From the Archives: Christmas Package!

About eight months ago we received a package from my Aunt Teresa. She sends us one every year, no matter where we live. Every year it contains a Christmas book. Most years it contains coffee. Last year it contained both.

We received our package on December 11th, and with Noel being born on the 12th, writing a "thank-you" blog got pushed to the back burner. For eight months. Oops.

Lane tearing off the paper.

She sent us Song of the Stars, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. We already had The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones and love it, so we were excited to read this book as well. And it is fantastic. It has great artwork and is about how all creation was anticipating the night that Jesus was born. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Pointing out animals in the book.

So "thanks!" Aunt Teresa and Uncle Tommy for the book and the coffees...the coffee was gone before we got a photo of it, and the book...well, I think it might be our favorite Christmas book yet.

Packages!

Over the last month we've received a few packages!

Up first: I'm a member of a group on Facebook that's made up of a bunch of mommies. Around Christmastime they had wanted to mail me a package since I live overseas, and try as I did to tell them not to since Shannon was going to the States, they still wanted to send something. It really was so sweet of them to send me something, even though I've never met most of them!

Marshmallows, ponytail holders, markers, coloring books and art supplies, gum, candy, a mini-muffin tin, silicone measuring cup, and spatula.

Lane loves that Minnie Mouse coloring book and markers. It is by FAR her favorite "art" thing these days. Thanks, Healthy Mamas! It's so much fun to get fun packages from America!

Then we received a package from Shannon's mom and stepdad. Sharon said that she was out shopping and found a bunch of stuff on clearance and just couldn't resist, so the girls got some cute new clothes.

Onesies, pants, Hello Kitty shirts, dresses, and jammies. Thanks, Sharon and Milton, for the fun new clothes!

And then we received a package from some friends of our who live in China. She had wanted to give cloth diapering a try when she had her third baby, but a couple months in decided she just had too much going on to keep up with doing diapers too. I had mentioned to her that if she didn't want her diapers that I would love to have them because I thought I'd have two in diapers for longer than I did. Anyhow, they mailed us all their cloth diapers (I'm SO excited to have ones with snaps instead of velcro!) and some other goodies for Noel.

A nursing cover, Econobum cloth diapers and a couple BumGenius 4.0's (not all diapers are pictured...they were in the wash), a bracelet and necklace for Lane, baby pants, socks, and onesies, and a cute top with matching headband. Thanks, David and Christy! I am SO grateful to have more diapers, and the other things were such a fun, unexpected surprise!

And there you have it. I know we've received other packages over the past couple months that I've forgotten to post about, and if they were from you...I'm very sorry that I forgot to brag on you!

It's the Time of Year...

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!

I'm Back!

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!***

When it Rains...

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!***

A Happy, Happy 4th of July!

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. =)

We Got a Package!...Kind of.

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.

A Package from Sarah

We got a package, we got a package!

My friend Sarah, whom I've known for almost ten years now, asked me awhile back if there was anything we needed because she wanted to send us a package. She lived in Spain for awhile so she knows the joy of getting packages from home! When she asked we didn't need anything at the time, so I asked her if we could wait and compile a list for later, to which she of course said ok!

Fast forward a couple of months: I burned some popcorn in one of the pots in our new apartment and wished beyond anything I had some SOS pads to scrub the burned bits out of the pot. A couple of my favorite sweaters were getting static-y, despite using fabric softener, and I longed for a dryer sheet to rub on the sweater to take the static away. One of my two tubes of Blistex was down to the plastic insert and I was having to use my fingernails to scrape it out. And I still don't like the Clean & Clear facewash that's available here and wished for St. Ive's.

So we sent Sarah our list.


And look what we got! Apricot scrub, vanilla pudding (to go with bananas and our last box of Nilla wafers), Reece's pieces, peanut M&M's, dryer sheets, SOS pads, Blistex, and a heart cookie cutter!

The Blistex has already replaced the old Blistex, which promptly got thrown into the trash. Our pots (well, the family whose home we're living in's pots) are now shiny clean again. I'm going to make sugar cookies and use the rest of the candy clay that's leftover from Lane's birthday cake to decorate them. And we're going to get to have banana pudding for dessert this week!

