things i love:

sam and his mullet:

personalized jewelry:

and these itty bitty evil eye bracelets; they are perfect for babies:
admitedly not the best picture! but i'll take some of olivia wearing them :)

and of course shopping in the alley and bargaining with my boys at the silver house *lol* the thing i've learned about turkey is that all prices are negotiable; and if they aren't at the first shop, then they are at the next!!

olivia grace and her silly face

the thing about having four kids; or a kabillion kids as i like to say; is that each one is completely different from the other. just when you think that you've got things down with the whole parenting thing, you get a child who comes up with something different!
olivia still takes her diapers on constantly. but now, when i yell at her, saying something to the effect of, "olivia, if you don't stop taking off your diapers, i'm going to spank you!" she looks up at me, grins and says, "uh uh!" and then i bust out laughing. being a parent doesn't make you immune to cuteness.

he's the funny one!

mark forgot his lunch this morning, so he came back home to get it. when he gets here, brandon is sitting on the couch, watching elmo and eating a sandwhich.

so he looks up and sees mark and says, "i just eating this sandwhich because it was in the fridge." mark grins and says, "oh, but that's my lunch." then brandon stops eating and says, "oh, sorry daddy. i just took a bite. here." *lol*

mark studying for tech *lol*

note to self; WE ARE NEVER PAINTING AGAIN!

apparently painting last night was an open invitation for brandon and olivia to paint on the rug in their bedroom. ALL OVER THE RUG. THE VERY EXPENSIVE NICE TURKISH RUG THAT I SORT OF DIDN'T WANT TO PAY GOOD MONEY FOR JUST FOR THIS VERY REASON!
*sigh*
i brought it back to the carpet shop where i bought it and he's going to clean it for me; he said he thinks it should come out.
i couldn't even bring myself to take pictures for the simple fact that i would like to forget that this EVER happened.
i love my kids. moments like this are just really hard. you know, the whole not wishing them away to the cornfields!
okay. done being mad. remind me that they are only little for so long and i should be enjoying every dirty little second...

i see peg people...

so tonight was fun arts and crafts night... don't be haters; we had fun! here's some pictures:

brandon painting his peg person:

daddy and the boys painting:

daddy crafting; don't you love my HUGE table?? it's two dressers pushed together; it works great! and my cool hanging turkish balls?? love them!!

brandon's finished product:

sam's bird:

marko's peg people: the alien and "carl" (aqua teen hunger force anyone??) *lol*

just one more reason to thank God.

this is my chubby little nephew mario who many of you have been praying for! well, good news; he's coming home!!! *YAY*
he weighs well over 7 pounds now, and is absolutely a precious miracle; thanks for all who have prayed for him!

*blech*

sometimes i feel like my desire to be creative and my ability just don't line up. so frustrating!

thursday shot.

brandon was saying, "hey, don't take my picture; i don't have my shoe on!"

in lieu of my new job...

brandon has informed me that he wants me to get him a new tongue at the thrift store; because his old one hurts.

olivia was quite entertaining today!

first she went into the fridge and helped herself:

then after eating, she went upstairs to play. after a while mark went up to check on her and this is what he found:

she fell asleep on michael's floor! i guess i should be glad that she didn't crash out on mae's pillow *lol* still. too cute to not take pictures of!

save handmade.

something special for my 200th post. please click this link and either contact your congresspeople or sign the petition...
stupid politics!

http://coolmompicks.com/savehandmade/

some pictures of my kids that i like.

michael: 12


samuel: 7

brandon: 3 1/2

olivia: 1 1/2

two things:

going strong with my vegetarian vow; and i miss my neighbors.

that's all.

happy friday everyone!

welcome to the silent years.

