Mr. Wake Up

Annika is in 2nd grade now. Last week they were studying about consumers and producers. Her unit project was to be a 'producer' and make something to sell to her class. We told her the best inventions are made out of a need someone has. She decided one of her biggest needs is help getting out of bed in the morning. So, she took a tin tray and made it into a bed, then cut out a little man called "Mr. Wake Up". Ross showed her how to use a paint stirrer and duct tape to make a lever that would flip her bed up. Mr. Wake Up can lie (not lay!) on his pillow and when it is time to get up, the bed flips up and he slides down into his pants, ready for the day. Ross wanted to order one, but I was opposed. I don't generally get up exactly when Ross does and the last thing I want is to slide down into my pants at 6am. Annika is taking orders.

Freedom to blog/Canadian Thanksgiving

Ross just sent me a text message that blogspot had been re-opened! I am so happy to have the freedom to blog again. Many times "youtube" is blocked for weeks, so I am surprised blogspot is back so quickly. Thanks, Cassie, for being my Ghost Writer. Does that make your entry a Ghost Post?

Last Saturday we enjoyed celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving in honor of our Canadian friends, Eric and Hannah-Lee Lawrence, and Eric's niece Leticia (of whom I remember seeing pictures as Hannah-Lee's flower girl back in our Singapore days!). We had all the delicious dishes we normally eat at Thanksgiving time, but I am sure they required much more effort. When you don't have canned pumpkin, you cook the pumpkin to make pie. The cranberries were frozen, brought on a 20 hour flight, then re-frozen to use just for this event.

Here are some photos from the day, including a shot of Benaiah and how he spent the day. It is wonderful to share in the holiday traditions of other countries, as we live in such an international setting.

Wait and See

This is Cassie, Sara's sister in-law, posting for her. She asked me to post and let everyone know that Turkey has blocked blogspot for now for all people using computers in Turkey. Most likely someone on blogspot has said something negative about Turkey, so the website is under review. She is not sure how long it will be blocked, so please check back in a week or so. She may end up having to change her blogging site, but she'll just wait and see what happens. Thanks for being patient.

Co-ordinated Kids

When I had my second daughter, I thought it was just so cute to dress my two girls alike. I did it. A lot. Then I had a third daughter and began to realize that if I continued to dress them alike, my poor little Esther (#3) would end up wearing the hand-me-downs of her sisters..basically consigning her to wearing the exact same clothes for 5 years as she grew into those 'matching outfits'.

So, I began to 'co-ordinate' them rather than match them. It's actually a fun challenge. I think that on some days, I am the only person who sees the connection they all share (butterfly theme...or denim cowgirl motif...or athletic shirts), but I still do it.

Now I have a boy. And we have a lot of pink. In the photo above, I co-ordinated all the girls in a theme. I started with Esther who had a hot pink and black dress. Then I moved to Annika who had the dark dress, but a white shirt with hot pink hearts. Eva moved the group from the hot pink into solid white, but held her own with the dark dress. Mary Erin ended up in a long denim jumper, but pulled the hot pink back into the mix. I know. I think too much. But who better to tie Mary Erin in than her baby brother with some denim overalls. But he will not be in pink, and as I said, we have a lot of pink, so the game may need to end at some point.

Spot the Difference

Recently, my sister-in-law Kathleen sent me an Internet game to try. It was called "Spot the Difference." I stared at 2 pictures of Florida condos for about 15 minutes and only found about 2 of the 7 differences between the pictures. I became increasingly impressed with Kathleen because she told me sometimes she will play the game and challenge herself to find all the differences before she 'makes dinner' or whatever task she needs to do. Not so for me. After staring at the computer those 15 minutes, I realized that I should be honest with myself, some days, I'd just rather not be intellectually challenged. I do realize that perhaps I'll be the most likely to lose my memory in old age, but at least I'll have Kathleen to bring me crossword puzzles to try to stimulate my brain.

