Scarbrough Fair

Home, Sweet Home (part II)

2012-02-02T14:52:00.001+02:00

Well, what do you know...we got our apartment cleaned up faster than expected! Or I just moved a few things to other rooms for photos... Either way...here's the rest of our place!

When you walk in the front door, almost immediately to your right is the kitchen.

The view from the kitchen door, looking to the left.

A close-up of our counter. I hate counter clutter. It drives me insane. Unfortunately we always have some (like the homemade bread just sitting in ziplocs...there's nowhere else to put it!). Notice the sign on the top shelf? It originally hung here. And we have a shelf for all our medications, coffee, hot chocolate mix, vitamins, etc.

The view from the kitchen door looking right. Dishwasher (which is currently broken...sigh), my KitchenAid mixer, our sketchy table with ultra-sketchy chairs (one day maybe we'll buy stools to sit on but it just hasn't been a priority...so the step stool alternates between the bathroom and the kitchen, and the folding chair alternates between next to the front door and the kitchen). The cross-stitch my sister did for me and Shannon for our wedding is hanging above the table. See that door? Here's what's behind it:

An enclosed balcony with our bags, recycling, cleaning supplies, granny-cart, and miscellaneous stuff.

Standing near the sink and looking forward-left. The vacuum has a new home right there, because it seems I need to vacuum the kitchen/entry/hallway/bathroom every day, and I just don't do it if I have to actually get the vacuum out of the enclosed balcony. So there it sits... The cabinet thing holds bags, aprons, keys, extra dishes (down below) and...

Spices! I love having all (ok, most ) of my spices in these jars! Here spices come in bags and it drives me crazy to have them all floating around in my cabinets, spilling everywhere...so I really like this system. I don't even need labels for them...I know which is which. And I'm out of baking powder...

Standing near the balcony door and looking toward the hallway. Refrigerator, oven, microwave (yes, we finally bought a microwave after five months without one!), cabinets.

And the view out our kitchen window for the last week: it looks like a snow globe over here!

The second door on your left when you walk into our apartment is Shannon's office:

The view from the door to his office.

It's a man cave and he refused to let me help him decorate. Hence stuff like this:

I mean, really...could those wall hangings get any more...unaesthetic?

Or check out the photo on top of the scarf on the bookshelf...

Shannon's desk. He makes fun of his dad sometimes for all the piles his dad has of stuff in his office, but...I think Shannon could be well on his way to the same fate. =)

The view looking back towards the door: the lovely chair that matches our living room set. Originally the recliner was in here and this chair was in the living room, but we moved the recliner into the living room while I was pregnant and decided we liked it better out there. And this photo is a great example of how apartments over here have very few outlet plugs. This room has one, which you can see in this photo. So we had to run an extension cord all the way around the room to plug Shannon's computer, printer, scanner, cell phone charger, etc. into. I don't think that any of the rooms in our apartment (including the living room) have more than two outlet plugs. I will never understand why they do it that way...

And then, the third door on the left of our hallway (before the bathroom and finally our bedroom) is our Turkish toilet (otherwise known as a "squatty potty"). Now, we don't use the squatty, and since we have two other toilets, we turned this room into a much needed storage room:

All our trunks and suitcases are piled in the back, right on top of the squatty potty. We have a toddler bed that we bought sight-unseen that we've never used and are trying to sell, but for now...it's sitting in here. And usually what ends up happening is that as Lane (and now Noel) outgrows things, I bring them in here and put them on that sink/shelf. When the shelf gets full, we go in, pull everything out, and put things in their appropriate trunks.

And lastly, the view on the way out:

Our front door, umbrella stroller, and closet for coats and shoes and hats and backpacks. We'd much rather have something with hooks, but this wardrobe was free, so for now we'll just use it.

And there you have it. Our much appreciated apartment, after living in others' homes for almost two years. It definitely has its problems and quirks (hello, water problems!), but we are so, so thankful for it!

Who's Who?

2012-01-31T13:53:00.002+02:00

After catching a glimpse of Noel playing on her play mat the other day it struck me how much she looks like Lane did.

Check it out:

The question is..can you tell who's who?

Home, Sweet Home (part I)

2012-01-30T16:33:00.000+02:00

Welcome to our home! (I'm totally only showing off the rooms that are clean today! Other rooms will be shown off at a later date.)

When you walk in, this is what you see. Lane's room and Shannon's office are to the left. Turkish toilet and regular bathroom down the hall to the left, our bedroom at the very back. Kitchen to the right, living room directly ahead.

In the living room, to the right.

Standing near the television and looking to the back of the room. Note the hideous dining chairs and table. I hate them. But we got the whole set for $30. So I really can't complain...

Standing at the dining room table and looking into the living room.

Looking into Lane's room from her doorway.

Lane's bed, bucket of blocks, and the ABC cross-stitch I did for Lane.

The back corner of Lane's room (door is left of the kitchen). Kitchen, book/toy shelf, princess tent, chest of drawers.

Head down the hallway and on the left:

The big bathroom. Washing machine, lots of cabinet space, and...

The bathtub! Previously seen here.

We are very, very blessed to have such a big and nice bathroom here. Generally bathrooms are small, crowded, and...just not very nice!

Then at the back of the hallway is our bedroom:

Looking in from the hallway.

See that door in the corner? No, it's not a closet. Or I guess it is...of a kind...

Our second (or third, if you could the Turkish toilet) bathroom. It was very useful when I was pregnant and getting up a couple of times a night to pee. Now that the weather has turned cold (it's in the 20's today) we've closed it off and are just using the big bathroom, because it is cold in this bathroom! We can't close the little window, so the cold air from outside seeps in, making our entire bedroom cold. Now we're just keeping Lane's last birthday present in there (saving it for a rainy day, since she doesn't know the difference).

Ok, back into our bedroom:

To the right (from the bathroom): our wardrobe (since there are no closets). That bugger is big. It will stay right there until we move again.

Noel's corner of the room. Chair, boppy, basket of cloth diapers, bed, and changing station.

Who needs a crib?

One of our enclosed balconies, located behind the black chair. It's out of use right now since it's freezing out there, but we hang laundry there when the weather's nice.

And there you have it. Or about half of it. Upcoming: the kitchen, Shannon's office, and the Turkish toilet. It might be awhile before you see those...they tend to be the catch-all's of the house...

24 Months

2012-01-28T14:21:00.002+02:00

Two whole years. I still can't believe it.

Lane continues to seem like she's becoming a little girl, as opposed to the whiny, needy toddler that she has been. She's still needy, don't get me wrong, but she's just seeming to...grow up...a bit more every day. She is quite the joy, and quite the work as well!

At 24 months (and 6 days) old, Lane:

*continues to get better and better at playing pretend. She likes to "cook" in her kitchen, brings me and Shannon food or drinks, gets bites of pretend food and feeds it to Elmo or other dolls/animals, and so on.

*is learning new words almost every day. I'll never forget about a week ago when she was on the potty and just started saying "yes" and "no," working out the sounds until she was saying them correctly and then repeating them over and over again. It was amazing and hilarious. Some new words this month (I'm sure I'm forgetting some) are: black, backpack, hi, hello (sounds like "yellow"), I, two, nine, bye-bye (bye-bye-yuh), spaghetti (pa-geh-ee), please (peeze), yes (yesh), no, doll, m, love (wuhve). She can also say correctly the letters B, E, I, and O. We haven't taught her any more sign language, but she still uses the signs she knows, accompanying them with speech if she can say that word.

Sitting on the potty!

*is showing signs of being ready to potty train. We've been letting her run around the house without pants on a lot of the time and most of the time if she needs to pee she'll say "poo-pa" (we're still not sure what that means...peepee, poopoo, or potty?) and we'll all run off to the bathroom and she'll pee in her potty. She's had a couple of accidents, but only a couple. She is not interested in pooping on the potty though and will wait until nap or bedtime, delay it for hours (getting up, saying she needs to "poopa," not going, and so on), finally go in her diaper, and then fall asleep. We'll probably start "officially" potty training her in a couple of weeks, at least for awake periods of time.

*is 34 inches tall and weighs 25.25 pounds. We've all been to the hospital way too much in the past two weeks, once for her 2-year checkup, again for her Hepatitis A shot (she was sick at her 2-year checkup so I didn't want her to get any immunizations then), and again for nursemaid's elbow. She's actually gotten nursemaid's elbow three times now (once in November, I think, once last Thursday, and again this past Tuesday). On Tuesday when it happened I managed to fix it myself...how sad is that, that I've watched doctors fix her arm enough that I can do it myself now? Sheesh.

Just readin' a book.

*is getting better at letting us brush her teeth (she needs to be since she's getting so many cookies for peeing in her potty!). The trick that finally worked?: let her hold a toothbrush while Shannon or I brush her teeth, then let her brush them. She hasn't shed a tear yet with this method.

*holds up two fingers and says "two" when we ask her how old she is. She can also hold up either one or three fingers, but doesn't know the numbers that go with them.

*loves the color blue. I think it's mainly because it's one of the only colors she knows how to say, but she only wants to eat out of her blue bowl, drink from her blue cup, and wear blue diapers. It's quite comical.

My happy girl at the aquarium on the last day of her second year.

*is just plain funny. She was carrying a pretend cupcake on a plate last night and as the cupcake would tip over she'd stop and put it back upright before continuing on her way. She also likes to blow zerberts on our bellies, gallop around the house, jump down stairs (while holding onto one of our hands), or just jump down the hallway.

*is still fascinated with farm animals and the song "Old MacDonald." She still bounces animals (or other things) in front of us to indicate she wants us to sing Old MacDonald with whatever animal she's showing us. It's really funny when she bounces, say, Elmo in front of us. What does Elmo say? So we sing Old MacDonald with all sorts of weird animals: alligators, giraffes, seahorses, elephants, frogs, and all the normal animals, too. Pretty much if it makes a sound at all, we sing Old MacDonald with it.

*loves a couple of new books this month: Llama, Llama, Red Pajama and A Potty for Me.

Christmas jammies, a crazy ponytail, and a fake smile.

*has started asking us to pray at random times for people: baby, mama, dada, and all the grandparents. She folds her hands and then says who she wants to pray for.

*is pretty obedient most of the time. The things she gets spankings for the most are: hitting and/or kicking us (usually when she's upset that she's getting a spanking for something else), screaming, or just being plain disobedient. She pitches a fit sometimes, but generally speaking she's good and obedient, and most of the time if she's pitching a fit it's because she's tired and needs to go to bed.

And there you have it. Parenting is a lot of work, but it really is just all worth it. Even when I want to pull my hair out just one look at Lane's big, hazel eyes and curls falling around her face will cause me to stop and be so thankful for her. Where else can you get a giggling, squealing ball of energy tugging you to go play with her or blowing zerberts on your belly?

***Sorry for the lack of photos...it seems that taking pictures has not been very high on the priority list these days...***

Remembering Noah

2012-01-24T19:32:00.002+02:00

Life with two children is tough. And life overseas is tough. Add the two together and I often feel like I'm simply surviving, floating from one moment to the next, living from one thing to another. In the past six days alone I've been to the doctor twice (once for me, once for Lane) and the ER once (for Lane...stinkin' nursemaid's elbow. Again). Our hot water heater (which also heats our apartment) went out. Again. Lane has learned that if she says she needs to go potty that bedtime or nap time gets postponed, so she's been getting to bed late. She's skipped two naps and had a third that lasted just 45 minutes. I have a bare-bottomed girlie running through my house, peeing on things occasionally, pooing on the floor occasionally. Thursday and Friday nights I got approximately 4 hours of sleep for staying up late working on a certain birthday cake. And of course Lane always needs something from me the minute I sit down to nurse Noel and daddy's not home.

To say I've been stressed would be an understatement. It seems that life is never "normal," like I want it to be. There's always something. Something breaks and needs to be repaired. Somebody needs to go to the doctor. Some paperwork needs to be filled out (currently it's Noel's application for a social security card, which will need to be followed up by a 3-hour round-trip excursion to the Consulate to drop it off). Laundry needs to be hung, floors need to be vacuumed (how on earth do they get so dirty every. single. day.?) Things need to be scrubbed, meetings need to be attended. Languages need to be learned. Spilled milk needs to be wiped up, photos need to be uploaded and saved. Babies need to be bathed, hair needs to be washed, and new cell phones need to be learned how to be used (because the old cell phone got sent through the washing machine). Phones run out of minutes when you least expect it and you have to take an hour to go put more money on them, babysitters cancel, and life just keeps going, crazy as it all is. And it's easy to get caught up in the frustration of just putting one foot in front of the other.

I am tired.

Last year a friend of mine gave birth to her first child, a boy named Noah. There were complications with the vaginal delivery and when she woke out of the anesthesia of her emergency c-section, she learned that Noah was delivered with no heartbeat. The doctors got his heart started again, but he never did breathe on his own, and 23 days after he was born, they took him off life support.

I think about her every day.

I think about how she would give anything to be exhausted from being up in the middle of the night nursing her son. I think about how she would gladly sacrifice "alone time" to hold her baby when he just won't go to sleep on his own for a nap. I think about how her body has to recover from pregnancy and she has to deal with all the same things (hormones, hair loss, extra pounds), but she has no baby to hold to to make it all worth it. I think about how she'd be more than willing to put her baby back in bed ten. million. times. after he got up to go to the bathroom, because it would mean that he was still here and that she had had two wonderful years with him already.

And I'm determined to live differently.

This New Year, instead of resolving to lose weight, or to eat healthier, or to be more organized, I'm resolving to be more grateful. To live with more joy. Not to necessarily enjoy every moment, but to be grateful that I have been given that moment. I am not guaranteed tomorrow. I am not guaranteed another day with my children, and how sad would it be if today I lived my life, frustrated at all the frustrations, being short with my husband and daughters, wishing the moments away until bedtime, and then tomorrow came their time and I never got another day with them? How much would I regret today?

This year, I will live in joy. I will be thankful for each moment with those I love, even the moments that are frustrating, the make-me-want-to-pull-my-hair-out moments (or days). I will choose thankfulness over dissatisfaction. I will tell my daughters that I love them, I will kiss their heads and ask them if they know I love them. I will ask for forgiveness when I'm harsh. I will practice patience. I will be grateful for every moment, even those I don't enjoy. I will be thankful.

When Lane is up past bedtime, trying to use the potty, looking at me with big round eyes and a grin on her face, I will try not to focus on how annoyed I am that I've been trying to get her in bed for two hours. I will be thankful that I have the opportunity to parent her, to teach her how to use the potty.

When Noel is up at 2 a.m., nursing and snorting and grunting and pooping, I will try not to think about how completely exhausted I am. I will be grateful that she is healthy and strong.

When I can't seem to get anything done around the house because the stars seem to be aligned against me, my husband is gone, and my girls are cranky, I will try not to put my self-worth in my productivity. I will thank the Lord that I have a home, a husband, and not just one, but two healthy girls, none of whom value me solely for my day's output.

This year I won't necessarily Carpe Diem. But I will be thankful for it.

I will remember Noah.

And Then She Was Two

2012-01-22T20:14:00.007+02:00

12ish hours of work for a Sesame Street cake...she was thrilled, so it was worth it!

Just checking out the fish at the Istanbul Aquarium.

Family photo with Poseidon.

Skyping with grandparents and opening presents.

Climbing in a "shipwreck" at the aquarium.

Fascinating.

The top of her cake. She got to eat the Elmo.

Feeling the iceberg.

Kissing the shark.

Noel just chillin'.

Lane with her buddies who went to the aquarium with us.

Ooh, a lobster!

Yum...cake!

Birthday pancake this morning. Still can't believe she's two!

Life Lately

2012-01-16T20:28:00.004+02:00

So, I'm thinking that "Life Lately" might be a regular post on this blog for awhile. It just seems to sum up everything pretty well for those who want a quick snapshot into, well, life lately.

Today was a great day. Especially after the past week of Lane being sick, recovering from being sleep-deprived, and just crabby, today was nearly perfect. Shannon and I both got up at (ugh) 6:00. I fed Noel (who only woke up one other time, at 3:00, praise the Lord!), took a shower (and cleaned the tub), had my Bible and prayer time, and got one load of laundry folded, one hung, and another load started all before Lane woke up. We had breakfast, got Lane dressed, made the bed, and got most of the apartment vacuumed (we took down our tree yesterday so there were needles [fake, but still] and glitter everywhere) before 9:30 when our babysitter showed up. Shannon, Noel, and I all walked to Starbucks and then studied for about an hour and a half before Noel and I headed home and Shannon headed out for business meetings. I stopped by the store for milk and spinach, came home, and warmed up leftover vegetable beef soup for me, Lane, and our babysitter. We said goodbye to our babysitter, I nursed Noel, and Lane and I played some before nap time. I changed her nasty diaper, and shortly after changed Noel's first real blowout...I think we have a couple of ruined onesies, but hey, that's ok. Nobody sees the white under-onesies anyways, right? Got Noel in bed. Got Lane in bed. And proceeded to have an entire hour of the house to myself with both girls asleep.

My girl has got bed head down.

I cleaned up from lunch. I cleaned the bathroom sink and mirror. I chopped all the veggies for dinner. I listened to Turkish (brushing up after a month off) while doing all my chores. I reassembled cloth diapers and hung the aforementioned load of laundry I started this morning. Noel woke up at 3:00 and I fed her and spent time snuggling her. I actually answered a few emails. Lane woke up at 3:45 and daddy walked in the door ten minutes later. Daddy and Lane played while I got dinner going the rest of the way and all the dishes done. It started snowing, so after dinner, Lane and I went out in the snow for a few minutes. When we came in I let her watch a couple of dvds before bedtime. My weekly Bible study got canceled because of the snow, so we leisurely began to get Lane ready for bed. She had a snack. And then she went pee on her potty and seemed to actually understand what she'd done. She got lots of high fives, silly dances, and a cookie as a reward, and she didn't fight me brushing her teeth. We read a Bible story and she went to bed without any fuss.

Snow! It snowed on Saturday, too, but it was wet and slushy and didn't stick. Look at this beautiful stuff!

And now I'm bleaching bath toys and moving pictures from my old computer to my new one (which I've had for eight months now, so you can see how big of a priority it's been!). And blogging, which it seems I never have time to do anymore. The snow is sticking outside and I'm so excited to maybe let Lane play in it tomorrow when it's daylight. I don't have to cook dinner tomorrow because we have leftovers for lunch and dinner, so instead I'll make brownies for dessert for the week and start baking cakes for Lane's birthday cake.

In short...I think we're figuring life out a bit. I've come up with a few things to help myself be more organized and purposeful in life (and therefore hopefully less overwhelmed), which I'll blog about in another post. Some days are still rough and busy. Some days I just want to pull my hair out and cry. But some days...some days go like today and give me hope that I really can do this parenting-two-children-overseas gig (without going insane, that is).

1 Month Old

2012-01-13T20:12:00.004+02:00

Dear Noel,

Yesterday you turned one month old. And as seems to characterize my life these days, I didn't have time to write you a letter yesterday. You got pushed to the back burner, or at least this "not-so-important-thing" did. All your primary needs got met! I'm really hoping that this is not a trend for your entire life, and I intend to make you just as much a priority as your sister is in my life...once you're old enough to understand it, that is. I'm still trying to figure out this "parent-of-more-than-one-child" thing. For now you seem perfectly content to get your belly filled, your diaper changed, some snuggles before bed or nap time, and to be warm and swaddled when I lay you down for bed. The honest truth is that I love you every bit as much as I love Lane, but I don't have the time to dote on you the way I did her when she was little. I guess that's the case with all children who aren't firstborns, but it doesn't make me feel any less guilty for not giving you the same kind of time and attention I gave her, even before she was aware of it. Now she knows, and while she loves you and wants to shower you in kisses, she doesn't want me to spend any time away from her. Don't worry...she'll learn that you get mommy time, too.

Looking at big sister Lane. You love to look at her.

In the past month you have gone from a sleep-a-holic newborn to a little baby with a bit of personality. You're starting to smile sometimes and to coo a little bit. You like to look in the mirror we set up for you, and you don't seem to mind tummy time. You're quite strong and can hold your head steady for probably 30-45 seconds when held upright, and can lift your head up to look in the mirror or to turn it from side to side when on your tummy. You gained one inch in length, putting you at a little over 20 inches long, and two inches in head circumference, putting you at 15 inches. And you gained about 2.25 pounds in your first four weeks of life, which is still just amazing to me since for the first 2-3 weeks it seemed like you hardly ate anything. You also took your first airplane rides to Antalya, Turkey, and you did great.

Your very first outing (other than going to the doctor). You snoozed the entire time.

Noel, there aren't words to express how happy your daddy and I are that you are part of our family. You're a lot of work so far, and we're pretty tired, but we wouldn't trade it for the world. We're so blessed that you are happy and healthy, and we want you to know that we love you and thank God for you every day. We have lots of friends who have recently lost babies, or have found out that their babies have serious health problems, and while our hearts break for them it makes us even more grateful for you. You are a blessing to us, and we will always consider you a blessing, even when times are tough, even when you don't get as much attention as your older sister, and even when we discipline you, know that we love you and are grateful to God for you.

Love,

Mommy (and Daddy)

Your first Christmas Eve. You slept through most of it.

Daddy gave you your first bottle. You weren't too keen on it, but you did drink from it.

My beautiful girl. I love you.

A Quilt from Joyce (part IV)

2012-01-13T15:06:00.006+02:00

As some of you may remember, my stepmom is an awesome quilt-ress (nice word I made up, huh?). She's made me and Shannon a quilt, Lane a quilt, and at my request, pillowcases to match our quilt. And of course, since we have a new addition, she just had to make Noel a quilt. She sent it to someone in the States to bring over by hand (since we have such fantastic luck with packages disappearing), so we just got it last week. Isn't it beautiful?