teenagers scare me.
and i think that what scares me the most is that being a young mom, i remember the thoughts that go through the teenage brain. i can sympathize with the teen angst. and the drama and feeling like you know everything, and knowing that no one could possibly understand the depth of the pain that you go through.
and the amazing thing is that once you grow up, you realize that you know absolutely nothing about the way the world works. all the knowledge, the wisdom suddenly vanish and you are left to parent the children who have inherited your past ideals.
this is terrifying.
i can do crying babies. i can do diaper changes and late night feedings. but when it comes to real parenting; explaining life and the way things to work. trying to mold a productive and intelligent human being. those are the real challenges. those are the things that you need a manual for. no one tells you that one day your children stop seeing you through rose colored glasses. no one tells you how to heal the emotional wounds, that really only can be tended to by time...
and that's the struggle.
drawing the line between wanting to be your child's friend and having to be their parent. loving your children with all your heart and knowing that sadly, they will still think that you are the dumbest people ever...

it's a dominant gene.

i come from a long line of grudge holders.
this is one of my worst traits.
letting go is so hard. i think maybe it's because sometimes even when we've let things go, we pick them back up and hold on even tighter.
anger is a heavy load.
i am wondering why forgiving and forgetting cannot go hand in hand.

he said he was talking to nonno...

she isn't always mean muggin'!

veggie-tales

i have decided to become a vegetarian.
well... sort of.
for a week.
i know, i know, it doesn't seem like much, but i just wanted to see if i could do it.
i will still eat tuna; because it is good for me, but i doubt i'll eat that much seeings as it's not exactly one of my favorites.
still. i'll let you know how it goes.
anyone want to join me?
and no, meals will not solely be consisting of poptarts and doritos! *lol*

spending the day in adana; i don't know why more americans don't!

the trails in adana

if you could sum turkey up into a picture, here it is:

veggies in a glass; the top two have stuff written in vegetables!

scary meat.

turkish posters

street vendors and their dried fruit; they weigh it and sell it

the curtain store; there are bins full of folded fabric, and then a huge pile of curtains; yeah, you just take your shoes off and climb in! there's lots of good deals :) gotta love it!

can you find the kids? (they're in there!)

the hamam; a men's bath house.

ataturk; reminds me of big brother *lol*

more ataturk; he's everywhere!

something cool and turkish that was on a building!

the super huge mosque in adana

driving back to incirlik

overall a fun day; we don't do this often enough! that's one of my resolutions, to get out and do more stuff. make our time here really count. i love it!

maybe i am emo; minus the cutting.

there's this blog i read. and i love it.
it's beautiful
and honest
and heartbreaking.
it says all the things that people are afraid to say. it's real.
and it makes me think about how every day people are afraid to say what they mean.
we walk around shielded. angry. hurt.
when did being human become so taboo?
why do people hide things?
i have to admit that i'm angry.
angry when people take advantage of me.
angry that sometimes people expect more than i have to give.
i know that no one owes me anything.
but sometimes i want more than what i'm getting.
from strangers.
from people that i risked things for.
i want something that i'm not entitled to.
but
i think that we are afraid to be vulnerable
because we can't stand the thought
of being cut open
and then rejected.

olivia's diapyness.

okay. so for the last week or so my daughter has been taking off her diapers. very annoying! and we couldn't figure out why she was doing it... well, it turns out that she was taking off her diapers to put them on her baby dolls *lol* how can you be mad once you figure that out?

some pictures from the carpet shop.

when in rome... do as the romans...
when in turkey, go to carpet shops to party! *lol*

mommy and brandon

these pictures are from the surprise party that we threw for andrea. dreamland carpets (which our friend nuri owns) catered the whole event for free! there was chicken tava, borek, cheese bread, salad and lots of ekmek! :) and of course free drinks for everyone (beer, water, soda!) the hospitality is one of the best things about turkey. you don't just make friends; you make family!!

she's getting ready for melissa's baby! :)

good chicken. you'll thank me later!

okay. this is from the kitchen of andreaNA.

simple, quick and good. does it get better? i'm all about cooking food that require very few ingredients.

1 bag of chicken (preferably thighs, but i used drumsticks and it was fine.)

