All About Her: Beth

This post is not about me.  Or my kids.  Or my husband.  It is about my friend Beth.

Beth first introduced herself to me on this very blog in August of 2010 – around the time of our EP approvals.  I am so glad she did!!  She is so witty, funny, and smart.  She is beautiful.  She has two adorable kids.  And, she has become one of those people that I’ve been fortunate to have met in this blog world, yet cannot believe I have not yet met in person because it totally feels like I’ve known her for a long time.  We actually almost met in person once…inSeoul, a couple weeks after our introduction.  It seriously would have been GREAT to have met her and her newly minted family of four while we were all in Seoul.  But unfortunately, we past each other in the night - as we landed in Seoul and got settled into our hotel and prepared to meet Leo in to morning…Beth (her husband and daughter) were spending their first night as a family with Sam, preparing to board a big beautiful blue plane and fly home.  I will be forever grateful for her updates from Seoul while I was still here in MN going crazy packing for Seoul (and wondering if we were nuts to bring Drew).  Those updates were so insightful; they made me so happy and excited for her family…and even more anxious to get over to Korea to meet Leo and complete my family.

Beth and I have past each other in the night quite a few more times since then – as All Accounted Four has driven through the night on our way to Michigan.  Will 2012 be the year we stop passing each other in the night?  I certainly hope so!!

Without further ado, Beth’s All About Me Award…not because her bog is great (she doesn’t have one), but because her friendship and comments on other people’s blogs are totally fantastic!

Thank you for nominating me, a non-blogger-lurker, to participate in "Seven Things". Of course I have practiced for this day many times, but am struggling to come up with seven, interesting facts about myself.

1. Early bird gets the worm: Most days I wake up at 4:30 either to run, or to have my peaceful time before the kids wake up. Friends know that I will not respond to texts or calls past 8:30. My eyes usually slam shut in front of an open book by 9:30.

2. Early bird also gets the husband: I met my husband in a marathon training group that met at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings. It was love at first sight, but I refused to go out on a date with him until after the marathon because I didn't want to have to spend three hours on a run with him if the date the night before had turned awkward.

3. Pretty in Pink: I learned to sew when I was 12 years old and made my junior and senior prom dresses, one of which was an iridescent pink confection. It was hot. Hot pink, anyway.

4. Chocolat: This is so cliche, but I eat chocolate every. single. day. I keep a secret stash of semi-sweet, bittersweet and dark chocolates tucked in the back of a cabinet and have a nibble after lunch and dinner. I am a chocolate snob - only expensive chocolates, please - and my husband is more of a Snickers dude, so he doesn't usually disturb my stash.

5. Tall drink of water: I was 5'7" in seventh grade and only grew another inch to reach my current height of 5'8". And no, I wasn't a good basketball player. My job was to plant my feet, raise my arms and draw the charging foul.

6. Blanket (not Michael Jackson's son): I still have my baby blanket and only weaned myself from sleeping with it when I got married ; I thought it was a natural breaking point. But, nobody puts blankie in the corner. I keep it front and center in my closet and rub the silky corner before I go to bed.

7. What Not To Wear: I (not so secretly) hope to be ambushed by Clinton and Stacy (even though I hate their show) and have them revamp my wardrobe which has taken a decided turn for the worse in my new career as a SAHM. Nordstrom and Banana Republic apparel has been replaced by stretch-wear from Target and Old Navy. I will have hit rock bottom when I order my first pair of PajamaJeans (...looks like denim...but feels like PJs...)

Thanks for the guest blogging spot. You've made me feel like a superstar and less like a blog stalker.

No, thank you Beth!!

