Going dark

Because of some issues with the lines to our complex, we will be without internet for the two weeks or so.  *gasp*  What am I going to do??  And Joel's in England for a week!  LOL.  When I am up and running again, maybe I will post some pics of the apartment now that we have moved in.  Just got a bunch of boxes to unpack and then to figure out what colors I am going to paint.

Until then.....

Exhaustion

After two months in transition, we are all burned out.  We have moved quite a bit over the years, but this takes the cake.  I seriously believed that we would only be in a hotel for a month.  And most of the two weeks in Liberty, the girls would be gone and Nate and I would be gone for a week.  So really only 2-3 weeks.  Well, We are now at two months and 1 week... 67 long days.  It will be almost 70 days in a hotel room.  To bad we aren't getting all the points.  Talk about a free vacation!  The kids are sharing a room.  Which is nice that all their stuff is "contained" in there and we can watch TV after they go to bed.  We really need our time too.  But that also means that Nate is up when the girls are up.  And Nate still needs the 14 hours a day.  Now that school has started, Elly could use a LOT more than the 10 they are getting.

So here is a familiar site in our household

After the beach

 Lazy Sunday (he fell asleep there after this pic)

 One minute he was playing with his cars.....

 Elly and Jo were playing in their room.  It got too quiet so I went to check and found Elly passed out on the floor.  Jocy's attempt to give her a blanket and pillow

 We found them like this 45 minutes after we  put them to bed... in separate beds

And today.... after the IWI Welcome Day and lunch down the street.  No wonder he was so fussy and kept trying to lay down on the floor.

The trade offs

Joel and I have talked for years about going overseas.   When Jocy was 18 months, he tried for a job in Japan.  We ended up launching in KC.  Which turned into 5 years.  Then we talked about China, which surprisingly turned in Turkey (with a relo back to the D).  I knew this meant leaving some pretty amazing friends and missing quite a bit of stuff.

But in these first two months, I have missed more than I expected.  And oddly, I am still not homesick.  I missed seeing my hubby stand up as best man in a great friend's wedding.  It's kind of funny that Joel and I both had an old friend that we were hoping to find that right person.  And oddly enough, they both got married this summer to amazing people.  We both made my friends wedding which I am grateful for.  Because she is not only my friend but has become Joel's.

We also had our first death already.  It was expected when we left, but it doesn't make it any easier.  My mom and dad's best friend Ed past away last month.  He was diagnosed with ALS last year and it had already taken quite a toll before we left.  But I will alway remember Ed as a very healthy, intelligent, kind man who meant a lot to my parents.  His wife, Helen, was my wedding planner and threw me a beautiful bridal luncheon before our wedding.  So it was hard to not be there.

Not being able to pick up the phone and call my mom any time is pretty difficult.  Not being there for my friends when they are going thru a horrible time.  Heck, not even knowing until a week later just plain sucks!  Even keeping up on Facebook is complicated with the crazy time difference.  I spent my mornings trying to read thru their days but rarely ever make it.  I am sure I have missed birthdays (which I did to one of my BFFs)  and announcements.  I am in great need of a MNO.   I miss being able to vent and hear they are dealing with the same stuff so I'm not crazy.  I miss coaching cheerleading with Monica.  Even tho it was a ton of work and frustrating, it was still a ton of fun.  And I was guaranteed to see her no less than two days a week.  With all our busy schedules, it was hard to make ourselves stop and schedule those playdates and MNO or just grabbing coffee.  I am glad when we found out half the group was moving, that we really made that effort to see each other.   I think I might figure out how to mail stuff here and start writing letters... real ones!  Just something to be more personal.

The next three years will fly by and next thing I know, we will be back in MI.   I just need to figure out how to balance everything here and keep in touch with home.

What I like....

Since we have been here for over a month, I thought it was time to write down the things that I am enjoying about Istanbul.  I keep reading on expat forums about the "honeymoon" period, which I am guessing I am still in, and just in case I start sounding like this people, I want a reminder why I first fell in love with this place.


I will admit that people here are pushy, invade your personal space, and avoid almost all eye contact.  But in the little time we have been here, they have been amazingly nice to us.  Maybe its because we have been living in the Hilton, but it seems the days I have a bad experience, three more nice things happen to trump it.  Now, it has taken a little getting used to, but the amount of attention the kids get is unbelievely.  Cool looking, well dressed men, pinch the kids cheeks.  Grandmothers stop and give hugs.  Store owners give them treats (to mom and dad's dismay).  One of the hotel managers gave the kids adorable stuffed animals.  And I swear the hotel stocked up on pink, purple, and green straws just for our kids.  People give up seats on public transportation.  Waiters grab the stroller the second we walk in.  I am sure I could go on and on.  


