oh man, it's been so long since I've updated this thing. I guess I'm back again because I found something worthy to blog about.
We found a children's English library in Songpa-gu. It near Jamsillaru station on Line 2. It's quite awesome and I'm so happy we found it.
Songpa English Library for Children is across the water channel from Jamsillaru station. Take exit 4, turn right there are stairs that lead you to the bridge to the Han River park. Take the bridge and you'll see the library on your left as soon as you pass over the channel. There are stairs from this bridge that take you to the fifth floor of the library. The library itself is on the fourth floor, so take the elevator back down to the fourth floor. In other words, this route is not stroller friendly. We learned this the hard way.
We made a library card when we got there. Husband did all the signing up on the computer that was there. All he needed was his phone (it send you a verification something or another) and his ARC. However, everything was in Korean, so if you don't speak the language, maybe the librarians can help. After all, they're shelving and have guardianship over ENGLISH books, so they should be able to at least speak enough English and use body language to help you sign up for a library card, no?
They have story time every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 4 pm. I was going to check it out tomorrow but something came up so I'll have to check it out in two weeks. It's run on a volunteer basis where moms come in to read the books.
You can check out three books at a time for two weeks and if you want, you can extend it by another week online. Large books, audio books, and reference books (obviously) cannot be checked out.
Not included in the pictures is the LIL Kid section which housed a good amount of board books.
My panorama skills aren't so great. But then again, this was the first time I've ever used it so you'll have to excuse my amateurness.
This is the audio book station.
Easy chapter books like the Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, etc. They've got a pretty full set going there...
Some Le Petit Prince-like artwork there on the wall....
This was the most interesting thing of all to me. haha It's BOOK MICROWAVE! haha really, it is. It's a book steriliser (that's what microwaves do, don't they? kill all living things?) You open up the door, and place in the books propped open. It will even perfume your books so it smells "nice." But, frankly, I like the old book smell of libraries...
We're in California. Without Daddy. For six months. It sucks. We like California...but we like Daddy better. Which really brings me to update my blog today. Yeah, I really suck at keeping up with the blog but I just can't seem to get myself to update regularly. I just have so many other obligations to keep up with! (aka Luna)
When I hear people refer to their spouses as their best friend like at the altar when saying their wedding vows or do shout outs (do people even use the word shout out anymore?) on fb saying how lucky they are to be with their best friend for the rest of their lives, etc, I just thought it weird. My best friends are those who stood as my bridesmaids on my wedding day, not the groom. But I suppose best friend is the best word in the English language that describes how you feel about your spouse. I wish there was a better word for who your spouse is to you that means greater than best friend because to say that my husband is my best friend is putting him at the level at which I put my bridesmaids at and he is so much more than that. So today, I got to really thinking about and defining who he is and who a spouse should be to any and every married person. I strongly believe that your spouse is the first person you should be relying on when you need to rely on someone. If you're in a pinch, you shouldn't be thinking of your bff from high school unless that person is your spouse. My best friends are the bestest and wouldn't trade them for the world, and I never really thought about this before marriage or even in the earlier years of my marriage, but they don't come close to what my husband means to me and they've been my best friends longer than I have known my husband. I've come to the conclusion that no one in my life is as reliable and dependable as my husband and it sucks that we're an ocean apart because Luna and I are kind of without our Rock in our lives. Yeah, my bffs will run over if I call them, but they're also married, live kind of far, and have kids. So, no, I cannot just call them over because I need to go to the mall for an hour to unwind from having only seen and talked to a toddler all day. Even though I am currently staying at my parent's house, they also have their own lives and I cannot expect them to cancel their previous plans unless I am in an emergency. They don't plan their week with me in mind and I don't expect them to. My husband however is expected to make his plans with Luna and I in mind, I can just leave Luna with him whenever I want just because I want to go look at the cosmetics counter at the mall, and I don't feel bad about it. So when he isn't here, there is a giant hole in our lives. I believe that's what every person should feel when they are separated from their spouse for an extended amount of time. If you don't, yes, I will judge you. If you don't feel a giant hole in your life because your spouse isn't around, there is something wrong with your marriage. If you choose to live even a third of the year apart, I believe you have a problem. I seriously don't understand those families whose dad lives in one part of the world and the mom and the kids live elsewhere. Like really, if you're not so ridiculously poor that it is necessary for even just a bare minimum level of living, you're making a choice to live apart. (I don't include military families in my judgment however. They're a completely separate category.) Yeah, I'm being judgmental and I've never been in their shoes so perhaps I just don't understand but in this matter, I'm not afraid to be judgmental.