Noah's Ark.

I love the detailing...Joyce does all the stitching by hand, which makes it even more impressive!

Thanks, Joyce, for the beautiful quilt for Noel! It will be treasured for many, many years!

I Know, I Know.

2012-01-10T21:08:00.004+02:00

You're all wondering where I've been.

First, our power went out. On my birthday. So I had to make my birthday pancakes in the dark (we had them for dinner, not breakfast) since I was midway through making them when it went out.

Cocoa-chocolate chip pancakes. Yum.

Then Noel took her first flights to and from Antalya, Turkey.

Yeah, this is boring, Mom.

Lane learned how to "smile" for the camera.

I can only imagine what future "smile for the camera" smiles are going to look like!

Noel got her first bath.

She's still not sure if she likes the water or hates the water.

My friend Melissa sent Noel some baby booties she made.

So cute! And they fit her perfectly! Thanks, Melissa!

I've gotten lots of newborn baby snuggles.

I know you're not supposed to let them fall asleep on you, but...who can resist?

Lane discovered a new game.

Let daddy run and push you as fast as he can! Oh so fun!

And in between it all Lane got a cold, threw up about eight times and didn't sleep all night for a week. I've washed about six loads of laundry in the past four days. We've gotten passport photos for Noel taken and all the documents filled out to apply for her certificate of birth abroad and U.S. passport when we go to the Consulate tomorrow.

Forgive me while I recuperate from the last twelve insane days. Why is it that when it rains, it pours? Seriously...I can't wait for life to return to "normal!"

This is Christmas

2011-12-29T20:36:00.000+02:00

Another blog I frequent had a post about a week ago entitled "This is Christmas." And much as I've tried to come up with another title for this post (so as not to be a copycat), I just can't. Because around here...

This is Christmas. At least this year.

Christmas Eve after Santa came.

The girls in their Christmas jammies (which, unfortunately, arrived the day after Christmas).

This was actually a quite relaxed (although quite tiring, due to a certain little someone) Christmas. I spent the week before Christmas in the kitchen baking...gingerbread cookies for the neighbors, biscotti, granola bars, breakfast cookies, chocolate crackle cookies, apple pies, and making hot cocoa mix. I was a mad woman. But it paid off in that Christmas weekend and this week we have had lots of snacks around the house and very little difficult cooking to do. I got to bring plates of gingerbread cookies to my neighbors, and since you can't get molasses here, they were quite taken with the cookies. My apple pies were a hit at our big Christmas dinner.

Cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

Lane playing in her new kitchen (which we scored used for $20!) on Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve we went to church and had our big Christmas dinner, complete with a turkey. (I got to bring the carcass home and made turkey broth with it, plus pulled four cups of meat off the bones.) We didn't get home until almost 9:00 and by then Lane was a mess. We got her in bed and then played Santa, setting out her new toys from us, her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Lucas, and all her grandparents. I prepped cinnamon rolls for the morning. And we went to bed super, super late.

A sleeping sweetheart.

Inflatable table and chairs (so we can take it with us if/when we move again).

Sisterly love.

Christmas morning was fantastic, as Lane came into the living room oohing and ahhing over her new things. She played all morning long. We skyped with my mom for about an hour that morning, since she's in Alaska and 11 hours behind us. Shannon went to another church that afternoon and me and the girlies stayed put. I made a super easy crock pot honeyed chicken recipe that I found on pinterest for dinner. We skyped with our families in North Carolina and Alabama on Christmas evening before putting Lane in bed at about 6:30.

Lane's loot (other than the kitchen and table and chairs): an alphabet puzzle (which she's already mastered), new books and dresses from Aunt Rachel and Uncle Lucas, new books from us, a matching game, mittens, and cover-ups for art time.

Practicing cutting all that new food.

And the day after Christmas we tried to start getting back into a normal routine of a kind. Shannon's been back at work (although I have been so thankful that he works from home most of the time). We've visited with a couple of friends. We got Christmas packages from Shannon's mom and stepdad. I've taken Lane on a few quick errands with me while Noel napped (to the park, to drop off a disc of photos to a friend, to the corner grocery store, etc.). I've done a million loads of laundry. We've discussed taking down our Christmas decorations, although that's as far as we've gotten. And we've started to attempt to tackle this thing called real life as a family of four.

I'll keep you posted on how that's going.

23 Months Old

2011-12-27T21:18:00.001+02:00

Better a week late than never!

My baby girl will be two in 3 1/2 weeks. How on earth have I been a mom for that long already? I can't imagine what I'll be saying/thinking when she's 16, or graduating from college, or getting married...

A typical playtime in our house these days.

Anyways, I digress.

In the past month Lane has really seemed to grow up a bit.

At 23 months (and 6 days) old, Lane:

*has a blossoming vocabulary. While her pronunciation definitely needs some work, she is talking more and more. New words this month include: ball, blue, bye-bye, purple, pickle (puh-ka), more (moe), Layla (what she's named her Auburn cheerleader doll), nut (nuh), banana (neenee), grandma (mamoo), mimi, papa (baba), baby, poo-poo (bobo), hippo, bowl, ewwww, yeah, Nonna, cookie (guhgee), cracker (kaker), bread, excuse you (scoo-oo), Bible, stool (as in step stool), me, eat (eee), reindeer (dehdeh), bubble.

One of her favorite games these days: get daddy to push her around the house in his office chair.

*is learning how to be gentle with Noel. Lane likes to pat her on the stomach, stroke her face, or give her kisses. She's not big on holding her, nor is she very aware of needing to be careful around her, but that will come with time.

Helping Elmo kiss the "baybee."

*got some new books for Christmas that she really likes: Where, Oh Where is Huggle Buggle Bear and The Very Lonely Firefly.

*is getting better and better at playing pretend. She'll put Elmo's hands together for him to "pray," feed any of her Little People, dolls, or stuffed animals real or play food, have them give us "five," and so on.

Giving kitty a drink of tea.

*has turned into a "typical girl," according to Shannon. This translates into: she can't make up her mind about anything. She can't decide which show she wants to watch, which book she wants to read, or which food she wants to eat.

*loves hummus. I'll give her a spoonful with five pretzels and she'll skip the pretzels and eat the hummus with her fingers.

Mmm, hummus.

*is starting to test boundaries. For example, we'll tell her not to throw something and she'll look right at us, hold it over her head, and drop it, like asking, "is this throwing?" She does the same thing with jumping on the bed, sitting down on couches or chairs, and so on.

*is pretty much all out of her 18-month clothes and only wearing 24-month or 2t things. There are a few miscellaneous 18-month articles in her closet and chest of drawers, but for the most part...she's out of them. She's still wearing size 6 shoes. It feels like she weighs a ton.

Feeding the zoo animals (and the cow).

*is sleeping better. We put a latch-hook lock on the outside of her door and within a week she was going to sleep at a normal time and getting up at a normal time (i.e. not in the 5 o'clock hour). We don't let her out of her room until 7:00 (about the time it starts to get daylight) most days, but she seems content to play with her stuffed animals in her bed or go back to sleep if she's awake much before then. I usually lay down with her at nap time until she falls asleep, because it's just easier than fighting the fight that she puts up most days. I'd rather sacrifice 15 minutes of my afternoon to lay down beside her than to sacrifice an hour of continual door-watching/listening and repeated spankings! For now...this works for us. We'll see how long it lasts before we decide she needs to learn to fall asleep on her own at nap time without getting out of bed a million times.

*can stack blocks at least 12 high.

Now that she's mastered sorting the shapes she likes to stack them.

*is still a bit picky about certain foods (she's really not big on meat), but for the most part will still eat most anything. She loves bread and carbs. She definitely doesn't like to eat the same thing over and over again. She likes variety, so if we eat the same thing more than twice (as leftovers), she probably won't really eat it the third or fourth time.

*is definitely opinionated. She has opinions about when I can sing, what song to sing her at bedtime, if the way I'm playing with her toys is correct, how she should be helping me in the kitchen, and so on and so forth. She wants what she wants when she wants it. Like any toddler, I suppose.

Notice each animal has their own cup?

And there you have it. 23 months. My lovely, lovely mess of a girl. Golly I love her.

Noel's Birth Story

2011-12-23T22:27:00.000+02:00

Ahh, well, it's taken me long enough to get around to this, don't you think? I want to write it down before I forget it, as seems to happen with birth stories. I'll start with the same disclaimer I wrote with Lane's birth story.

WARNING: This may be graphic in detail. And long.

Monday morning Shannon and I got up and went about our normal, daily routine, getting showers and breakfast and checking our email. Our babysitter showed up at 9:00 to watch Lane while Shannon and I left to go study language at some friends' house. We studied and I had an accountability meeting with my friend. At around 11:00 I told her, "I may be having Braxton-Hicks contractions...I'm not really sure what they're supposed to feel like since I've never had non-Pitocin-induced contractions that I could feel. It feels kind of like Noel is stretching and then relaxing." She was all excited and asked, "Do you think we'll have a baby today?" to which I replied, "No, I think they're just little Braxton-Hicks contractions." (HA!)

We left a little before noon, went to a pharmacy, and then took a minibus home. We thanked and hugged our babysitter and I got lunch ready for all of us. We ate, got the kitchen cleaned up, Shannon headed into his office to get some work done, and I laid down with Lane at about 1:10. I thought to myself, "While I'm laying here, I'll time these contractions and see how long they last." So while I was laying down with Lane (about 15-20 minutes) I had three contractions, each lasting about 30-40 seconds, none of which were painful, per se, but all of which had a definite beginning, peak, and end. I came out of Lane's room, went to the bathroom, and had a couple more while I was in there. I told Shannon that I'd had a few contractions and wasn't sure if I should go out to IKEA with my friend that afternoon. Then I went to hang up some laundry and needed Shannon's help with a sheet (you have to fold them while wet to hang them on the drying rack, and I don't like my wet, clean clothes touching the floors). While he was helping me hang the sheet I had to stop to breathe through a contraction. So at about 1:50 we called my friend to tell her I'd been having a few contractions and didn't think it was a good idea to go all the way out to IKEA with her. Then after I'd finished hanging the laundry I called my doctor and said, "I just wanted to let you know that I've been having contractions for about the last hour. They're not regular at all, but they're fairly painful." She asked me to go to the hospital to get checked.

About three hours after she was born.

So we began calling down our list of people who could watch Lane. One family was at the Emniyet working on their residency permits. Another family wasn't home (as we later learned they had just landed at the airport from their weekend trip to another city). Another friend was out at her son's school, watching his Christmas play. Her husband was at a training. We were starting to get panicky about needing to get to the hospital and not having anyone to come watch Lane when our friend decided to leave his training and come help us out. He arrived at about 2:30. Meanwhile, my contractions had started becoming painful to the point that I was thinking, "Something is wrong. This isn't right. This isn't how early labor is supposed to go. We need to get to the hospital NOW." I don't even remember what I did during that 30 minutes (I think I spent a good amount of time on the potty, as contractions seems to do weird things to your bowels/intestines), but I know that I was stopping frequently to rock on my hands and knees through contractions. Shannon was putting last-minute things in my hospital bag. When our friend showed up to watch Lane I was like, "We need to go, NOW. I don't care about what's left for the hospital bag." Our friend went and got us a taxi while I leaned on Shannon in the street, swaying through another contraction. I told Shannon I needed some water so he ran to buy me some in a store, and I got in the taxi and had another contraction. The cab driver was yelling out his window, "Hurry!" to our friend who had hailed the cab for us. (For those who are wondering, yes, we left Lane in the apartment alone for about five minutes. She was asleep and locked in her room.) Shannon showed up and we made the 5-minute drive to the hospital, our driver honking at everyone and doing a fantastic job of getting there quickly. It's humorous now to think that we had planned on walking to the hospital...

We got to the hospital and as I was getting out of the taxi another contraction hit (funny that I didn't have any on the ride to the hospital), and I put my arms around Shannon's neck and groaned through it. Someone came up behind me with a wheelchair and after the contraction had finished and I sat down, they wheeled me down the hallway, asking me (in Turkish) how many weeks pregnant I was and maybe what time the contractions had started. We got to the examining room and they checked me and announced I was six centimeters dilated. Shannon called my doctor and practically yelled, "She's six centimeters dilated!," the doctor said she was on her way, and I was yelling at Shannon that I needed a trash can because I was going to throw up. I promptly lost all my lunch, the nurses were telling me "sakin, sakin!" which means "peace," or "calm" (basically, "calm down!"), and transferring me to another bed or another wheelchair...I don't remember. I know that I got to the delivery room, got changed into the delivery gown thingamajig, and the nurses were asking me all sorts of crazy questions in Turkish, like how much I weighed, what my height was (like I can convert inches to centimeters when I'm having contractions!), and other questions that I can't remember, but I do remember that I was having a hard time translating stuff in my head, remembering Turkish at all, and answering them.

Daddy's so proud!

At this point I remember that I was on my side, laying in the bed, and holding onto the rail on the side, and my contractions were so painful that I was moaning/groaning/screaming/screeching through them. I was to the point where in between contractions my body was shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't "sakin" to save my life. The nurses asked me if I wanted an epidural, to which I replied "maybe," all the while thinking, "Uh, yeah! Stick that needle in my back and relieve me of this awful, HORRENDOUS pain!" But my doctor wasn't there yet. I really did want a natural birth. And at that point the main reason I wanted one was that I couldn't calm down between contractions and was remembering pushing for an hour with Lane and thinking that there's no way I could do that at the point where I was.

At about 3:10ish (30 minutes after arriving at the hospital), my doctor arrived. She checked me and I was eight centimeters dilated. She went and changed into her scrubs. I don't remember too much, just that she asked me if I wanted an epidural and I think I said, "I don't know." She said that the anesthesiologist would have to come down and check me and see if I was too far dilated. I asked her how long she thought it would be before we had a baby and she said she thought we'd be seeing her within an hour. I knew from getting my epidural with Lane that it takes at least 20-30 minutes before the anesthesiologist could get there, clean your back, get the needle in, and the medicine take effect. So I said no, I could do it without. So she asked me if I wanted her to break my water. I asked if it would make it go faster, to which she said yes, and that it wouldn't make things any more painful than they already were. "Yes, break my water!"

I don't remember much about the following 10-15 minutes. I remember that I wouldn't let Shannon hold my hand, because I was gripping the side of the bed so hard that I was afraid I'd break his hand. I remember my doctor asking me if I'd gone to the bathroom and if my bladder was empty. I told her that yes, I'd gone, but that I could probably go again. I asked if there was a bathroom I could use, and of course there was, but she didn't want me to use it because she said there was too much of a danger of me wanting to push while going to the bathroom, so I could just pee if I needed to. Well, I was thinking, "I don't know if I can just pee on myself!" and I had that thought for maybe one contraction, and with the next one I was thinking, "Hey, I might be able to push." So I started asking if I could push, since she hadn't said anything like, "I can see the baby's head crowning," or "you're at ten centimeters and can push whenever you're ready." So my doctor said, "Yes, you can push whenever you want to!" And with the next contraction I pushed with everything I had, screaming, "Get this baby out of me!!!!" (Yes, I was that woman.) Her head came out with that push and my doctor actually told me to stop pushing. And with the next contraction I pushed and her little body came out. It was 3:40, a mere hour after we had arrived at the hospital.

They placed her on my belly and we spent a couple of minutes just looking at her, getting photos, and marveling that it was all over. Her umbilical cord was really short so she stayed down on my belly until my doctor cut her cord after it had stopped pulsing. My placenta didn't deliver right away, so the nurses tried to latch Noel on to nurse (to encourage contractions), but at some point they had put an IV in my arm, right where it bends, so I couldn't hold her very well. We held her, got some photos, and just marveled at the miracle that had just taken place. After a few minutes the nurses whisked her away to weigh her, clean her up, and so on. I, on the other hand, had to stay in the delivery room for about 45 more minutes since the stubborn placenta wouldn't budge.

The look of relief after a 2.5 hour labor with no pain medication!

Eventually it did budge and I got to go up to my room. We spent awhile marveling over our new daughter, trying to decide if we preferred this kind of labor and delivery or being induced, and trying to get the internet to work so that we could call our families, since none of them even knew that we had gone to the hospital. At around 7:00 we got the internet working and started calling our families, who were completely shocked! Our friends brought Lane by at around 8:00 and we all visited for a bit before they took Lane home to get some sleep. Shannon stayed at the hospital with me and our friends stayed at our place with Lane.

Of course I didn't get any sleep (does anyone actually sleep the night after they have a baby?), and the next morning we started the discharge procedures at around 10:00 a.m. Shannon came home around noon to help get Lane down for her nap and Noel and I came home around 3:00 (they wanted me to stay a full 24 hours).

I do have to say that this birth experience was much better than with Lane. I'm not sure if it's because a) I didn't have any drugs pumped into me, b) it was so fast, or c) it's a second birth so my body knew what to do. I've healed much quicker this time around (no tearing!) and other than feeling like my body had been run over by a cement truck last Wednesday and Thursday, I've felt great. I'm back in my regular jeans already, Noel is nursing like a champ (when she can stay awake long enough), and we're all getting at least some sleep. I'm so glad that she came before Christmas...this has been a great time of year to have Shannon home (he took vacation through this week) and to be able to spend lots of time with my family.

And that's that! I still can't believe that I have two kids. Two!

First family photo.

Life Lately

2011-12-22T21:40:00.006+02:00

Today I have a 23-month old and a 10-day old.

I still can't believe that I have two kids. I'm a real-live grown-up.

As seems to happen, life has just been crazy around here. Between routine 3 a.m. feedings, regular life, and preparing for Christmas, here's a glimpse into our past ten days.

Monday and Tuesday: most of these days were spent in the hospital (birth story upcoming...I promise).

Thursday: Noel and I went back to the hospital for her 3-day checkup. I did a big grocery run to stock up on things and to buy a microwave (I had been planning on doing this on Monday, but Noel decided to come and thwart my plans). A nurse came to do a home visit to check on Noel. Some men came to our apartment to replace our hot water heater.

Noel. Being cute.

Saturday: we went to church.

Sunday: I went to the local bazaar to buy produce. I walked almost all the way home (about a mile) before a bus ever drove by me.

Monday: Our microwave broke. I couldn't find the receipt. I went to the post office to track down a missing package. They couldn't tell me anything other than that it had gone out for delivery three times but hadn't been delivered. Noel and I went back to the hospital again for her hearing test, and I left her booklet at home (here they give you a booklet to keep track of that has all the baby's stats in it). I left my itzbeen there and returned an hour later only to find out it was gone. I walked home, crying the whole way, feeling like a postpartum idiot for leaving the itzbeen, forgetting Noel's booklet, and throwing the receipt for our microwave away.

Tuesday: Shannon took a trip to another post office (where our package was supposed to be located), only to find that earlier in the day they had moved the box to the post office that's only a five-minute walk away. He also went back to Carrefour with our microwave and without a receipt to attempt to exchange it. Miraculously, they let him. The hospital called and said they'd found my itzbeen, so I went back to get it and to get the hearing test lady to write in Noel's booklet.

Wednesday: we took our first family outing to a shopping mall. We had heard that they had lots of Christmas lights (for New Year's, here) out. Lane had a blast. We all survived.

Lane at the mall yesterday, enjoying a chocolate muffin and some chai tea latte.

Today: A friend watched Lane while I went back to my OBGYN to get checked out, post-delivery. Another friend came with me to a store where I had bought an ink cartridge that doesn't work and had tried to return it, only for them to call me and tell me that you can't return it without the box it came in. So I took my friend to help me tell them that's ridiculous, since my Turkish is not good enough to do that. I also went to another bazaar to buy things for Christmas dinner.

And in between all the above I've washed three loads of laundry, two loads of cloth diapers, made biscotti, hot chocolate mix, breakfast cookies, granola bars, and gingerbread cookies, cleaned sinks, and changed approximately 85 of Noel's diapers. I made two pie crusts today (for apple pies I'll make tomorrow), have almost finished Noel's birth story, and (with Shannon) wrote our Christmas newsletter to friends and family back home.

In short: we've been busy.

***Lane's 23-month post will follow soon. Tomorrow, hopefully.***

She's Here!

2011-12-12T21:26:00.002+02:00

Elizabeth "Noel" Scarbrough

12-12-11

5 lbs, 15 oz.

19.3 inches

3:40 pm Istanbul time

2.5 hour labor

All-natural!

Mama and baby are doing great. More to follow soon!

38 Weeks (second time around)

2011-12-02T19:59:00.004+02:00

It's almost time to have a baby around here!

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and she is finally satisfied with my weight gain (12 kilos, or 26 pounds). I'm glad to know that I can stop eating like a pig just to put on some pounds! I hate eating junk just to get some calories, but I feel like that's all I did for the past two weeks. I guess that maybe it paid off, though, as Baby Girl is measuring a bit more 'normal' sized now. So yay!

Taken this morning before I went Christmas shopping. Wearing pre-pregnancy jeans. Can't believe I can still get them on! (Although they're NOT comfortable to sit in, I didn't feel like I had 'saggy butt from maternity pants' syndrome for this photo!)

It's so interesting, being pregnant here versus in the States. I haven't had a UA since the very first time I went to the doctor at nine or ten weeks. In the U.S. you get one every single time you go to the doctor. On Tuesday, at 37.5 weeks pregnant, my doctor didn't check me to see if I was dilated. She didn't do a group B strep test. She didn't ask me about my birth plan or desires. And she didn't want me to come back in until next Friday, when I'll be 39 weeks.

