Layla Tries Frozen Juice!

In the hot summer, freezing juice boxes and eating them is a great way to cool down quickly. I usually have one while I am watching Oprah right before going to bed (=
We have the daughter of a friend staying with us for about two weeks and she was letting Lj suck on her juice box. I wish I had gotten her first few expressions of totally distaste at the temperature! So cute.

Little Climber

I thought this was the FUNNIEST picture! Layla was desperately trying to get over the seat to play the the pakistani guy in the seat behind her. He was so kind to play with her so much. She can really turn on the charm when she wants too. Anyway, I also thought Tom's expression was pretty funny (=

Border Changes

Well the border in town is now officially closed to foreigners. I had one last errand to run the day before so Tom and I went out to lunch with Layla at the mall one last time. Oddly I am not that upset or anything.... I rather like having my life simplified for me. Plus, I have stock piled the New Zealand beef which is the ONE thing from other side of town I really couldn't live without.
It is very tense and the police have been lurking about the borders - the old one that is now shut and the one we've been using where they are now turning away foreigners.

So what used to take 15 mins will now take at least an hour and require two visas.

On another note, we've had a load of arab guests lately. We usually don't get this many dropping it, but it has been fun and made me a little behind in the rest of life. I didn't have fruit to serve or even juice, my last big of Tang was a horrid looking congealed crust in the bottom of the jar. I think they knew we were back from Turkey and this month is when everyone else is on vacation. It is a fun time to be in town. It makes it all the harder to think about moving!! wow.

In other news, Tom is taking a 'vacation' with his buddies across town! They had been talking about taking a trip to Europe all summer. It was all InShallah until two days ago when Tom called to say he was coming over and they were at the travel agent. So typical. So Tom is going for 2 weeks! He'll pay for the flight and they'll cover the other expenses. What a crazy time and good time it will be for their friendships! There will be four guys all together. I've asked Tom if he thinks they'll be expecting to visit some prostitutes but he thinks not. Typically that is what they do on vacation (= I'm so glad my hubby isn't freaked out by stuff like that - he can some how take it in stride without making them feel dumb for it. I don't know. I don't think I'm saying this well (=

Anyway. I am headed to bed. I have lots of mommy guilt tonight...Layla just fussed and fussed for 20 mins tonight and I finally thought I'd try and see if she was wanting some milk and she drank 1.5 bottles!!! I felt AWFUL. Poor dear had just been HUNGRY! She dropped right off to sleep without a sound after that - much more like herself. ugh. I mean really. All I do is feed, change and play with her. It isn't that complicate! How can I miss that she didn't get enough to eat!?!

Change is in the air

Well, we're not ready to totally announce what is up ahead, but we are moving. It is rather disorienting as we had expected to be in this house and in this town for an extended period of time.

It is hard to know how to end relationships and draw things to a close. I am not a fan of this phase of life!

I am realizing that my capacity to live life well lasts for about 20mins at a time. I usually end up saying something dumb to Tom or getting irritated at something else. It is humbling to realize that I can only handle that much of life at a time.

Anyway. more news to follow.

Layla giggles with Luke

This was such a cute little clip. Luke was at our home right before our Turkey conference, attended the conference and then we hung out afterwards. Layla REALLY took to him and you can hear her giggles here. She hasn't taken to anyone like Luke - such a mystery, that little one!

Mmmm, Buttermilk!

They have a drink out here called Ayran. Tom and I discovered that we LOVED it when we were here two years ago. We think it is essentially buttermilk. It isn't quite exactly laban, like we have at home, but similar. Anyway. Lj LOVES the stuff. I mean really loves it. I put some in her sippy cup and she went to town on that thing like she never has before!!

I hope it is okay for kids to have! I've fed her anything and everything out here and I think she's doing okay.

We really like the food out here. My faves would be Pida and Tom's Durner. Too tired to explain, just think Yummy.

Layla sees grass

Yes, this is the first time she's seen grass! It was SO funny to watch her so fascinated with the stuff (= This is a lovely park about 5 mins from our hotel.

Cuter than Layla??

yes, it is true. I have found a babygirl cuter than Layla (=

She is Egyptian and is also 9 months old. Notice the HAIR!!! I love how both girls have the same mouth thing going on - droopy lip.

We're in Turkey

I tried to mention this before we left, but I had one shot and the silly site malfunctioned and said to try later (= We had a conference out here and now we have three nights on our own. We've actually been to Istanbul before and now we HIGHLY recommend it for families. People here LOVE children and are so kind and gentle. Every man you pass on the street just wants to touch Lj's little feet and kiss her cheek - it is so sweet. I can't belive how gentle these sort of gruff men can be. Our hotel is great - small and very european while being very Turkish still. The rooftop restaurant is SUPERB. There is a view of all of Istanbul - the Hagia Sophia, Topika Palace.....etc. We are really enjoying it.
The pic is of Tom and Layla in front of the Blue Mosque.

Never in America these days.....

does the heat get so bad that the car seat is literally too hot to put your baby in

so you hold her on your lap

while your hubby drives to a small cement building to buy three sandwhichs and two fruit shakes for $5

and you wait outside in the car with the car running for 10 minutes because it is too hot to turn off the car and you can't go inside because it is all men

and on the drive back neither of you have seatbelts on - and the baby is still on your lap

and your hubby is now driving with his knees while feeding the baby the fruit shake from a straw.

When this happend the other day, we just had to laugh (=