When it comes to missing your spouse versus your kids, I have an opinion about that too. I remember a friend who was telling me about what someone said at her parent's milestone wedding anniversary party. The man asked the father a hypothetical question: if your daughters and wife fell in the ocean and they all needed saving, who are you going to save first? Before the father answered, the man saved him from having to answer in front of the entire party. You're supposed to save your wife because you should love your wife more anyone else and should be the most important in your life. I understand that's a really hard situation but at the same time, it should really be a no-brainer. You should not be loving your kids more than you love your wife. It's like that scene in the movie "Jerry McGuire" where Tom Cruise falls in love with his assistant's son more than he is really interested in his mother. While it does happen unknowingly and I know it's hard sometimes, it's not right! So today, when I met a man who is in my husband's situation where his wife and kids are on the other side of the world and I asked him who he missed more, his sons or his wife, I was taken back when he answered that he didn't know. I only asked because for sure, I thought he would say that he missed his wife more. I hope my husband misses me more than he misses his daughter.
Anyways, enough of my ranting.
Here's Luna. Sometimes I remember that today's Luna is going to be different tomorrow and the day after that. I sometimes see her how other people see her...as the adorable cute little baby that she is. In the busy-ness of life and trying to raise her right, I forget to appreciate who she is and how precious she is. To observe her in her beauty, in her own uniqueness, in your light. What a precious gift she is, not just a little person to keep up with or someone to just look after. I'm going to miss the Luna that she is today and the Luna that she was yesterday, but I also look forward to the Luna she's going to be tomorrow and the day after that. I love the little kid to pieces and I hope to cherish every little second of the day with her because that second isn't going to be repeated.
Initially, when I started this blog, my goal was to update at least 4 times a month, you know, once a week. It can't be that hard, can it? Yeah, well, it is when the baby starts to become more mobile, easily distracted, and needs nearly constant attention because her mind gets bored. However, I learned this week that random people do read this blog and that it does come up on certain search queries, so I'm a bit more motivated to update here today.
Luna is now nearing 16 months! My, how the time flies! She stomps everywhere and literally runs from point A to point B. Walking is not part of her repertory. What is super cool though is that this week she's learned to walk while holding my hand. It's finally gotten through to her head that I'll let her walk outside if she holds my hand. This little Miss Independent was so defiant for a while, always pulling her hand away from me. sigh.
Another new thing is that Luna had her first hair cut! Waaaahhhhh!!~~ For the past year, I've had nightmares where someone cut Luna's hair without my permission and didn't even save a lock of her hair for keeping. That nightmare along with every other Korean ajummas' unsolicited suggestions that I cut her hair has delayed her hair cut til now. I've decided that I needed to cut her bangs so that I can stop pulling at them to tie them back. Her hair was starting to thin out at the top and I, myself, already have issues with thinning hair; I decided that I didn't need to be even more stressed out with Luna's thinning hair. So yeah, I cut Luna's hair, but just the front. I regretted it as soon I heard the snip of the hair. She no longer looks like a baby, but a little girl! oh no! :(
The picture right after I cut her bangs!
