Christmas Afternoon

Once we packed up our food, Christmas DVDs and CDs, and gifts, we made the 1 hour drive to Jack's cousin Brad's house.  Jack's uncle and his family were there as well to celebrate the day, and Brad's mom lives with Brad and Wendy so she was quite the jovial host.  The kids took a few minutes to warm up to each other since we hadn't seen  Brad and Wendy and little Mikayla since the summer, but it didn't take long.  It was nice of Brad and Wendy to invite us over.  Wendy grew up in Canada, so she appreciates a good Christmas spread.  Wendy had made yummy sour cream mashed potatoes, stuffing, bacon wrapped shrimp and rice cake appetizers, salad, and gravy.  The main dish was not turkey, but KFC chicken. 

Yes, that's right: we had KFC.  Now, initally one might think this rather redneck and, yes, admittedly, it is a little, but it was not bad at all when paired with all the yummy side dishes.  Brad had a bad turkey experience so hates turkey.  When I heard we were going to have KFC chicken, initially I was like "No way am I going."  But, I put my Scrooge aside and remembered that getting to hang with family was the best part and the food was just a nice extra.  So, I sucked it up and decided to not judge.  It was actually great.  The kids ate the chicken better than they usually eat turky, and I'm sure the cost of the chicken was way less that getting a semi-cooked turkey from the army base (we had to cook ours last year after bringing it home since it was pink on the inside, and the turkey dinner had cost us over $100).  Next year, while we might not order KFC, Jack and I decided that buying a couple of whole chickens and roasting them in our oven might be a great way to celebrate the day.

The after dinner entertainment was superb.  Per request, Dahin belted out a few tunes and Mikayla surprised us all by serving as back-up dancer.  She stole the show--so incredibly cute.

Mikayla truly appreciated her hat.  Not only did she put it on and insist several photos should be taken of her in her new hat, but she walked around with the hat on for quite a while despite the toasty temp in their apartment. I tell you what, it was great to know she appreciated it. I was worried she's be like "what the heck is this? a hat?!? where's the toy?" but she was just thrilled with it.  I had used double strands of yarn to make this hat a good one for outdoor play time and walks.  It gets bitter cold and windy here in the winter.  One of her cousins gave her some new snow shoes and she put those on as well and walked around with the new boots on until nap time. Now that's a kid who appreciates gifts.

Then it was time for some coffee and pumpkin pie.  I have to say, this was the best pumpkin pie I have ever made.  This was mostly due to the crust (so flaky and melt-in-your-mouth delicate), but also due to the fact that I had not tasted my version of pumpkin pie for two years.  Last year, we had the pumpkin pie that came with the turkey dinner from the base, and it was good, but not as good as my pie.  Paired with some vanilla icecream, the pie was so yummy, it was gone by the end of the afternoon.  Those gathered also loved the cookies the kids had made.  Later, the grownups enjoyed some wine and champaign as we watched the 1930s version of  A Christmas Carol my mom had sent me in last week's holiday package.

The kids entertained themselves by playing games, like this game of Twister Santa had brought.  Dahin enjoyed playing with her cousin, who is just as cute as a button.

Later, Tashi resigned himself to the fact that he should use his new bed (a resignation I helped by hiding the pillow and putting some treats in the bed) . He shared his new place with Oliver, who helped keep Tashi cozy by covering him with his jacket as well as blankie.  Dahin's robe was also a part of the cuddle mix.  After a few minutes of snuggling and Tashi kisses, the two fell asleep after a full day of presents, good food, and family. And all was right with the world.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning

On Christmas Eve I picked the boys up from preschool where they had had a lot of fun that day as well as a surprise visit from Santa before embarking on his round-the-world trip.  Dahin had a radio broadcast at MBC with her choir, so Jack and Dahin were out until about 8 pm.  When they got home, we made the cookies for Santa.  We had made the dough the night before and kept it in the fridge overnight (this way the cookies keep their shape better).  We used sprinkles and M&Ms to decorate the cookies.  The kids did a great job and had a lot of fun with their cookie designs.

Early Christmas morning, I woke up to find Tashi in his cage peacefully chewing on a bone that the big man had obviously slipped him to keep him quiet.  Tashi saw Santa, but wasn't talking.  With gifts under the tree and in the stockings, I decided to make the pumpkin pie after feeding Tashi and taking him for his morning outing.

Because frozen pie crusts are not a commodity in South Korea, I had to brave it and make my own for the first time ever.  After two failures and making it the right consistency, I found a video on youtube that was super helpful.  Here's the link in case you want to try it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQ0GSSVymU
The recipe included with the video worked perfectly, so glad I was able to find these instructions from a chef who knows what he's doing.   Boy, I was sure glad that I had bought that beautiful pie dish at a yard sale in Oakland years ago.  And, I was doubly glad that I had decided to bring it with us to Korea.  I didn't get the pie crust perfectly the right size, but make it work. You can see Tashi on the right side of the picture hoping desperately that I drop something yummy (he was obviously remembering the night before when the kids made cookies).  Once the pie crust was set, I used a can of pumpkin and sweetened condensed milk I had gotten when in LA to make the filling.  I was so glad I did because the "pumpkin paste" we bought at a foreign foods market here in Seoul (I had originally wanted to make two pies) was not a paste at all but really a nector or thick juice.  That was a bummer since it cost me almost $5.  Should have known better since the label was Korean.  People here just don't get what canned pumpkin is all about.  Anyway, I fed some of this "pumpkin paste" to Tashi as a treat and saved the rest for later.

