Hide and Seek

One of Lane's current favorite activities is putting things into something else and then taking them out. Think, putting clothes into the laundry hamper or laundry basket and then whining until I take them out so she can do it again. Putting clothes pins into a bowl, cup, or laundry basket. Putting her snack crackers into her bowl and dumping them out. And so on.

She also likes to play "hide and seek." She hides behind something (curtains, usually) and we'll come "get" her or she'll poke her head out at us. We've recently started hiding her stuffed giraffe (we're thinking about naming him "Raffi." Yay or nay?) and other toys under things: pillows, blankets, our shirts, etc. So the other night Lane came up with her own game, combining hide-and-seek with put-something-into-something-else. I'll let the pictures do the talking.


"Well, this is something new to try..."


"You've got them, daddy!"


"I know they're in there!"


"I think I see them..."


"Oh, yup, there they are!"


"Got one!"

***On a side note, Amy, these are the photos I told you I took to test out our camera in low light and with a quick-moving kiddo. Not bad, huh?***

What I Learned Today

Did you know that butter can mold? Did you? Well, it can. Ask me how I know.

I dare you.

Today in the midst of making a lasagna, cleaning the kitchen, and baking a chocolate cake, I found out firsthand that butter can, indeed, mold.

Halfway through my chocolate cake adventure, I went to measure out the butter. I used the remaining couple of tablespoons from one package and opened the second, newer package (maybe a week or two old) to find…well, I’ll spare you a photo, but let’s just say…butter covered in mold.

Disgusting.

What on earth am I to do? Lane’s asleep and I’m making a cake because our language tutor and our babysitter are coming over in less than two hours. I can’t go to the store because Shannon’s gone and Lane is sleeping. So I did what any frugal, desperate, woman would do.

*Let me chase a rabbit here. Did you know that in Istanbul, real butter is $2-$3 per 250 grams (1/2 pound)? And while margarine is much cheaper it’s…gross. Hot water (and I mean, hot, boiling water) and soap won’t get it out of a measuring cup. It won't melt. I can’t imagine what that stuff does to your arteries!*

So, what did I do? I cut that mold off and used the middle, not-moldy, part. It was my only option, really.

What would you have done?

Ahh...

I can hear myself think. I can feel myself being more productive. And I'm going to have time to read a book this evening...or at least complete my homework.

Anyone wondering why?

Because I gave up facebook.

I didn't give it up for good. But I did give it up for the month. I'll be logging in on Sundays to check my messages (because unvariablely some people will not know/notice that I haven't been on, or that I gave warning I wouldn't be on) and check photos of some friends' new babies. But in general I am not responsible for knowing what's going on with all 400ish of my friends for the next 4 weeks and 1 day.

And I love it.


(I love her too, climbing on the furniture and all.)

You see, I love keeping up with everyone, I really do. I love being able to let everyone know I had a rough day, or that Lane knows a new word, or whatever. I love knowing who got engaged, who's having babies, who's moving, and so on. I love being able to post photos and videos for my family and friends. But I can't just keep it at that. There's something inside of me that feels guilty if I log on and don't find out what's going on with everyone. I can't log into facebook and not check everyone's statuses and/or look at their photos. And then there are the times when I know that something big is going to happen, like that someone's due to have a baby any day, that I just can't help but check in way more than I should.

So I figured I was due for a break. I even had Shannon change my password so I wouldn't be tempted to log on. It's great knowing that all of my family and really close friends have my email address and will email me if they want to talk to me. And everyone else, well, I still love you all but I'm glad to be free from the expectation of knowing where and what you ate for breakfast/lunch/dinner yesterday, what your baby's new word/trick is, how much you love or hate the current weather, or what your favorite Bible verse of the day is. I like that the world is smaller these days...but sometimes it seems too small, ya know?


What to do when it's cold outside? Practice putting clothes pins in different containers, of course!

I will still be updating this blog about as often as I always have for those who are interested in what's up with us in Istanbul. But I'm also going to read a book this month. I'm going to upload lots of photos to my shutterfly account in order to make a back-up disc. I'm going to do some online shopping for some things for my in-laws to bring us when they come next month. I'm going to actually watch some movies with my dear husband. I might even read the news. And I'm going to be grateful for technology that allows us to be so connected, and rejoice in the fact that I can let go of it for a month and not keel over dead from lack of communication.

All that being said, if you are reading this in facebook and leave me a comment there, I will not see it until April. If you want to comment and for me to see it, come to the blog and post it over here! And come vote for me too, please! Come on over to the blog and click here to vote. Mwah!

Welcome to the 'Hood

In light of our recent move, and many requests for pictures of Turkey, I'm going to take you on a short tour of our neighborhood. Are you ready?


View Larger Map

See the park? And the little blue box to the right of it? The little blue box is this:


The Göztepe train station.

If you're standing where I was when taking this photo, turn around, with your back toward the train station, and you'll see this:


The train tracks, heading over to Erenköy.