I'm quite glad that winter is almost over (knock on wood) and the weather is warming up a bit. Having experienced the full winter, starting from the transition from fall, there are quite a few things I've learned. You have to understand that I'm from Southern California where it doesn't get colder than 50 degrees unless it's the middle of the night. Understandably, I was very very afraid of the cold, not knowing how to keep myself warm and even more so afraid of how to keep a baby who only communicates with crying and smiling warm. Well, Luna survived the winter with one snowsuit, one thick jacket that was way too big for her, one pair of snow pants, two beanies (one of which she never wore), and one pair of boots. She never liked the snowsuit because it was too thick and she wasn't even that skilled in walking yet, so I'm sure it was very very cumbersome for her. I never let her walk when she was in her giant jacket, because she was swimming in it. I don't know how we survived with such little winter clothing (she has other clothes too btw), but I suppose it's because we do Luna's laundry every two days. For next winter, I've decided that I will probably buy a pair of snow pants for her but that's about it since this winter's jacket will probably still be big on her next year too. The big thing is that we survived. I SURVIVED.
Her giant jacket and the one beanie she tolerates
This past weekend, I visited my very first baby fair. My, my. If you thought registering at a Babies R Us was overwhelming, a baby fair is like a hundred times worse. I think it's even more so crazier for Koreans who don't have superstores like Babies R Us where you have all the baby products from most major companies sitting in one location for you to touch, see, smell, and compare. At least at BRU, you can come back again and again and you don't have a gazillion people gathered in one location pushing, shoving, and hustling along with giant bags, crying babies, and strollers. What's even worse is that you think you're getting a great price on the products you are purchasing and you probably are for the high-end product that you're getting. Really, that $100 bath tub that you're getting for $40 is a great deal. But the fact of the matter is that you can find a $14 bath tub online that will do the job. No, it doesn't have a built in thermometer, a European designed curve designed to keep your baby slipping into the water, nor the ability to fold flat. However, I can always buy a thermometer for $10, there's still a ledge to keep my baby's butt from slipping, and I use the tub to soak the dirty diapers so it would never be folded anyways. haha. I'm just amused by the ridiculousness of companies who totally take advantage of first time parents because well, parents always want the best of everything for their child. The whole situation is just amusing. So, I did my cousin and his wife a favor: I went to the fair with them and explained all the different gadgets and gizmos at the fair, my opinions on them, and the real price value for most items. I was so thankful that my experienced mommy friends did this for me when I was lost and wandering the aisles of BRU and I think that every first time mommy should try to get the rundown of baby products while browsing through the stores with an experienced mommy. It is so much more helpful that way to not spend money on really useless things. Don't get me wrong though, it's always nice to see the new gadgets and gizmos that companies put out and to know what is available out there. I had a fun (still stressful but fun) time at the fair and who doesn't like free samples? Tis the season for baby fairs in Korea. There's another one this weekend at KINTEX in Ilsan and another one at the aT center in Yangjae starting on March 13th.
I made one purchase and one purchase only at the baby fair. I bought prefold diapers. If you don't know what they are, they're like totally old school cloth diapers that people used to use with safety pins and such. I know it seems like a total step backwards in time and innovation but I've decided that the way I use my cloth diapers is just totally not conducive. I use pocket diapers by Chubby Cherry and Cocalo, but only the Cocalo inserts. Now, if I used Chubby Cherries or any other standard pocket diapers like bumgenius or whatnot, like I'm supposed to, I probably wouldn't have any problems. What you're supposed to do is stick the microfiber into the pocket and every time you change a diaper, you would be changing the cover and the insert. But I just lay the insert on top of the cover and change out the insert. This is a problem with my Cocalo inserts because it's with a polyester top made to stay dry with microfiber flaps that get folded underneath the polyester top. Polyester = cold wash = unsanitary = stink problems with the microfiber = ammonia burn on baby's butt. Yeah. I'm getting tired of working too hard washing the diapers. Also, the fact that I have a front loading machine doesn't help. Perhaps when I get back to California to my old school top loading machine, I will have better luck with keeping the polyester inserts clean and fresh, but until then, we're moving on to cotton. Sure, it won't keep the baby dry, but I think my diligence to change the diaper will be much better than an eventual ammonia burn on the butt. I decided to go with prefolds than the sized cotton inserts because I can fold them to be a certain size. That way I don't have to buy different sizes to cater to a smaller butt when there is a smaller butt to diaper later. As to how they work out, I'll let you know when I get them and try them out (they sold out at the fair).