Well, today I challenge you to stare at my 2 pictures and "Spot the Difference." This is an easy one. Did you find it? It's the salami. The morning after I gave birth to Benaiah, the meal on the top was brought to me. The meal on the bottom was brought to Ross. It is a typical Turkish meal...hot tea, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and regular cheeses, olives, bread. (This has become one of my favorite breakfasts.) But I noticed that I didn't get the salami on mine. I mentioned it to Ross and he said, "Oh, Sara, it was just an oversight." Not so. The next morning, the exact same thing happened. I looked at Ross and said, "Oh. No meat. Mummy gets no meat again." (in my best Singaporean accent). He grinned, realizing he had the advantage and said, "I can cut you a little sliver maybe." Evidently there is some Turkish superstition I am unaware of. I'll have to ask around. It is meat products? No, they gave me beef for dinner. Is it dairy? No, there are the cheeses. Is it spicy? No, this salami wasn't spicy. Why does Mummy get no meat? I've only just birthed a nearly 9 lb baby and am producing food for him 8 times a day. But Mummy gets no meat.

A Smidgeon of Pigeon

Before we moved to Turkey, we were told, "Turks have a love affair with their balconies." Indeed, it is rare to see an apartment building without at least one balcony per apartment. We have 3. As a way of coping with living in an apartment without a yard, the girls have adopted a balcony. Routinely I hear one of them calling across the front of our building to a sister on another balcony, "Hey, come over to my house. I am having a dance party!" and then the sibling will come over for a visit to the other balcony. I do borrow a spot on Annika's balcony to hang my laundry, but other than that, the girls have ownership.

I decided one day last week to fix the small balcony off of our bedroom for Eva. I scrubbed it down to remove all the pigeon droppings. I put her little toddler table out there, as well as her kitchen toys. Then I proceeded to hang some silvery cd's from the ceiling to detract the pigeons. Eva was my big helper. She brought me duct tape and string and scissors. We carefully hung them up and talked all along about how much better it would be so we wouldn't have to clean bird poo off her special balcony. We finished the job and Eva sat down to play. As I left the room, I heard, "Birds! Birds! It okay. Come play with me."

Comforts of Home

Things didn't go quite as planned yesterday. The doctor brought in was not Jewish and did not speak English. Ross said he looked more like a Turkish mad scientist than a doctor....loud gruff voice, wild hair, fast jerky movements. We had been told he would use the latest technology to perform Benaiah's circumcision (and I promise this will be the last post on circumcisions, as I am sure Benaiah will be reading fairly soon and won't appreciate this discussion). When he arrived, he said his latest shipment of rings (what is used for this) weren't to his specifications, so he would be performing it 'the old way'. I stayed in the car, realizing that I could not possibly hear the wailing without my heart breaking in two. Ross agreed to take him and said it would be a good 'bonding' experience for them. Well, as many of you know, Ross has a hard time even pulling a tooth. When he saw the amount of blood, and saw the doctor begin to stitch the baby, Ross started to pass out. The doctor had Ross go lie down and finished the procedure. I had been waiting in the car for 45 minutes and began to get worried, so I came in the clinic and asked the receptionist if it was done yet. She said, "Yes, and he didn't cry much." so I sat down to wait. Then I heard the most horrible wail and knew it was my son. Evidently, they weren't done yet. I cried and bolted for the door. Ross momentarily heard me in the waiting area and thought if he could just make it 3 more steps without passing out, he would tag team with me. By the time he got there, I was gone.

It was just one of those days when it is hard to be in a foreign land. There are not many days like this for me anymore, but today was one. I don't know the language well enough to understand what is going on and I must submit to doing things 'their way' rather than the way that is familiar to me (I had been told by many in the US this would all be no big deal as it is done almost routinely at birth). It was just different here.

On our way home, we stopped at a friend's house to pick up the dinner she graciously made for us. Now I have had some amazing dinners made for us these past 10 days...meatloaf, lasagna, enchiladas, hearty delicious soups. But on this night, the friend cooking for us happens to have US base access. Out to our car came an enormous ham, stuffing, American green beans, jellied cranberry sauce, pecan pie, and mint chocolate chip ice cream (every one of the previous items are unavailable in Turkey and I am certain I haven't had pecan pie in 15 years). As we sat down to our Thanksgiving meal in October, it occurred to me that God may be telling me, by sending me a meal from home like this, "I know you are here, in a foreign place and that can be confusing, but I am here." I took great comfort in that thought.

The night progressed and Benaiah was bleeding and seeping, so we called the English-speaking doctor as we were told to do if that happened. He coached us through what to do and Benaiah is ok. The procedure was done well and he is going to be fine. It just wasn't what we expected.