While looking at the train tracks, glance to your left to see:


The golden arches of McDonald's. We haven't been here yet, but maybe when the weather gets nicer we'll take Lane to play on the play place.

We like the train. It's a much faster way to get to most of the places that we need to go. It's only three or four stops, a 10-15 minute ride, to the two stops we most often need to go. But often the train is running late, since Göztepe is the 20th (or so) stop on the line going in that direction. And sometimes we just miss the train and it's raining, so we opt for the other way we can get to Kadiköy:


Walk down this road (between the train station and the McDonald's),


Pass the natural foods store and the Chicco store and keep going until you come to...


Minibuses! This road is appropriately nicknamed "Minibusyolu" (Minibus Road). It's real name is Fahrettin Kerim Gökay Caddesi (and I have no idea what it means). How many minibuses can you find in this photo?

So we take a minibus a fair amount of the time. The ride usually takes between 20 and 45 minutes, depending on traffic. In the mornings traffic is sparse, so we're likely to take a minibus anywhere we need to go. On Saturday nights we avoid minibuses like the plague.

We're about a 10-15 minute walk away from Minibusyolu, or an 8-12 minute walk from the train station (depending on if we're walking alone or carrying a 20-pound toddler named Lane).


Our apartment building.

We like this apartment complex. Considering that the nearest park is a good 20-minute walk away, it's nice to have a few trees and some grass that Lane can run around on.


The road which our apartment building is on. Follow it up to the road that runs between the train station and the McDonald's and over to Minibusyolu.

Our neighborhood also has a few cool buildings.


This pink building has a "matching" blue building at the other end of the block. The pink building is a bank. The blue building is a dental office.

And the token mosque.


One of two mosques within a 10-minute walk from our apartment building.

And there are a lot of "bakkals," or little grocery stores, in our neighborhood.


The little store that's across from our apartment building.

The men who work here always give Lane treats (usually a mandarin but sometimes bubbles or other fruit). We buy milk and bananas here almost every day and most of our other fruit and vegetables as well. They seem to be a bit more expensive than other stores, but since it's so close it's really nice to not worry about my produce getting bruised or about hauling it very far. I can go each day and buy what I need for dinner, and I can bring Lane on the 10 to 15-minute excursion.


Migros, near the train station. I shop here mostly for more "specialty" things that I can't find at the smaller stores, like celery and couscous.

For most of my other shopping I go out once a month to stock up on things. I bring my granny cart and stock up on heavy stuff: canned goods, milk, pasta, flour, sugar, and so on. Then throughout the month I only have to buy a little of the heavy stuff, and meat, produce, and fresh milk for Lane on a semi-daily basis.


BIM. The discount store.

I buy cereal and cheese at Bim (pronounced "beam"), and sometimes I buy tortillas and crackers. They don't have a large selection, but there are certain things that I know we like that are much cheaper there.

And then we have a couple of other grocery stores around as well, one called Şok and one called Dia. We buy chicken and milk at Dia and canned tomatoes and butter at Şok. It's funny how certain things become the standard for where you'll buy certain products. We only buy milk at Dia because of two reasons. 1) It's a decent price, and 2) For that decent price you still get a pour spout on your box of milk that doesn't break every time you open the milk.

So there's your tour of a typical Istanbul neighborhood! Did I leave anything out?

Oh yes, I almost forgot: what tour of any Turkish neighborhood would be complete without a photo of local goods for sale?


Pumpkin, artichokes, and olives, all for sale out of a man's truck. This would so be illegal in America.

***If you enjoy my posts can you please come to the blog and click here to vote for me? Pretty please? Thanks!***

Sometimes living overseas stinks.

One of my good friends had a baby yesterday. She had a rough pregnancy and ended up being induced at 37 weeks to get that baby outta there and into the real world where she could start gaining some weight. My friend spent hours and hours each week at the hospital getting ultrasounds and non-stress tests done on her baby girl. She continued to work two jobs while her husband is in school. Now she'll be in the hospital for at least a week, most likely, and then she'll be going home with a preemie baby and a husband who still has two months left in the semester.

And I'm stuck over here just having to sit by and let it all happen. I can't make her dinner. I couldn't offer to come over and wash dishes and give her a pedicure when her feet hurt. I can't come wash laundry, bring her groceries, or hold a screaming baby so she can take a shower. I couldn't let her borrow my maternity clothes (not that she'd have wanted them anyways since mine are boring and she's got style). I can't lend a listening ear or a helping hand. I can't. do. anything.

And it's killing me. My heart aches. I didn't realize it until today when I called her at the hospital via skype to say "Congratulations" and burst into tears upon hearing her voice, knowing that it was almost like I was right there. Except I wasn't. I was so, so far away.