As far as how I'm feeling...I'm feeling fine. That same spot beneath my sternum is killing me, just like it did with Lane. My first doctor thought it was muscles stretching. This doctor thinks it's my liver (I think...maybe it was a different organ) pressing up against my sternum, since the liver (or the other organ...I really don't remember) is a hard, not-flexible or squishy organ. My upper back hurts in the same spot as it did with Lane. And my lower back, on the left, almost into my rear-end smarts sometimes when I step funny. If I overdo it (which I seem to have done, oh, almost every day this week) the insides of my hips ache. And it's really sad, because all that 'overdoing it' entails is doing something normal, like taking Lane to the park or the bazaar, or going Christmas shopping like I did today.

I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore, at least as far as how my body is feeling goes. As far as practically-speaking goes...it'd be nice if she'd hold on for another week. I have a baby shower tomorrow. I have a few Christmas things left to buy, maybe a new purse/diaper bag, and possibly a bouncy seat (depending on if I can find one to borrow). And quite honestly it'd be nice to shop alone and not with newborn in tow. As far as my outlook on how long I think my body carries babies for...I'm planning for a 2012 baby, even though she's due in two weeks.

This past week some ladies with whom I attend a Bible study surprised me with a small baby shower. I haven't known these ladies for very long so didn't invite them to my "real" baby shower, not feeling comfortable asking them to come after only knowing them for six or so weeks. But they surprised me with pretty desserts and lots of packages to open, mostly full of practical things like diapers, wipes, and baby shampoo, which was so perfect since we will need those things, whereas we have a good amount of clothes and toys and things from when Lane was little. I was so blessed by them.

So...that's life at 38 weeks (or 1 week shy of being able to say "nine months") pregnant in the Scarbrough household. Once again, I'm going to hope there's no 40-week belly photo, but...I'm not holding my breath!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,

2011-12-01T20:39:00.003+02:00

how much you make me smile!

I absolutely love the look of our decorated Christmas tree when all the other lights in the room are out. LOVE it.

Since last year's Thanksgiving Day experience, we decided to start a tradition while we live overseas (and don't generally have Thanksgiving Day off to eat and spend with family). On Thanksgiving Day (or evening, actually) we put up our tree and eat pizza for dinner. Then we celebrate "real" Thanksgiving on Saturday with others who had to work, or had to go to school or language class, or for whatever other reason were unavailable for a real Thanksgiving feast on the fourth Thursday in November.

This year, however, we didn't stick to tradition. A tradition that only started last year, actually, so I'm not sure if it's officially a tradition or not yet. Anyhow, this year we put up our tree on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Shannon, Lane, and I were all home sick. We all felt awful. I think I felt the worst, since I had just contracted the cold on Tuesday, whereas Shannon and Lane had gotten it the previous Friday, but still, the point remains: we were all home and all felt like doing nothing. So we decided to have our "Thanksgiving Day tradition" on Wednesday instead of Thursday. We put up our tree. We listened to Christmas music. We watched A Charlie Brown Christmas while putting the tree up. We let Lane help hang ornaments and lights. I made homemade pizza for dinner. We set out our nativity scenes, put out all of our fun Christmas stuff, and hung schizophrenic blinking lights in Shannon's office (as opposed to on the tree...our only colored lights are insane and blink and chase and altogether drive me batty. So they're not on the tree this year [by the way have I mentioned my opinion on colored lights as opposed to white lights on Christmas trees? No? Colored lights are WAY better...there you go]).

And we haven't stopped smiling since. Christmastime makes me happy. Our Christmas mugs from Poland make me happy when I drink tea or coffee out of them. Holiday candles make my nose happy. Watching Lane tote our stockings around the house makes me grin from ear to ear.

And once again, I'm ever so grateful that we paid that $200 to check an extra bag full of our Christmas things. Ever. so. grateful.

It's the Time of Year...

2011-11-30T18:35:00.005+02:00

when packages start coming for Christmas!

We got our first baby/Christmas package yesterday from my Uncle Matt (who's actually only three months older than me so he's more like a cousin than an uncle...) and his wife, Becky (who I just can't call "aunt"...it's just too weird since they're not much older than me).

An outfit for Baby Girl, a sweater and socks for Lane, and vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon for me!

Lane loves her sweater. When I showed it to her and asked her if it was pretty she said, "Oooohhhh!!!!" in her new sing-songy voice that she does when she thinks something is pretty (like the Christmas lights on the tree, for example). She wore it all day today and didn't want to take it off when I told her she couldn't wear it to the park. I think she likes it!

One thing I love about the giraffe outfit is that it doesn't scream "I LOVE PINK!!!" Becky is great at picking out outfits that are cute but not over-the-top ruffles and pink and make-me-throw-up-it's-so-girly (she got Lane a great outfit that was also not-so-overly-girly). Granted, I love super girly outfits too, but it's nice to have things that are more neutral!

And I'm so excited to have more vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I was on my last bottle of vanilla and my nutmeg was running low, so it's nice to know that I don't have to worry that I'll run out as Christmas baking commences! So...thanks so much, Matt and Becky, for the great baby/Christmas package! Everything will be put to use and much loved. Thanks!

22 Months Old

2011-11-27T20:41:00.006+02:00

Ahh, a few days late again. But what else am I to do when struck by the plague on the actual 22nd, and then with Thanksgiving following close behind? So I'm late. I'm getting used to it. I think I might as well continue the trend as Baby #2 is arriving shortly and will surely alter our lives even more drastically than Lane did.

At 22 months (and five days) old, Lane:

*has some new words! She's saying "baby" (and it actually sounds right) and a slew of other "words," most of which don't quite sound like they should, but she's trying. She has her own way of saying "Leah," "Simeon," "Judah," "Dinah" (can you name the Bible story she likes these days?), "onion," "Papa," "Nonna," "Santa," "Rudolph," and some others. Honestly most of these sound nothing like the actual word ("Leah" is "Yuhyuh," for example), but they're consistent and sound the same each time, so they count, right?

*likes to pour. She's getting pretty good at aiming but still spills a lot. I try to catch her and just let her pour water from cup to cup, but sometimes I'll be too late and catch her trying to pour her cup of milk into the curve of her spoon, or into the hole meant for a straw in a water bottle...

Playing "Noah's Ark" with daddy. She's perfectly content to sit in daddy's lap forever and play.

*is starting to play pretend. She'll bring her "guys" (stuffed horse, kitty, sheep, or giraffe) into the kitchen to give them a drink, let them eat some food, have them kiss each other or me or daddy. Today she gave one of her dolls a spanking (yes, we spank our child. Don't judge me for my discipline methods and I won't judge you).

*is getting good at putting some puzzles together. She has a Melissa & Doug numbers puzzle that she can put together on her own, as well as an animal puzzle. She's getting good at rotating the pieces to get them to fit in the slots meant for them.

*has watched way too many shows in the last week to ten days. First, Lane got sick. Then daddy got sick. Then I got sick. So between all the sickness, crabbiness, medicines, and bad sleep all around, the television has been on much more than normal. We're working it back down to an hour a day, though.

Playing with her shapes and Noah's Ark animals...carefully placing them in the "hole" in the base of the fan.

*loves dancing, but only with me (ugh...not so fun being 37 weeks pregnant and bouncing a 20-something pound toddler around to music) or daddy. She won't really do it on her own, although she does like to spin in circles and jump, jump, jump. We need to get her enrolled in some kind of physical activity...gymnastics or something. She never. stops. moving.

*knows a few more signs, although I can't think of any besides "tree" right now.

*is obsessed with our Christmas decorations and stockings. She loves the stockings, so they pretty much only stay on the hooks while she's asleep. Once she's up she's slapping her leg (the sign for "dog") for me to get down my dog stocking for her, and then she wants daddy's Aubie stocking and her snowman stocking. She hauls them around the house, putting things in them.

"Helping" hang lights on the tree.

*has started to play better by herself in the last few days. I always feel bad letting her play alone when I could play with her, but the bottom line is that she does need to know how to play by herself. And she has to learn that somehow. And the way for her to learn how to play by herself is for me to let her play by herself. So I'm trying to not feel guilty and to instead enjoy the fact that she's learning something new.

*has given us a rough couple of weeks with regards to sleep. She's fighting naps and bedtime, and waking up way too early most days. We've started putting her to bed earlier because it doesn't seem to matter what time we put her to bed: the battle is always there, and she still wakes up early, whether she goes to bed at 7:00 or at 9:00. So, 7:00 it is, at least until we get things figured out.

Not the best picture, but Lane in her new (big) kitty cat hat. She still prefers last year's hat (I can't believe it still fits her), but she'll let us put this one on her occasionally.

*loves for us to kiss her right between her jawline and her neck. She cracks up laughing so hard when we kiss her there.

*is a good helper at anything we can figure out to let her help with: carrying a plate, pushing her step stool around, putting clothes in the washing machine or dishes in the dishwasher, pouring soap into the washing machine, setting the trash outside the front door, and so on. I've been trying to let her "help" with anything I can think of to let her help with.

*asks for candy first thing in the morning. We give her a chewable vitamin that apparently Shannon has told her is candy. So she's always asking for candy now.

And there you have it. 22 months. I can't believe she'll be two so soon!

Kreativ Blogger

2011-11-19T20:36:00.000+02:00

About a week ago Barbara over at Footprints in the Sand passed on an award to my blog, the Kreativ Blogger award.

While I'm not exactly sure what the award entails (being creative, maybe?), it's always fun to receive blog awards! (Especially when you've been a horrible blogger in recent days!) So, "thanks!" to Barbara (by the way, Barbara, I can't comment on your blog...it hasn't let me in days, maybe weeks)! I'm supposed to list seven random things about myself and pass the award on...here goes.

1) At one point in time I could ride a unicycle. Not very far, but still, I could ride it. Pretty sure that "skill" is gone by now.

2) I don't like picking "favorites" of anything. But if I had to pick a favorite movie, it'd be either The Shawshank Redemption or Big Fish. Or Slumdog Millionaire (see my point?). If I had to pick a favorite food, it'd be something Italian. Pizza. Lasagne. Fettuccine Alfredo. Eggplant Parmesan. Something along those lines...but which specific food...I have no idea.

3) I love to read but rarely have time for it anymore. The last time I read a book for fun was on our vacation back in August/September. I'm (maybe too-optimistacilly) hoping that when this baby arrives in a month or so that I'll get to read a bit on my Kindle while nursing at night. Or while I'm not going to Turkish class. You know, I'll be multitasking like any good mom does!

4) I like my hair better short, but prefer it long. Confused? I think I look better with short hair, but due to the amount of work it requires I prefer to keep it long. All I have to do is blow-dry it and it looks great (well, as far as my hair goes, anyways). When it's short I have to blow-dry and straighten and blow-dry with a specific brush...it's just a pain. I have better things to do with that extra 20ish minutes in the morning (like sleep!).

5) I hate green bean casserole. It will never make an appearance on my Christmas or Thanksgiving table, unless it has been brought by somebody else. Disgusting.

6) My dream vacation is to go to Fiji with Shannon for our ten-year anniversary. On the dream list for before then (since we live pretty close) is to go to Egypt. I want to see the pyramids and the Red Sea

7) I changed my major twice in college and still graduated in four years. And I graduated a little over ten years ago. I can still hardly believe it's been that long!

So, there you go. Seven random things about me that most of you probably never cared to know. Ahh, well. It's my blog. =)

I'll pass this award onto Kristel, Amy, and Priscilla. You three girls are truly creative, so I think you should get this award. Congrats!

36 Weeks (second time around)

2011-11-18T16:22:00.005+02:00

Alright, peeps, this is going to be quick because it's late and I forgot that I have to make some coleslaw for tomorrow (you know it tastes better if you let it sit overnight!).

Only four weeks to go! Eeek! We have been super busy over the last few weeks trying to get things ready for this bambino's arrival! And, I think...I think we can say that we have accomplished most of what needed to be done:

*Everything in our apartment is functioning, many things better than they were just a couple of weeks ago (light fixtures, hot water heater, leak on the balcony, toilets, etc., etc., etc.).

*Baby clothes are all clean and while they're not put up (I'm honestly not sure where to put them), they are clean and easily accessible.

*We have 140 newborn disposable diapers (yes, we will switch to cloth, but probably not for the first month...I like to get in a routine before I add washing diapers every other day into the mix!), which might last us two weeks if we're lucky.

*We have a baby monitor.

*Our pantry is stocked the best I can do for now, just in case this baby comes early.

*I got new contact lenses and Shannon got new glasses.

*I've made it through 6 of 7 weeks of Turkish class outside my home.

36 weeks. Do I look giddy or what?

I went to the doctor earlier this week and am up to 10 kilos (22 pounds) gained. Baby is weighing (to my doctor's best guess) about 4.5 pounds, or a little over 2 kilos. She's still measuring a bit small, but my doctor isn't worried since I'm not a big (I'm tall but small-boned) person and neither is Shannon. I got some medicine for reflux since I've not been wanting to eat due to feeling like food was lodged in my esophagus. Now, while the medicine is nasty, at least I feel like eating and can lie down to sleep at night! Baby girl is still low, low, low, and my doctor estimates that my labor will last about six hours, beginning to end. Ha. I hope she's right, although I'm not banking on it!

That's that! I'll be back soon...like I said, we've actually gotten a lot done in the last 3-4 weeks so now I can relax some. I need to pack my hospital bag, put a towel under my side of the bed (just in case my water breaks at night!), and brush up on breathing techniques and that chapter about birth in What to Expect When You're Expecting. Not too long now!

21.5 Months Old

2011-11-09T21:47:00.000+02:00

Yikes. Almost three weeks ago Lane turned 21 months old. I hadn't been able to do her monthly post because the power cord to my computer was fried, but now that I'm up and running again I figured I'd update, even though we're halfway to 22 months. I tend to forget new things she can do, though, so better now when I still remember!

At 21.5 months old, Lane:

*has had a huge jump in her language abilities! She started saying some new words! "Amen" is the only one she's not consistent on, but the others are regular parts of her speech now. They are:

-okra (guh-GUH)

-broccoli (braKEE!)

-booboo (bobo)

-elmo (moemoe)

-amen

-go

-Ava (vuh-vuh)

-Marco (gogo)

When going through a hat fetish a month or so ago...

*has learned almost all of her letter sounds and can identify all letters. When she sees letters anywhere (out and about, on a book, on a calendar, on a kitchen appliance, etc.) she'll start making the sound: "tuh, tuh, tuh!" until we acknowledge her, "Oh, you see a 't'! Good job!" It's amazing to me that she can't say but ten or so words, yet recognizes all letters and knows most of their correct sounds.

*is incredibly stubborn. She has reached the tantrum stage and often pitches full-on tantrums, throwing herself on the ground and kicking and screaming. It's frustrating.

Onto a shoe/boot fetish in October...

*knows more signs this month:

*dog, cat, friend, sorry, clean, bath, hurt, excited, feeling, grumpy, cereal, hot, cold, wet, stars, sad, cry, boy, girl, hat (signs she uses regularly)

*wind, rain, scared, boots (signs I've seen her do but not regularly)

*can do a somersault. She doesn't always make it completely forwards, but she does a lot of the time.

Her first time finger-painting.

*has 16 teeth. Her last tooth (other than her 2-year molars) popped through about a week ago.

*often points to my belly and signs "girl" and "baby" and will kiss my belly.

Lane helped Auburn to a victory by wearing her Fighting Okra shirt. This was also the day she learned how to say "okra."

*is getting better at actually brushing her teeth, as opposed to just sucking/chewing on the toothbrush.

*loves, loves, loves her daddy. She prefers to play with him over me.

And who wouldn't love daddy when he'll climb in the princess tent with you? (My belly is too big to get down that low!)

*is still picky about food. Some days she'll scarf food down and the next day she'll shun the

same thing. She still loves broccoli, bananas, rice, and pasta without fail, though.

Check out the concentration to eat (or play with) spaghetti!

*will not leave her socks on no matter what these days. After her fascination with them a couple of months ago, she now almost always immediately rips them off.

She's getting better at making intentional marks with crayons or markers.

*gets super excited when we let her watch Baby MacDonald. She bounces up and down and says "moo, moo" over and over again.

Finally, enough hair for some real ponytails! Playing with her fridge farm and magnetic animals.

*has corrected some of her animal sounds, so now says "baa baa" for sheep, "duhduh" for duck (she can't quite make the "qu" sound yet in "quack quack" and it sounds like "duhduh"). She still has the cutest "meow" on the planet.

*has learned how to lock doors (the kind with the push-button) and how to open door knobs. It's a good thing she's learned how to do them at about the same time since she's locked herself in a room a time or two!

Happy girl, playing on "the big bed" with mommy and daddy.

*hates to get her hair washed.

*is wearing mostly 24-month clothes, although some of her pants are still way too big, even when in a cloth diaper. She can still fit in a lot of her 18-month clothes, although some of the sleeves or legs are getting too short.

Snoozing soundly at nap time.

I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting, but this will have to do for now. I'll be back in just a couple of weeks with her 22-month post. Eeek!

34 Weeks (second time around)

2011-11-06T21:11:00.004+02:00

I've been trying to get a good 34-week belly picture since Friday but to no avail. Here's the best (blurry) photo we could conjure up:

Friday was 34 weeks. I can't even believe that we're going to have another baby in, oh, a month and a half or so. Yikes!

The past couple of weeks have been very good for us as far as getting-things-done goes. We (finally) got a potty for Lane and a baby monitor (we haven't needed one until now because our apartments have been so small, but in this new apartment our bedroom [and where the baby will be] is so far away from Lane's room and the front of the apartment that we really can't hear crying very well if fans or noisemakers are going). All newborn clothes have been sorted and while they're not unpacked (since I'm not really sure where to put them), they are clean and easily accessible.

In the past two weeks we've gotten a light in our kitchen fixed, two lights in our living room/dining room fixed, and six light fixtures hung. Our toilet no longer squeaks when it's filling with water. Our balcony shouldn't leak anymore. An outlet that had come out from the wall has been reattached. We now have a rod in our entryway wardrobe so people can hang coats up when they come in. We got an end table to go between our couches and hold our telephone. We've gotten some baskets to organize hair bows, clips, spices, napkins, q-tips, and so on. I think the only thing left on our "to do" list as far as apartment things go is to get some blinds (which we already purchased) hung in our kitchen. It's a major load off of my back to know that these things have been purchased and that most of them are finished. Hopefully by Thanksgiving all of the loose ends will be tied up and I can spend time preparing for Christmas and Lane's birthday. It is a wonderful feeling to get things done that have been hanging over your head for months!

As far as pregnancy goes, I feel fine. I have a bit of heartburn at bedtime if I eat anything after dinner, so I'm usually choosing to be a little hungry before bed so that I can sleep...otherwise it's a bit painful to lie down, even with extra pillows. My legs/feet aren't hurting nearly as much as they did not too long ago, so I think that maybe I've finally developed some extra muscle in my legs to carry my belly around. My maternity pants are still sagging, which drives me crazy. Most days I feel pretty normal and capable of life, but some days I feel like this baby is so low that I can barely walk. I'm getting even slower at getting around this great big city.

Anyhow, that's what's up in the Scarbrough household at 34 weeks, 2 days pregnant with kiddo #2. We're doing well, just trying to get things taken care of ASAP so that we're not caught totally off-guard if this baby comes early. I miss blogging more regularly, but...I think it'll have been worth it once Baby Girl comes and I'm not stressed out trying to get things in our apartment fixed, since they'll already be taken care of!

I'm Back!

2011-11-02T20:52:00.002+02:00

A couple of weeks ago my computer's power cord decided to start acting up, and last Friday (12 days ago) it completely quit on me. So I've been at the mercy of a friend to charge my computer a couple of times in the last 12 days so that I could check my email, but...of course I couldn't do any blogging (at least not with photos!). So, here I am. First up on the backlog is...

Packages!

I know how much some of you love reading about what we get in our packages, so here are a couple that we received over the last week from my mom. The first one was sent in August at the same time as another package, but we never received this one. After a lot of phone calls, a visit to customs, and a visit to the local cargo post office, I finally managed to pick up this package, which had been sitting there just waiting on me for over a month. Why they didn't try to deliver it is beyond me. At any rate, we're so excited that it made it! Only three missing packages now!

A Little People Noah's Ark with lots of animals, a stuffed cat, peanut butter M&M's (the rest of Shannon's birthday present!), a couple of dresses, a hat, and a skirt for Lane, an alligator towel, and newborn clothes, shoes, and socks for New Baby Girl.

As some of you might recall, the last family whose apartment we lived in had a Noah's Ark that Lane loved. So the search began for one. My mom found one on ebay (maybe? I don't remember exactly) since this pictured Noah's Ark is much better than the currently-in-production Noah's Ark. Lane has already been playing a ton with it. And more newborn clothes will be great since I was pretty sure we had enough, but still might have to do laundry every day since we don't have a clothes dryer! These will give us a bit more grace in the laundry department, although if this baby's feet are as big as Lane's were...none of the socks will have a chance of fitting!

Check out that grin!

Lane loves the stuffed cat, too. She hauls it around with her, saying "me-oooowwww" and running to find it when she's left it somewhere. It's her new bedtime buddy, too.

And my mom sent another, smaller package with some winter stuff in it for Lane, which, strangely enough, made it here in about ten days while the first package took 2 1/2 months. Gotta love Turkey's postal system!

A winter coat, a hat and gloves, incredibly cute leggings/footless tights, and some shoes in the next size up (7).

It's not quite cold enough for the coat or hat and gloves yet, but let me tell you, Lane is a cutie pie in that cat hat. I can't wait to get a photo. And I can't wait to get those leggings on her, either...the giraffe on the butt is just too cute!

So...thanks, mom, for the loot for Lane and New Baby Girl! We're so glad everything made it to us (finally)!!!

***Up next, Lane's 21-month post!***

32 Weeks (second time around)

2011-10-21T21:36:00.001+03:00

32 weeks today!

