Month: April 2019

Flying with a toddler

2019/04/26 / Nic / 0 Comments

Flying with a toddler – 10 hour flight

This was actually the second time I had flown with Yul without Hugh but this time it was a little bit difficult! The first time was traumatic for me to be without Hugh (last minute change) but once I was on the plane it was okay as I had people around me help.

This time I felt very much alone as there was no one capable sitting around me to help me. I was prepared, but there are always things that can go really wrong.

As I mention in the video, they put an elderly man on the other side of me, on the aisle seat. It was difficult for him to get up and out of his seat so I felt very trapped for much of the flight. But several times I did have to get him to get up (he was very nice and I felt really bad) because I desperately had to get up and to the toilet with changing table. Watch the video to hear what happened before we even took off!

The most you can do to help with flying with a toddler is just be prepared as possible. You don’t want to over-pack, but you also want enough nappies (diapers), plastic bags, snacks and toys. The whole flight is just being alert to make sure your kid doesn’t start crying or having a tantrum meltdown.

Yul does watch the screens a little bit, so I put a kids movie on for him (the inflight entertainment), he can watch without sound happily too, but screen time only helps so much. Too much screen time with kids on planes can backfire because they can then have a tantrum when they can’t watch something or when it gets taken away from them. That’s why I don’t take an ipad for him on these flights yet.

I still have to fly back with him in a week! So I’ll be updating with more tips soon!

Easter Egg Hunt

2019/04/23 / Nic / 0 Comments

Yul’s first Easter egg hunt!

Last Easter Yul was just a round chubby baby, but this Easter he is old enough to do an Easter egg hunt! With no other cousins yet, it was just him, but he did understand the point of it really quickly and had fun doing it.

Easter eggs aren’t sold in Korea, and Easter isn’t really celebrated (it’s acknowledged but not CELEBRATED), even by Christians, so it was good to be able to come back to Australia and celebrate it with my family. Most of my family was home and we ate lots of good food, went to church and has nice family time together.

I’d like to always come back for Easter because the weather is so nice this time of year, but when we already come back for Christmas I’m not sure if it will work out every year. Hopefully we’ll be in a position soon to celebrate Christmas and Easter in Australia but Chuseok and Seollal in Korea.

Hot Cross Buns? Yes they are real!

2019/04/21 / Nic / 0 Comments

Hot cross buns are in many countries but people didn’t know they are real!

Every year, at some point on social media, I’ll make a comment about hot cross buns. And every year there will be people who didn’t know they were a real thing! They will know there is a song called “Hot Cross Buns” but not that it’s a common Easter food in many countries. So this year, while back in Australia for Easter, I decided to make a quick video about hot cross buns in Australia.

It makes sense that it seems to be Commonwealth countries that continue this British tradition and why it’s usually Americans that don’t know about them. Seriously, Americans, you are missing out! While hot cross buns are available in some places in the US, it’s nothing like the traditions in other countries. Reactions range from “I did not know this was a real thing” to “I have seen them in some bakeries”. Nothing like the fevered desire and need in Australia to have hot cross buns at Easter. It’s a vital part of Easter here and symbolic for the Christian holiday.

As I mentioned in the video, there are different flavours now. But I still prefer the traditional type. Yul is happy to eat the traditional ones with fruit too, though many kids want the fruitless ones. We’ll see as he gets older though, if he decides he wants to be picky…

There are some bakeries in Seoul that do hot cross buns and Summer Lane Cafe which I’ve shown in a video before, has them. If we are not back in Australia next Easter I think I’ll try to make them at home.

What do hot cross buns taste like? They are lovely moist buns with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice and fruit like sultanas and raisins and mixed peel bits. And of course they have a cross on them and are best served hot with butter. They are a nice treat now, but I imagine they must have been even better in previous centuries when sugar and sweet things weren’t as easily available.

I filmed this video very quickly just to show what it’s like in Australia and how all the bakeries are baking many hot cross buns to meet the demand for them on Easter.

How to be taller in Korea?

2019/04/16 / Nic / 0 Comments

Trying weird height up band/ shoe lifts?

