Happy Fall

The summer is over and school is in full swing. I crave my time at home since I spend most of my days driving around Madison. I get Ian into his van in the morning which takes him to Phonology on the west side. After the Badger van pulls away, my kids and my daycare kids, who are already in our van and we head to take them to school. After drop off, Chloe and little Ben and I head to do an errand or two before heading to the west side to get Ian. We usually arrive a little early at school which gives me time to read and the kids time to be silly and either read their books, watch a movie or just keep listening and singing along to the kids songs on the CD. We pick up Ian and head back to the east side to Chloe's school. With a picnic lunch already packed, we either eat on our way or we wait to get to her school and have a picnic and play on the playground equipment. We drop Chloe off for her school and head a few minutes away to Ian's 4K program. Little Ben and I head home for some craft time snack time and a walk around the block and head back in the car to get all the kids from their schools.

Yes, my days are crazy busy! Thankfully we go in 6 weeks on and off for Phonology, so we are looking forward to a much needed break from driving so much in just a few weeks. Even though we spend a lot of time driving and more on gas than normal, I wouldn't give up the blessing I have to take my kids to school and be there for them during the day. I am thankful that they don't have to rely on a school bus to take them everywhere they need to be. Instead, they have Mommy Bus!

Happy Chuseok 2011

An excerpt from visitkorea.or.kr

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=811650

Chuseok (추석) is by far the biggest and most important holiday in Korea. It is a time when family members from near and far come together to share food and stories and to give thanks to their ancestors for the abundant harvest.

This year (2011) Chuseok Day falls on Monday, September 12, but the holiday is observed for a total of three days (Sept. 11 – Sept. 13). For internationals, Chuseok is a prime opportunity to go sightseeing in the major cities since many Koreans return to their hometowns in the countryside, leaving the city attractions relatively crowd-free. Visitors need note, however, that many places (especially stores and restaurants) may be closed for Chuseok Day or the entire Chuseok holiday.

Chuseok is one of Korea’s three major holidays, along with Seollal (New Year’s Day) and Dano (the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar year) and is also referred to as Hangawi (한가위), meaning “the ides of August” (August 15th according to the lunar calendar).

Hangawi/Chuseok was the day on which Koreans, an agrarian people throughout most of history, thanked their ancestors for the year’s harvest and shared their abundance with family and friends. Although the exact origin of Chuseok is unclear, the tradition can be traced back to ancient religious practices that centered around the significance of the moon. The sun’s presence was considered routine, but the full moon that came once a month, brightening the night sky, was considered a special and meaningful event. Therefore, harvest festivities took place on the day of the bright, full moon (Aug. 15 of the lunar year).