Yikes, only eight more weeks to go! I went to the doctor yesterday and all is well on the baby front. She should be weighing about 3.5 pounds by now. She's head-down and quite low. She's so low, in fact, that my doctor wanted to check and make sure I wasn't dilated and in danger of preterm labor (I'm not [dilated, that is]). I gained another kilo in the last four weeks which puts me up to 17 pounds (8 kilos) gained. I'm three pounds behind what I had gained with Lane at 32 weeks, which might explain why my maternity pants are still falling down. It's quite annoying, because they fit great with Lane. Regular pants are too tight to be comfortable (although amazingly I can still get them on and buttoned), maternity pants are too baggy. I look like a frump. Thank goodness my friend Diana loaned me some of her maternity tops this past week so now I have more than four shirts to choose from!

I'm feeling well, just tired. My doctor wants me to try to not walk more than 30 minutes each day and to take it easy, and although she didn't put me on official bed rest, I think she thinks that Baby Girl shouldn't be quite so low so early. I'm already waddling and going to the bathroom, oh, a million times a day (or at least every hour). Ahh, well. It just confirms what I've thought all along, which is that I feel further along than I ever did with Lane, and that this one might come a bit early. We shall see, though. I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with a 2012 baby, either, since Lane was so late.

Baby girl is quite the squirmy little thing, and I often feel her feet in my ribs on my right side. I also feel either knees or fists rolling around sometimes, and it's still the weirdest feeling. I am still enjoying being pregnant overall, even though I'm getting more uncomfortable. I'm trying to remind myself that it'll all be over in about two months, which is just insane. We'll have another little person to take care of and to love. I'm just trying to enjoy these last weeks of being a family of three, of being able to give Lane lots of attention, and of getting to sleep all night! Life will change soon enough...I'm trying not to wish this pregnancy away but instead to savor it.

Menu Plan (almost) Monday

2011-10-16T21:22:00.003+03:00

It's official: fall is here. The weather has turned rainy and chilly. We turned our heaters on (yes, we are very fortunate to have control of our own radiators in this new apartment!) yesterday after some clothes had been hanging up for almost 48 hours but still weren't dry. It's been raining, or at least drizzling, for about a week straight. And we're swamped with busyness. I can't believe my due date is two months from today...we have way too much to do before this baby comes!

I've been trying to get better at planning our menus for a month at a time in preparation for when the new baby comes. It's a little bit more effort, but it's quite nice in the long run. I spend 2-3 hours coming up with a menu and a nonperishables-grocery-list at the beginning of the month (or, actually in our case I do it in the middle of the month when Shannon gets paid). I try to make one big shopping trip to stock up on everything we'll need for the month that won't spoil. And then each week I can decide what we'll eat from my monthly menu and buy produce accordingly.

This month I'm trying something new. We usually eat leftovers for lunch, since Lane isn't really into the sandwich thing, and I'm not big on processed meats. I made a huge pot of minestrone soup on Wednesday for dinner that we're still finishing up (and that's after I put about two meals' worth in the freezer) and I thought that it would be nice to try making one big pot of soup at the beginning of the week to eat for lunch every day. It'll cut down on the amount of meals I have to cook (only 22 or so instead of 30 or so) over the course of the month. And it will save me time as well, since it'll just involve an extra 15-20 minutes of work when I make the soup as opposed to the time spent to make an extra three meals that week. We don't mind eating the same thing every day, as long as we get some variety for one of our meals! And if I'm making a soup with meat in it, I'll just freeze half of it and pull it out mid-week.

So, without further ado, here's what we're eating this month:

Soups (for lunches):

Chicken & Rice

Lentil Vegetable

Chili with cornbread

Tomato with grilled cheese

Vegetable Beef

Vegetarian:

Garden Chowder

Baked potatoes with broccoli

Breakfast

Sloppy Lentils

Pizza (x4)

Pasta Primavera

Meat/Chicken:

Spaghetti with salad or broccoli

Whole chicken with potatoes and a veggie (x3)

Enchiladas with Mexican rice

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken Divan

I'll also be making some homemade chicken broth, chai shortbread, pumpkin bars, pumpkin french toast, and hopefully an apple crumble or two. I'll get recipes up for you as soon as I can. I'm trying a lot of new recipes this month since I'm getting tired of some of our old staples. I also have a crockpot again, so I'm trying to utilize it at least twice a week. Tonight I made the whole chicken in the crock pot and it was quite easy and tasty...I will be doing it again.

What are you eating this month (or week) for dinner? Anything I should add to my repertoire?

30 Weeks (second time around)

2011-10-07T20:42:00.010+03:00

Today marks 3/4 through! I can't believe we're going to have a baby in ten(ish) weeks!

Anyways, since I'm such a bad (ahem, busy) blogger these days and only get around to one post a week, I thought I'd celebrate being 3/4 of the way there by giving you a week in photos. Don't worry, this won't be photo overload...at least not too much so.

My week started with a trip out to an outlet mall in search of a few things for our apartment. (I still plan on posting pictures of our apartment, but I've been waiting until it's "finished." Big purchases have to happen over time, so it'll be at least another month on the grand finale for you all.) Anyhow, on Sunday a friend and I hauled our toddlers to an outlet mall. She needed pants for her kiddo, I needed some things for the apartment. I only got a couple of things, but you can only haul so much back when you have to take two buses and haul a toddler and a stroller with you!

Our new entryway mat. I'm hoping it cuts down on the amount of mopping I have to do!

Last week my friend Kecia posted on facebook about her apple pancakes with cider syrup. We eat pancakes every Saturday, and I'm always on the lookout for new recipes, so I requested hers. I made a few modifications when I made them for the second time. And Kecia, the originals were great, but I have to say...try them my way. They're even yummier. =)

Yum. Click here for my (revised) recipe.

On Tuesday, Shannon's Russian teacher stayed and cooked us all dinner. She lives about two hours away and wanted to have us all over to her place one night, but we all knew it was just never going to happen. So we proposed she cook here one day after class, and that's just what she did! Four hours of cooking (and tons of dishes) later, we sat down to some traditional Uzbek dumplings and pilaf. It was fantastic, although I have to say that I'm glad we eat more vegetables in our normal food!

Uzbek plov (pilaf) and samsas (dumplings). Mmm.

I started a Turkish class at a local language school, so I'll be going to class three days a week for four hours a day. We decided that if I was ever going to take an actual class it was now or never. My class is seven weeks long, so we should finish right around Thanksgiving. Hopefully I'll learn a bit of new grammar that my conversation partner hasn't been able to explain to me.

With my new class comes lots of homework!

I love baked potatoes. But I only like them either a) loaded with butter, cheese, salt, and pepper, or b) with a bit of the butter, cheese, salt, and pepper, and a ton of broccoli. You can't find broccoli here in the summer, so we don't eat many baked potatoes in the summer. But now that broccoli is back in season (and less than $1 a pound, even!), we're eating bakers about once a week. And I love them, because it's one of the easiest meals I can prepare. They're healthy. And Lane loves them.

Huge baked potatoes topped with steamed broccoli, cheese, and a bit of butter, salt, and pepper. Full of potassium, vitamins A and C, calcium, fiber, and iron.

Since autumn officially arrived Shannon has been complaining that the world is cold. It's absolutely hilarious to me, since it's still in the 60's at the coldest part of the day. I love it. At any rate, we changed out our wardrobes this week, putting up shorts, tank tops, and short-sleeved shirts, and pulling out our sweaters, fleece pajama pants, and fuzzy socks. And we took the quilt off our bed and pulled out the down comforter. Now the world is warm again, at least when we're sleeping.

There's nothing like a poofy down comforter and fresh flowers on the nightstand to make you want to crawl into bed!

Last week we went to the emniyet to start the process to renew our ikamets (residence permits). Thursday we trekked back to the emniyet to pick them up. Praise the Lord, this process was about a gillion times easier than last year. And a whole lot cheaper too. We got two-year permits for the three of us for less than one of us cost last year.

Renewed! And we don't have to go back for two whole years! (Well, except to get New Baby Girl's sometime in the late winter/early spring.)

After I discovered last week that Lane is a pretty good (and enthusiastic) helper in the kitchen, I've started letting her help with anything I can. She puts vegetables in pots for me, raisins or nuts in cookie dough, spoonfuls of spices or cupfuls of flour into mixing bowls. She's a great helper, and loves it.

Helping me put broccoli in a pot. (Love the winter hat she's wearing. It's hilarious, but she insisted. Gotta love toddlers and their strong wills!)

Today I came home from class to find that Shannon had bought me roses. Miniature ones. Orange. I love them. And I love him.

I love fresh flowers.

And finally, today's belly picture. 30 weeks. I'm feeling just fine, overall. It's starting to get uncomfortable to lay on my back or to sit in one position for too long. My maternity pants are still too big if I'm walking around...I have to wear a belt to hold them up, which absolutely cracks me up. My legs kill me if I do too much walking (or if I just do too much, period), but if I take it easy for a day or two and soak in really hot water, I can get to feeling pretty normal. One thing is for sure...I only have 10ish weeks left!

30 weeks today. I feel ginormous.

What Do I Do?

2011-10-01T20:46:00.005+03:00

Barbara over at Footprints in the Sand wrote a post this week entitled "What Would I Do?" about what she would do if she didn't have to go to work. And it made me think about all the work that I do on a regular basis, even though I don't go to work. I wake up at work and I go to sleep at work. Some of the things on Barbara's list I do, but a lot of them are pipe dreams even for those of us who stay at home. Here's a peek at yesterday, which was my day off (meaning Shannon worked at home so could help with Lane a bit, and I didn't have any language lessons).

It all started at 5:30 when Shannon's alarm clock went off. No way was I getting up that early! I asked him to come and get me at 6:15. At 6:34 I woke up and realized that he had apparently forgotten to come get me. I dragged my feet out of bed and got in the shower. Read my Bible and had my prayer time. Got Lane out of bed. And started my chores.

Chore 1: ironing.

I despise ironing. I've purposely managed to get our wardrobes down to things that don't need to be ironed. But the only problem with that is that they don't need to be ironed if you have a dryer. Which we don't. So I have to iron. Ugh.

Chore 2: laundry

We only have one set of sheets for Lane's bed, which means that I have to wash them on the fast cycle and get them hanging to dry as quickly as possible. This time of year is really tricky for laundry, because it's not cold enough to turn the heaters on, but it's damp so you can't hang your clothes outside.

Chore 3: entertaining Lane. And making an apple-walnut cake.

I needed to make a dessert to take to small group tonight. Lane was itching for some attention. So I thought I'd see if Lane was up to the task of helping me out. Surprisingly she did quite well. I was glad I hadn't swept or mopped the floors yet, since a lot of stuff ended up on the floor, but overall she was a good helper and it kept her from getting into trouble for a bit.

Chore 4: sweeping/vacuuming/mopping.

I usually sweep and mop our kitchen/entry/hallway when Lane is asleep because otherwise she plays in the mop water. But after the baking-with-a-toddler adventure, the kitchen floor definitely needed to be swept. After I swept up the big mess, Lane took to the rest of the kitchen. Shannon did take a break from work later in the day to entertain her while I vacuumed the rest of the house, and I did sweep and mop while Lane was in bed at nap time.

Chore 5: cleaning 2 toilets, 2 sinks, 1 tub, and 1 shower.

I hate cleaning toilets. Shannon, God bless him, usually cleans them for me. I'm getting too pregnant (i.e.: big) to clean the bottom of our shower and our bathtub. But Shannon hurt his back last Saturday and has been in worse shape than me for the last week. So this week cleaning toilets and tubs fell to me.

Chore 6: making dinner: Mexican rice and homemade salsa. (Finished apple-walnut cake in background.)

I do make dinner almost every night. We don't eat out very often, mostly because I like to know what's in our food. It's the same reason that I bake most of our cookies and desserts from scratch. Friday night was Mexican night. I make salsa and Mexican rice from scratch, blend up some canned pinto beans, chop up some lettuce and warm up whole wheat tortillas. Even Lane likes it...she doesn't mind the spiciness at all.

Chore 7: more laundry.

And of course there's the normal laundry to do (in addition to bed sheets). And the regular dishes to wash. I studied Turkish for an hour. And after Lane went to bed we pulled out all of Lane's newborn clothes and I went through them to see if we need anything. I pulled out all of the next-size up clothes for Lane and went through them to see what will fit her now and what needs to wait a few more months. We watched a movie. And we went to bed at 10:30, exhausted from the day.

Barbara finished her post with the question, "What would you do if you didn't have to go to work?" I think the appropriate question for me would be, "What would you do if you could still stay home, but could hire a maid to do all your chores?" Because those of us who stay home still have our days full and want days off. We still have loads of work to do. But maybe our homes are messier since we're in them all day? Maybe we have more dishes to wash since we eat three meals a day at home? I'm not sure, but I do know that I'm glad to be able to stay home, even if it is a lot of work!

28 Weeks (second time around)

2011-09-23T14:30:00.008+03:00

It's finally happening:

I'm starting to look pregnant.

Taken this morning on the way out the door to my doctor's appointment. In hindsight I wish I hadn't worn long sleeves, but it was chilly when we left at 8:15. Plus, I've been wanting to wear this shirt that I got on clearance at the Gap for $7, so I jumped at the chance!

Over the past couple of weeks I've started to feel pregnant. My legs and feet are usually aching by midday. I've found myself wondering how I waited tables until 35ish weeks with Lane, but this time my legs are hurting by lunchtime. I think I've found the culprit: concrete and wooden floors everywhere. In America, even if you work for eight hours on your feet, most of the time you come home and walk around on carpet with padding underneath it. Not so here. So I've taken to wearing my running shoes (because let's face it, I'm not running in them!) in the house (it's a big cultural no-no to wear shoes in the house here, so my tutor and babysitter look at me like I'm crazy for doing it). It's helping somewhat, but I'm still very, very achy a lot of days. My doctor told me today to be sure to elevate my legs every chance I get to prevent varicose veins. Ugh. At least I have a great bathtub...I think God knew when it took us forever to find an apartment that I was going to need a real (and nice!) bathtub.

This bathtub has been a real treat, especially after not having one at all for over a year!

My appointment today went well. I'm up to 15 pounds (7 kilos) gained, which is about right on track, I think. I'm not sure how well I'd handle having to carry much more around on all the concrete floors, so I'm glad to not be gaining too much yet. I'll take the weight as it comes...just trying to be good to my feet, legs, and back, as well as to the baby! I am now taking four vitamins per day, per doctor's instructions: iron, omega 3's, my regular prenatal, and calcium/magnesium. Sheesh I'm glad I don't have to take so many pills on a normal basis! I also took my glucose test, which was miserable. My appointment was at 9:30, and I wasn't allowed to eat anything this morning. I got blood taken at about 10:00, again at 11:00, and again at 12:00. And then I was finally able to eat. So not fair making pregnant women fast for 12 hours!

All looks well with our girlie. She's measuring right on track, although her abdominal cavity is measuring a bit on the small side. My doctor said that she suspects that she'll just be a skinny baby (like Lane was), but is still going to keep an eye on it. All major organs are developing normally and measuring on track.

Baby Girl is very active, more so than Lane, was, I think, at this point in the pregnancy. I feel like I'm further along than I did with Lane at 28 weeks. That might have something to do with Lane being so late and maybe my due date being off, or it could just be because all my muscles have done this before. At any rate, we're going to try to have everything ready for Baby Girl's arrival eight weeks from now, when I'm at 36 weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if this one comes early (although after Lane, I also wouldn't be surprised if this one is a January baby instead of a December baby!).

For those who are curious, you can click here to see my 28-week belly photo from when I was pregnant with Lane. I think I look more like I did here, at 30 weeks.

20 Months Old

2011-09-22T20:53:00.002+03:00

As each day passes I find it harder to believe that my baby girl is going to be two years old in the very, very near future. You cannot call a two-year old a baby, as much as you'd like to: they're full-blown toddlers. Four short months until she's two. Three(ish) short months until she's a big sister. Wow, how the time flies.

At 20 months old Lane:

*has 15 teeth. Her bottom left incisor (eye tooth? what do you call the ones on the bottom?) popped through on September 11th. We have noticed her mood steadily improving as it doesn't look like any more teeth are on their way yet.

*has now been to 4 countries (the U.S., Turkey, Turkmenistan, Spain).

*is turning into a little jokester: she pretends to want to give us kisses or hugs but then laughs and pulls away at the last minute.

Her first ponytail! Not the best picture, but I didn't get a very good one before she ripped it out.

*is starting to be a picky eater. This is very sad for us, since she's always been a great eater, but recently she's started snubbing things she's always liked, or things she ate yesterday but won't eat today. Just an example of this is that most of the time she wants grapes, but refuses to eat them if we cut them in half. This puts us in a pickle since I don't want her choking on grapes. We usually end up fishing out the teeny-tiny ones and letting her have those whole, but I still want to cut them up...

*is turning into a girlie-girl. She likes socks and shoes. She likes bracelets (my tutor brought her some bangles just her size). She likes hair clips/bows/ponytail holders.

Watching a show about animals with daddy.

*is fascinated with animals. She still loves cats, but now she also loves birds, dogs, and other animals. She's especially fond of ones she knows signs or noises for (cat, dog, giraffe, elephant, tiger, bird, alligator, cow, bear) so she can tell us what it is. She likes to sleep with her lego animals now, too.

*loves to stuff things in cracks. It's absolutely hilarious, but if we can't find her hair clip, or her magnetic animals, or anything small, you can bet we'll find it stuffed between her mattress and bed frame, in the cracks of the dishwasher, between pages of books, the cracks between the couch cushions, or under the rug.

*is finally babbling. It's great to hear her babbling, rambling on and "talking" to us. Most babies/toddlers do this much earlier, but I think her being exposed to three different languages on a regular basis has something to do with the delay.

She's still a big fan of blocks, but now she always wants someone to play with her.

*is a signing queen, considering she's learned most of the signs from videos that she doesn't watch that often. Signs she knows and uses regularly and correctly (she doesn't necessarily sign them correctly, but she uses the right sign [in her own way] for the right thing):

*more, all done, eat, milk, water, shoes, help, please, thank you (these are all old hat, since she's been doing them for at least 6-7 months).

*socks, airplane, bird, dirty, sleep, wash hands, cracker, bread, cheese, apple, banana, candy, stop, go, car, baby, train, ice cream, fish, ball, flower, cookie, read, yes, no, bear, girl, boy, hungry.

*cat, dog, play, book, bike, doll (signs she sometimes gets correct, sometimes doesn't).

*she may know a few more that I just can't think of right now.

Coloring! Thank you, Crayola, for washable markers! (And thanks to Papa Buck and Nona Lou for bringing them to this side of the ocean!)

*loves to swim, play in the bathtub, play in the sink, dump out her cup of water and play in it, etc. She had a blast in the pool while we were on vacation, and she wants to wash her hands an average of twenty million times a day. She also likes to brush her teeth, but she does not like it when I try to brush them for her. She pitches a fit and screams bloody murder. Can you say "Little Miss Independent?"

*loves skype. She gets very excited to skype with all of her grandparents and runs around like a dancing queen, turning in circles and lifting her legs like an Irish clogger. It's hilarious.

Being silly. She loves to climb in bags, baskets, and totes. And of course she still loves

blankie.

*still loves to be outside. She has a new fascination with smelling flowers, pulling weeds (or flowers/plants if we don't stop her in time), and a renewed fascination with rocks. She loves to go to the parks and to climb stairs, go down slides, climb ladders, and sometimes she likes to swing.

*has started to try to communicate with other children in sign language, telling them what she wants. Unfortunately, they of course do not understand her, and she gets frustrated that she doesn't get what she wants.

And there you have it. 20 months later, this is what my girl has turned into. It's amazing to watch her grow and learn. I need to start thinking about her 2nd (eek!) birthday cake. I'm thinking a kitty cat. Any other ideas out there?

***Sorry for the lack of good photos this month...most of my photo-taking energy was spent on vacation, and since then...well, I've tried not to forget that the camera exists, but a lot of days I have. Oops.***

When it Rains...

2011-09-18T20:47:00.001+03:00

It pours.

But this time it's pouring good things!

A couple weeks ago I mentioned to my Turkish tutor that we've had packages mailed that have never shown up. She said, "you need to talk to the post office!" Huh? In the States if a regularly-mailed package doesn't show up, well...too bad. I figured the same was true here.

Guess again.

We went to the post office and inquired about all the packages that have been mailed to us over the last six or so months that haven't shown up. They told us to give them a day to search for our missing packages and to call back. We called back the next morning and yes!, they did have a package for us. They'd deliver it that day around 3:00.

It showed up at 12:30. And then another one came at 2:00. And then another one at 3:30. Whoop whoop!

The curious thing is that one of the packages was mailed almost two months ago. The second one was mailed last month. The third one was mailed a week ago. And we're still missing four other packages, two of which were mailed in, oh, March or so (so we'll probably never see those) and the other two were mailed about a month ago. One of those was mailed at the same time as one of the other packages that we received on Friday. Both from my mom, both mailed at the same time, from the same post office. And the fourth package was mailed about a month ago, too, but from a different friend. It's just so weird that some things come quickly and some take forever. It makes me wonder if we have more packages sitting out there in no-man's land just waiting on a phone call!

Anyhow...onto the goods!

Package #1: from some folks from our church back in N.C.

Look at all that awesomeness! Water flavoring packets (aspartame-free for the pregnant lady!), Ovaltine, pickle relish, chewable vitamins for Lane, a Mrs. Potato Head and two books for Lane, hair clips for Lane, paprika, taco seasoning, ice cube trays, and Reece's pieces! Yummy! What a fantastic package of things that we can't get here!

Package #2, from my mom.