The kids rolled out of bed around 8 am and headed right to their stockings.  They had to wake Ronan up since I told them they could not get into their presents until everyone was awake.  Santa had left candy canes in everyone's stocking (well, except for Tashi's) and on the tree as is the tradition in our home.

Above, Dahin helps Tashi discover the contents of his stocking.  He got some yummy treats, a new toy, and some organic shampoo.  He was most excited about the treats.  Below, the kids opened the family gift which was a Wii.  After years of asking for a Wii from Santa, Santa finally delivered.  I couldn't get a good shot of them opening this gift since they kept jumping up and down and screaming.

Then, the boys and Dahin opened their gifts from Apa and Mommy.  The boys got a Pokemon playset, but really I think  they would have been just as happy with a stack of Pokemon cards (despite the fact they already have a gazillion Pokemon cards).  Tashi, below, was a bit resistant to his other Santa gift: a doggy bed.  He had hijacked one of our pillows and had been using it as a bed, and you can see on the right that the pillow is still the prefered lounging tool.

Dahin models her new coat and Christmas leggings, above, and, below, the kids play with some of the games they got from Santa.

The pie turned out perfectly.  Because only 1 pie was doable, we had a lot of Christmas cookies the kids had made so we packed those up with the pie and got ready to go to Uncle Brad and Aunt Wendy's home for Christmas dinner.  Also, I had attempted to make the yeast rolls I always used to make at the holidays, but that was a dismal failure as well.  The dough did not rise at all during the night.  The yeast here is different.  It is instant yeast instead of the yeast I am used to. I think, when I go to Hawaii this spring, I will stock up on some yeast, canned pumpkin, and other holiday baking musts so that everything will be makeable in multiples next year. I made biscuits from scratch instead, but those didn't rise like that should have and were a bit salty.  I followed the directions for adding baking powder to all purpose flour, but still very flat biscuits.  I am not sure why, but maybe the baking powder here is different, too. Still, the biscuits weren't that bad, so they become part of our contribution as well as some cranberry sauce I had found at the foreign food market and some wine that we bought at Shinsaege Department Store.

Dahin knitted a bit using her kit Santa had brought as a stocking stuffer while she waited for everyone to get ready to go.  Below, she models our Christmas gift for her cousin Mikayla. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!

Nuga Nuga Jal Hana

Once again we appeared on "Nuga Nuga Jal Hana", the Korean kids' song program.  This time around, it was celebrities and their families.  Our family fit into the 'special celebrity' category (e.g. not really a celebrity but interesting enough to be on the show).  I've been waiting to post this entry because I wanted Jack to clarify the names of the celebrities--all of whom I know by face, but not by name--but need to get this posted so what the heck.  Above, Dahin poses with one of Korea's famous senior celebrities.  She was incredibly nice and talked with us a lot.  She appeared on the show with her two grandchildren.

Above, the super-nice celebrity grandma with her two grandchildren--both who grew up in Thailand and attended international schools there.  The granddaughter is going to be a freshman at my university this coming spring.  The panel of judges (below) included a cutie who is part of a vocal group, Kim Inhye ( a voice professor at my college!), and a well-known comedian who was, truly, super funny.

Above, the KBS studio orchestra does a great job of accompanying the performing families.  Below, the comedian takes his turn at singing. It was very cute.

Then, our turn.  We sung "Flying a Kite,"  not to be confused with the kite song from Mary Poppins.  The Korean title is "Yeon nalligi" and it has a bit of a gugak (traditional music) feel.  It was a lot of fun to sing.  Dahin was so great.  Her experiences this fall auditioning for "Annie" and joining the Rainbow choir have obviously taught her a lot.  She was so poised and was even coaching me and Jack on how to move and pronounce the lyrics.   That, and she was incredibly smiley and outgoing--her stage manners have improved a lot.

Below, all of us gather onstage.  Included in the lineup was a well-known actor and his daughter, a yudo competitor who made a name for herself at the '88 Olympics, a broadcaster, an actor well-known for his work in historical dramas (as a general), a doctor and her twin daughters (who were total brats--I am sorry, but they were), and the celebrity grandma and her two grandkids.

Everyone got prizes,  We received the "Do re mi" prize for song performance.  I guess everyone got prizes because, when you invited people who are celebrities you kind of have to do that.  There were two top winners. Second place was the actor and his daughter--they got a violin and announced that they were going to donate it.  First place was the bratty twins and their mom.  They got a cello.

Here we are with the "General" team.  It was fun to hang out with people, like the "General", who I've seen on tv.  It was surreal.  Our team name was "Gugak Sarang," or "Loving Traditional Music" (or something like that).  The show airs on New Year's Eve at 4:30 pm on KBS.

Thanks to our nieces Jeongeun (above) and Mieun (below) were got plenty of pictures of the performance.

Here's our performance.  As you can see, Dahin really was the best.  I don't know why I kept swinging around and Jack was as stiff as a corpse.  Still, we did great for our family singing debut.  Enjoy!