visiting but my whole self just stopped. and we get asked why we didn't call. but i am quite certain that our phone numbers are saved in several phones so why didn't anyone call us? whatevs.

2-why do some people have to keep intruding on my/our lives? just go away. i'm not interested in craziness. and if you think that i'm going to allow your crazy into my daughter's life? wrong again, pal. please do crawl back under your rock. your friends the worms miss you.

and completely unrelated but i love the olympics. however, tonight it seems that the broadcasting this year is crap. it might help if i tried watching without a computer on my lap. ya think?

good morning USA!

so it's 6:19am here which means that it is 7:20pm my brain's time & me, littlest & 1 are up. which is about normal for us if it was 6:19am our brain's time. so, anybody ready for a story? cause i might have one!

the korea to US flight wasn't horrible. it wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. i will tell you, however, if we were running a contest between airlines, delta would NOT win the prize for best service between US & korea. i'm very happy that we are flying Korean Air back home in 3 1/2 weeks. i've only had 2 experiences with the overseas flight & i know everyone can have an off day but just based on those experiences, i know which one i would pick.

since we were the the airport 47 hours early we got all checked in & then went to find our gate & stuff & have some food. we forgot airport food = expensive. yikes. but we sucked it up & then got on the plane. we got to get on first b/c of littlest. and we had bulkhead seats for the bassinet so more leg room...yay!

the flight attendants weren't as friendly as on last year's flight. and...let's face it...some of them were kind of dumb...and rude. we requested that they bring the bassinet after the dinner service. and then had to request it several more times before it showed up. but before it showed up, the flight attendant was all "i have to go find it...every plane is different". um, ok. so if God forbid something happens, are you going to be able to deploy escape slides since they might be different from the last plane you flew? ugh. excuses. and then she brings the darn bassinet & tells 1 "you'll have to help me do this-i don't know how!" what! you big dummy! whose job is this? argh! they get the thing stuck to the wall only to find out that littlest is not having anything to do with it. sigh. all that for nothing. and then when we wanted them to come take it back (after I took it off the wall), they wouldn't. even though littlest pushed the call button 1874 times. maybe that's why they seemed to not like us?

oh and i forgot to talk about dinner. i ordered gluten free meals for me (littlest didn't have her own seat so she didn't get one...we shared). it's just easier to order gluten free than to try to explain wheat allergy. well, apparently saltine crackers are gluten free now? i really don't think so but if so, i'm mad that someone didn't tell me b/c i love saltine crackers! anyway, they brought the food thing around & we tell them that i ordered a gluten free meal. :um, we already gave out all the special meals. you weren't tagged." um. the lady at the desk confirmed it for me. so...where's my food? they scrounge around & find my meal (apparently all airplanes are different?) & it wasn't horrible except for the whole saltine cracker thing which kind of makes me worry about what other gluten/wheat product was in there. we'll have to watch littlest's face. greaaaaaat.
and littlest. oh, littlest. littlest didn't want to sleep in the bassinet & couldn't sleep on me or 1. poor little thing kept waking up every 2 minutes b/c she wasn't comfortable. so if you were on the korea/atlanta flight yesterday & walked past the bulkhead seat & saw some crazy woman lying on the floor? that was me. i felt like an idiot but at the least the baby got some sleep. b/c we all know that a sleepy baby is a screamy baby & that is not so good on an airplane.

finally got into atlanta at about 7pm last night. i swear, it was like the friday that wouldn't end. we woke up at 7 our friday morning (after me only sleeping 3 hours-think i was excited?), finished packing & cleaning, ran a few last minute errands, hopped a bus for 2 hours, sat in the airport for 4 hours, got on a plane for 14 hours & it was STILL friday when we landed! agh! had to navigate atlanta airport to go through passport control & find our baggage. all. 5. bags. ugh. and a carseat. but the carseat never showed up! and time is ticking down to "oh, crap, we're gonna miss our connection" time. i finally asked the baggage handler guy & he points way across the baggage claim area & tells me the stupid carseat is over there. why? why would the carseat be way over there? i mean, it's pretty much in the next county! wtf? & if you must put my carseat way the heck over there, where is the sign telling me where it is? agh! this was after i had to wait 20 minutes to get my gate checked stroller. b/c apparently they put all the (7) gate checked strollers way in the back of the plane. b/c that makes sense-to put stuff people need in the back behind all the other stuff so they have to wait for all the other stuff to be pulled out before they can get their stroller. and there was this poor lady with a 3 month old all by herself waiting for her carseat (gate checked) & stroller (gate checked) & carseat base (baggage checked so, you got it, in the next county with no sign!) & 2 big bags. so we (i) was trying to help her out by pushing her buggy through customs & all b/c i felt bad for her & after all that, they didn't give her a boarding pass in korea so she had to go get that before anything else. she probably missed her flight, poor thing. finally pass through customs & no one can tell us where to dump our bags so they will get on our next flight. finally get that sorted out & then RUN through security. and did i mention that we have 2 laptops in carry ons that have to be taken out of bags to go through the scanner? and 3 other carry ons? and 3 kids? and a stroller? AND IT'S STILL FREAKIN FRIDAY! and here, let me draw you a diagram...