Until next time…be happy. have fun.

the gift of seollal

back in december, drew’s kindergarten class did a unit on winter holidays around the world. his teacher sent home a note asking for parent volunteers to come in and share their cultural traditions.  polish winter holiday traditions…don’t really practice any despite our heritage.  i know quite a bit about dutch sinterklaas…but we aren’t dutch.  seollal is in the winter…it’s korean…and so is leo…hmmm

i always thought i would be giving a presentation like this to leo’s classes…helping his classmates and teachers understand and connect to his culture.  it never really occurred to me that i could (should) do this for drew and his classmates too.  but, why not?!?  i said it then, and I will say it again now…the gift of adoption keeps on giving!! so, i did my homework and prepared to give a presentation on the korean new year that hopefully the kids would like and also learn something from.

on decemeber 12^th i got to spend some time in drew’s classroom teaching them about seollal – the korean lunar new year.  i explained that korean new year is called sol-nal and that this winter it will be on january 23;  that sol-nal lasts three days and is a time for families to get together to celebrate and honor the older members in the family...with no school or work people in korea during this time.  and then i asked them if they wanted to learn how to count to four in korean by learning four important things that korean kids get to do on their new year’s day.  they did!

here is what they learned

on new year’s day in korea, korean kids:

hah-NAH (1) wear something nice - they get dressed up in nice clothes or their traditional hanbok [i brought in leo’s hanbok and showed the class pictures of what a girl’s hanbok looked like]

tool (2) do something nice for their grandparents – they give respect to their grandparents by bowing and then their grandparents give them words of wisdom and a gift – usually some money. the kids were so excited to point out that chinese kids get money at new year’s too! [i taught the boys…and then the girls…how to bow.  they did a great job!]

set (3) eat a special meal that always includes a soup with dumplings in it [i described dumplings and taught the kids how to say mandu.  i also told the class that koreans believe that you don’t turn another year older until you eat this soup – and that kids like to joke around and ask people how many bowls of soup they’ve had - & tell them that they are now that many years older]

net (4) play games – kite flying for the boys, see saw for the girls and yutnori for the whole family [i showed the class a book/picture of girls playing on the see saw and also brought in yutnori – letting the kids pass around the game sticks and showing them some of the basics of the game]

during my entire time in the classroom, i was so proud of drew!!  he was engaged and visibly proud.  proud that i was there.  proud that our family is part korean.  and, proud to help me teach his classmates how to count to four in korean and share with them is favorite korean foods.  adoption…the gift that keeps on giving.

drew’s classmates asked quite a few questions…most of which i don’t remember because they weren’t exactly on topic.  but, one of drew’s buddies asked the last question – and it was a good one.  he asked if i was born in korea. i said no, i was born in the united states – in michigan.  he then asked if drew was born in korea.  i said no, he was born in minneapolis.  [at this point I started to sweat and pretty much feared that this kid had figured out i was an imposture…a fraud…just a mom reading from the internet] and then i said, drew’s brother was born in korea and last year we went there to bring him home.  that seemed to appease him…but then i really started to sweat! did i really just say that…had i just opened pandora’s box? how many more questions were now swirling around in this kid’s head and the heads of his classmates because of this statement? this was not the time to discuss adoption…and thankfully, i was able to successfully change the subject.

afterwards, it clicked for me though.  the question was a good and innocent one.  he simply wanted to know if i had been born in korea.  which, after thinking about it, i very well could have been.  or I could have been born in mexico or israel or russia or somewhere in africa.  kindergarteners still think of people just as people.  no stereotypes.  no judgments.  they think of people just with simple and innocent curiosity.  what a gift that is.  and, i am so happy…so honored…that was i was able to go into drew’s classroom in december and help those kids learn a little bit more about kids half way around the globe in korea.  to help them see and understand that in many ways kids are all alike…celebrating important holidays with their extended families, wearing nice clothes and eating special food, and playing their favorite games with family and friends…just like we do here.

seollal is just a few days away  and it appears the krekelbergs have added a new way to bring in the lunar new year.  forget superstitions like eating black-eyed peas, kissing at midnight or throwing salt over your shoulder.  what we did (and you might want to consider) is break a big ole jar of kimchi and let our house and garage smell nice and spicy/stinky (or “good!” as drew would tell you) to welcome in the new year!!  yep, unintentionally, that’s what we’ve done.  so far, it is definitely serving as a nice reminder of our korean heritage.  hopefully it will bring us some luck in 2012 too!

we also plan doing some more traditional things too…taking in a korean drum and dance performance and eating some korean food.  and, we plan on keeping the lights on in our house throughout sunday night.  we wholeheartedly want to welcome the new year - as they do in korea - with brightness and open eyes. what a great way to do it!   i love the symbolism!!

until next time…happy seollal ~ shine bright!