One of the samples that I tried out is the coconut oil. It seems to be the trend now a days since it's organic, edible, and the cure-all for all skin problems. I've been wanting to try it out because Luna has developed some skin problems in the last two months. It's not eczema, but it's a combination of dry skin, food sensitivity, and harsh acidic foods. Like, I know if she has ketchup or honey mustard and it get on her skin even for a moment, certain areas of her face turn red. Same goes for dwenjang, which Koreans swear is the cure-all for any health problems. haha. Anyways, I got a little sample of the coconut oil and Luna is loving it because I let her dig her little fingers into it and we're tried it out all this week. Some lotions and creams also make her turn red in those troublesome spots, but the coconut oil doesn't. It does seem to calm her skin, but as for actually keeping it hydrated and moist, I would say that it isn't so great. After all, it's an oil, not a lotion. Oils are supposed to trap the moisture underneath, not necessarily to hydrate from what I understand. Also, it smells quite yummy, which says something since I hate coconut. I hate coconut shavings, though I have never had fresh coconut meat so I suppose my hate for coconut isn't really fair. Never tried coconut milk either, but coconut water is great! They sent me a coupon code via kakao which expires on Monday. Made Raw Korea code: UY00J-FC8CB-AB8CU It's 500 ml for 35,000 won plus 2,500 won for shipping. According to their site, it normally goes for about 50,000 won.
The other samples I got to try out (but not bring home) were a whole lot of baby snacks and lotions. I didn't really care for much of the other lotions and creams because either the sales person was just too aggressive (know-it-all, almost condescending type) for me, or the product just wasn't to my liking for whether it wasn't thick enough, too perfumy, or too oily. One I did try out on Luna was the Palmer's lotion which is so overpriced here in Korea. It was like two 10 oz bottles for 28,000 won and they are also available at E-mart from what I understand. Anyways, I tried out the olive oil one on my hand and I had to rub it in quite a bit and even still, it was quite oily. But what can I expect? It's oil based! I put it on Luna and of course she turned away before I could really rub it in but the thing to note is that the dry spot on her forehead was actually hydrated the whole day! I just can't seem to fork over so much for something I would buy at Walmart for so cheap back at home. I'm gonna have to think about it for another couple of days before heading over to E-mart.
Now, for some unbelievable cuteness.
The two loves of my life at Friday's
My little elf!
Climbing onto the couch, trying to touch the keyboard. Why do babies love pushing buttons so much?
Luna's birthday favors were soap. Boring, right? I know. But these soaps were quite special. They were handmade soap with a special ingredient. The special ingredient was my breastmilk. Yeah, you read that right. BREASTMILK. Before you get all disgusted, think about this, Dove soap has milk in it. It comes from the cow's breast. Technically, they are called udders, but they do the same thing that human breasts do--it feeds baby cows (and humans of all ages too). They're called udders for the same reason that cow meat is called beef instead of cow milk. It's so that you would separate the image of a cow from the beef that you are consuming, or any other dairy product. So yeah, if you have a problem with my breastmilk soap, you can stop reading my blog from now on.
Ok, so now that my rant is out of the way, I can get started on this post. I pumped milk since day one of Luna's life til about five months. I brought all the milk that I pumped back in California to Korea (though most of them melted due to my memory problems) and pumped some more here. In five months, I accumulated a giant stash of milk. I pumped so that if I ever ran out of milk, I had something to fall back on. Well, I have never run out of milk and Luna did not ever take a bottle so I had all this breastmilk sitting in my freezer. Then just before summer, one of my ajumma friends asked me very hesitantly if I had breastmilk to spare to add to her batch of soap making. Oh was I glad to hear that! Breastmilk has so many benefits for the baby in terms of nutrition, but breastmilk is like the Windex to Mr. Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It has healing capabilities and is also good for your skin. Milk in general is good for your skin; that's why Dove makes soap with cow's milk in it. But more than the benefits of breastmilk to your skin, I was just really glad that all that work I put into pumping would be put to use instead of down the drain, literally. I even held onto the once melted breastmilk from the flight because I couldn't bear to put it down the drain. If you don't have a baby yet and/or have not breastfed, you won't understand how important this pumped milk is, but let me try to explain anyway.
