Finally, a Post!

I haven’t updated this blog in ages, which is either a sign of a hectic life or extreme laziness. Probably both.

TURK

·         Turk had his 18-month appointment last week.  He is now in the 40^th-percentile for height, so we are no longer so worried that our teeny boy is destined to be a shrimp. 

·         Turk is so fun, loving, and energetic.  The moment he wakes up until the moment he sleeps, he is go-go-go.  He already kicks balls all over the house and is destined to become a great footballer.

·         Turk loves Tek so much.  He likes to touch him and hug him and pick him up and kick him in the head.  I’m not sure why my sweet boy loves hurting his brother so much or how to teach him that it is absolutely not acceptable behavior!

·         Turk talks to Tek in “baby talk.”  I find this fascinating because it is distinctly different from Turk’s actual baby talk.  No, Turk does not talk yet.  However, he does understand in two languages, so the doctor is not worried about him.

·         Turk is great at giving kisses.  He will kiss all his relatives, much to his older cousins’ delight.  He especially likes kissing his cousin Gemma and Tek, of course.

TEK

·         Tek is already four months, and he’s our little chunker.  He is about 70^th-percentile in weight and 50-percentile in height.  Sadly, our pediatrician passed away unexpectedly just days after Tek was born.  We have seen a half-dozen different doctors since then, trying to find the right fit for us.  The last doctor we went to didn’t make any disparaging comments about Tek’s weight, so I think we found the right one.

·         Tek has the most delightful personality.  He is always smiling and happy and laughing and jabbering.  He can light up the room when he smiles, and I really can’t believe how lucky I am to be his mom.

·         Tek adores his older brother—although Turk does not deserve it.  I know this will probably last for many years.  Tek will love Turk despite all the abuse he receives at his hands.

Unfortunately, everyone in our family is sick right now.  We have runny noses, coughs, and fevers.  I’ve had a nasty eye infection for the last week that is finally starting to recover.  I’ve had to wear my glasses for days on end, and it is a horrible experience for everyone.  The illnesses have been especially challenging since we moved into our own house about five days ago.  Unpacking is basically impossible with two sick kids who just want snuggles, love, and lots of attention.

THE HOUSE

Yes, we have a new house.  First, I have to say that house hunting has been a nightmare from start to finish.  I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, and I never plan to move again.  We were supposed to move into our house June 1.  Because of boatloads of incompetence, we actually moved in June 15.  Unfortunately, we are going on a working vacation tomorrow for 11 days.  It’s definitely not the ideal situation. The house is still full of boxes, and I don’t know when I’ll ever get things unpacked.  And instead of updating this blog, I really should start packing for our trip tomorrow.

Here are a few thoughts about moving:

It is so expensive!  Not only do you spend all your savings on a down payment, but then you have loads of other expenses on top of that.  We had a guy come rekey the house yesterday—hundreds of dollars!  And we have to buy so many little things.  I moved into a condo about 7 years ago and bought a household of stuff.  I moved to Yuma a year later and bought a household of stuff.  I moved to Turkey and bought a household of stuff.  Where is all that stuff? (Ok, I know the Turkey stuff is in Turkey.) We have spent so much money in the last few days that the credit card fraud protection kicked in and wouldn’t work when we went to Wal-Mart to get a million essentials.  And don’t even get me started about the buyer’s remorse I feel over our technologically astounding new washer and dryer that I bought last night.

Sadly, once you move in, you also discover all the problems that need to be fixed.  The master toilet doesn’t flush, the master sink doesn’t open, only one plug in each outlet works!  And, between our walkthrough on Tuesday and closing on Thursday, someone knocked down and broke the lamp in our front yard as well as our mailbox.  Why would someone do that?  Oh the money, the money.  (And did I mention that Turk has already dumped coke on the white carpet—yes, we have white carpet and yes, we discovered he can reach the countertops!)

That said . . . we love our house.  Eser loved it immediately, and it’s taken me some time to reach this point.  The first time we saw it (and many times afterwards), all I saw was the updating it sorely needs.  However, we both feel so strongly that this is the right place for us, and that it is our home.  In the mornings, we can hear the high school band practicing from our balcony.  Yesterday, E found a family of quail in the backyard.  He was so excited, and, of course, immediately put out food and drink for them.  I am excited, once we get settled in and all the problems solved, to really start setting down roots with my little family.