**a big thanks to drew's teacher for the pictures**

my blog is great...

...so says grace! (and grace is witty and stylish and oh so smart - so it must be so!!)

nothing builds one’s confidence like getting a blog award after writing just two posts since hopping back in the saddle!!  thank you, grace, for bestowing this award onto me.  and thank you everyone...your warm 'welcome backs' have meant a lot to me.

the rules of the award:

1. thank the person who gave you this award

2. list seven things people may not know about you

3. pass it on to 15 (or so) other bloggers

seven things you might not know about me

1. i love magazines.  so much so, that i have a very difficult time parting with them.  we don’t have cable, but, i hear there is a show about hoarders.  i have a feeling they’d have something to say about the number of old magazines at our house.  they fill (and overflow) a nice basket in the family room.  there are nice stacks of them in my bedroom…and my bedroom closet.  there are quite a few placed, stacked, shoved in a kitchen cabinet.  and, there are some lucky ones that have actually been placed in those fancy magazine holders in the office.  they are kept with good intentions, but rarely gone back to.  really…i just know that someday i might need a recipe from a 2002 cooking light or that the real simple holiday gift giving guide from 2007 might have just the perfect gift idea for this year.  and, seriously, how can one get rid of all those parenting magazines? every edition has information on different stages of childhood – i might need that all that info for my future 8 year old. and those cute, colorful, little everyday food magazines – how dare i part with them! (and do not get me started on all the kids magazines we are now getting)

{i get it…i can get all the information in these old magazines on the internet now.  but, i can’t hold it on the web and i love the pictures in these magazines.  seems like such a waste to just recycle them.  besides, won’t my boys need magazines to cut pictures out of for some school project?  just want to make sure they have enough to choose from. ;)  }

2. i love brownies.  forget cake or cupcakes - brownies are my birthday treat of choice.  i am a purest though – no nuts; no frosting. more chewy than cake-like.  the box mix with the hershey chocolate packet…yum yum. oh, how i could eat an entire pan right now!

3. i do not have a musical bone in my body.  in 6^th grade i chose to play the flute.  because it was shiny.  how miserable…for me and those that had to listen to me attempt to play.  only recently has it come to my attention that there is a certain lips type that it is best to have to play the flute – not the kind i have.  no wonder i failed.

i may not be able to play, but i do really appreciate music. and, i love that leo is so musically inclined.  in college (at Indiana University)…i loved “sneaking” into the music school to listen to recitals – especially the string instruments.  it was so peaceful and relaxing…and utterly amazing the talent these people had!  if I could read music and had the time, i would love to learn to play the violin.  just to say i could.

4. motion sickness is not my friend.  i cannot read in the car…an airplane is better, but not much.  imax movies sound so interesting and fun…until the theater goes dark and the moving picture appears.  mario kart…i am manage a few races if i’m driving, but please don’t ask me to watch you race.  sitting in a parked rv makes me dizzy and feel drunk.  a docked boat is like being out in the middle of the ocean…at night…during a massive storm.  so why i thought i would be able to handle a cruise without any motion sickness medicine is beyond me.  but, after one night of hell and asking myself why i thought a cruise would be a good idea, i got some drugs from the onboard doc and things were smooth sailing in the southern caribbean.  thank goodness.