Babies feed every two hours starting on the second day into this world. Every two hours, all freakin day, and every three to four hours all freakin night. If you pump, then that means, after feeding every two hours during the day and every three to four hours during the night, you pump for an additional 15 minutes for both breasts. You do this if you're going to be going back to work (to build up a stash) or to increase your milk supply. If you pump, that also means that you have to wash your pump parts. Washing the tiny little crevices or each tiny little part every time you pump. You also have to sterilize all parts every couple days. Obviously, you would go bonkers if you actually pumped after every feeding because that's like ten times a day you are hooked up to a machine that makes a weird noise and you get to be dairy farm. BUT, if you're not producing enough milk to feed your young and you're really really determined to breastfeed, then you're probably trying to pump that much while losing sleep in the process. It really is a wonder that more women don't have postpartum depression. The five ounces of pumped milk (I say five because that's usually how much I pumped at one sitting) is the result of hours put into washing and preparing the parts, waking up every three hours even though the baby slept through the night, lost sleep, and tears from being so tired and stressed. Oh, and when you accidentally knock over that open bottle spilling two ounces? It's DEFINITELY something to cry over. And don't get me started on all the pain you go through with clogged ducts, mastitis, engorgement, babies biting, and whatnot. So, when you have once-melted milk sitting in front of you and know that you will have to throw it away, it makes perfect sense to put it back into the freezer to throw it away six months later instead.
Now, when my friend asked me for breastmilk, I was so so freakin happy to be able to give her my once-melted milk. Afterall, it wasn't bad. It just couldn't be consumed by the baby that's all. And the soap? It turned out perfect.
I still had like 300 ounces of breastmilk sitting in my freezer when we started planning for Luna's birthday. I am totally for giving practical party favors, so we opted to give out breastmilk soap. Two birds with one stone, you know? My friend made 160 bars of soap out of like 50 ounces. It's too bad I didn't get a picture of the giant pile of soap when she gave them to me. The soap were of different colors too. There were green ones, brown ones, orange ones, and others. They all contained different ingredients. It was awesome.
The soap was wrapped in saran wrap. I didn't do it. The friend did it, along with the labels. I couldn't undo the wrap because she put so much work into wrapping them. I bought the boxes, stuffing, purple wrapping paper, and the ribbons. I looked around Namdaemun for boxes and found one store that sold boxes specifically made for soap. They were 1000 won each and came in packs of ten. I didn't want to spend 80,000 won on soap boxes and I didn't like the colors. This is their site. I ended up buying boxes from this site because it was so cheap. Unfortunately, it looks like they do not sell them anymore. I think I paid like 22,000 won for 80 boxes. I bought the ribbon at Dongdaemun for 13,000 won before I bought the wrapping paper so I was limited in what wrapping paper I could get. I should have waited to buy the ribbon but it all turned out well so it's ok. I bought the wrapping paper and stuffing(6000 won) at another trip to Namdaemun, but they do have a website here. I'm one of those people who have to touch and feel before buying and especially since I had to match the ribbon to the paper, I did not purchase online. The paper I bought was pretty thick. They come in bundles of ten sheets and I think I paid 600 won per sheet. I still have two sheets left. The little thank you picture note thingy was made by yours truly and printed on 3x5 photos at the local film place for 9000 won (300 won per sheet with two pictures on a sheet. I only had 60 pictures because I wasn't expecting more than 60 guests). So altogether, Luna's birthday favors cost about 56,000 won (The soap was made as a gift).
Not bad. Not bad at all.
(I love shopping for deals :)
Luna recently learned to crawl backwards. That means that she knows how to get off the bed now. dun dun dun.... So now, I really need to reorganize the bedroom so that Luna can't get into things she shouldn't be getting into. Knowing how to get off the bed also means that she has a bit more independence. To foster that independence, I rearranged the baby fence so that she can now leave the bedroom to go to the living room where all her toys are. She's also figured out that she can use her booster chair (which is on the floor) as a step to climb up to the couch. We tried to keep her from figuring that out by not leaving the chair next to the couch, but someone must've forgotten and put the chair next to the couch. Good timing though, because now she uses her other newly acquired skill to come down the couch as well. This is all within a week! Now, she preoccupies herself by climbing up the couch from one end, scooting down to the other end of the couch to come down and then go back to the booster chair to get back on the couch. I love the self-playing!