The package from my mom was full of mostly stuff for Lane, although you can see the TWO POUND bag of Reece's pieces, which are obviously not for her. They are Shannon's birthday present. He's very excited. =)

Mom sent some dresses and pajamas, a bathing suit, a pants suit, a couple of Sesame Street books, bath toys and a bath net, some beanie babies (saved from 10ish years ago when the McDonald's beanie baby craze hit), and:

Lane's first legos!

These legos were my brothers' when they were little. So far Lane has thoroughly enjoyed playing with the animals, most of which were spread throughout the house when I took this photo. But trust me, she's enjoying them!

Package #3, from my friend Sarah.

Sarah read a post of mine awhile back from when I was having a rough day, so she put together this package for us. Everything to make enchiladas! Now, I've gotten pretty decent at making Mexican food from scratch over the last year or so, but enchilada sauce and chopped green chiles...you just can't fake! She also sent some pregnancy magazines, which I am SO looking forward to reading (one of these days when I have a spare moment...maybe in the bathtub while I soak my aching, pregnant feet!)!

And now, what follows was not a package, per se. But our friend Becky took some vacation in Istanbul and came over for dinner one night. She brought us these goodies from Senegal:

Peanut butter! Who knew you could get Skippy in Senegal but not in Istanbul? Crazy, huh? And the little basket is for Lane...she loves putting small items in it, closing the lid, and then taking them out. Crazy kid.

And this carved wooden boat. Gorgeous, huh?

So those are the newest additions to our stash of goods! What an awesome Friday it was! Thanks so, so much to our friends from the Summit, my mom, Sarah, and Becky...you are all super awesome!

***For anyone who still actually reads this blog, even though I've been horrible about updating, I'm very sorry. We are still getting things caught up from moving in (for example, we just bought lampshades today and I just cleaned a couple of our windows for the FIRST time last week). Between playing catch-up on moving in and from going on vacation, studying another language, keeping up with a toddler, and being pregnant, blogging has definitely taken a back seat. We're hoping that by October 1st we'll be back to normal and have a schedule worked out. Until then...I'm sorry for the lack of posts/photos/information/etc. Hopefully we'll return to our regularly scheduled blog posts soon!***

26 Weeks (second time around)

2011-09-09T13:28:00.005+03:00

It's really sad when I only find time to update the blog when it's time for a belly picture! In all honesty, this past week since getting back from vacation has just been insanely busy. Last weekend we spent cleaning, grocery shopping, doing laundry, unpacking, and so on. Then during the past four days I had class each day, Shannon had class two days, we each had two meetings to go to, we hosted people for dinner, and all the regular stuff as well (cooking, shopping, cleaning, studying/homework). So...it's been a busy week. We're hoping that this next week is not quite so crazy, because we've only been back a week and we're already exhausted!

All that being said, I'm 26 weeks pregnant today. Next Friday will be only three months until my due date. We're having a baby in THREE months! Eeek! We continue to be amazed at how quickly this pregnancy is flying by. It really is true that you just don't have time with second (and probably subsequent) pregnancies to relish each moment, read everything in What to Expect When You're Expecting, and so on. Life is just too, too busy with a toddler for me to focus much on how much our lives are going to change in December.

26-weeks. Taken on our balcony.

So...onto pregnancy stuff. I'm feeling fine. I haven't been sleeping very well at night, but I think it's got more to do with drifting off for 10-15 minutes in the afternoon when I put Lane down for her nap than being uncomfortable. I'm trying really, really hard to not succomb to the desire for a nap after lunch so that I'll sleep better at night. I'll have a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks and will have my blood drawn and all that lovely stuff. Speaking of which, did you know that I haven't had to have a single UA this pregnancy? I remember very distinctly having to pee in a cup every. single. time. I went to the doctor in America. Haven't had to do it once here. Kinda nice. =)

Comparing photos with when I was 26 weeks pregnant with Lane, I feel like I look better this time...not as fat. I remember feeling really chubby and not "pregnant" at 26 weeks with her. This time around I feel like I actually look pregnant, and I also feel like I'm not gaining extra weight in my hips, butt, and thighs, which is where nearly all of my "fat stores" weight from Lane went. I can still wear my regular jeans and I don't feel like they're as tight around my thighs as when I was pregnant before. I have pulled out my maternity clothes (tank tops, especially) and it's nice to wear them when I'm lounging around, but if I'm out walking around I prefer regular pants since my maternity ones sag and I have to constantly pull them up.

Well, that's that! I can't believe we're almost to the third trimester already...we need to get a move on getting ready for this baby!

Hello, Vacation!

2011-09-03T20:16:00.009+03:00

Last night we arrived back from one glorious week of vacation in the Canary Islands. Shannon and I had discussed going there for our honeymoon, but decided to save our money and try to go at a later date. Well, the later date finally happened. Shannon's dad and stepmom wanted to go to Europe for their 30th anniversary and to meet us somewhere, so we chose the Canaries. And what a fantastic choice, if I do say so myself.

Lane's expression says it all: vacation was a blast!

In case you're wondering where the Canaries are.

We had a great time. I'm not sure if I'd recommend flying across the Atlantic just to go to the Canary Islands, but if you're already in Europe, I'd definitely recommend them!

The Fairways Club on the island of Tenerife.

We booked a week at the Fairways Club on Tenerife island. It's a pretty isolated resort run by Brits. It's also right next to a golf course, which Shannon and his dad took advantage of a couple of times.

The master bedroom in our apartment.

The view out the back door of our apartment.

We left Istanbul on Thursday morning and flew to Madrid, where we spent the night. On Friday morning we flew to Tenerife, where we met Shannon's dad and stepmom.

Then we spent six fantastic days doing relatively nothing.

Lane's first dip in a swimming pool. (And me being thankful for the second pregnancy in a row that I invested in a maternity swimsuit the first go-around.)

It was great.

It was our first "real" vacation (you know, the relaxing kind, not the "see everything there is to see in as short a time period as possible" kind) in two years, since we went to Hawaii in 2009.

Shannon's dad and stepmom treated him to a round of golf as a belated birthday present.

Shannon and his dad played golf twice: once they played the par 3 course (as a warm up for the real deal), and once they played the whole thing. They both said it's the prettiest golf course they've ever played.

Who could argue with them when you get views like this while playing?!

While Shannon and his dad played golf, Cindy and Lane and I did some of this:

Playing in the apartment.

And a little of this:

Lane is like a little fish. She loved the water and by day two she was kicking her legs around, paddling herself around the deep end by herself.

We went out to eat at restaurants on the Fairways Club property a few times (paella and/or beef bourguignon anyone?)

Celebrating all of our anniversaries, albeit a bit late. 30 years for Lyn and Cindy, 4 years for me and Shannon.

And we ate in a few times as well.

Lyn in the kitchen preparing his "specialty" breakfast, egg-in-a-hole (a piece of toast with a hole cut out and a fried egg in the middle). Cindy and I had scrambled eggs. Shannon and Lyn had egg-in-a-hole. And Lane, as much as Shannon and Lyn wanted her to like egg-in-a-hole, ate scrambled eggs as well.

One of my, Shannon's, and Lane's last meals after Lyn and Cindy left: frozen pizza, watermelon, and (this is the important part) Cherry Coke and Dr. Pepper (neither of which are available in Turkey). Not the most impressive dinner ever, but we wanted to use up food we had already bought that was in the apartment.

Shannon and I got to go on a date one night as well. Shannon wanted to go to a movie, but the only movie playing in English was Bridesmaids, which Shannon wasn't too keen on seeing. So instead we drove into Playa de las Américas and got dessert and coffee and walked around a bit.

Four pieces of dessert for only €6.40. And don't worry, we didn't eat it all, but took back our leftovers and had them for dessert the next day.

While we were gone, Lyn and Cindy took Lane swimming and playing on the on-site playground.

One day we all drove to the Playa de San Juan. We walked around, watched waves crashing on the shore, saw lots of banana plantations, and watched boats and airplanes go by. Lane loved the wind in her hair and watching airplanes. She'd get so excited every time one would go by.

Screaming in excitement at airplanes going overhead.

After Lyn and Cindy left on Wednesday we spent the rest of our time relaxing, going for walks, playing at the pool, and just enjoying our last bit of down time.

We found a gravel path that Lane loved. She loved the rocks. We loved the view.

More swimming. Daddies are the best to swim with.

We had to leave on Friday morning at 1:00 a.m., arriving back home at about 7:00 p.m. yesterday evening. It was a long day of travel, but Lane did great, all things considered (two flights and a 7-hour layover, 16ish hours traveling, only 6-7ish hours sleep total for Thursday night/Friday day). We are refreshed, relaxed, and ready for "real" life again.

The only family photo we have in Tenerife is horrible, so take this one instead as a general indication of what a great time we all had. Gotta love those smiles on my man and my girl!

24 Weeks (second time around)

2011-08-28T23:01:00.001+03:00

24 weeks and 2 days. This photo brought to you from Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

Gabriel's Good Tidings

2011-08-24T18:45:00.005+03:00

A few (eek) months ago, Shannon and I ordered some reusable snack bags from my friend Amy. She sells on Etsy at Gabriel's Good Tidings, and I'd been eying her stichery for a looong time. I can sew on a button that's fallen off, and that's about it, but I absolutely love all the creative things that others can do with a bit of fabric and a sewing machine. Anyhow, I'd been following Amy's blog for awhile and thinking that I'd love some reusable snack bags (I consider it my Earth Day Challenge for this year). Amy ran a special one time so I jumped at the chance to get some.

Amy shipped them to my in-laws, who were coming to visit. And she also slipped in a few other goodies for us! I was so excited!

Auburn coasters (even though Amy's an Alabama fan, she made these for us!). These reside in Shannon's office where he uses them during his language lessons. They might move to our living room...once we have end tables to put them on!

The snack bags: two small and one large.

I love these snack bags. They're cloth on the outside and PUL on the inside, so they're waterproof inside. To wash them we usually pull the PUL out and scrub it with a soapy sponge and then let it air dry and tuck the PUL back inside. But you can toss them in the washing machine if the cloth part gets dirty. These are a great way to carry snacks around; they're super cute and environmentally friendly. We reuse plastic baggies anyways, but...I like these better. I'd like to buy some more one day so I have a bigger stash of them.

The only thing that's not as good about these reusable baggies (as opposed to ziplocs) is that they're not airtight, so if you live in a really humid place and you put something like crackers or cookies in the baggies for very long they'll absorb the moisture. That wouldn't happen in a ziploc. BUT, I still wouldn't trade these in, as they're great for grapes, raisins, cookies and crackers when the weather's not humid, chopped hard fruit like apples, cubed cheese, and so-on. They're stylish. And green. I like green, and I like supporting my friends' businesses.

A super cute clutch! I hadn't gotten to use it until about two weeks ago (because let's face it, most moms don't get to go many places without a gazillion things in their purse) when I went alone to a friend's mother's...hmm...kind of like a courthouse marriage ceremony. (But they'll have their big wedding party later.) I loved it! It was just the right size for my wallet, spare contact lens and eyedrops, and package of tissues.

A ladybug bib for Lane. Unfortunately Lane's never worn it since she stopped wearing bibs about the time we received it. But now that we're having another girl, girlie #2 will get to wear it!

So, a big shout-out to Amy at Gabriel's Good Tidings. THANKS! for the snack bags and for the other goodies! Sorry it took me so long to blog about them (in my defense I wanted to be able to give an honest review =). Head over and check out Amy's Etsy shop and her blog, where she gives lots of tutorials on all the crafty stuff she does around her house. And if you want to order something "specialty," just send her a message and ask her...just because it's not currently available in her shop doesn't mean she wouldn't make it for you!

***Can you please, please go vote for me if you haven't already? I'm only 14 votes away from the person in first place...***

By Best Family Travel

19 Months Old

2011-08-22T21:46:00.007+03:00

Ahh, I've gotten back on the picture-taking bandwagon! Well, maybe not quite, but I have been able to take more photos this past month than in the couple months previous. I've started just leaving it on the kitchen counter, even though that means it sometimes gets food on it. But, it's allowed me to catch some hilarious shots of Lane this month, for which I'm sure the grandparents will all be happy about.

At 19 months, Lane:

*has 14 teeth. Both top eye teeth came through this month, 11 days apart. Only six teeth to go!

*can open doors (if they have a "pull down" type of knob) and turn on light switches (ours are different than switches in America...they're easier...and lower).

*can climb up and down a ladder by herself. I think she could kind of do this last month, but she can definitely do it now. Scares the crap out of me.

Climbing, climbing, climbing!

*isn't talking any more than, oh, the past six months. But she's learned new signs and is using them: sleep, wash hands, flower, doll, baby, help (she's been doing this one for months, actually), train, socks, stop, go.

*knows the difference between a bowl and a plate and a cup and will get you the item you ask for out of "her" cabinet in the kitchen when you ask her to.

We finally gave Lane some new blocks that her grandparents brought for her in April. She meticulously took each one out of the box and stacked them all next to each other.

*is making new animal sounds: "rrrr" for lion or tiger or bear...and some others. I can't remember them right now. Lots of animal sounds going on around here, though!

*loves, loves, loves to stack blocks. And knock them over.

*always wants to talk (or listen) on the telephone, and also likes to hang it up. I think it's all about the buttons.

Happy, happy girl, playing on the balcony. She loves it when the wind blows.

*is sleeping in the big girl bed! We had a few rough days of transitioning over, and now at nap time I still lay down with her until she falls asleep, but at night time she falls asleep in the bed with no problems. She may get out and get a stuffed animal, but we have yet to catch her out of bed in order to play.

*is a pro at washing her hands. She can climb up the step stool and loves to stand at the sink and wash her hands or brush her teeth.

This is the hilarity that Lane does on a regular basis. You can't see that she's only wearing a diaper, socks, sandals, and that ring around her head.

*does NOT want to wear clothes, ever. Hence the majority of photos with her in just a diaper. I don't see the point in making her wear them if it's not cold and we're not going anywhere. So a diaper and socks and shoes it is, most days.

*speaking of socks and shoes, she has a fascination with them both. She goes from one pair of shoes to the next all day long, mostly favoring sandals. But ever since she learned the sign for socks she asks for them all day long as well.

See? A diaper and sandals. All. day. long.

*loves to look at herself in the mirror. She likes to either "jump" (aka: run around on) on our bed and look in the mirror while doing it, or watch herself brush her teeth, wash her hands, and in general make a soapy, watery mess out of our bathroom. It's so funny to me that nobody had to teach her to look at herself in the mirror...she just likes to do it.

*will put her baby dolls "nite nite." She'll give them a kiss, a hug, put them under the blanket on her bed, pat them, and maybe snuggle them for a bit, too. Too, too cute.

See the q-tip sticking out of her ear? She's been doing this for months but I'm never fast enough to get a picture. Finally: success! She also likes to stick them in her nose...

*likes to "help" with chores: sweeping, putting plastic dishes away, washing things with a sponge or washcloth, etc. Today she "helped" me snap beans for dinner: she put them all on the floor, and put them all back in the pot. Then out on the floor, and back in the pot. She tried to help me snap them but couldn't quite get it. So she bit one in half instead and put it in the pot. She, of course, usually makes more of a mess than she helps clean up, but it's all about the process, right?

*can open our refrigerator. Fortunately she usually obeys and closes it when we tell her to.

Washing hands/playing in the water. She loves the water. I love her smile.

*is altogether a joy. Yes, she's a toddler. Yes, she pitches fits, still is in diapers, doesn't sleep as late as we'd like her to, and in general makes life more difficult. But she makes us laugh numerous times a day whether it's because she's wearing some ridiculous outfit, attacking us with "snuggles" and biting kisses, or going crazy over some new food/drink that we're letting her have. The joy she brings definitely outweighs the work.

Snippets of My Weekend

2011-08-21T20:34:00.002+03:00

Every time I think I'm going to have a chance to catch up on blogging, life gets ahold of me. Studying Turkish for 20 hours a week while Shannon works and has language classes along with being pregnant in a city this size seems to be taking its toll on me. I feel highly unproductive and like I spend so much time trying to do normal "life" that I don't have time for anything fun.

I think that having just moved (eek, like six weeks ago already?) is also taking its toll...all the loose ends from moving are slowly getting accomplished, they just take time, you know? So here are a few snippets of this weekend for me...and maybe it will help me justify why we still don't have light fixtures, why there are still plastic totes full of random things lying around to be put away, and why I still haven't cleaned most of our windows even once since moving in. One can hope, anyway.

Park time! The best time to go to the park on the weekends is before 10:00, since there's nobody there. Lane has free reign and we have no worries of her being bullied/knocked over/spit at (and yes, all of those have happened to her here).

Pizza: it's what's for dinner! I actually made pizza twice this weekend. I discovered that it doesn't take much longer to slice double the veggies, make double the sauce, and make double the crust. It made for about 20 extra minutes of work the first go around, but no extra work (apart from shredding cheese) the second go around.

We've been transitioning Lane to her "big-girl" bed. She has no problems at night, but for naps I lay down with her until she (and sometimes I) falls asleep. We'll fight the battle of getting her to lay still and fall asleep without me...later. I'm not up for it this month. (She currently has a thing for socks and wants to wear them all the time...hence the "nothing on except for socks" look.)

Yogurt-kiss marks on my pants (courtesy of Lane).

Dessert for after church. Brownies (these, without the "mocha" since I didn't have any instant coffee) on the left, the glaze for them on the right. We don't have a microwave, so I have to melt things and warm things up on the stove.

Every momma needs a break sometimes. Lane's new favorite show: Signing Time. She's already learned about five new signs (socks, flower, train, baby, doll, wash hands) in the ten or so days we've had two DVDs.

Ahh, Turkish. How I love thee (you're easier than Polish) and yet loathe thee (you're harder than Spanish)!

Nice days just beckon for us to play in water on the balcony.

One of my favorite pastries around here: a çikolata açma: a chocolate croissant. Few places have them, but one place, Ceviz Ağcı (The Walnut Tree-man), has fantastic croissants, warm on Sunday mornings, for only 1.25 lira (currently about $.70). I consider one my treat for pushing Lane the 1/2 mile to the park, the 1/2 mile to the bazaar, and the whole mile back.

My view on the way back from the park and Sunday bazaar. Our new stroller loaded up with my haul: bananas, grapes, zucchini, green beans, carrots, fresh basil, and eggs. We also stopped for three liters of milk on the way home. I bought less today than usual since we're (insert excited noises here) going on vacation later this week.

That girl has got some CRAZY bed-head!

Last but not least, what weekend would be complete without a load of cloth diapers to wash, hang, stuff, and put away? We wash every three days and are lucky to have a large enough supply (now that Lane only uses about five per day) that we can start the load after Lane goes to bed at 8:00 and not worry about hanging them until the morning. The first cycle is about 30 minutes long. We start the second cycle before we go to bed, and it finishes 2-3 hours later. I hang them first thing in the morning and fold them that evening or the next morning.

***Can you please, please go vote for me, if you haven't already? I'm only 12 votes away from the person in first place...***

By Best Family Travel

A Shameless Plug for a Vote

2011-08-18T20:34:00.003+03:00

I found out the other day that Scarbrough Fair has been nominated for a Best Mom Blogs Award from parents.com. How fun! A big THANKS to whoever out there nominated me, and to whoever has voted for me so far!

Anyhow, I'd like to ask for your vote! I don't know what I'll get if I win (waiting on a reply email), but...surely I'll win something! So, please go vote for me!

To vote, come to the blog and click on the bright pink voting badge over on the right. Or you can click the voting badge that should be at the bottom of this post.

Thanks, thanks, and more thanks!

By Best Family Travel

All in a Doctor's Appointment...

2011-08-16T20:41:00.007+03:00

Today I had two doctor's appointments back-to-back, since they were both in the same area of town. It takes me about an hour to get there, so I figured that I'd try to knock them both out on the same day to avoid an extra two hours of traveling later in the week.

My first doctor's appointment was scheduled for 10:00 with a doctor who specializes in cardiac ultrasounds on babies in utero. My regular doctor gives me an ultrasound at every appointment and said that she trusts herself to detect any defects in the brain, lungs, liver, etc., but she says that there are so many things that can be wrong with the heart that she likes her patients to see a specialist between 20-22 weeks for an ultrasound of the baby's heart. No problem.

So, I left my apartment at 8:45 this morning. Out the front door and walk up this (killer) hill:

Up the hill and through the gate at the back.

Turn left behind the post office and walk up some more stairs.

This is only half the flight of stairs...

And then through a big parking lot.

Funny that we looked at an apartment up here on the left.

About seven minutes after leaving my front door I reach the main road, where I catch a minibus to Kadiköy. 15ish minutes later, I reach this insanity:

One of the bus depots in Kadiköy.

Here, I walk another 10 or so minutes

getting views like this

until I find the correct dolmuș.

A dolmuș: a shared taxi. You pay a set amount for up to a certain distance, and they only go on set routes (like a bus, but less crowded).

The dolmuș takes me another 10-15 minutes and I get off near Göztepe Park. My doctors are on Bağdat Caddesi, which is a one-way street going the opposite direction than the direction the dolmuşes go. So I get out and walk through the park.

Ahh, greenery in the middle of 18 million people!

I turn right up Bağdat Caddesi, walk about 10 more minutes, and I've reached doctor #1. Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.

I arrive just in time. I look at the board to see which floor my doctor is on, since I've never seen this doctor before. I don't see his name so I ask at the information desk, which floor is he on? "He's not working here today." "Huh? I have an appointment." "You have an appointment?" "Yes. Today is Tuesday, August 16th, right?" "What's your name?" And she proceeds to confirm that I do not have an appointment, that the doctor is not working today at this hospital or at the other one I was told he worked at. Now I'm wondering if I have an appointment anywhere today, and why I don't have an appointment here. Plus, I'm thinking that I'm going to have to travel the 1 hour, 10 minutes again later this week, since I'm almost to 23 weeks and will be out of the window of time that this doctor does ultrasounds. Sigh.

