Life Lately

Ahhh. Can you hear it? It's the sound of relaxing that comes with summer. Unfortunately we haven't really heard it yet...but I have high hopes that before summer is over we will hear that sound!

So, what's been up with us lately? Why the silence on the blog?

1) CELTA. If you've never heard of CELTA, go here to check it out. Shannon took the 4-week intensive course which began the day before I returned from my trip to the States. Combine that course with a jet-lagging 5-month old and it was pure misery for the first two weeks. The last two weeks were a bit better than misery, but it was still rough. I was basically a single mom for a month, but I still had to cook for, clean up after, and do laundry for Shannon. But we survived!

Headed to Noel's 6-month check-up: Noel strapped in the ERGO, Lane in the stroller, purse on the handlebars, walking to the hospital in upper-80° weather alone. Not my idea of a good time.

2) Vacation. Following the 4-week craziness of CELTA, we took a week off. We just did another stay-cation, but it was just really nice to get to spend time together as a family. It had been seven weeks since we had really all seen each other (one week Shannon was gone on business, two weeks I was in the States, and four weeks Shannon was in class), so just to get to hang out, play together, go out for ice cream, and for me to have any amount of help around the house was simply fantastic. We also did a couple of fun things, but since they fall in the "Stuff to Do Around Istanbul" category, they'll get their own posts.

Going to the "big ice cweam" for cones was definitely a highlight for Lane!

3) Conferences. We went to a conference for five days that was located outside of Istanbul right on the Marmara Sea. It was really nice to wake up to the sea every day, to not have to cook or wash dishes, to have a swimming pool to swim in (and escape the heat), and honestly, for me to get some relief from watching the girls while others took care of them so I could also attend some meetings. While all of us sleeping in one room is never ideal, we made the most of it and just went to bed really early a lot of nights. It was good, although a bit sad, to return home.

Love this girlie! (And the view off our balcony...)

Love this girlie, too! This was her first dip in a real pool.

4) Sickness. And as usually happens when lots of people get together for a conference, we all came down with colds. I'm just thankful it's of the "stuffy head and congestion" variety instead of the "stomach bug" variety. I'm also thankful that I got a full three days at home before I came down with the cold; just enough time to get the house clean, the laundry done, and the house re-stocked with food. Monday we literally watched television almost all day. I haven't made Lane or Noel wear clothes since we returned. It's been hovering around 90° and between no a/c and our feverish selves, we've been keeping it cool in our skivvies.

Fun on the balcony...in the skivvies, of course!

5) Discipline. I think we have what may be categorized as a "strong-willed child." Yes, I know you find it hard to believe that two pushovers such as Shannon and myself (note sarcasm) would have a stubborn, defiant, relentless 2-year old, but we do. I feel like lately all we've done is discipline her, redirect her, instruct her, give her the same choices over and over again (as opposed to the choice she wants us to give her), and so on. I just keep telling myself that one day she'll just know that she's not allowed to leave the table until everyone is done eating without my having to tell her every thirty seconds. And she won't jump on the bed, or stand up on the couches, or throw her toys, or hit us, because it'll have been engrained in her for forever that those behaviors are not acceptable, even if she tests those boundaries every. single. day. Right?