5. there are less than ten states i need to visit in order to have seen all fifty.  that is pretty amazing…and i thank my parents for all those trips and adventures growing up.  small new england towns, the museums of dc, williamsburg, the charm of charleston, mackinaw island, the minnesota north shore, chicago, niagara falls, mammoth cave, lake of the ozarks, hot springs, orlando, las veags, yellowstone, glacier, the arizona desert and mountains, the smell of passion fruit on kauai, cedar point amusement park, college tours, cereal and chocolate factory tours, summer camps, road trips, hotel stays, tent camping…and so much more.  so blessed to have experienced so much of our wonderful country.  i turn the big forty in 23 months…i am hoping there is a way to knock off all fifty states before then.  so, if you live in washington, oregon, california, idaho, utah, new mexico, louisiana, alaska…the krekelbergs just might show up on your doorstep one day in the near future.  consider yourself warned.

6. when i was pregnant with drew…i had pregnancy induced carpal tunnel.  it sucked.  it got so bad, i could barely hold on to the steering wheel when i was driving.  i needed a special mouse for the computer.  and, best of all, i got to wear these sexy black hand braces with lots of velcro to bed each night.  it was horrible.  and, i feared that i was going to be forever stuck with this painful situation.  it took awhile after drew was born, but thankfully my hands went back to normal. it was the weirdest thing.  (i never did gave up my roller-ball mouse at work.  it’s the best.)

7. i dream of being a scientist – a chemist or a biologist…or a geographer (whatever they do, i just love maps and geography)…or a national park ranger…or a travel agent…or a stay at home mom.  hmmm…is this the beginning of a mid-life crisis??

there you have it. seven little known things about me.  now to give this award out.  so many bloggers i know have already been given this award.  if, you're getting this award for the second or third time it's because your blog rocks.  and, there is no need to tell us seven more things about yourself – unless you want to!  and…miss beth – i am naming you an honorary blogger....please share seven things about yourself in the comments.  J

i look forward to learning a little bit more about all of you!

1. Beth

2. Michelle @ soul-2-seoul

2. Christine @ 12,450 miles

3. Elizabeth @ every day the wonderful happens

4. Elizabeth @ a.e.i.o.

5. Christy @ three little monkeys jumping

6. Brooke @ our little seoul sister

7. Anna @ my life and kids

8. Kelly @ jon & kelly + max

9. Kris @ life in the hammer home

10. Dana @ plum.tree.studio

11. Janet @ seoul searching

12. Jenny @ a chosen child

thanks for reading!!

until next time...make the most of your weekend!!

previously at all accounted four

curious as to what we were up to over the past five months…no need to be anymore!

kindergarten.

despite all my worry and stress around when to send drew to kindergarten, getting him into the everyday program and adjusting to school life, things are going pretty darn good.  drew has an amazing teacher. he loves being part of an advanced math “team”.  he’s on the very verge of a serious reading break-through – i am already so impressed with all the words he’s already reading! he made the coolest christmas gift in art class – a beautiful and functional green clay bell. he has made a lot of new friends…and lives to play football on recess.  and, if chicken patty is on the hot lunch menu…he has to have it!

heading into kindergarten open house

drew and his crazy-fun teacher

first day of school

family day.

kindergarten started on september 6^th…and the next day we celebrated the first anniversary of being a family of four.  some call this Gotcha Day or Family Day.  we are still looking for a term that fits our family.  no doubt, this day is super duper special day.  but, quite honestly, we found it a little difficult and awkward to celebrate.  we all understand that leo officially joined our family on a day other than the day he was born.  but, yet, it’s still hard to explain or justify why leo gets another whole day for him with gifts and cake and attention.  i did my research…looking up and checking out how other people celebrate this important day.  a special korean meal.  gifts of korean heritage or adoption related given.  paying respects to birthparents and foster parents.  but nowhere did i find a resource for how to celebrate a “gotcha day” for families that have both biological and adopted children.  for me, it’s a tricky day to celebrate.  do not get me wrong, i really don’t what to lose sight of the importance of this day for leo…i just want to make sure we also celebrate it in a way that recognizes both my sons…of us as a family - all accounted four.