Now I could probably do a whole post on just the Hilton.  If you ever consider coming to Istanbul, stay at the Hilton.  Well unless you are staying with me. :)  It definitely looks like it was built in the late 50s on the outside.  And the inside, is a little dated.  But it is immaculate!  The rooms are nice and comfortable.  The staff really takes an enormous pride in their hotel and their job.  The Valet knows us well and most mornings has Joel's car waiting for him.  The hotel management spoils the kids.  The host and hostess at breakfast know us well and gets daily hugs from the kids.  They take good care of us and we never have to wait for a table.  The cleaning staff does an amazing job.  I have never seen service like this at home!  I try to get the kids to pick up their toys and really don't expect anyone else to do it.  But each person that cleans, picks up all the toys and folds all their clothes.  They even re-rinse their pool stuff  in the tub.  One of the girls that regularly cleans, loves Elly.  And she goes out of her way to arrange the girls stuff animals on their beds.  which of course Elly and Jocy love and they both always thank her when we she her.  One of the guys that does the heavy cleaning, always makes sure to say hi to the kids.  With the accent here, Elly's name is just too cute to hear!   The guy that delivers the water and stocks the coffee, always comes during nap time.  And he is very respectful and tiptoes in and takes care of everything, leaving extra water for the kids room.  The best part of our room is its a Garden room.  We have a great patio and a large grassy area that the kids can run around.  It's completely fenced so they get a bit of freedom.  We have enjoyed a few lunches out there.  

 Enjoying lunch on the patio

 one of my fav "snacks"

Even Skinny enjoys some outdoor time.

  The food is also really good!  The Chinese restaurant, Dragon, is not only the best Chinese restaurant but also one of the top restaurant in Istanbul.  I was surprised to see it is considered a much visit restaurant.  Ok... not really because the food is great!   I really think the Hilton's need to take what they have here and bring it to the US.  They really have an amazing hotel here. :)


Cay - I have come to love having a hot tea after dinner.  Now I can't drink as much as the locals do, but I am definitely sold!  And to go with that... I LOVE LOVE LOVE my electric kettle.  It can have cold water boiled in about 30 seconds.  I already have one picked out at Esse (which looks a lot like William Sonoma).   Downside is the coffee in the room is instant.  But I have a rough time with Turkish coffee and that includes the filtered kind.  My stomach is getting to be a wuss in its old age.  So a nice calm instant coffee works once in awhile.  


The shopping - it is a million times better than KC.  I do miss Target horribly.  They really don't have an all in one store here.  At least not with the selection of my beloved Super Target.  The Carre Four by our new place is the closest I have found.  Let me tell you how fun it is to figure our where to buy deodorant and diapers.  And forget about finding kids de-tangler.    Thankfully, I found Gratis which covers all your bathroom needs.  But other than love of speciality stores here, its fabulous to shop here!  We have been to 4 different malls so far.  Istinye Park is the newest and very high end mall.  It is a two minute drive from our new place!  Yay!  One of the few with free parking (others are only like $2.50 for 6 hours.  They have a whole floor dedicated to kids stores.  The food court has a pretty good selection... even a Popeye's.   Very excited for Gap.  But truthfully will probably be no longer my store of choice!  Mudo has gorgeous clothes for amazing prices!  At first you are like... do I really want to pay $60 for that dress... what it's 50% off.  Hm.... wait... that is in TL not USD.  That gorgeous dress is only like $16?!?!  It would be like $80 at home!  And their home section - puts Pottery Barn to shame.  Totally scrapped the buying everything at IKEA plan.    So I LOVE Istinye Park.  Then we hit up Kanyon right before school started because its much closer.  What a beautiful mall.  Its bowl shaped and the walkways are all outside.  The top is the IMAX.  The day we went was perfect and breezy.  They have a Stride Rite there and a Habitat.  So I will be back.  Nate got his first haircut there.  Amazing job.  They have one side for men and the other for woman.  The woman's side was full, they were all getting their hair done for the weekend.  Not cut and color... just a style.  Few even were getting their makeup done.   I could get used to this.   Now I just need a nanny and a personal stylist and I am ready to replace my WHOLE closet!!!


The weather - Now, I have been going back and forth on this one.  The weather is PERFECT. 80s sunny and always a breeze.  Not much humidity either.  I love sitting outside and reading while the kids run around.  Really happy we have an outdoor space.  On the other hand, I love a good rain day.  Curl up on the couch in my pjs with a cup of coffee and watch movies.  Snuggling with my kiddos.   It's only rained once in the 6 weeks we have been here.    Don't get me wrong, I am not missing all those tornado warnings at home.  But a good rainy day twice a month would be nice.  Did I mention that I have the best tan I have had probably all my adult life? LOL.  