I ask to use their phone and call the call center where I made my appointment (in English, by the way, so there was no misunderstanding on my part, at least, the first time around). I explain the situation to them and they say they'll call back once they know something. Five minutes later they call and confirm that I don't have an appointment. Thank you. I figured that much out. Why not? What happened? Do I have an appointment somewhere else? "We'll call you back."

Meanwhile, the receptionist disappears. She reappears 20 minutes later and informs me that there's another doctor there who can do an ultrasound. Ok. But I don't want to pay for any ole' ultrasound. Is it a specialist? So I call my doctor on my cell phone while talking to the call center on the hospital's phone (trying to make an appointment for tomorrow with the original doctor) and ask her to talk to the receptionist, since by now my brain is fried and my Turkish is definitely not good enough to handle this. I hang up with the call center and tell them I'll call back later if I need a new appointment.

My doctor confirms that this doctor can indeed do this special ultrasound. Great. So I go and have the ultrasound done. But Baby Girl doesn't want to cooperate. She won't show the doctor her face, and he wants to make sure she's not blind and doesn't have a cleft palate. I get up and walk around, drink a cup of hot chocolate. Go back in. Nothing. They make me eat cookies and tell me to drink some coffee. Walk around some more. I call my doctor and make sure it's ok that I'm going to be super late. No problem. I walk around. Eat some cookies. Drink two cappuccinos from the machine. Finally she cooperates. No blindness. No cleft palate. Thank goodness.

I try to leave but they need to process my insurance claim. It takes forever. I finally leave. It's 11:45. I'm already 45 minutes late and I haven't even left yet! I leave, turn right down Bağdat Caddesi, and walk about 15 minutes until I come to my doctor's building.

Finally! Only an hour late...

I go up the elevator, get the doorbell to work for the first time ever, and tell them I'm there to see my doctor. They tell me to sit and wait. A lady comes and asks me my name (in Turkish). I tell her. She asks again, in English. I tell her again. She laughs. Brings me some initial paperwork to fill out. I'm confused because I've been here before...why am I filling out this paperwork again? I fill it out anyways to the best of my ability and read Turkish magazines while waiting. Finally, at 12:30 I get to see my doctor. She looks at the report from the first doctor, says all looks fine. Gets me weighed and is happy that I've finally gained weight: FIVE kilos in a month. She is happy at my weight gain but warns me not to gain five kilos (eleven pounds) each month from here on out! Takes my blood pressure. Prescribes me some iron pills. And lets me leave without even paying, since she didn't do much (ha, like THAT would ever happen in America!).

Out the door. Try to catch a dolmuş, but they're all full and passing me. Walk to the bus stop. Catch a normal bus.

Ride the bus 10-15 minutes. Nobody gives me a seat, because my belly isn't big enough yet.

I get out near the train station. Walk about seven minutes. Grab a döner kebap from a street vendor because it's after 1:00 and I'm pregnant and starving. I eat it while walking down the street, not caring that it's Ramazan and I'm being rude by eating in front of everyone who's fasting. I am pregnant, after all. Stop staring. I walk another 10ish minutes, up another hill. Catch another minibus.

Minibuses. Their only redeeming quality is that they'll drop you off anywhere on their route, not just at bus stops.

Ride the bus 10 or so minutes. Get off and walk back through that parking lot, down all the steps, down the big hill. And I get home right in time for my by-then-postponed-twice Turkish lesson.

I was so glad when this morning was over.

22 Weeks (second time around)

2011-08-12T20:49:00.005+03:00

Today I got my BabyCenter update in my inbox with a link to their website telling me all about being 22 weeks pregnant. When you go to their site there are usually questions and answers that might interest you over on the right side of the page. Today I noticed that there was a question from someone about their being really big for 22 weeks and was it normal, etc. What caught me was the "top answer." It started with "22 weeks pregnant is 6 months and 1 day pregnant..."

Does anyone else see the error in that statement, or is it just me?

First off, let me state this: this is my blog so I'm entitled to say what I want (ahem, that's for you, Chach [my sister]). Therefore I will go into this rant, and if you don't like it, well...you don't have to say anything. It's not directed at anyone in particular. It's just a pet peeve of mine. That being said...

40 weeks of pregnancy does NOT equal 10 months, ever. You can say that each month has 4 weeks, blah, blah, blah, but the truth of the matter is that February is the only month that has only 4 weeks in it. 7 months have 31 days and 4 months have 30 days. That means that for every 9 weeks pregnant you are, you get about 2 months, not 2 months plus a week. 40 weeks is approximately 9 months and 1 week. Considering you're not even technically pregnant the first 2 weeks of that 40 weeks, if you deliver before 41 weeks (according to your LMP), a pregnant woman isn't even technically pregnant for a whole 9 months, let alone 10 months.

All that being said, I fully understand that pregnancy can feel like it lasts forever. I was pregnant with Lane for 42 weeks and 3 days (including the 2 weeks you're not "technically" pregnant in the beginning) and I get it: it feels like it lasts forever. It feels like you should be able to claim 10 months. But you can't, because it's just wrong. If you're pregnant for 40 weeks and that equals 10 months, how do you fit the remaining 12 weeks of the year into the 2 months that you have left? Answer: you can't; 40 weeks does not equal 10 months!!!

There. I feel better. Now everyone out there knows how I feel about women who lament their 10-month-long pregnancies. Consider yourselves informed. =)

22 weeks today! (love Lane in the background...cracks me up.)

So, I'm 22 weeks pregnant (almost 5 months, nowhere close to 6-months-and-a-day that mystery-answerer on BabyCenter claims) today. I have no idea if I've gained any weight in the last 4 weeks (I've been trying!), but I can tell that my belly is getting bigger. I can still wear most of my regular pants, although my maternity shorts (I only have one pair) from the Gap are pretty comfortable these days. I'm feeling fine, have plenty of energy, am sleeping pretty well, and overall can't complain a bit. Baby Girl is kicking up a storm and I'm still surprised how much I can feel her moving, since I didn't feel Lane at all until 21 weeks. It's still a novelty at this point. I have two doctor's appointments on Tuesday, one at my regular OBGYN and another with an ultrasound specialist who will look at Baby Girl's heart and make sure she doesn't have any cardiac problems.

Well, that's that. We're on the mend, for anyone who's wondering. Lane still has a nasty cough and I've got some stuff clinging onto my nasal passages, but overall we're much better. This upcoming week looks pretty mellow compared to the past few weeks and I'm so excited to not be super busy...just normal busy! It'll be fantastic.

Once Upon A Time

2011-08-09T21:11:00.005+03:00

We hosted a slew of people for five days straight...different people, in and out, for four days. We washed lots of clothes, cooked lots of food, cleaned lots of toilets and vacuumed lots of floors. We got through the five days and were exhausted.

Some of our guests had a cold. And they gave it to Lane. She was awake from 11-2 last night, so, consequently, so was I.

And then Lane gave the cold to me after I only got four hours of sleep. And we looked like this:

Lane coughed so hard today that she threw up, multiple times. She went through multiple shirts, took a 3 1/2-hour nap, and might have kept down a bit of quesadilla that we had for dinner and some milk.

I worked on our insurance claim from the flood, washed two loads of laundry, had Turkish class for two hours, made quesadillas for dinner, and watched two episodes of Friends with Shannon after Lane went to bed. It's 9:22. Now we're going to bed.

Until we've returned to the land of the living...

20 Weeks and a Birthday Boy

2011-07-31T09:01:00.004+03:00

Friday was a fun, albeit exhausting, day.

Shannon turned 37. The day started with birthday pancakes and a skype call with his dad.

My first attempt at number pancakes. Not too bad!

Then we walked Lane down to some friends' house where the dad babysat Lane and our friends' kid while we all went to IKEA. Thank you, Tim, for giving us a relaxing day shopping instead of a stressful one!

Lane loves to ride on daddy's shoulders.

No photos of IKEA. I mean, it's IKEA. We did eat lunch there and spent a long time there. Our friends needed to pick out big things like a couch, so they wanted to be sure to get what they liked. Our list was much shorter and was mostly things for Lane's room. When her room is all put together you'll see photos.

After IKEA, we rushed home in order to spend a few minutes with Lane before heading out again. Our friend Kristina came and babysat so that we could go out for dinner. Thankfully Lane loves Kristina, so it wasn't any skin off of her back that we only saw her for about two hours all day long!

Technically this was our anniversary dinner, but we went on Shannon's birthday since Fridays are less hectic than Wednesdays, generally speaking.

My chargrilled chicken sandwich. It was yummy!

So, on Shannon's birthday, on a Friday, we went to TGIFriday's! We hadn't been before, and quite honestly probably won't return. The food was good, but by the time you take into consideration the hour it took us to get there, the hour it took us to get home, the fact that they didn't have their air conditioning on and it was about 87° outside (and inside too), and that our dinner was about $40 (a burger, a chicken sandwich, and two small waters)...it was good, but not that good. Shannon's still on the quest for the best hamburger in Istanbul, as Friday's burger was not, in his opinion, worth the extra cost over and above NumNum's burger.

Shannon with his birthday/anniversary burger, complete with fake (not pork) bacon!

We were so hot after traveling an hour in the heat and eating our meal in the heat that we were honestly not up for being out in heat anymore. So, despite the fact that Kristina was spending the night at our house and we could stay out as late as we wanted, we headed home and were home by about 8:30. Shannon bought ice cream and we all made banana splits/sundaes and watched You've Got Mail, which Shannon had never seen. I assembled the step stool we bought for Lane, and we stayed up way too late. It was a good birthday/anniversary celebration!

20 weeks + one day.

And lastly, Friday marked 20 weeks, or halfway through this pregnancy. Only 4.5 months to go!

Seven Links-Flashback

2011-07-30T22:01:00.005+03:00

Barbara, over at Footprints in the Sand, has nominated me to participate in Tripbase's 7Links Blog Project! The purpose of this project is to bring to light older blog posts that have either been forgotten, or that may have been written so long ago that current readers haven't read them before. It's a great idea, and I'm excited to participate! Without further ado...

My most beautiful post: an outpouring of my heart to my daughter when I felt (and feel) so inadequate, pointing her to God when I fail her.

My most popular post: as funny as it is, if you google "18 weeks pregnant" and click on images, my picture from this post is on the first page. If you google "16 weeks pregnant," I'm currently on page 5. So...this post has resulted in the most visitors to my blog. I think it's funny that my little ole' blog gets lots of hits from a photo on google...I'd think that bigger blogs than mine would get many more hits than I do from photos of their pregnant writers, but nope, I'm on the first page!

My most controversial post: I, like Barbara, don't tend to write much on controversial things. This blog is mainly to remember fun moments and for our families to keep up with us. But once I ventured into my opinion on a child's name...and was shown to be ignorant. But I still don't like the name. And I'm entitled to my opinion.

My most helpful post(s): I think I have two of these. The first one is entitled 10 Easy Ways to Go Green and is my attempt at helping ordinary people learn simple ways they can impact the environment in a positive way. The second one is my experience with cloth diapers, including the pros and cons, in my opinion.

A post whose success was surprising: all about becoming a Southerner. Or not becoming one. Take a look and tell me what you think: am I a Southerner or not?

A post without the attention it deserved: I climbed a mountain at 25 weeks pregnant and only got one comment. Sad!

The post I am most proud of: Baby Girl turned 1 and I made her a great cake.Or maybe this one, chronicling the process to claim residency in Istanbul (which, unfortunately, we'll have to do again this year!). Or maybe this one: hubby's birthday and a great alliteration, filled with fun photos from the beach. Yeah...I like all of these.

There you have it. Seven posts I think you should go back and read, if you never have before.

My nominees to participate:

Disaster Strikes!

2011-07-26T21:09:00.002+03:00

We moved into our apartment on a Thursday. It took all day for the movers to pick up our things from the family from whom we bought them, move them to our apartment, and put them back together. They didn't leave until nearly 7:00 that evening, at which time we ate, got Lane's pack 'n play set up, and got her in bed. We then set about getting a few necessary things in order and crashed, completely exhausted.

Friday we had planned a few things: namely, I was going to go back to the apartment where we had been staying and clean it really well since the family would return from vacation on Sunday. We had been keeping our money, keys, and Shannon's phone (my battery was dead and the charger was missing) in his office, which we had been warned we could get locked out of, but the door had to be closed forcefully, so it was unlikely to happen.

Well, guess what happened? We didn't get locked out of his office, since the door wasn't locked, but we couldn't get into the room as the door was completely stuck closed. Did I mention that we didn't have a home phone or internet access yet? I ended up walking to a friend's place and using their phone to call someone who could call someone to come fix the door. Praise the Lord that Shannon had unlocked our front door earlier that morning (you have to use a key to lock it, even from the inside) to set trash out, otherwise we would have been locked in our apartment with no phones, no internet, no money, and no keys. I have no idea what we would have done. Anyhow, later that day the door finally got opened and we got a new doorknob for it. And we got very little else done that day.

Saturday came and we spent the day doing all the things we had wanted to do on Friday but couldn't do because of lack of money/phones/keys/etc. I think we finally got our phone set up, but our internet still didn't work. We went to church that evening and I babysat for a couple, not getting home until almost midnight. Shannon unpacked a little bit and we went to bed, exhausted, at around 1 a.m.

At 4:00 (or thereabouts) I woke up to go to the bathroom (I am pregnant, after all). And as I swung my feet out of the bed and put them on the floor, I stepped into water.

A lot of water.

I floundered around for a few seconds, trying to figure out what was going on, turn the lights on (oh, no power), and figure out where the water was coming from. A loud gushing was coming from the bathroom and I managed to wade through the two inches of water to the bathroom, open the cabinets, and turn off the water source, all while getting sprayed like crazy with water.

Shannon and I wandered down our hallway and into his office and our living room, all of which were two inches deep in water. Water had seeped into the kitchen as well. We stood there in complete silence and complete darkness trying to figure out what on earth to do, who to call, how to fix this! We finally decided to call the guy who had organized our movers and who had hired the guy who painted our apartment and is a general fix-it guy. After talking to us on the phone for a few minutes and walking us through trying to figure out if our whole building was out of power or just us, he said that he'd be over soon.

I don't think the photos do the amount of water justice.

5 a.m. came and they showed up. In the meantime we had been using our cell phone lights, mini squeegee (you know, the kind you use for showers or windows), and a dustpan and mop bucket to bail water. It's amazing how much better the situation looked when our friend and the handyman showed up with big squeegees, more buckets and mops, and got our power back on.

Our hero with the large squeegee. I think if you enlarge the photo you can see how deep his feet are in water...

We bailed water, moved furniture, squeegeed floors, and in general worked like crazy for two hours. At 7 a.m. we all sat down for a breather, and Lane woke up. I peeked into her room to find an absolute disaster: Shannon hadn't cleaned up her toys/books when he put her to bed the previous evening! But not a single drop of water was in her room. I have no idea how or why water got everywhere else, 2 inches deep, but didn't go into her room, other than giving credit to God for looking out for us. All of Lane's things would have been ruined which would have been devastating to me, since she doesn't have that many toys to begin with!

Moving furniture to mop/squeegee underneath.

So we finally got all the water bailed out of our apartment and our floors fairly dry. The handyman fixed the problem (a hose to our washing machine). I went to the family's apartment to try to get it clean before they arrived home at noon-ish. And then we set about to cleaning up all the wet stuff. I did laundry for days. I hadn't unpacked my clothes yet, and a lot of them got soaked. And a lot of them bled onto each other and got ruined.

Wet clothes, wet clothes, and oh, some more wet clothes.

A few days ago I finally got the last load of laundry done. I'd been washing things separately, trying to see if stains would come out, letting things [air]dry first so that they wouldn't mildew while waiting to be washed (any of you who have lived in Europe know the fun of doing one load of laundry with a 2-2.5-hour cycle and then having to hang your laundry to dry). The good news was that I was able to salvage a lot of my clothes. The bad news is that some of my favorite things were ruined. Hopefully our insurance will cover them!

Stuff drying on the balcony.

And that is our disaster. It seems that disasters always come in threes. So we're still waiting on number three to strike, since we only had two! We've been here almost three weeks now...maybe it will pass us all together? We keep having nightmares about flooding...

18 Months Old

2011-07-23T14:35:00.007+03:00

Once again, a day late. How is my baby girl one-and-a-half?!?!

at 18 months, Lane:

*makes more animal sounds, although most of them aren't correct! At least she's trying. She says "lalala" for sheep (?), "bock bock" for bird, something uninterpretable for frog, and she growls for a lion. It's fantastic.

*still loves the song Old MacDonald. She's also decided to "relike" Twinkle, Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and If You're Happy and You Know It. She indicates she wants to sing Twinkle Twinkle by opening and closing her hands (like the "twinkle twinkle" sign in the hand motions), Itsy Bitsy Spider by putting her index fingers and thumbs together, and If You're Happy and You Know It by clapping and then squeezing her cheeks (we point to our mouth when smiling at "face will surely show it" part). It cracks me up.

She loves this book, CAT, so much that she's ripped all the "extras" out of it (flaps, the cat's movable tail, etc). The book is only three months old but it looks three decades old.

*still has 12 teeth but her first eye tooth is about to pop through any day.

*loves to jump on our bed. Since moving we now have a chest of drawers with a mirror over it that she can see into when she's on our bed. She likes to watch herself in it, jumping, twirling, and swaying until she tumbles over or dives face-first onto the bed.

One of her new favorite things is to climb in this bag (LOVE the bag, by the way...think it's Land's Inn) and then have us carry and swing her around in it.

*is very good at stacking blocks. She is very precise in setting them down and will readjust them if she can tell that the stack is going to fall. She can stack larger blocks on top of smaller blocks, and can stack them quite high.

*loves to kiss people and her dolls and stuffed animals. She also loves to kiss Aubie (Auburn's tiger mascot) on Shannon's wall calendar.

With her "guys": kitty, giraffe, and blankie. These are what she sleeps with and what she most often totes around the house.

*is taking great naps since we moved and got darker curtains for her room. Usual is three hours now!

*is starting to get into her 18-24 month clothes (although honestly it's so hot these days that most days she just wears a diaper unless we're going somewhere). Still wearing size 5 shoes.

*can climb ladders at the park, go down the slide on her own (she prefers to flip to her belly), and is a master at stairs. Sometimes she can walk up a few stairs without holding onto anyything...it usually depends on how tired she is.

Snoozing hard! (And still sucking on blankie when she's upset or at bedtime.)

*still just says three words. I'm beginning to think she's just stubborn (hmm, wonder where she got that from?).

*Is back in cloth diapers after a 3-month hiatus (nasty diarrhea from getting her molars + my sensitive first trimester nose + two moves = 'sposies for her). Her bottom seems to be faring well. =) She also frequently grabs the underneath of her diaper but I'm not sure if it's when she goes to the bathroom (sometimes she's wet, sometimes she's dry) or what. She also likes to sit on the potty but only for about two seconds. We're hoping to get her her own little potty in the next week or so.

Playing in the pool on our balcony. She prefers to toss the crabs and clothes pins out and then get out and get them, or to use her cup to dump water out of the pool and then get out and play in it. She spends very little time actually IN the pool.

*will "help" me with the laundry. When I'm taking laundry off the rack on the balcony if I give her a piece of clothing and ask her to go put it on the couch, she does and then comes back for more laundry.

*Loves her Frosty the Snowman Hallmark recordable book from Nona Lou. She likes all of her Hallmark books and will open them, turn the pages, and listen to them on her own, but Frostyis the one that she brings to us the most often to have us read to her as well.

My girlie drinking from a cup and eating her favorite snack (black olives and fruit) on her 18-month birthday. I can't believe she's so big!

The Big Move

2011-07-21T21:39:00.004+03:00

In case you've been wondering where I've been, you could start by looking here:

Or maybe here:

Or, if you're really brave, you might find me here:

Two weeks ago we moved.

Again.

However, the good news for us is that, pending disaster in our apartment (we've already had one [upcoming post...I know you're curious...], but fortunately it didn't require us to move out) or our landlord deciding he hates us, we will not be moving again as long as we live in Istanbul.

Hallelujah.

One of our balconies.

The past two weeks have been spent cleaning, unpacking, shopping, cleaning, organizing, rearranging, and did I mention cleaning? Apparently Turks don't have the same understanding that you when you leave an apartment, you leave it clean that we Americans do. So I've spent probably eight hours on my hands and knees scraping paint and lacquer off the tile and numerous other hours scrubbing tubs and toilets (well, Shannon [my hero] has done the toilets), cleaning windows and grill racks, sweeping, mopping, dusting, vacuuming, and mopping some more.

Small bathroom off our bedroom.

We're gradually getting things squared away. There are two totes full of "random" things that either don't have a place at all, have a place but need something (like screws, picture frames, or small storage containers), or need to be repaired (namely about seven things I've been trying to get to a seamstress for about four months now, but she's never there). Yesterday we got all of our shelves and wall hangings hung, other than the things that go in Lane's room, since we've decided to ditch the toddler bed we got her and get a twin bed instead.

Lane's room needs the most work, mostly because this is the first time since she's been born that I've had the opportunity to decorate a nursery/kids' bedroom, and I want to do it right. I want everything to be nice and to match and for everything to have a place. So we're having to wait to buy a few things due to the insane amount of necessary furniture and appliances that we bought in the last month. Tomorrow we're getting the twin bed for her delivered and hopefully next month we'll get a bookshelf, toy basket, and bedding for the big girl bed. We'll also get her wall hangings hung and her fragile things on a small shelf.