T.....A.....B.....C.....D.....E

that's how the concourses line up in atlanta. and, in case you didn't know, E is where the international flights come in. and we had to go to B. in like 20 minutes after the biggest landing/baggage/customs debacle that ever was. and that is 20 minutes til takeoff. and you know, they close the doors way before then! biggest kept saying it was like home alone when they are hauling butt through the airport. so we huff & we puff & we race all around & get to our gate that says the flight is going somewhere other than charleston. oh crap. we missed it. but, oh, no, we didn't miss it! says the nice fella at the gate! the flight has been moved! to T concourse! and we have 35 minutes to get there! does no one make announcements in airports anymore? to tell us where to go? and, yes, we could have looked at a monitor thing but who has time for that when their carseat is being held hostage? !%&*(%^$^@. and off we went again. and we made it. and finally took off & finally landed (yes, still on friday!) in teeny tiny charleston airport to see 3 friends, one granny & 2 grandpas (my mom is at a conference & won't be home until tonight) & 5 bags & 1 carseat. and we came to a house that has air conditioning! and granny cooked up a bunch of food & then littlest was sleepy (about 12:30 at this point...finally, saturday!) & so i laid down with her to put her to bed & woke up at about 3 when 1 came in. oops. didn't mean to be antisocial.

and i'm home! (but 1 says we aren't home, we are visiting as home is now in korea) & i'm so excited to see everybody & do stuff & EXTREMELY HAPPY that the friday that wouldn't end finally is over. but that also means we are 1 day closer to going back. and that part is sad.

this is stupid

i got locked in my house today! yes, locked IN my house! do you know how dumb i feel saying that?

we have electronic locks on our front doors around here. you can either punch in a code or use this little thing that goes on your key chain to get in from the outside. from the inside you just push a button & the door SHOULD lock or unlock. and you can push another button to keep the door locked or unlocked (like someone did one night when i was out very late...but said it wasn't on purpose, rather an accident...but i digress).

well, littlest & i were home alone today & i tried to go out but i couldn't! i kept mashing the button & it kept saying it was unlocked but it was lying. it really wasn't. so i was the redneck in korea hollering out my laundry room window for biggest & middlest who were next door playing. they finally heard me, came up & couldn't get the door open either! at this point i'm kinda panicked...i had to leave to pick 1 up in like 20 minutes...so i send them to get the property manager who lives on site. he wasn't home so they brought the property manager's wife. so thundering up the stairs come: biggest, middlest, the neighbor guy whom i met while hanging out my laundry room window, the neighbor kid & the property manager's wife. the whole time they are walking up the 6 flights of stairs, i'm pushing the button with the same result as before. then, true to my luck, they all get to the top of the stairs, biggest punches in the code & the door opens! agh! i apologize profusely, biggest & middlest come in the house, everyone else goes back downstairs. biggest pushes the button to open the door...to test it, you know? and what do you know? it's stuck again! apparently it works 1 in 5 times. so i finally get out to get 1 & we come home & it opens. i change the batteries b/c 1 thought that might be what was wrong with it. nope. still stuck! so i'm locked in the house again!

then the realtor calls. apparently i'm not supposed to go get the property manager on my own. apparently i'm supposed to call her so she can call him (does the term around your ass to get to your elbow mean anything to anyone?). oops, sorry, claustrophobia will make you do irrational things. she promised to have someone here in 5 minutes to rescue us but it's been like 25. no telling what's going on. i really hope the dog doesn't have to pee anytime soon. that could be bad.

upside? tonight is laundry night! i guess if i can't get out to do it, it won't get done, now will it? haha!

um...tense much?

i have an addiction. it's a harmless addiction. it's an online game. a cross between slots & bingo named...get ready for it...SLINGO! no skill necessary, just push the button (slots) & match the numbers that come up to the numbers on your card (bingo). and because i know i could sit here & play it for hours & hours & never put away laundry or change diapers, i limit myself to 3 games at a time. self-control. yup, that's me.

so at 5:30 this morning when littlest decided-against my protests-to get up & get moving, i played a game of slingo while she ate her breakfast. or threw breakfast on the floor, whichever. at 5:30 in the morning, i'm not lucid enough to care or be able to prevent it. or see it but that's another conversation entirely.

there's this nasty little guy who makes his appearance in slingo...he's a devil & when he shows up, he grabs your little character by its foot & shakes it upside down which handily disposes of half of your coins. he sucks. i can't stand him. and it's a "thing" in slingo that when the devil shows up, you type a little "dd" (damn devil) in the chat bar to let people share your pain. and generally you'll get a "ss" (so sorry) back. and that's usually the extent of my chat because usually something else is going on while i'm playing slingo-middlest & biggest beating on each other, littlest throwing food on the floor, 1 asking what's for dinner & when...etc., etc., etc. & honestly? i can't put any more effort into it.

so i'm playing & ignoring the Kix on the floor & get that stupid little guy so i hit "dd" & get a "ss". and a few seconds later, a yw (you're welcome) from the same person. but i didn't notice that until he called my name. um, yes? and jackass proceeds to tell me i didn't say thank you. um, what? so i hit him back with a "manners police much?" because seriously? are you my mom? i passed up needing manners reminders quite a few years ago. dude. this is an online game. so sorry if not getting a thank you ruins your day.

that stupid little game is my escape. the last thing i need is some hyped up asshole telling me that i didn't thank him for typing 2 little letters. get over yourself. get a hobby. find some friends. just try not to police them because they probably won't stick around too long.