One of the things I loved the most about this package was the way things were packaged. You could totally tell that Sarah's lived overseas before, because everything was out of it's package if the packaging was cumbersome and put into ziplocs instead. She included everything we asked for and a couple of surprises as well! Thanks so, so much, Sarah (and Ian) for thinking of us and sending us all of our boring requests! We're so thankful for everything!

Packages Galore!

This has been a crazy week even without all the packages we received! We went to the European side of Istanbul to spend the night with some friends who we don't get to see that often because we live so far away from each other. We attended a meeting. Shannon had business meetings all. day. long. yesterday. Today was gorgeous and I hauled Lane out to the grocery stores with me to stock up on things like milk, cheese (we splurged on mozzarella for pizza tonight...over $4 for less than 1/2 pound...yikes!), cereal, toothbrushes and dental floss (floss was $3.65. Is it just me or is that crazy expensive for floss?), and of course the regular things like bananas. And in the midst of all the craziness, FIVE packages came for us!

On Wednesday we received two packages.


From our good friends Greg and Diana. Di made me an apron (blue fabric), Lane a pillowcase dress and legwarmers (aka: BabyLegs), and they sent us a couple of movies and a book of toddler activities.


From Shannon's mom and stepdad: magazines featuring Auburn and a t-shirt for Shannon.

Then yesterday we received three more packages! One contained birthday cards for me and Lane (quite late, but fun nonetheless!).


Birthday cards from Aunt Teresa and Uncle Tommy.

And the other packages contained Valentine's Day gifts from Shannon's dad's side of the family.


From Shannon's brother Christopher, his wife Shannon, and Lane's cousin Alexandra. A new dress, a book/dvd/cd combo, a valentine, and a bag.


Lane loves the bag.


From Lane's great-grandmother (Shannon's stepmom's mom), Meme, and her hubby Charlie: a valentine, a new outfit, and new socks.


Stuff for us from Shannon's dad and stepmom: more Auburn stuff in the news and a Valentine's card (with money deposited into our checking account for a DATE!).


And stuff for Lane for Valentine's Day: touch 'n feel first word cards, a valentine, and stickers.


Lane loves the cards too. She's been feeling them and practicing putting them back into their boxes all day long!

So a great big THANKS to everyone who sent us stuff! What unexpected funness! (and yes I just made up a word. I don't care.) We appreciate everything and it will all get used/worn/watched/played with/spent! Thanks for showing us the love in practical and fun ways!

I've Been Found Out

After posting about Lane's birthday package from my sister, my mom left me a facebook message asking me why everyone else's packages get blog posts except for hers.

Umm, because I'm lazy and I know she'll still love me and send us packages anyways?

Well, that's not actually the answer. The answer is that her packages came right when we had company and were moving, and we had to pack stuff up to move, and all surfaces were so dirty/messy that I couldn't find a clean place to take a picture, and so on.

BUT. Lest anyone think that my momma doesn't love me (her fear), or my mom think that we don't love her or appreciate what she's sent us (my fear), I hereby present to you:


The goodies from my mom minus a couple of things that I used for Lane's birthday cake.

Mom sent us two packages that got here right around New Year's. They contained: two 2-pound bags of powdered sugar (here the sugar comes from beets and is a totally different texture than cane sugar and just not very good in frosting), candy melts (what I used to make the "1" on Lane's cake and all the polka dots, stripes, and letters for her name), nine different gel food colorings, vanilla and maple extracts, frosting tips, a white cake mix, pecans, marshmallows, a pair of shoes for Lane, a pair of white tights for Lane, Pert Plus (Shannon's favorite shampoo), my facial moisturizer (you can buy it here but it's nearly $20 compared to $10ish in the States), Karo syrup, a 2010 Baby's First Christmas ornament (just in case something happens to Lane's other one), and a set of Rudolph board books for Lane. Oh, and all the little ladybugs that were on Lane's cake, which my mom made.

Let me say that the only things that I asked her to send were vanilla/maple extract, a pair of white tights and shoes for Lane, the frosting tips, the ladybugs, and some red food coloring. All the other stuff was a surprise, and was what enabled me to make Lane such an awesome cake (if I do say so myself).