Shannon's office is, contrary to the looks of the above photo, the only complete room in the entire apartment. It's full of Auburn paraphernalia. You'll get a photo later, I promise. And I'm so glad I convinced him that we needed that recliner...it makes a pregnant lady happy! (Ok, ok, he convinced me we should buy it. But I'm so glad he did!)

We've also started our language lessons again (and the homework that goes with them), so between classes, homework, shopping/cooking, and finishing the last bit of settling in, we're pretty swamped. We're working hard to get it all finished, though, so once we're settled in I'll fill you in on all sorts of things!: our disaster, Lane's newest antics, summer heat in Istanbul, pregnancy milestones, and of course, final photos of our place (well, those may have to wait a month or two), and our upcoming anniversary celebrations.

Until then, you can find me up to my elbows in chicken and bones or watermelon juice and seeds, unpacking odds and ends, or shopping for hooks and potholders, bookshelves and end tables, bathmats and light fixtures. Wish me luck!

18 Weeks (second time around)

2011-07-15T23:04:00.003+03:00

18 weeks.

Today I went to the doctor for my 18-week check-up and all is looking fine. This baby is still measuring right on track, has big feet (an inch long already!), and is a GIRL! We're excited that Lane will have a little sister to play with and be buddies with. And daddy's excited to have a gaggle of girls in his house. *grin*

I'm feeling great. I don't even feel pregnant most of the time (well, other than the middle of the night when I have to pee at least twice). I started to feel the baby move sometime in this last week, which is, of course, oh-so-fun. I can't wait until the kicks are strong enough for Shannon to feel them. I'm still wearing all regular clothes, although I did get a pair of maternity shorts from the Gap that I could wear now if I want to (they have that adjustable elastic in the waist), but I don't need them yet by a long shot.

Unfortunately I'm still holding as far as my weight goes...I didn't gain even a single pound in the last month. I'm trying, really I am. I just know that eating lots of junk just to gain weight isn't any healthier for the baby than not eating the junk and not gaining weight. Surely weight gained from empty calories isn't good weight, even when pregnant. Right? I'm trying to eat extra dinner, nuts, olives, cheese and bread or crackers for snacks, lots of fruit and veggies, and a milkshake every night for dessert. I'm getting my 300 extra calories each day...I just think I'm burning them off just as quickly as I eat them!

That's all that's up in pregnancy-land. We just moved last week and I've been busy unpacking, cleaning, and organizing. I have a TON of photos of our place but have been too busy to give you all a tour, so...rest assured one is coming. As well as lots of "fun" stories about moving in. Trust me...they're so good they get their own post.

A Happy, Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-07T14:19:00.004+03:00

Some of you may remember our 4th of July celebration from last year. Namely, moving across the world.

This year, we got a bit more "normal" of a celebration, or at least normal for living overseas. We went to some friends' house and ate chicken sandwiches, fries, and watermelon and enjoyed fun conversation and kiddos playing.

Family photo on the 4th of July, 2011. (We have so few photos of all of us together that it's important to get them when you can!)

And we got a package! What a fantastic way to celebrate being American...by receiving American treats!

Foam letters for Lane, Ovaltine and water flavoring packets, Inception, the Auburn vs. Alabama football game from last year, cayenne pepper, and Reese's pieces and M&M's.

Lane loves her letters/numbers and has been playing with them a lot. Once we're all moved into our new place we'll let her play with them in the bathtub. We watched Inception on the 4th and were reminded once again what a great movie that is and we're so glad to own it now! The cayenne pepper will be put to good use in some yummy recipes. The Reese's pieces lasted all of two days, and I, for one, am SO grateful for the Ovaltine (more calcium for the bebek!) and water flavoring packets (you can only drink so much water and tea, you know?). Thanks so, so much Angela, for showing us the love! (And for coordinating the package to arrive on the 4th of July. Very smooth. =)

16 Weeks (second time around)

2011-07-01T15:08:00.004+03:00

16 week belly shot on the balcony. I think I'm showing a teensy bit.

In pregnancy-land, I had my doctor's appointment last Monday and all looks well with Baby #2. This baby is measuring right on track for an EDD of December 16th, which makes me SO happy since Lane was always measuring small (which might be part of the reason I went 17 days past due with her and still had to be induced). I'm really, really hoping that this baby decides to debut on a day other than Christmas, and of course it'd be nice if he/she is early, but really I just don't want a Christmas baby. My birthday is on New Year's and one holiday birthday is enough for this family as far as I'm concerned! Of course God will probably decide to give us a Christmas baby just to teach me something about trusting Him for what's best...

It's fun because here you get an ultrasound/sonogram every time you go to the doctor. So I get to hear the heartbeat and see our little bebek ("baby" in Turkish) every time. It's fun. And it makes me wonder what on earth American doctors charge so much for since you only get 2-3 ultrasound/sonograms in the States. Hmm...

My doctor also advised me to really try to gain some weight over the next month, so I'm enjoying the freedom to do things that I don't usually do, like get whipped cream on my frappucino at Starbucks or eat bigger, more filling snacks. I'm not sure if it's helping me gain any weight, but I can definitely say that I'm trying everything I can short of just sitting down with a pint of Ben & Jerry's, which wouldn't be the healthiest way to gain some weight anyways.

I'm enjoying reading back over my bi-weekly posts from when I was pregnant with Lane and comparing then with now. For example, when I was pregnant with Lane I was still super tired at 18 weeks. (You can read my 16-week post from my first pregnancy here). Granted, I was working 30 hours a week waiting tables, but still, this go-around I have a good bit of energy and have for a week or two. We're usually in bed by 10:00 or 10:30 and I usually wake up on my own after eight hours and can't go back to sleep even if I want to. I guess that's good?

I've also noticed that my emotions have toned down a bit which has been quite refreshing. When I was pregnant with Lane I think I really only had 2-3 times that I could blame the pregnancy for making me super emotional and overreact. This pregnancy...I felt like I cried every day over the silliest things for weeks. I'm so glad to be back to my (fairly) level-headed self.

So there you go. I'm trying not to post too much about pregnancy in my "regular" posts and to save it for my bi-weekly posts, because I know that it gets annoying reading peoples' bemoanings about their pregnancies if they do it too much. I figure if I can keep my bemoanings to once every two weeks, my readers might actually find them interesting and not annoying. Capisce?

Menu Plan...Wednesday?

2011-06-29T20:18:00.005+03:00

In light of all my newfound energy and re-desire to plan our meals and actually prepare them myself, I thought I'd share with you our menu for the week (which started...Monday. Sunday we moved, so we had pizza for dinner). So far it's involved very little prep work, which has been really, really nice. I love it when we can eat healthily without me spending hours upon hours in the kitchen!

First let me say that I rarely plan to cook breakfast. Sometimes it happens on weekends, sometimes when I have a random potato (for hash browns), but usually we just eat fruit and cereal. I'm lazy like that (or it just takes me long enough to wake up in the mornings that it's usually lunchtime before I'm capable of cooking without burning the house down).

Monday:

lunch: leftover braised balsamic chicken from Saturday night

dinner: homemade chicken and rice soup, bread

Tuesday:

lunch: leftover pizza from the move on Sunday, chicken soup from Monday

dinner: Louisiana dirty rice and beans, cornbread

Wednesday:

lunch: Shannon ate out with friends, Lane and I had leftover rice and beans and cornbread from Tuesday

dinner: sautéed veggies, couscous pilaf, and chicken paillards (chicken pounded flat, dredged in breadcrumbs, and pan-sautéed)

Thursday:

lunch: tuna salad with avocado (if I can find one) on whole-wheat bread, carrot sticks

dinner: leftover rice and beans, cornbread from Tuesday

Friday:

lunch: leftover chicken paillards, couscous pilaf, and veggies from Wednesday

dinner: spaghetti, garlic bread, green salad

Saturday:

lunch: leftover spaghetti from Friday

dinner: whatever our small group decides to cook

Sunday:

lunch: leftover spaghetti from Friday

dinner: that southwestern salad that I mentioned yesterday

Ahh. Healthy food all week long! There are times that I wish I lived in the States when it comes to cooking. We can't get whole-wheat pasta here, which would make our spaghetti healthier. I want to put an avocado in our tuna but I don't know if I'll be able to find one at the bazaar tomorrow. My chicken soup only had about half the amount of celery in it that I'd like because it's over $2.00 for a super small amount (about 1/3 of a bunch that you'd get in the States), and I just can't justify buying more for soup, especially when I'm using it twice in one week. I just trust that if I do as much as I can to make our food healthy, God will take care of our bodies and redeem my efforts, even if we could eat "healthier" in the States.

Anyone have any fantastic recipes out there? Anyone have any great ones that involve little prep work (no canned soups or pre-packaged goods to save time...they're not available here), are cold dishes (I'm not going to want to spend lots of time over a stove come August!), or are recipes specifically for tuna? I'm trying to eat it at least once a week since I'm pregnant and it's good for me, but I'm worried that I'll get burnt out on tuna sandwiches. Any ideas are appreciated!

A Bit of This and a Bit of That

2011-06-28T19:44:00.003+03:00

Right now it seems like my life is just insane and that the insanity will never end. The past week has been spent packing up out of our previous apartment in preparation for a move to temporary housing until our new apartment is finished being painted. We got all moved in on Sunday evening.

I feel like I'm always moving.

In almost four years of marriage, Shannon and I have lived in 8-10 (10 if you count anything two weeks or longer that wasn't vacation) different apartments/houses in two countries and four states. We have had the majority of our belongings packed in suitcases/boxes/trunks and have been living out of a select few of those for 22 months. That's almost half of our marriage, and Lane's entire life. I am SO ready to unpack. Next week. I can't wait.

This is the kind of stuff Lane does when we're busy packing. The stroller is FOLDED UP for crying out loud, and she's still climbing on it!

I have been a royal klutz over the past couple of days. On Sunday before we moved I scraped my arm across a chair, leaving a lovely red mark all the way down my forearm. While moving I banged my knee up so badly that the bruise was black within a couple of hours. Today I sloshed soup all over the kitchen floor, and tonight I banged my head on the rack hanging inside the shower. What on earth is wrong with me? And don't say, "You're pregnant," because I think that "pregnancy clumsiness" thing is...a bunch of bull.

This salad is TO DIE FOR.

Meet the new love of my life (food-wise): homemade...Southwestern Salad? In an effort to eat more protein and leafy greens I created this salad last week out of leftover Mexican food. I love it. Shannon deemed it so good its new name was "Not A Salad." Try it for yourself and see.

Ingredients (to taste...my measurements are strictly estimates):

*2-3 cups leaf lettuce (none of that iceberg crap that has zero nutritional value)

*2 tablespoons homemade pico or diced tomatoes

*1/2 cooked chicken breast, shredded and warmed

*6 or so tortilla chips, broken

*1/4 cup black beans, warmed

*1/4 cup Mexican Rice, or brown rice, but Mexican is better

*a bit of shredded cheese

*1 1/2 boiled eggs, chopped

*2-3 tablespoons ranch dressing

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; toss well. Serve. Eat. Compliment me on my fantastic idea.

At my doctor's appointment last week I was told that I'm actually too thin to be three months pregnant and that I really need to try to gain some weight. In my defense, I've always had a weight range of about 10 pounds, and if I'm in that range I never worry about my weight. I don't own a scale, never have, and only weigh myself when at the doctor's office or at a friend's house. I was about two pounds under the low end of "normal" for me.

Now, I agree, I shouldn't be pushing the envelope when it comes to my weight, especially being pregnant. But it's hard for me to gain weight here. I dropped the remaining 5-6 pounds of baby weight from Lane within a week of moving here. I walk a lot, and there's no way to avoid it. I mean, I had to walk 25 minutes to get to the doctor's office! Anyways, now that I'm out of the First Trimester Black Hole I have been better at menu planning and actually cooking, and have been trying to eat more protein, more dairy, more leafy greens (hard when they're not really available here right now), and well, just more period. It should be easier to pack on a few pounds now that a) I don't feel like throwing up everything I eat, and b) I have more energy to prepare good, nutritious meals. Oh, and c) I'm not hoofing it all over the city looking for an apartment and furniture. Been there, done that.

Lane. 17 months old. Loves to get. into. everything.

Today I took Lane outside to play. You know what she did? Laid down on the ground. On her belly. Slithered around on the sidewalk. Tried to eat snails. Climbed up and down the stairs a million times, using her hands on the next step to help her up (instead of the, oh, handrail that we've taught her to hold onto). We came inside and washed her hands. While I was in the kitchen, she climbed onto the table to get the ice out of my drink, spilling the entire cup of water. We got cleaned up and sat down to eat. She promptly dumped her milk right onto her front. New outfit for her after lunch. Later I caught her fishing in my tea for ice (what is WITH that child and ice?!?). She played with the toilet brush and dumped the water from the bowl (have I ever mentioned how disgusting I think toilets and toilet brushes are?) on the floor (not on my watch, that was daddy). She peed all over the floor immediately after removing her diaper to give her a bath. Today I was oh-so-relieved when it was bedtime.

And I think that's enough randomness for today. This is proof that I do think of you all. I do have things to write. I'm eagerly anticipating the day when I have somewhat of a schedule to my life again instead of a hodgepodge of moving/packing/cooking/learning a language/setting up utilities/cleaning/parenting/wife-ing that is my current life. I've been doing this randomness thing for too long and I'm ready for some routine in my life!

17 Months Old

2011-06-23T18:03:00.012+03:00

I'm a day late on Lane's monthly post due to uncontrollable circumstances last night (the hubby wanted to watch a movie and actually let me pick...hooray for watching Fried Green Tomatoes for the first time together after almost four years of marriage!). However, as of today you can learn all about her new, amazing, super-cute antics.

At 17 months, Lane:

*makes more animal sounds: "moo" for cow, "ba-ba" for chicken (bock bock), and "zzz" for bee. She also says "la, la, la" for pig...blame that on Sandra Boynton's Moo, Baa, La, La, La.

*can identify new body parts: bottom, fingers, neck, and cheeks (pretty much all of them except harder-to-grasp ones like "elbows" and "eyebrows," things like those).

*loves the song Old MacDonald. It is by far her favorite song right now, and she indicates that she wants us to sing it by clapping (no idea where she got that from). She'll even sing along a bit, making "moo moo" and "nay nay" sounds.

*still just says three words. I was slightly worried until I did a bit of research, and it said to only be worried (up to 18 months) if your kid doesn't say "mama" or "dada," and can't identify any body parts. Guess we're ok since she's doing all of those.

*loves ice. She always wants to fish ice out of our drinks and is upset when the ice is gone.

*has 12 teeth. Her last (fourth) molar is a little over halfway through. Only eight teeth to go!

*likes to "play" nite nite. This involves getting into the bed and laying down and covering up for 4-5 seconds until it's time to get up, roll all over the place, and do it all again.

*has got some CURLY hair! It's cracking me up, since Shannon and I both have stick-straight hair. I never in a million years thought I'd end up with a curly-headed kid.

Check out those CURLS!

*can stack blocks at least seven high.

*likes to do puzzles and can put the pieces in the right spot, even if she can't always turn them around to make them fit.

*likes to help me snap green beans.

*can get all of the shapes in her plastic shape sorter without any help and can get all of the shapes in her wooden shape sorter with very little assistance (the wooden shape sorter has holes on four sides whereas the plastic shape sorter has all the holes on the top).

*likes to circle around while I sing Ring Around the Rosie, promptly running off to dive on the floor for "we all fall down!"

*gives "snuggles" if we ask (hugs with her patting us on the back).

*is starting to be very whiny. We've started putting her in her pack-n-play for whining/pitching a fit when she doesn't get her way.

*is still a pretty good eater, although it's tapered off a bit. I think she's finally gotten full for the first time since she was born! Current favorite foods include cherries, peaches, watermelon, strawberries, soft cheese, beans, and rice.

Aaaand...that's all I can think of right now.

***forgive the lack of photos this month...I haven't taken that many since we've been out-and-about a lot, and it's difficult for me to watch Lane and take photos when we're out without daddy.***

Father's Day

2011-06-20T20:12:00.006+03:00

Shannon is the kind of guy who never will tell me what he wants for his birthday, Christmas, our anniversary, or any other holiday. I always feel bad because there's always something I want, and his list is always super puny. Actually, he just always says the same thing: "I want to spend time with you." Blah. We usually go to dinner and a movie for his birthday and maybe for his Christmas present, but you can't really ditch the kiddo on Father's Day to see a movie, you know?

So this year I didn't get Shannon anything for Father's Day. I'd asked him what he wanted. He had no answers. So I made him a big breakfast and his favorite dinner (spaghetti). And I decided to treat him for lunch: we went to a place called Numnum Cafe and Restaurant. We'd heard they had good burgers, and Shannon's been on a quest for a good burger ever since we got here. We'd also heard they were a tad on the expensive side, so we'd need a good reason to visit. Father's Day seemed like as good a reason as any!

Our table. Love the fatty bird.

The waitresses gave Lane some balloons to play with while we waited for our food.

We didn't know when we went to Numnum that it was Father's Day in Turkey, too! Good thing that Turks don't seem to have the American tradition of taking their fathers out for lunch after church! We had the restaurant practically to ourselves, they had menus in English (thank goodness), and the food was yummy. Well, the fries left something to be desired, but the main dishes were good.

Shannon's burger. The best one he's had in Turkey so far.

My club sandwich. Yes, I know that pregnant women aren't supposed to eat cold lunch meat. But 1) I don't like burgers, 2) they didn't have any chicken sandwiches, 3) I figured that one serving of cold lunch meat in 9 months probably won't kill me or the baby, and 4) their meat is probably sliced on site anyways since it's not a fast-food place, and that kind of lunch meat you ARE allowed to have.

I felt like a slacker of a wife, getting my hubby nothing for Father's Day except a day full of food. But he thanked me over and over for a great Father's Day. I guess it just goes to show that the way to a man's heart really is through his stomach.

Lane and daddy on Father's Day.

Family photo op at Numnum. Shannon's last Father's Day as a daddy of one (outside of the womb).

14 Weeks (second time around)

2011-06-17T19:55:00.001+03:00

Well, just like when I was pregnant with Lane, I don't have much to show for my first belly pic with this baby. But, seeing how I've already gotten a couple of requests from my sister and friends for belly pics, I figured I'd go ahead and start at 14 weeks again. Plus, this just goes to show that not everyone starts showing super early with their second pregnancies. (You can see my 14-week belly pic the first time around here.)

Forgive the horrible glare from the overhead light and the frizzy ponytail. This is what you get after a long day with a 16-month old and a husband who didn't want to take lots of photos.

I can tell that I'm a tad bit thicker in the waist (1/2-inch to an inch), but overall all my regular clothes are still fitting just fine.

I've been feeling better this week, nausea-wise. I've been really blessed this time around, just as I was with Lane, to not feel too badly. This go-around I had about a month where I just felt icky. I actually threw up once, too, so I can no longer say that I've never thrown up while pregnant. Sad. There were a couple of weeks where I was more tired than usual. And of course, my sense of smell is so heightened that I can smell the Atlantic Ocean from here. But I think that I'm on the upswing and will hopefully be feeling completely back to normal in a week or so.

Lane at "mama is 14 weeks pregnant."

That's about it that's up in pregnancy-land. I have my second doctor's appointment on Monday. Hopefully as I come out of the First Trimester Black Hole I'll be better at updating again. My lack of blogging correlates 100% with the pregnancy, so...as I feel better I fully plan on updating regularly. Lest anyone wonder if this blog will ever regain it's once-regularity, I promise, it will.

Tired

2011-06-14T16:29:00.005+03:00

Living in another country, in a large city, with a baby/toddler, is exhausting.

I forget sometimes that my life is quite a bit different than the average 30-something American parent's life. Today I feel like I've accomplished almost nothing. I:

took a shower

read my Bible/had prayer time

took Lane to a friend's to play

took a short nap

made dinner

entertained Lane

And that's about it. And I'm exhausted.

In America I think that the above list would go something like: wake up, take a shower, eat breakfast. Read Bible and have prayer time either before kiddo awakes or during nap time. Toss backpack/diaper bag/purse into car, strap Lane into car seat, and go to friend's house. Come home via same way and cook dinner with what's in the fridge. Play with Lane and the multitude of toys she'd have, take her outside to play in the yard, etc., etc., etc.

Here the list goes like this: wake up, take shower, throw everything for the day's outing in my purse. Walk, carrying 22-pound toddler, 15 minutes to a bus stop, wait on the bus, and then ride the bus 20-30 minutes, feeding Lane apples to keep her quiet and occupied. Get off the bus and walk another 10-15 minutes until we're at our friend's house. Stay for two hours and then leave because it's already nearly nap time and we still have a 45-60-minute commute home. Repeat transport story in the reverse order, sharing a seat (a bit bigger than a normal seat, but still not big enough for two bottoms) on the bus with a handicapped man because nobody else would move for him to sit down. Get home, get Lane in bed, eat lunch (Lane ate while at our friend's) read my Bible and try to pray but fall asleep. Wake up and send Shannon to the store across the street to buy stuff for dinner because produce here lasts maybe two days, so it's hard to stock our fridge for more than a day or two. Finish my prayer time while he's gone, chop veggies and make dinner while Lane watches a show, and collapse exhausted when finished, still having my fingers pulled off by the almost-17-month old who wants to drag me around the house to play with her.

Ugh.