She's entertaining herself with her box of diapers (it's not κΉ€ inside).
I've been reading up on Montessori education as of late. Well, it's more like I've been following this woman's blog on how she does Montessori at home in daily life. I'm loving it. But I'm just totally blown away by what her little son can do by himself because she taught him to do it. It is truly empowering when you can do things for yourself, isn't it? That's why I rearranged the fence so that I can empower Luna to do things on her own when she is completely capable of doing it. I won't be expecting her to pour herself a glass of water or sort her trash into compost and recyclables just quite yet. I don't want to unleash the tiger mom within me. Here's the blog I've been following: howwemontessori
I really like the blog because it gives me ideas for what I can do at home with Luna and for things that I can make for her to play with and do. I'm not about teaching her the Montessori ways and using the Montessori materials. I just like her philosophy and feel that I can incorporate her philosophy into everyday life and live the Montessori way where Luna will be empowered to do and be all that she can be.
When I was in elementary school, I used to go to an American church during the week to partake in a girls' program called Missionettes. I've never been in a girls' program aside from that and am not familiar with Girls' Scouts other than their cookies, so I have nothing to compare it to, but in retrospect it was very much gender-biased. We learned about women in the Bible, to cook, to craft, among other things. It was okay though because my curiosity has supplied me well in the male-oriented spectrum of life. I generally know most tools, know how to fix a toilet (even if it is just temporary), know more about cars than most men would expect me to know, and whatnot. I have many many fond memories of my time in Missionettes and one of the most grateful things that I have learned through the program is crafting. My parents both worked very hard to provide for our family and so teaching me to craft wasn't exactly their priority, but there at Missionettes, I made things that to this day I completely cherish. It wasn't anything fancy or intricate. Sometimes it was a sewing-with-yarn kind of craft you would probably find at a dollar store, and sometimes it was revamping a cheap plastic photo album with lovely printed material, lace, and buttons. I can confident say that it was the introduction to crafts at Missionettes that has made me into the crafty person that I am today. Now, don't get me wrong. I am by no standard a pro at anything I do. In fact, my work is rudimentary at best, but I believe that God has given me the interest in wanting to make things and a talent to work with my hands. Also, I don't believe in having to pay inflated prices for things that I can easily make with the time I have at home.
This brings me to my current and on-going interest in toys for Luna. Toys in general are super expensive. Toys in Korea in general are like three times the prices back at home. sigh. I do not have the money to satisfy my want for toys for Luna, especially when I'm looking for toys that are specific to her developmental stage right now. This is where my crafting comes in. Also, being a teacher by profession helps me to think of toys for her that would be beneficial to her stage. So, here it goes.
One day I noticed that she was starting to use her fingers to pinch objects. Also, she liked putting stuff into containers. So I saved my plastic cup from the coffee shop and brought it home. One man's trash is another man's treasure, is it not? haha Then I got the scrap ribbon I had in the house and sewed up the ends to make little balls out of them. This was the result:
Luna likes to shove the ribbon ball into the hole in the cup. I initially thought of buying pretty little pom pom things at the craft store, but there are no mega craft stores Michael's in Korea. I'm sure I can find them if I looked, but the ribbon was already at home.
Luna really likes to do this. It's really amazing how focused she is when she tries to finish this task.
For a while, I didn't have any other inspiration to make a toy for her. Finally I found something to make. I'm still in the middle of the project though. What am I making? I am making a ring stacker for her.
I don't know why, but Luna loves that blue ring holder! And that's not even the intended use. The blue thing is actually the rack for the Avent bottle parts sterilizer. lol. Luna loves to go in the corner where I have stored it, open the top and bring out the rack. She just carries it around. So, I decided to make some rings out of felt and stuffed it. I've made three rings so far and need to make more. I just haven't had the energy or the mind to do it lately. We've only had this for a week now so she hasn't mastered getting the post through the ring. But, she will.
