Motherhood is Still Hard in Turkey

I don't know what has been wrong with me the last few days, but I am a big grump. Everything is frustrating me. Chase won't stop getting into and climbing onto everything, Amelia won't stop whining, the kids are sick of their toys/books/DVDs (Amelia has every song and word in "Hercules" memorized) and therefore hang on my legs all day, our housing situation has been annoyingly difficult, we keep getting lost everywhere we drive, and we are tired of going to the mall everyday. I am trying to have a good attitude, but it hasn't been easy. I am hoping things will get better when we move to our permanent apartment and can feel more settled, have more of our "stuff" from our air shipment, and have more things to do. It WILL be better, I will be happy, my kids will by happy...(positive mantras)...

And speaking of "apartment," we FINALLY have one!!! Yay! And we move in this weekend! YAY!!! Since we didn't get the apartment at our favorite place (big bummer), we chose our next favorite place - Hilpark Suites. (Yes, there is only one "l" in Hil). It is a brand new complex with lots of amenities - pools, gym, indoor and outdoor play areas - and our flat has a nice little yard (or "garden" as they call it). It's right in the middle of an old, Turkish neighborhood, so it has a rustic feel, which is cool. It is also in walking distance to play areas, grocery stores, outdoor markets, and Amelia's preschool (if she goes). And it's really close to Matt's work so it'll be easier to share the car. We're excited. Hopefully we made a good housing choice since we had to make it rather quickly - we needed something (anything) fast since we technically need to be out of our current residence by Friday. I'll post pictures of our apartment next week. Stay tuned.

Despite my bad attitude, we are still having fun. They opened the pool at our residence last week so we went for a swim on Memorial Day. The pool was so deep, Matt couldn't even touch, so the kids took turns riding on his back as he tread water. He got quite a workout.

She came up with that pose all on her own

Chase loves the water

Excited that it's her turn to swim

We are seriously at the mall everyday. Everyone at the toy store and grocery store knows who we are. We're like family now :) And they seriously treat us like family. My darling little blondes are ADORED by the people here. Workers in various shops wave us down as we pass by just to touch Amelia's hair, kiss her cheeks and even give her free stuff - like dolls, bouncy balls and candy. The people in the toy store pick up Chase, carry him around, and kiss his face and tummy. It's a little crazy, but the Turkish people are incredibly friendly and are so sweet to my little ones. I love it.

Here are some of our "Akmerkez Mall Moments":

Watching the dogs and cats at a pet shop. We check in on them daily.
The kids love to play in this water fountain

The toy store got a new riding horse one day and Amelia HAD to ride it.

Riding the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ship

Amelia's hands-down favorite ride: the swings. Morning dog liked them too :)

Chase likes the Pooh Bear ride - the swings are too scary.

Racing daddy on the motorcycles

It has been raining the last few days so we've been forced to be creative indoors. We put pillows on the floor and hop from one to the other trying not to fall in the lava, we turn the lights on and off saying "gunaydin" (good morning) and "iyi gece" (good night), and take lots of showers and baths, just for fun :)

Here's hoping for a great move-in weekend and a happy family (especially mommy)!!