we still need to find that balance and come up with our own traditions for this day.  hopefully by this september 7^th, we’ll have thought of something really good.  as for 2011…we took a picture.  we ate cake.  chocolate cake.  and, most importantly, we were happy to be eating it together.

that was one yummy cake

school pictures.

this fall we sent both the boys to school one morning looking handsome and ready for pictures…hoping and praying they still looked good by the time it was time for pictures to be taken.  they turned out better than ok, don’t ya think??

dallas.

in early october, i did the unthinkable…i took a spur of the moment, last-minute solo trip to dallas, texas to hang out with my college roommate and cheer on the detroit tigers during american league championship series.  those that really know me understand how out of character that was for me.  it was too spontaneous.  but, i decided to go…and the next morning before the sun was up, I was on my way to the airport.   i still cannot believe i went!! but i am so glad i did…even if the tigers lost the first game in the POURING rain (oh, the rain delays) and I missed game two due to postponement due to rain.  it was so great to see kristen and re-connect.  thanks, again, kristen for helping make this wonderful trip possible!!

fall break.

after two road trips to the cottage already under our belt for the year, we thought “what the heck! let’s do it again!” so, we packed up the vehicle and made the 10 hour road trip.  it was the first time the boys (damon, drew, and leo) had been to the cottage in the fall…and it was just beautiful!  while we couldn’t go swimming, we still had a lot of fun while there running on the beach, playing baseball, riding bikes, playing in the leaves, going to the zoo, shopping and hitting some brew pubs.  but, i think best of all, damon and i got a whole evening out to celebrate our anniversary.  it was perfect.  absolutely perfect.

hockey.

i am officially a hockey mom! (i’ve even got a button to prove it.)

drew has been enjoying hockey immensely…and i seriously cannot believe how much his skating has improved in just a few short months.  jumping over the blue line, skating on one foot, stopping without “superman-ing” onto the ice, learning to skate backwards…there is no doubt he is now a better skater than i am!

#4...my self proclaimed defenseman

not wanting to leave the arena...even after a 2 hour practice

thanksgiving.

call us crazy, but we made a fourth trip to michigan over thanksgiving break. this time we made it to detroit…and we flew.  we were the picture perfect, happy and experienced traveling family – until we had to circle and circle and circle detroit before landing…it was during that time that leo’s terrible screaming two’s came out in full force.  and, to be honest…so did my tears. passengers did not like us – oh, those stares. and the flight attendants threw FAA regulations out the window – sitting down, trays up, seat belts…no need!!  good times.  luckily, the flight home was much more uneventful.

it was good to be “home” for thanksgiving. and, really good to finally meet little jjb!!  jj is just the sweetest and cutest little baby boy – we just love our nephew/cousin!

we ate A LOT in Detroit…i felt like every fb status update was about the great eating or drinking establishment we were at.  besides my mom’s fabulous cooking (there’s not a better Thanksgiving dinner), we got to eat my all-time favorite pizza (twice); we enjoyed a yummy coney island breakfast (twice); damon and i started a date night at a highly recommended korean restaurant – which i still find myself craving; and a trip of ours to michigan would not be complete without stopping in at a couple microbreweries (as one of damon’s beer club members said, upon seeing yet another beer related fb post from michigan, “you guys take the best vacations!” – the people at Pure Michigan would be so pleased to hear that!).  yet, i feel like there are even more places we could have gone to eat while there – we totally missed greek town, mexican village and our favorite polish place.  next time.

besides eating and drinking we did a lot of fun stuff…built marble runs, checked out my elementary school playground, went to a Whalers hockey game, cheered on a friend’s son at his youth basketball game (way to go Luke!), braved the cold and enjoyed the balloons, floats, bands, and clowns at the detroit thanksgiving day parade, had fun learning at two of our favorite museums – the Henry Ford and the Ann Arbor Hands-On, played euchre with an incredible couple we are so blessed to call our friends, introduced my gymnastics coach to my family (while the boys jumped in the pits and swung on the bars), and really just enjoyed hanging out and relaxing with my side of the family.

christmas trees and santa’s preferred mode of transportation.

we love kicking off the christmas season with a trip to our favorite tree farm. thousands of trees to choose from, kettle corn to eat, carriage rides to take, hot dogs to roast, a big straw fort and maze to play in, and the arrival of santa claus – by helicopter.  [to this day, when leo sees a helicopter he points and shouts “santa!”.  at least he knows it’s santa now, for the first two weeks of December he was calling santa “noah”.]

so…there you have it…phew!