Also, I made some puppets with felt. My mom sent me a Tweety bird puppet during the summer and Luna was super amazed by the puppet. It's a simple puppet too; it doesn't have a moving mouth, but just a giant head and arms. I made three friends to go along with Tweety. The first one I made was of a rabbit. When I cut out the body in accordance with the width of my hand, I forgot to account for the thickness of my hand. Oops. I worked to fix it, but it means that it only fits my hand. Then I made the frog so that Husband would be able to fit his hand. This time, I made it too big where it is real comfy for him but I can't use it very well because my hand is much smaller. The most recent one I made is the owl, and it happens to be my favorite. I saw this owl on Pinterest and I think it provided a template, but I didn't use the template. This time, the size is just right where both of us can use it comfortably. (This is starting to sound like Goldilocks.) I've included the measurements for those of you who want to try it out. Note that the rabbit is the smallest in width and height as well.
Of course, with the green felt I had, I made a felt CHRISTmas tree. Felt stick to felt so I cut out "ornaments" that Luna can stick and unstick onto the tree. She isn't toooo interested in the tree, but its there for when she is. This idea wasn't mine, but a fellow mom on a fb group I am a part of.
With some fabric that I bought at Dongdaemun last week, I've made some bibs. Koreans don't actually use these as bibs, but as scarves for the babies. Koreans have this thing about always having to keep the neck warm to keep the cold away.
This took a little more work because I'm hand sewing them. I left my sewing machine back in California though I'm sure using the machine wouldn't cut down on time too much because I'm not too skilled with the machine either. haha But, after cutting the two fabrics, I ironed the edges down so that it would be easier to sew them together. I ended up having to adjust the ironing twice in the middle of the sew because the two triangles weren't lining up right. In the end, the green side came out a little lumpy but you can't tell once the scarf is around the neck. I also attached some snap buttons so that I wouldn't have to tie it. The snap buttons can easier be bought at Daiso too.
(Looking at the pictures now, the green print looks similar to the play clothes that Maria made for the children in Sound of Music)
A while back, I also made teething pads for my ergoBaby carrier. Again, I had the cloth at home already. so i just sewed it up instead of paying the $10 for it.
I used one of the numerous brand new washcloths we had at home.
The one on the left is the ergoBaby teething pad and the one on the right is the washcloth.
I just sewed up the ends and sewed in the snaps and voila! I've got some more teething pads.
Last week, Husband and I went on a Dongdaemun haul, picking up some goodies at the toy alley and the fabric/craft mega building. Like I said, toys are expensive. Wooden, Montessori-like toys are even more expensive! Holy moly! If you know the toy alley, there's a store on one of the corners that is gigantuous. It's two floors and it holds many many toys of brands that you know. It also holds many Montessori toys and wooden toys that I would love to buy for Luna. The problem is the price. Even at Dongdaemun, the prices are ridiculous. sigh. BUT there is a toy store I found that hold wooden toys at a much cheaper price! I bought a wooden puzzle for 5000 won. yay! I forgot the take a picture of the store front, but hopefully someone can help you find it if you decide to go check it out. They also sell lamination stuff.
The prices I saw there were comparable to the prices on Gmarket, so if you're not into actually playing with the toys before purchasing (like I am), then I say utilize Gmarket instead of making the trip to Dongdaemun.
Back in May, I posted info on a baby cafe near my apartment. They've actually changed their name and their prices/policy a bit. It used to be that a purchase of a drink will get you two hours of play, and a food purchase will get you three hours. They have actually started charging an entrance fee of 1000 for the adult and 2000 for the child in addition to the drink/food purchase (the drink/food prices haven't changed). However, there is no time limit. It's still a pretty good deal.
This is a lot of information and there are still two more topics I wanted to cover, but I think I'll leave it for next time. Leave me some love please!
Next: soap making/packing supplies and stripping diapers
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You open up the door, and place in the books propped open. It will even perfume your books so it smells "nice." But, frankly, I like the old book smell of libraries...