1 cup of orange juice (sunny D works great; but again, i used regular because that's what i had)

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

mis the three ingrediants and marinate your chicken in them. the longer the better; i did it over night and they were great! but you can do less if you are short on time and it's still good! then either grill or cook in your broiler. so quick and yummy!

cuteness

so sam didn't go to school today, and when i saw his teacher she told me that a little boy in class said, "oh, sam's not here today; he must be exhausted from working so hard yesterday." *lol* kids are too funny!

if he were a book character...

limoncello!

so i just realized that i never posted a blog about the limoncello that i made... hmmmmm... wonder if i have any pictures anywhere?

torn

okay. in going through my college credits, i thought i had 54 with this last class i took. then i realized that i did take some classes with central texas college, and so it looks like i'll have more credits that i originally thought... which is good, and bad. the two classes that i need to take for my associates degree are: ifsm 201 and libs 150 (stop laughing; it's a requirement, and i had signed up for it once and had to drop it due to scheduling conflicts). well, here's the problem. if i have the extra credits from central texas college and they transfer, then i won't need to take the stats 200 class that i've signed up for. however, everyone who took the stats class last term got an A in it, and i have a friend who will give me her notes and book, and if i major in sociology, then it's a requirment. oh and if i take it now after having taken math 103, then i don't have to take the placement exam either. however, i could finish my degree earlier by just taking ifsm online and using my ctc classes for the rest of my credit hours.... but i don't have enough cash to take all three classes! (not to mention that would be a little much on the workload front!) *sigh* decisions, decisions. plus, i don't think i'd do that great at the online thing, not to mention onsight classes are way shorter! (eight weeks versus something longer). alright, i think i'll just go ahead with the stats class and libs 150, and keep my fingers crossed that they offer ifsm 201 on site here next term. then hopefully if i get my credits transfered i should have my two year degree!! i know it doesn't seem like much, especially considering that it's taken me ten years for a two year degree, but hey, things take a little longer when you have kids! (and lack of motivation)...
okay, if you read this far, you rock. i realize this post sort of sucks, but i had to kind of work things out in my head. and this is the best way ;)

some days are longer.

everybody has their secrets.
the things that they can't escape in their dreams.
nightmares from the past
that seem so innocent and sweet.
some things we can put a face on.
some things stay so very undefined.
you never know what's underneath
the layers
that everybody wears.

i'm so crafty.

okay. one of the worst things about having a baby who takes a binky (or pacifier for the rest of you) is that when your baby loses it in the middle of the night, you inevitably have to get up and go find it. this is not as easy as it sounds when it's it's 2:00 am, and you are stumbling through the dark trying to hurry before the other kids get woken up! well, since i don't really like the regular binky holders (the ones that are plastic and attach to the shirt) i decided to come up with my own creation. the binky bracelet! here's some pictures. that way it's easy to find and i don't have to worry about her rolling onto her tummy and being uncomfortable with the typical pacifier holders... i'll let you know how it works out tonight!

here's some pictures of olivia graciously "modeling" it for me :) (and yes, i know her binky is upside down; that's how she rolls)

rose colored specs.

in the grand scheme of things, life is this short precious gift that we take for granted. we spend more time complaining and finding things to be negative about than we do living. i think that the best thing about living in a third world country is that it's a reminder to stop and appreciate what you do have. we tend to cover up ugliness and be afraid of all the things that are a harsh reminder of the real world.
sometimes you have to open your eyes.
sometimes you have to remember that life is not a tv show and there are no do overs.

k-town and adana trip.

we went to k-town and adana all day saturday, but i don't want to post too much until i get the pictures to put up. it was a super fun girls day out! aren't you jealous?? ;)

happy birthday andreaNA! ;)

tonight was fun. we threw a small surprise party for our friend andrea. we had it at nuri's (dreamland carpets.) that's the thing to do here, birthday parties at carpet shops! we took a bunch of pictures, but of course they are all on shane's camera, so i'll have to wait for some copies, before i put them up. it was nice though. he catered it, and we all had fun talking and then got to look at some carpets :) god, i love turkiye!

anyways, the pictures are from the walk home. how cute are the babies in their wagon, and the big boys w/ their daddy? it as a bit chilly, but it was still nice to get out and about and get some fresh air. then i took a few pictures of the kiddos before bed!

daddy and the kids on the walk home.

a close up of olivia and brandon.

daddy and brandon before bed.

olivia before bed.

happy new year from the trail family!

the battle between good and evil.

guess who won? ha ha!

the trail kids :)

the three muskateers