I shouldn't complain. I have a good life. Compared to a lot of moms out there, I have an easy life. But I'm reminded on days like today (which happen more often nowadays, probably because I'm pregnant and more tired/emotional than "normal") that my life is quite, quite different. I get a break when Lane sleeps, if Shannon takes her to the store or ATM with him, and about once every 4-6 weeks when Shannon watches Lane for a few hours so I can go out with the girls. Or when I go to the doctor. No relatives to babysit. No friends to come over to babysit, because let's face it, nobody wants to travel an hour on public transportation to watch someone else's kid just to have to travel that same hour home. I haven't gained a single pound this pregnancy because I walk an average of at least two miles a day. I can't eat what I'm craving most of the time, because Chic-fil-a, Mexican food, a nice, affordable filet, and good pizza are all thousands of miles away. To go outside to "play" means either Lane plays on the concrete that is our courtyard, or I push/walk her 25 minutes to the nearest park.

I'm just tired. And I'm tired of this city of 18 million people. I need a vacation.

Still

2011-06-05T21:12:00.004+03:00

I'm still exhausted. T-minus-5-days until the first trimester is over. Oh, please, come quickly.

We're still looking for an apartment.

We're still eating out way more than we should (due to being exhausted and gone all the time while looking for an apartment).

Our house still isn't very clean (although it's cleaner than it was 2-3 weeks ago).

I still have to hang our laundry up to dry.

Everything still stinks.

Lane is still cute.

And I'm still (trying) to take photos in the midst of all the insanity.

Lane still likes Noah and the ark, and is getting better at playing by herself.

She still likes to unload the silverware.

She still likes to eat.

She still likes to climb (and got curls from somewhere!).

And climb.

And climb. And suck on blankie.

And she still likes to be outside.

And that's all the "stills" for today.

The Rest of the Truth

2011-05-24T12:46:00.003+03:00

I've had a few days recently where I felt like I could blog. I have things to say. And I've gotten a decent amount of down time. But alas, I still haven't. How come?

*Spring (well, it feels like summer to me) is killing me over here! Lane is in full gear, busy, busy, busy all the time. She doesn't play by herself very well for very long. I am exhausted every day from chasing her all around the house, the courtyard, the playground, other peoples' homes, and so on.

*We are still waiting to hear if we will be moving. I mean, we'll be moving out of this apartment for sure, but when and to where is all still up in the air. It's really...trying my patience. I just want to know. I'm tired of living in limbo-land.

*My old computer is a pain in the rear. Yesterday I finally turned it on in order to pull photos off of it. I figured it'd be easier to just resize them and upload them from it (since I've done it a million times and know what I'm doing it'd be faster for sure). But when I uploaded them to blogger and then logged out and logged back in on my Mac, they were gone. And I'd already turned off the Dell. So frustrating. That computer is so slow compared to this one!

*We're trying to plan for a vacation in August. Can you say "exhausting" trying to work out all the details?

*Oh, and did I mention that we're expecting Scarbrough #4 in December? No? *grin*

16 Months Old

2011-05-22T20:58:00.009+03:00

Our happy girl, playing peek-a-boo with Daddy.

At 16 months old, Lane:

*says "ssss" when asked, "What's a snake say?"
*can identify (new this month) her: feet, hands, belly button, mouth, arms, and legs.
*speaking of belly buttons, she likes to lift up everyone else's shirts to look at their belly buttons after she's identified her own.
*has 11 teeth. She got 5 teeth in 5 weeks (three molars and two bottom front teeth). She did fairly well throughout the teething insanity, but boy are we glad it's over for now!

*clasps her hands together when we say, "let's pray."

*bounces up and down (trying to nod) when we ask her a question and her answer is "yes."

Playing in the swimming pool with friends.

*loves giving kisses. She often wants to give kisses to strangers on the bus. Or pull their hair. You know, share the love.
*still just says the four words: "mama," "dada," "nite-nite," and "meow, meow." However, this month she did start babbling more...it usually sounds like "big-a, big-a, big-a..." Quite funny.

*can do most of the motions to most of the animals in Eric Carle's From Head to Toe. (I think she can't do the buffalo, alligator, or cat.)

*likes to hold our fingers to "show us how to feel" her touch-and-feel books.

Easter Sunday. Playing with plastic eggs and little baskets.

*is climbing on everything. More than last month. She can get onto our bed, coffee table, and kitchen/dining room table chairs (and therefore onto the table, too).
*can identify LOTS of objects in her books when asked where they are: frogs, ducks, owls, shoes, the moon, stars, cars, birds, mice, flowers, fish, cats, dogs, and a million more. She can't say their names yet, but she sure knows what they are.

*wants to watch TV all the live-long day. We don't let her, of course (usually she gets one 30-minute show a day, max two if it's a nasty day and we're stuck at home all day long), but she loves the television.

*sticks out her arms and kind of shrugs if her answer to a question is "I don't know."

*is getting really good at "doing her shapes": putting her shapes into her shape sorters. She always goes for the circles or ovals first, probably because they're the easiest. But she can get all of the shapes in if you give her the correct shapes for the correct side of the box (3 shapes per side).

Happy, happy, happy!

*kind of growls at us. Not when we ask her what a lion or a tiger says, but just randomly. It's hilarious.

*"rocks" her baby doll side-to-side.

*can handle a cup fantastically. She rarely spills unless she's so excited about getting a drink that she lifts it to her mouth too quickly. Or unless she dumps it over on purpose.

*puts her hand to her ear like she's holding a phone and says...well, it's hard to write the sound she makes. Think Tim-the-tool-man-Taylor noises. But she likes to talk on the phone and if daddy's on the other end she'll say, "daDA" to him.

*is finally wearing 18-month clothes. Most of her 12-month things still fit her, but she can wear a lot of her 18-month tops, and pants or skirts if they're not too wide in the waist.

*weighs 10 kilos (22 pounds) according the the vegetable scale at the bakkal across the street.

***Thanks for hanging in there with me while I'm on a blogging break. I have more photos for this post, but they didn't save for some reason, so...maybe tomorrow I'll get them in here.***

I'm a Bad Blogger

2011-05-15T21:37:00.003+03:00

But I just don't really care right now. I'm sorry to all of you who do check in regularly and hope for updates and/or photos. I'll give a quick summary of why I'm not updating right now (although I will do a post for Lane's 16-month birthday next week, at least):

1) Shannon was out of town this last week leaving me and the girlie girl all by our lonesomes.

2) In that time period I had two meetings and a doctor's appointment.

3) In that time period I proofread/edited a friend's final paper of graduate school.

4) I'm enjoying the fact that my Mac turns on and off in less than 5 seconds so much that I don't want to turn on my old computer (which takes about 8 minutes to turn on and 8-10 minutes to turn off) in order to get our photos from Ephesus and Cappadocia off of it so I can do a fancy-schmancy post over here.

5) We're trying to make some big decisions about our future, hopefully most of which will be made by the end of this week.

6) The weather has been bee-yoo-tee-full these past few days so we've been spending a good amount of time outside.

7) Lane cut her fifth tooth in five weeks (and a day, if you want to count it) today. She's been a crank. It's been wearing me thin.

And 8) I've decided to spend some "chill" time with Shannon instead of writing blog posts.

So there ya have it. I will be back. It just might be a couple of weeks until I feel like our lives are "settled" and "normal" (whatever those mean for us) and I'm up to spending regular time blogging. Until then. =)

A Quilt from Joyce (part III)

2011-05-09T19:22:00.005+03:00

A few months ago I asked my stepmom, Joyce, for a favor. She made us a beautiful quilt that we absolutely love, and it adorns our bed most of the time. However, I haven't been able to find pillow shams that look right with the color scheme. So I asked Joyce if, if she had some leftover fabric from when she made our quilt, if she thought she could make us a couple of pillow shams. She said that she'd have to look at how much fabric she had and see, since the fabric was specially dyed and she knew she wouldn't be able to find more.

Fast forward...months. I don't really remember how long ago I asked her if she could make us pillow shams, but after initially asking her I didn't hear anything from her. I figured that she didn't have enough fabric and while I was a little bummed, I knew there was nothing I could do about it.

A few weeks ago when I was talking to Shannon's mom she mentioned that Joyce had sent her a bag with a couple of books for Lane in it for them to bring when they came over. "How sweet," I thought.

And indeed, it was sweet. But what was even sweeter was that she had made us two pillow shams to match our quilt and wanted it to be a surprise. So she sent them to Alabama (not being willing to risk them getting lost [or stollen] in the mail) and my in-laws brought them with them.

Beautiful, no?

Thanks, Joyce, for the pillow shams! We love them and they look fantastic with the quilt!

I'm Back!

2011-05-08T17:07:00.002+03:00

My in-laws left on Thursday morning and after a couple of days of laundry, housecleaning, another house guest, dealing with a climber named Lane (I found her on the kitchen table yesterday...), and just getting our feet back under us, I think I'm back to the blogging world.

Kind of.

I was hoping to have some grand ole photos to go with this post, but I'm on my new Mac and quite frankly, still learning my way around. Any help that any of you would like to offer would be much appreciated!

1) How do I make photos a smaller size? Most of my photos are in the 5-6 mb range, which is just too large to be uploading to blogger, facebook, or an email. I've managed to get some photos into iphoto...I just don't know what to do with them now! iphoto help doesn't seem to be much help here, either.

2) Shortcut keys. Do they exist on a Mac? I miss "control+c" for copy and "control+v" for paste, and so on. Help!

3) Any other helpful...helps...that might make this transition from PC to Mac smoother? So far I'm completely happy...just not enjoying having to learn new territory, you know?

Well, that's it for now. Until I can figure the photo thing out there won't be any photos of our vacation spots (Ephesus and Cappadocia) or of the beautiful pillowcases my stepmom made for us to match the quilt she made. So...help, help, help! Please!

20 Questions

2011-04-28T22:14:00.001+03:00

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile. My in-laws are in town all the way from Alabama, so...needless to say, I'm spending time with them and not on the computer. Tomorrow we're going on vacation for a few days (a REAL vacation!), so I'll likely be MIA for another week or so.

BUT. My friend Lauren tagged me, so I must oblige, right?

Rule #1: The tagged person must write their answers on their blog and replace any questions they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Rule #2: Tag 5 people to do this quiz. The tag-ee must state who tagged them. Goodness, who might actually do this that hasn't already been tagged? Let's try Rachel, Ann, Jackie, Renee, and Barbara. I'm not providing links right now because I need to go to bed! But you all know who you are, I do believe.

1. What is one word that can best be used to describe you?

Hmm. Blunt? Real? Northern? Ha. I'm not really sure. But I think these all sum me up pretty well...what you see is what you get. I am not good at putting on a front or pretending to be something or someone I'm not. I'm also extremely...well, blunt. I say it like it is. I try not to be rude, but I also don't know how to sugar coat things. Thanks, oh-being-raised-in-the-North.

2. If you could have a dream come true, would what it be?

Hmm. I don't know. My dreams seem to be fairly realistic (because let's face it, I'm a realist) and attainable. Let's try a different question: If you could go anywhere in the world on a dream vacation, where would it be? -My answer is FIJI!

3. What would you do with a billion dollars?

Invest most of it. Help my mom finish fixing up her house. College fund for Lane and future kids. Go on a GREAT vacation. Buy some new clothes (because let's face it, I need some).

4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?

Umm...probably just time. Alone. A good run (not like I've been running in a very long time, though). Praying, depending on why I'm in a bad mood. Sleep. A funny movie or an episode of "Friends." Pretty much anything to get my mind off of why I'm in a bad mood!

5. What is your bedtime routine?

Take out my contacts, get into my jammies, brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, get a glass of water, Shannon and I pray together, and then it's glorious sleep!

6. What activities did you do in High School? If you could go back, would you do the same or something different?

I was on the dance team and sang in choir my senior year. I think I'd try to do a few more sports (if I could go back), but I don't know if my "athletic ability" would come any earlier the second go-around.

7. What kind of books do you read?

I'll read anything, really. I just read "The Help"...it was fantastic. I love the Harry Potter series. I like John Grisham and Jodi Picoult. And of course I like books that help my walk with the Lord.

8. How do you see yourself in ten years?

A stay-at-home-mom. NOT learning a new language, hopefully. Eek, I'll be 41. Goodness that sounds old!

9. What's your favorite piece of clothing you own?

Gosh, I don't know. Most of my clothes are pretty boring. I guess I have some really fantastic summer dresses that I don't get to wear very often because...well, they're not exactly appropriate unless you're at the beach. Which I'm usually not.

10. What kind of skin care do you use?

Apricot face scrub (when available) and Neutrogena SPF 15 moisturizer.

11. What's the first thing you do when you wake up?

Umm...go to the bathroom? Ahh, probably drink a glass of water...that's usually first.

12. If you could have any job, regardless of income, what would it be?

If I didn't have a family, I'd love to be a world traveler/photographer. Travel the world and take photos, like for National Geographic or something. Awesome.

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?

I like my name. I think I'll keep it.

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months or rain, which would you choose?

Sun. But not if it was accompanied by six months of more-than-80-degree weather. Then I'd choose the rain.

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next six months, what would it be?

Italian food. Anything Italian. YUM.

16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most?

I like knowing that I'm keeping our friends and family updated on our lives, even the boring parts (sometimes), while we live so far away.

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?

Depends. Usually sweet, I guess.

18. What items are in your purse right now?

My wallet, hand sanitizer, tissues, a pen, our change purse (has money, chapstick, a spare contact lens, and gum inside), eye drops, and a "diaper pod" that has 2 diapers, a thing of wipes, and a small cloth (for covering up icky surfaces in case of emergency diaper changes). That's it!

19. What is the best memory you have of you and the person that tagged you in their 20 questions?

I think it'd have to be eating at Shuckers last August. I seem to recall that Lauren ordered something that took her forever to eat, and that something went wrong with her order as well. It was quite funny, her being the center of attention and the last one eating for, oh, 20 minutes or so.

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn't?

I don't watch anything on television. I do own all ten seasons of "Friends," though. And I love it. Maybe it's a tad inappropriate at times, but we all need a good laugh sometimes, right?

15 Months Old

2011-04-22T21:32:00.002+03:00

Sigh. I love that my little girl is growing up, but it just goes too fast.

At 15 months old, Lane:

*points to herself when asked, "where's the goose?"
*gives you "five" if you stick out your hand.
*makes "ooh, ooh, ahh, ahh" noises when you ask what a monkey says.
*raises her arm in the air and says "wheee!" (or something like that) when you ask what an elephant says (sometimes) or when she sees a picture of an elephant (usually).
*loves, loves, loves strawberries. They are by far her favorite food right now.

For snack the other day I gave her five strawberries and a chocolate cupcake. You can see what she preferred! (She did touch the cupcake again, but only to smash it to a million pieces, not to eat it.)

*can identify her toes, hair, eyes, nose, teeth, tongue, ears, head, and belly. Not all the time, but when she wants to. =)
*uses sign language for "please" often (we think it means something more like "I want it!"), and "thank you" when prompted.
*has eight teeth. She got her left top molar about two weeks ago and her third bottom front tooth (on the left) four or five days ago. We think she has the same teeth on the right side coming soon.
*wipes her face if you give her a washcloth.
*still just says the four words: "mama," "dada," "nite-nite," and "meow, meow." Meow is becoming more drawn out: "mee-owwww, meee-owww." It's hilarious.

Playing hide-and-seek (or peek-a-boo) behind the curtains in her room.

*often pats (or slaps) the front of her diaper area if she's dirty, like she's telling you to change her.
*"knock knocks" on a book or on a door when you ask her if she wants to "do a knock knock."
*is climbing on everything. She can get onto the couches, the bottom bunk bed, and our dining table chairs without assistance or a step stool.
*puts any dishes and silverware in the bottom rack of the dishwasher "up." This involves her reaching up to the silverware drawer and lobbing them (forks, spoons, plates, bowls, even the silverware basket once) inside. It usually looks something like this after she's finished with it:

*is getting pretty good at climbing stairs by herself (holding onto a hand rail).
*can stack at least five blocks on top of each other.
*comes to us for an Eskimo kiss sometimes when we ask "where's your nose?"
*is good at following simple directions and it's obvious that she understands a lot, even if she's not talking much. (Lane, please get your shoes. Lane, can you get mama my other sock? Lane, bring mama a book. And so on.)
*loves to drape things around her neck (e.g. underwear, bags, her blankie, etc.).
*loves shoes. Anytime she sees shoes (in a book, in a store, on a person, on the television) she furiously signs "shoes, shoes!" She wants to wear shoes most of the time, and brings us ours frequently.

Playing in the sink. She did this for an hour one day, using up all of our hot water. When I told her it was "all done" time, she just looked at me and furiously signed "please, please" over and over again. It already breaks my heart to tell her "no" to something she wants that's not dangerous.

From the Archives: Becoming a Southerner

2011-04-20T21:48:00.002+03:00

The first time I got my driver's license, I was 16, like most American teenagers. In Alaska your license is good for four years from your next birthday, so mine expired the day I turned 21. I waited until the day after my birthday and went for my new license (because of course I didn't want the "UNDER 21" stamped on my license that would be good until I was 26). Even though I was living in Idaho at the time, since I was still in college I didn't want to change my residency.

I lived in Idaho for a year after graduating from college and still didn't change my license. After all, why give up residency in Alaska (where I might be eligible for a PFD again one day) when I wasn't sure what I was doing or where I was going with my life?

Then I moved to Poland for three years, returned to Alaska at age 25, and of course, renewed my driver's license the following January. And then I moved to North Carolina, where once again, I didn't get a new driver's license.

My last Alaska driver's license.

A year later I got married. Shannon was a resident of Alabama, me (myself?) a resident of Alaska. Should I get a NC driver's license, since that's where we were living? I'd heard it was a big pain to switch to a NC license, and that still wouldn't make us residents of the same state, so I decided to wait. (Enter my using my passport as i.d. for two years, since it was the only piece of photo i.d. I had with my correct name on it.)

And then this past spring, right at a year ago, I took the plunge. I changed my residency for the first time in 30 years. I got a new driver's license and am now an Alabama resident, along with my husband.

Notice that 10-pound weight gain between the ages of 25-30? I'm totally blaming it on Lane!

The question is, does it make me a Southerner that I have a Deep South driver's license? Or can I still claim Northerner status since that's where I was born and raised and lived most of my life? (Notice how that question is raised: it's not "Do I still claim...," it's "Can I still claim....") I don't think of myself as a Southerner, even if technically I am one now.

7 Quick Takes #1

2011-04-11T20:33:00.004+03:00

I have a friend who does a blog post on Fridays called "7 Quick Takes." I'm stealing it today. While I probably won't usually do it (and today's a Monday, anyways), today it seemed appropriate.

1. Shannon's going on a business trip tomorrow, and I get to go with him! Lane's coming too...I'm not sure how much "fun" we'll have, but it sure will be nice to get out of Istanbul for a few days! Don't be expecting a blog post for at least a week.

2. I'm getting a Mac in 13 days when my in-laws come. I can't wait. One of my current problems is that I can only send one email at a time through one of my accounts in Windows Mail. Then I have to restart my computer before I can send another one. And it doesn't remember my password even though I have my settings set to remember it. So irritating. My new mantra is "this would never happen on a Mac." I hope it proves to be true.

3. Yesterday we went to Moe's. Yes, there is a Moe's in Istanbul now! Let me just say that our first Tex-Mex in nine months was fantastic.

Isn't Shannon ever the multitasker? Actually, I think he was just afraid to put his burrito down...

4. Last week was "Italian Week" at the Scarbrough household. The dinner schedule: Monday: spaghetti. Tuesday: zucchini lasagna. Wednesday: pizza. Thursday: vegetarian lasagna. Friday: pasta primavera. It was a yummy week!

5. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike ironing? Ugh. I'm ironing all of Shannon's dress shirts and khakis and suit pants and ugh, ugh, ugh.

6. Is this not the cutest thing ever? And these? And this? Eeek, at the cuteness!

7. I went to the OBGYN for the first time in Turkey about two weeks ago. FYI: you do not have to take off ALL of your clothes like you do in America. Just your bottoms. I'm sure the doctor and the nurse were laughing at me, but how was I supposed to know? I've only ever been in America! Let's just say it was a lesson learned the hard way.

There you have it, my 7 quick takes, since I've neglected my blog for a week or so. Anyone out there have a "quick take" you care to share?

Rain

2011-04-05T21:14:00.002+03:00

Saturday it looked like this outside:

And while normally we love not having a car (what's the point, really, in a city this big?), when the rain drops look like this:

Having to do this:

Really stinks.

We Got a Package!...Kind of.

2011-04-01T20:14:00.005+03:00

We have some friends back in North Carolina who knew someone who was going to be traveling to Istanbul on business. So, they emailed us and asked us if we wanted him to bring us anything. This would be the first time that we had a chance to ask for something we've been craving.

Cheddar cheese.

We asked for a block of cheddar cheese and some peppermint flavoring. (I made these cookies a couple of weeks ago and think they'd be fantastic with mint-flavored frosting.) We'd been told that it's possible to bring cheese on an airplane, that it just gets soft but the taste is still the same. We figured we'd try it out.

So, on Wednesday we hiked it over to where Curt was having his business meetings. He presented us with a large ziploc baggie full of:

Loot! Easter candy, a cute shirt and socks for Lane, FOUR blocks of cheddar cheese (one was...unpresentable due to our munching on it!), and peppermint flavoring (not pictured).

Oh. my. yum. That cheddar cheese...so, so delicious. It's been almost nine months since we had real cheddar. And this is sharp cheddar. So good. Lane loves it, too! You can buy white cheddar here, but it comes in packages with five slices...and costs five lira. One lira per slice. That's about $.65 per slice. PER SLICE. And it's just not the same.

I digress.

Thanks so much for the CHEDDAR! And for the other stuff, too...but the cheddar...oh, the cheddar...

I digress again. =)

Seriously, thanks to Curt for hauling our loot over here! And thanks to Thomas and Leslie, and anyone else who contributed to our little "package"...we're enjoying everything so much!

Especially the cheddar.