I don't have a plethora of friends, at least not good friends. I can count my good friends on my fingers, and probably on the fingers of just one hand. Most of these women I know from my three years in Poland, when we we all single and free-spirited and would spend holidays together, vacation together, and spend hours cooking, watching movies, and digging deep into each others' hearts. I was blessed to attend graduate school in the same city with two of these friends, and our friendships went even deeper. And now all of my good friends (not to mention my only sister) have either had babies while I've been in Turkey, or they will in the very near future. And I'm stuck longingly looking at photos on facebook, anxiously awaiting secondhand information about the babies' stats and the birth stories, and just in general unable to do anything to help.

I want to help my friend. I want to be a blessing to her, to relieve some of the burden of a rough pregnancy and a preemie who will need extra attention. I want to show that I care and that I love her. But I can't.

And it stinks.

Mommy Raves

It's been awhile since I've posted a Mommy Rave. This is partly due to the fact that while I have a lot of baby/toddler things that I like, I don't feel like I love them, and that therefore they are not worthy of the Mommy Rave title, since those are things I love.

Well, I've found another thing I love. It's not a baby product, but it could be. Or it should be. Take your pick.

Without further ado, Mommy Rave #5 is:


Dove Body Silk lotion.

A few months ago, Lane started to develop some dry skin on her back. I didn't think anything about it since it was the first dry skin she'd ever had. But gradually it spread to her front, and then to her arms, and then to her legs. We started putting lotion on her, just Johnson's pink baby lotion, and cut some things out of her diet to see if she was allergic to any of them. After three weeks of no wheat or eggs, we determined that she wasn't allergic to those things, so I started lotioning her like crazy. Morning and evening, every day for a month, I put Johnson's lotion on her. And at the end of the month her skin was starting to kind of feel a bit like normal. Kind of.

Enter Dove Body Silk. Last month I bought Shannon and myself some of this lotion because we've had really dry skin. I started occasionally putting it on some dry patches on Lane's legs as well. I noticed a slight improvement. Last week I bought a new tub of this lotion and started putting it on Lane every morning and evening. And today her skin is completely like normal for the first time since early November. One week of regular application of this and the dry patches on her legs disappeared. I love it.

I also feel like I should mention that my legs also are usually quite dry but I don't put lotion on them, because when I shave my legs it makes my skin super sensitive and all lotions just irritate my skin. But not this stuff...this stuff is great. I have soft legs for the first time in years. And Lane's skin is soft. It's not cheap lotion, but it's worth it. Our Johnson's pink baby lotion will not be being used any longer in favor of Dove Body Silk.

So, if you have a difficult time with your baby's dry skin or eczema, or if you have dry skin yourself, try Dove Body Silk out. It's fantastic.

***I feel that it is necessary to make it known that I am not receiving any monetary compensation for these reviews: I'm simply doing them for my fellow moms and moms-to-be out there.***

13 Months Old

Well, I've decided not to continue my Letters to Lane each month. But I am going to continue to do a monthly post with the fun and new things that she's doing so that I can remember years down the road. I may even include a few pictures. :-)



So, at 13 months, Lane:

*says "mama," "dada," and "ne-ow, ne-ow" (meow, meow) anytime she sees a cat.
*sometimes says "nite nite" or "nana" (banana).
*uses sign language for "more" and "all done."
*still just has the five teeth. Another one should be popping through any day though.
*walks backwards.
*walks backwards in order to squat and sit in your lap.
*waves bye-bye regularly (again, after a few-months hiatus).
*loves to play peek-a-boo and to hide behind curtains, the couch, a blanket, whatever.
*does some of the motions to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." She loves me to "do the piggies" too (This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home...).
*can use a hairbrush and toothbrush, although not well.
*likes to give kisses through the shower door, her lips on one side and mine or Shannon's on the other.
*drinks from a regular cup pretty well.
*can get a fork or spoon into her mouth often.
*still likes to upturn her plate or bowl and throw food on the floor, but we're working on it.
*can walk up and down stairs if holding onto someone's hand or a handrail.
*sleeps 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. most days and takes one two-hour nap (most days...some days it's two one-hour naps).
*is still nursing once a day and drinking lots of milk and water throughout the day. She actually has a preference as to what she drinks from and which drink she wants, too.
*can correctly identify her tongue, teeth, head, and belly.
*can sometimes identify her ears and my nose.
*does hand motions for the monkey and the seal in Eric Carle's From Head to Toe.
*eats anything and everything, although she doesn't prefer meat. She also prefers to eat anything that is not given to her, so we usually don't serve her her own food anymore, instead making her "ask" for our food. After she's eaten a few bites we'll dish her up her own.
*wearing mostly 12-month clothes, but still wearing some 9-month tops.
*has gained a kilo (we think...according to the grocer across the street's vegetable scale) since her last doctor's appointment (when she was down in weight due to being sick for a week).
*can climb onto a bed or couch without help if she has a step-stool, and can get herself off of the bed or couch by rolling onto her tummy and sliding her legs off (most of the time).



And there you have it. Lane at 13 months. I still can't believe she's 13 months old! I'll probably be in amazement her entire life that she's as old as she is!

***If you enjoy my blog can you take a minute to go vote for me? Please? Just come to the blog and click here. That's all! Thanks!***