This cake would not have happened without the stuff my mom sent.

So, a big shout out to my mom and a big THANKS! for all the stuff! We appreciate it so much and are very grateful, even when I'm too lazy to give you your own blog post!

Birthday Package!

Today we got a package! This one is from my sister and her hubby and Lane's cousin, Maddox. It's Lane's birthday loot, albeit a bit late, but they were all in Mexico (rough life, I know) on Lane's birthday, so we're just getting it now. Look at all the fun stuff!


Socks in the next size up, cute shoes, more Angel Baby Bottom Balm, bath squirties, a coat hanger with Lane's name, and tarragon and nutmeg.

Lane's feet just continue to grow, so when Rachel asked me what she should get for Lane for her birthday, I suggested new socks and some more bath toys, since the only bath toys Lane had were the letter-link crabs they gave her for Christmas and of course the usual rubber duckie. And I just asked her to send me more Angel Baby Bottom Balm (since our first and only tub so far is nearly gone) and more nutmeg and tarragon (I usually end up using a mixture of cloves, allspice, and nutmeg in recipes instead of cinnamon since Lane is allergic to it, and I've been on a tarragon kick lately and had used up almost all of mine).

The shoes and the coat hanger (which I love) were fun surprises! Back in July when we were at my sister's and she was showing me Maddox's nursery, she showed me coat hangers that a friend had made for her. One had "Maddox" on it and one had "Brody": they were undecided as to which name they would choose for him until he was born, so her friend had made her one of each. I loved them and told her so, and look what we got! One for Lane. I'm so excited. (And, on a side note, if any of you also love the hanger and would like one made for you or someone else, let me know because I can get you in contact with the gal who makes them.)

So yay! for sisters who send awesome packages! Thanks so much, Rachel, Lucas, and Maddox! Lane has already been playing with the bath toys (out of the bath) today and loves them, and we're so grateful for the rest of the stuff! Packages are so fun!

Care Package!

A couple of Shannon's friends from college wanted to send us a care package and asked us what we'd like, so we sent them a list: vanilla pudding, some white t-shirts, a Cooking Light magazine, some Reece's peanut butter cups, ibuprofen, Desitin, vanilla, a calendar, and maybe some peanut butter, if they wanted to send something so heavy. We were thinking that this wasn't a huge list and that it could all fit in a large bubble envelope. When the postman brought a package slip to our door that said we had to go to customs to pick it up, it listed the weight of the package: over 10,000 grams (10 kilos, or 22 pounds)! What on earth had they sent us?!?!

So Shannon trekked across the water to Europe and hauled this back:


A HUGE package!

They had sent us exactly what we'd asked for: in mass quantities! We certainly weren't expecting so much, and they even sent Lane a Christmas gift! Thanks so much, Patrick and Allison (and anyone else who contributed)! We have enough peanut butter to last us a year, I think!


Almost 8 pounds of peanut butter, a large jar of Desitin, Nilla wafers (hello, banana pudding!), a ton of Reece's, ibuprofen, gum, a calendar, vanilla, t-shirts, a book, newspapers, and Lane's gift. Wow!

A Package from Mom

Well, after receiving this package from my mom, she told me that she had sent two, so I've been waiting on the other one to arrive before posting about it. However, since it's the end of the week and we usually get our packages on Thursdays, I guess we won't be getting it very soon. I hope it's here by Christmas, though...I think there's a pair of white tights to go with Lane's Christmas dress inside...


Fun stuff! A stocking for Lane, window clings, Christmas cookie cutters, more vanilla, stocking clips, paper plates and napkins and a musical candle for Lane's 1st birthday, and handmade hats!

This was a super fun package to receive. We have some Christmas stuff that we brought with us, but we didn't have a stocking for Lane. We didn't have any cookie cutters. And window clings are just fun!


Only after getting all the pieces stuck to the window did I realize the tree is crooked...

And the hats! I had asked Mom to make Lane some hats, because she only had the one kitty cat hat, which is a bit big on her and falls over her eyes sometimes and totally ticks her off. So Mom made Lane four hats! Now we have a variety. They are all SO cute! If anyone wants to have her make one for your kids, I can hook you up. :-) I've told her to open an etsy shop, but she's just not sold on the idea yet.