So that is a start.  I totally lost my train of thought and its about time to head to the pool.  What a life I lead.  

On this Day in 2009....

So I don't normally double post in one day.... I was too amused by something I saw on Facebook

On This Day In 2009

Kat B needs a change in scenery....

I think this was taken care of.

Amusing....

So Joel's hours are pretty horrible. He leaves at 6am, has a little over an hour drive to work in the morning. Then puts in normal 10 hour day. Then the nice long drive home, usually around two hours. Now that the program is moving, he rarely makes it home for bedtime let alone dinner. We have already decided that I will make the kiddos dinner and then put them to bed and then have dinner together when he gets home. We have been testing that idea for a week now. It's working fairly well. Joel goes straight from Valet to one of the restaurants right across from the hotel. I was highly impressed on Friday, when he was craving McDonald's and hauled butt to Taksim Square. This is normally a 20 minute walk with all the kids but he did round trip in 20.

Last night was another late night. I think he walked in with dinner at 9pm. I know its not good to eat like that.... but for now its about our only choice. He went to the place with my fav chicken sandwich. If you ever come visit, you can be sure I will take you there! YUM! Anyways, when Joel got back, he started pulling out the food. And produced this.....

The smallest Coke ever!

When did Cokes start having babies?  I guess its for the times you really need that shot of coke.  Perfect chaser for a shot?  I have no idea.  It's so funny, none of us could actually drink it.  Maybe if our kids drank Coke, it would a good size for them.  Who knows what they were thinking for this baby Coke.

Please execuse my mess....

So I am reworking the blog over the next week and it may look a little crazy.  Still playing around with it!

Back to School update

Ok I know it's only day three but why not?  It's been an interesting three days.

On the first day of school, we drove the girls to school.  Jocy's teacher suggested it would be a very good idea to be there.  And I am glad we did.  Not that we haven't taken the girls on the first day.  We were a little concerned because it seemed so chaotic.  Joel decided to work from the hotel just in case something happened.  Since we are still with only one car, he didn't want to have to make a mad dash back from Koceali (up to 2 hour drive).  And of course something did come up, which we napped right thru.  LOL.  Luckily, nothing bad.  The only two issues of the day were the bus ride home.  First we forgot to inform Elly that she was riding the bus home.  Thankfully, we had Jocy and she had also listened when we told her to look out for her sister and make SURE she was on the bus.  The other was the EXTREMELY late arriving bus.  I was a little frantic.  We didn't think to ask the bus #.  And we waited and waited.  If we knew the bus # we could have logged onto the website and tracked it by GPS and seen the alert.  Joel got ahold of the head guy and found out they were just 15 minutes away.  I was so relieved when they arrived. But the cause of the delay, was this poor 6th grade girl.  Some how the bus driver had the wrong address.   She had just move in from Romania and didn't know the area.  And of course the driver doesn't know English.  I am guessing it all worked out, because she was on the bus Tuesday and Jocy and her are good friends now.  The girls verbally attacked us, but we were very relieved that they had a great day and liked their new school.  Elly did tell me that if the bus was going to take that long, we had to drive her home.

Jocy has already made two friends, Bianca and Tinka.  She has no idea where Bianca is from but Tinka just moved here from India.  I am loving the diversity she is getting compared to Liberty!   She has already had her first Turkish lesson and then today is French.  She said PE was a ton of fun and very tiring.  She is really looking forward to when they start swimming.  Her teacher is doing well in feeding her reading habit.  Which is good because she has about read thru all the new books she got before we left!

Elly is a complete exhausted mess.  Yesterday she slowly got out of bed but was quick to get ready.  This morning, not so much.  The alarm was going off, lights being turned on and the curtains opened, and Elly was still asleep.  After three attempts to wake her and her rolling over and going back to sleep (preview for teen years?), I finally  pulled the blankets off.  That got her moving.... slowly.  So I think we are going to have to adjust bedtime.  But other than that, she is doing great!  No separation anxiety at all!  Maybe its because she leaves me at the bus stop with Jocy.  She has been dying to ride a school bus since Jocy did last year.  It's not the big yellow school bus but it's still a bus!  I love that the school has a daily communication book and her teacher writes in it everyday.  She has made a friend Charlotte and they seem to be inseparable.  Elly gets 30 minutes of Turkish a day.  But she couldn't tell me anything.  Today is her first PE class.  She was very nervous and didn't want to wear her tennis shoes.  Jocy explained to her that PE was an organized recess.  Yes, that came out of my 7 years.  But whatever she said, seemed to work.  She says she loves school and no matter how tired she is in the morning, she still wants to go!