All Accounted Four is all caught up.

until next time…

hi. remember me?

hi.

my name is sue and it’s been five months since my last post.

worse yet, i fell off the face of the earth right in the middle of leo’s first anniversary of joining our family...which also came at the same time as drew starting kindergarten. big moments lived happily, yet failing to make it to the pages of All Accounted Four. who does such a thing? an overwhelmed and crazed mother of two rambunctious boys, that’s who.

despite being overwhelmed and crazed, we’ve had a lot of fun over the past five busy months…kindergarten, two fun trips to michigan, the start of mini-mite hockey, great haircuts for the boys, and a wonderful december filled with all things holiday.  but, i became overwhelmed and crazed somehow.  we’ve had our challenges [a newly minted terrible two that enjoyed fighting bedtime and waking up at ungodly hours of the night and early morning for weeks on end] and frustrations [a newly minted kindergartener that i swore for the first few months of school was going to get permanently kicked out of school for (perfectly normal and age appropriate) behavior issues – thoughts (irrational, yet very real to this overwhelmed and crazed woman) of having to home-school had me completely freaked out].  something had to give.  and, it was this blog…and the following of the blogs of others.  slowly we are figuring things out…each one of us maturing and finding our groove.

part of finding my groove means finding the things that bring me happiness and joy – and actually doing them.  for me, this is much easier said than done.  i have no clue why…or maybe I do.  I have a hard time putting myself first and a hard time asking for help.  but…after reading this quote:

‘peace starts within us – we cannot bring to the world what we do not have to offer’

something has clicked.  i need to figure out this inner peace thing.  my life…and the lives of those around me depend on it.

i’ve got some ideas…maybe it means, in no particular order :

*lacing up my running shoes and hitting the pavement…er…treadmill

*grabbing a cozy blanket, some teas and immersing myself into the world of Downton Abbey

*creatively displaying boxes and boxes of pictures…i’ve got ideas, just need to execute

*picking up a pen and some pretty paper and writing some letters and having them delivered the old fashioned way…who doesn’t love getting a surprise in their mailbox?

*booking a long overdue haircut…and tacking on a massage and pedicure

*rediscovering yoga…both with my little yogi, leo, & by myself for some peace and increased flexibility & strength

*accomplishing the impossible – start (and finish) planning a twenty year high school reunion…for this year (20 years ago, being class president seemed like a good idea.  now, I am not sure)

*finding the perfect place to volunteer…where best do my interests and talents fit these days? that is the question!

*connecting with those i cherish…in person, over the phone, through this wonderful world of blogging

*getting outdoors and connecting with nature…waking, hiking, biking, camping, geocashing?!?!

*finding a babysitter so I can date my husband…oh the thought of doing fun things without taking a diaper bag and enjoying an uninterrupted conversation with the man i love

*writing…i really do like to write…sharing my thoughts and experiences…& hoping that people enjoy reading them

thankfully, i already have a vehicle for the last idea in the list.  i have All Accounted Four – in every sense of the phase.  i have a family that i love dearly and that gives me love, hope, and plenty of experiences; and i have this blog to capture all of that.  and, hopefully, i have friends and family still interested in reading what i write…and willing to comment and connect with me – inspiring me and helping me to create even more new experiences and memories.

until next time…HAPPY NEW YEAR - i hope each of you are discovering & doing those things (old & new) that bring you happiness and joy.