This one is my favorite. I actually asked Mom to make me one to match. Is that sad? That's how cute I think it is!

Thanks, Mom, for all the loot! It sure has been fun, and we can't wait to get the other package!

***If you enjoy my posts, can you do me a favor and click here? (Come to the blog...it doesn't count if you click from inside facebook or Google Reader.) It's kind of fun being in the Top 50!***

Another Package!

Today we received another package! This one was from my Aunt Teresa and Uncle Tommy. Every year they send us a Christmas book, so when Aunt Teresa sent me an email saying that she'd mailed us a package, I was expecting a Christmas book. Look what else we got:


2 Christmas books, coffee beans, flavored ground coffee, and HOLIDAY Snickers!

Upon opening the package, Lane promptly started chewing on her book and on the mini coffees. After dinner, Shannon and I each ate three mini Snickers. We will be drinking hazelnut coffee in the morning. And I'll try to read Lane her new book, but she'll probably just want to chew on it this year. Brown Bear, Brown Bear is about the only book that holds her attention these days.

I'm beginning to think that we are the most blessed family ever to live in a different country than they're from. We have so many friends and family who go out of their way to show us that they love us. We receive packages on a regular basis. Friends bring us things when they come to (or through) Istanbul. (We've received our high chair, all of Lane's Christmas and birthday presents, black beans, Gouda cheese, and my favorite tea, Taste of London, this way). Our families regularly sit in front of a computer screen to skype with us. People we've never met before who stay a night or two with us on their way through town leave us with American goodies. We lack for nothing.

THANKS!, Aunt Teresa and Uncle Tommy, for a Christmas package that brought smiles to our faces, and a reminder once again that we are loved.

Another Package!

This package was sent from Shannon's mom and stepdad. Sharon wanted to try mailing something via Priority Mail, since it's insured and should get here faster. The results were that it cost more and it took almost a month (2-3 weeks longer than her previous packages!). We were actually starting to think that they (two bubble envelopes) weren't going to come, but last week (when I was under the weather) they finally showed up. The moral of the story: if you want to mail us something, don't send it Priority! Regular post works just fine. :-)

Some of you may not quite understand why I feel the need to write a post every time we receive a package. If that's you, then you must have never lived far from home, and surely you've never lived in another country.

There are not words to express the joy in receiving a package from America, no matter what is in it.


This package's contents.

It's kind of funny how when you live overseas, the most ordinary and commonplace things are suddenly SO valuable to you. Baby socks with those rubber grippers on the bottom are like gold. I can find them here, at the Gap which is about an hour away by public transportation. But they cost 10 lira per pair. That's $7.14. That's $3.57 per sock. That means that for Lane to have just one week's worth of socks would cost me $49.98 if I bought them here. And that's just ridiculous.


More cute clothes for Lane.

Then there are the things that just make you smile. You can't put a price tag on the look of joy that came over Shannon's face when I showed him the Auburn coasters and cookie cutter. You can't bottle the excitement when a grown man gets all excited over Lane's new Auburn teddy bear, squeezing the bear over and over again to hear "War Eagle!" and the fight song being played.


Auburn stuff! Coasters, a cookie cutter (hello, gingerbread!), and a sippy cup for Lane.

And then there are the things that just make the fact that I have to cook everything from scratch a little bit more enjoyable. It's so nice to know that I have everything you need to make dishes that are familiar to us, or are a special treat during the holidays.


Tarragon and pecans!

So, any of you who think that my posts about packages are boring...deal with it. :-) Because I'll be posting every. single. time. we receive a package. You will all know the contents of the packages. And those who send them to us will know that everything in them is much appreciated. Because it is.

What a Day!

Today started out great. Lane slept until 8:20. Well, she woke up at midnight (she hasn't done that in awhile...I don't know what was up) and again at 5:00 (which is normal), but still, sleeping in made up for waking up twice! The day was beautiful...warm, sun shining brightly, a slight breeze. I let Lane eat pancakes topped with puréed apples for breakfast. And then we decided that since we haven't been able to do anything the past two Thursdays because of horrible weather that we'd head out to The Princes' Islands, a supposed "must-see" in Istanbul, after Lane woke up from her nap.