As for me.... sigh.  It was hard enough for Jocy to go to Kindergarten.  She really needed it and Nate was a few month old.  But I wasn't prepared for Elly going full time this year.  She was only going to go 3 half day at St. Gabriel's this year.  The first day I didn't cry, but was a bit emotional on the ride home.  Maybe if we were actually settled and everything had been taken care of.... they like to wait til last minute to handle anything.   Can tell you Ford HR might be bitched out from me soon.  I was just really nervous being so far away, in an unknown country, and someone else driving my kids!  I am very glad that Joel was not at work.  Joel made a comment, that it seems like once we get thru it the first time here, we are much more comfortable.  We had a very nice day.  Ate my fav sandwich outside looking over Taksim Park.  Feeling VERY weird having one kid.  I can't believe how freakin easy it was!!  I am VERY sorry but I don't think I can listen to anyone with one kid talk about how hard it is now.... I might laugh my ass off.   Now, Day 2..... bored out of my freakin mind!  I hate seeing 6am.  And I really don't hate anything.  If I could wake at 9am everyday, I would be the happiest person all the time.  I got up and ready, then woke the kids up and got them ready.  All 3 by myself.  Now, I sort of did that last year.  It was more of I threw the kids in the stroller (or car) in their jammies and walk up to the bus stop (in my jammies).  Unfortunately, you can't do that in the Hilton.  Ok maybe you can but it is HIGHLY looked down upon.  This is a very fancy place, you know.  I take all three kids down for breakfast.  Never been to breakfast at 7:00am before.  A whole other world!  And then I get everyone into the bathroom, since it is an hour before they get to school and they just had two glass or OJ/Tomato juice.  Yes, Jocy is a tomato juice fan, just like her mommy.  We have been early for the bus every morning so far.  I thought it would be weird standing out front of the Hilton waiting for the bus, but not so much.  The Valet guys know us well and alway talk to the kids.  And there are a few other families doing the same.  We are the only family from BISI but I saw buses for IICS and MEF too.  We need to form a club or something.  LOL.

Now 4 hours into day 3, I am ok.  Wish I had something to do.  There are only so many times you can run thru the "yard" and play puzzles and Buzz and Woody.  It's getting a little cool for the pool but we might try to go today.  If not, to just have lunch.  I know in two weeks, I will have an apartment to put together.  And hopefully, finally be busy with life as always.  So Nate and I are going to watch Toy Story (for the 100th time) because he just asked.

Later!

First Day at BISI

After three full months of summer, we are finally back to school.  And a new school at that, the British International School of Istanbul.  Both schools we looked at were very nice schools.  But our decision weighed heavily on location.  Neither school was perfect but we picked what we thought would be best for our girls.  Yes, I said girls.  Jocy is going into Year 3 (British version of 2nd grade).  We had planned to send Elly back to St. Gabriel's with three half days.  Well, there are no options for preschool here.  It's all or none.  And it's also called Reception.  So we made the decision to send her 5 full days a week.  Oh my.  This will definitely cause some issues over the coming weeks.  But in the end, will be the best for her.  And trust me when I say we thought long and hard about this decision.  Ford ain't footin' the bill for Elly.  And I thought Jocy's private school tuition was bad.

So everyone was up at 7am this morning.  Only Nate was the one that didn't want to get up.  The girls got up and dressed on their own.  Then down for breakfast.  We planned to leave an hour before school, because the traffic is UNREAL.  Manhattan rush hour ain't got nothing on Istanbul's!  All the hotel staff were telling them good luck and giving hugs.  So off in our little Focus station wagon to school.  It wasn't too bad of a drive, about 40 minutes.  The amusing part is that most of the drive is down this two lane winding road thru the Belgrade Forest.  Joel and I were talking about how the drive is just so unexpected.  Anyways, we arrived and got checked in at the gate.  The school is full guarded..... with armed guards.  I not really sure who they are worried about..... the goats or the cows.   I compare Zek (its way too hard to say and spell so it's called that by expats) to Liberty... with a little 3rd world.  We take the girls down to the gathering area.  We were told by Jocy's teacher she would meet up before school there.  So we waited and waited.  I have to say that this school is pretty unorganized in filling in new families.  I still haven't seen a Handbook.  Things just happen here very differently.  And the school follows the Turkish way.  Oh well, I guess I'll get used to it or fix it.

Finally, the bell rings and we find Jocy's teacher.  Joel takes her over and then we take Elly inside to her teacher.  Elly was pretty quiet.  But there were no tears. Yay!  When we walked outside, Jocy was still there so I gave her a hug and said she'd have a great day.  Finished up our uniform shopping and talked to the busing people.  I watched Jocy finally go into class and it was time for us to head back.  Didn't get back to the Hilton until 10:30am.  So Joel decided it was a good day to work from home.  Yea!  Just in case something came up.  Joel has the only car and cell phone right now, and with an hour drive, glad he's staying in the city.

I guess we will see how things go.