We’ve wanted to make some videos like this for a while and saw the opportunity with this product. For years there have been these shoe inserts that people put in their shoes in Korea, but they were a type of foam one. This silicon one called “Height Up Band” seems to be a new type and we wanted to try it out. Instead of it just sitting in a shoe, it attaches to the foot and is hidden inside the sock.

We also decided to try a cheaper version of this product to see how different it was. The brand we saw advertised sells the product for about $30, but the cheap version is $6.

Are they really worth it? Do they make you appear that much taller? Hugh tried both and you can see his reaction in the video!

The obsession with height can get a bit ridiculous. I’ve always told Hugh that I prefer to be able to look him in the eye easily and wouldn’t want him to be taller. There are much more important things in a relationship!

To see more videos from us subscribe to us on YouTube!

Assumptions about us?

2019/04/13 / Nic / 0 Comments

What people think about us?

This is a YouTube trend at the moment, where you get our followers to tell you what they assume about you, or rumors they have heard about you, and you address them in a video!

It’s interesting to see the type of things people assume and it’s a good opportunity to set the record straight.

I picked out a few to talk about and Hugh and I had a nice long chat about these assumptions and rumors.

Most bad rumors about influencers and YouTubers are not true by the way. There are lots of people who just make up stuff and spread it around. Or sometimes something minor can be taken out of context and then exaggerated and that gets spread around. Just something to consider when you see really negative stuff about someone that always seemed nice to you.

Toddler Kisses

2019/04/09 / Nic / 0 Comments

Kiss for Mummy and Daddy: Toddler Kisses

This is how Yul kisses at the moment…. wet slobbery kisses that often involve teeth! Toddler kisses are funny. He knows what it means when we ask for a kiss and it’s really lovely when he gives us kisses, but it can be a bit gross too! haha

We are making sure that he knows he can say no as well. When we ask for a kiss sometimes he does shake his head no, and we make sure we say something like, “That’s okay”. I think him knowing he has a choice means he enjoys giving up very big kisses when he is in the mood.

It’s super cute for us, being new parents, to now have these sweet interactions with our son. Every day he is learning new things and it’s so exciting to see his personality develop.

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve made a comic. I’ve had a few months of being sick on and off. Sometimes it’s been a cold, sometimes it’s my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, sometimes it’s my Endometriosis and the past two weeks it’s been a very bad sinus infection. My goal is to make a MKH comic at least once a week. I usually only have the time while Yul is at daycare to make comics and that time gets eaten up by general household stuff I have to do.

Hugh is super busy these days as he is doing a lot of business stuff on top of his normal job. He is involved in many projects right now but all this hard work will hopefully mean we are in a better position financially by next year, AND in a better apartment.

Also if you want to see how big our son is now, and lots more things we have been up to, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Surprising our son with dinosaur toys

2019/04/05 / Nic / 0 Comments

Surprising our son with HUGE toy dinosaurs!

Our son Yul loves dinosaurs. He has got on the dinosaur train quite young he’s only 17 months! I never really introduced dinosaurs to him, but he has seen toy ones at daycare and in books. He has a few dinosaur books which he loves. And he can also make dinosaur sounds! But he didn’t have any dinosaur toys!

We realised we didn’t really have any dinosaur toys at home. There was one that we left in Australia and he once stole one from daycare which of course we had to take back. We didn’t want to buy him just any cheap small plastic ones, we wanted to do something special.

I started to remember things from my own childhood. I’d read many books about dinosaurs and it was an interest shared amongst my siblings. We knew lots of dinosaur names. I wanted to pick dinosaurs that felt classic and what I was familiar with in my 90’s childhood. We ended up choosing four: stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus and brachiosaurus. Each are different enough from each other and instantly recognisable.

The dinosaurs we ended up buying are a softer plastic and has a nice feel to them. They are also huge toys! But Yul loves dragging big things around so we knew he’d love that they are that big. We wanted to surprise him and capture his reaction, so it was all set up for when he came home from daycare….

Watch the video to see his reaction!