While she was sleeping, we got a package! Actually, we got three packages!


Two envelopes from Shannon's mom and stepdad, and a box from his dad and stepmom!

And what was inside?


Lots of clothes!

Lane didn't have very many long-sleeved things, since it was spring when we were in the States and people were buying her things. So, when it got cool a couple of weeks ago I requested a couple of things. My in-laws never cease to amaze me with their generosity: I was definitely not expecting so much stuff!


More socks! Check out the ruffles on those pink and white ones! Oh at the cuteness!


Warm pajamas, a zip-up sweatshirt (which Lane actually wore today), and more long-sleeved tops with matching leggings!


New Auburn gear! An AU onesie and a sweatshirt...we couldn't have her outgrow her other Auburn stuff before football season was over!


A button-up jacket/sweatshirt with matching pants, and a jumper with a matching onesie.


A new hat and mittens. Aren't these SO cute? The hat is still a bit big on Lane, but oh. my. goodness. SO cute.

So, Lane got lots of goodies today! Thanks SO, SO, SO much Lyn and Cindy and Sharon and Milton!!!

Ok, back to our day. So, after Lane woke up from her nap I nursed her, we ate lunch, packed our bag, and headed to the ferry port. Now, it needs to be mentioned that we are still very unfamiliar with things in Istanbul. I mean, there's only 20 million people here, so it's not that big, right? :-) We know our neighborhood pretty well, and we know the area between our neighborhood and the port pretty well. But beyond that...well, we just don't get out that much with Lane. All you parents know how it goes.

So, we showed up at the ferry port and heard someone saying that the boat would leave at 1:00 (it was about 12:40) so decided to wait there. At about 12:55 Shannon accidentally dropped his acbil (strange public transportation credit thing) in the water, so we ran off to get another one, and ran back to the dock. 1:00, 1:10, 1:15 all came and went and still no boat. Someone else told us 2:00, so we headed to a Starbucks nearby so that Shannon could use the bathroom. We got back and decided to investigate further, since Lane was becoming crabby and we hadn't seen a single ferry going to the Islands yet. Well, guess what? The next ferry wasn't until 2:20! We finally gave up and decided to walk around until Lane fell asleep.


Checking out the Bosphorus.

We ended up walking around for about 30 minutes with Lane screaming her head off. She was so tired, but I guess that since she's gotten to take every nap in her bed for the last three weeks she did not want to fall asleep in the ERGO. Let me also bring to your attention that Turks (so we've been told) don't let their babies or children cry. They give them what they want and do whatever they can to get them to be quiet. Enter the strange Americans who are just letting their baby scream. I mean, what am I supposed to do? The kiddo is tired and needs to sleep and I'm at least 30 minutes from home, so she might as well get over it and go to sleep! She finally fell asleep, but not before one old woman asked me if my baby was hungry, and not before another old woman sprinkled some kind of perfume on her (?).

Ahhh, blessed silence. We got ice cream and walked around a bit and finally decided to attempt to get to a discount mall that I had been to once, but never by public transportation. We finally made it after a long bus ride and then having to walk on the side of the highway for a bit since the sidewalk was under construction. We priced some electronics, looked for a noise-maker (no such luck...or at least no such luck in my attempted Turkish), checked out baby clothes, and ate at Sbarro for the first time (the verdict: not that great). We made it back home just in time to feed Lane a scrambled egg, get her a shower, and get her in bed before turning our attention to dirty dishes, stuffing cloth diapers, and studying language.

Sigh. What an exhausting day! Shannon and I were so frustrated...all we wanted was to go out and have a nice, relaxing day at the Princes' Islands. Instead we got 2 hours of a screaming baby, losing an acbil, and people never giving us the real story on what time the next ferry would be! Fortunately everything got better after Lane took a nap and we abandoned our expectations and decided to just enjoy our day. We should all sleep well tonight, though!

Tomorrow Lane turns nine months old. At nine months most women are able to say they've had their baby for as long as they were pregnant...but not me! I'll have to wait another 17 days for that statement!