365 little things *24-31

Is anyone else watching Sherlock?


Ahhhh! I love this show! But now I am bummed that Season 3 is already over (all 3 episodes of it.) I guess I will just have to rewatch the old seasons. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime and a VPN.

And now onto the rest of January's photos...


January 24 - Little Monsters. We had a no school day, so to keep the boys busy, (and for us to watch some Doctor Who together) my neighbor, Ashley, and her son, David, came over and we made Valentine crafts. We all made some of these furry creatures, and the boys made heart ninjas. Monsters and ninjas = Life with boys.


January 25 - Like father, like son. So cute. It's like mirror image, time travelling technology!


January 26 - This house eats glass. I can't even tell you how many things have gotten broken since we've lived in this house. With marble counter tops and tile floors, we've had many, many casualties. These broken bits were formerly a bread pan. Argh!


January 27 - Cloudy day. This time of the year is typically the rainy season here in Turkey. This was one of those rainy days, and the clouds were doing some funky stuff, too.


January 28 - Hello, Mr. Snail. Snails are EVERYWHERE and plentiful here.  Escargot, anyone? Ha ha. This gigantic one was making his way in the grass beside our patio.


January 29 - I like owls. I had forgotten I had this one, and found him the other day when I was going through some craft stuff. He's hanging out on the mantel now. He makes me happy.


January 30 - Oxidized chocolate. When you pay for Ghirardelli, it should not look like this. Just another quirk of living in Turkey, and believe me there are many!


January 31 - Multi-Tasker. It was apparently a play Connect 4, Potato Heads, and do science projects all at the same time kind of day. If only I could do the same with laundry, PTA, housework and blogging. I think I need more hands.

365 little things *17-23

Hello. Has anyone else had a super fast week? I guess mine was quick because there was only school 3 days this week. That means we had time to get up to some fun stuff on the other 2 days, and you know what they say, "Time flies when you're having fun!" Haha. I had to.


Jan 17 - Clothes Bal. Chloe seems to have a revolving list of nicknames, Clothes Bal being the most recent one. Of course, she answers to all of them with licks and exuberant happiness.


Jan 18 - Dondurma. Dondurma is Turkish for ice cream in case you hadn't deduced that. :)
On Saturday, a few ladies and I from our squadron spouses group went on an outing to the Women's Market in Adana. We had a fun time shopping, and then afterwards we had lunch, and then made a stop at the ice cream shop. Turkish ice cream is tasty. This is the Kup Amaretto from Mado.


Jan 19 - Skyfall Bridge, James Bond Bridge, German Bridge, Koca Köprü, Varda Viaduct. i.e. A Bridge With Many Names. Jason, Brennan and I went adventuring on Sunday to go check out this bridge, and a canyon nearby. This is the train bridge in the chase scene in the beginning of the James Bond movie, Skyfall.  It is also the tallest bridge in Turkey. That became quite obvious as we walked across it. I'm glad there was a guard rail.


Jan 20 - "It's Starting to Look Valentiney Around Here!" Or according to Brennan, "Yay, gumballs!"


Jan 21 - Oh No, Two Decorating Pictures In A Row. I couldn't resist though, the mercury glass candle holders Andrew got me for Christmas finally made it through the mail (and unbroken!), so I had to put them out right away. Can you tell I love them just a little bit. :)


Jan 22 - A Growing Collection. Brennan picks up "treasures" almost every time we walk home from school. These are the things that haven't blown away or got knocked off by the neighborhood cat.


Jan 23- 12 minutes. That was about the amount of time that all of the laundry was done this week. That never happens around here, so I had to document the occasion.

365 little things *10-16

January 10 - Sick Day. Jason hardly ever gets sick, but when he does, he's down for the count. Our couch was Sick Central for a few days over this one. Poor guy. Thankfully, he's much better now.


January 11 - Goofiness in 3D. Brennan loves looking at 3D books, and taking selfies on my tablet. Combine the two, and throw in Mommy as a willing participant, and you have lots of giggles and goofy faces.


January 12 - Scooting Around. I'm sure that technically he's too big for this scooter, but he still likes it, so we're good. This was Sunday, and since Jason was feeling a little better and a bit claustrophobic, we went for a drive and then came home and spent some time hanging out outside.


January 13 - There Will Be Days Like This. This was one of those days, I was busy all day, and didn't even think about picking up my camera until it was way past dark. This Dreamlite puppy is part of Brennan's bedtime routine. **♪ Dream Lite, sleep tight, starry night with Dream Lite.... ♫** Just in case it's been awhile since that song has been stuck in your head. You're welcome.


January 14 - Bunting in Progress. I've been working on some Valentine crafts this week. This doily bunting was easy, and it consisted of stuff I already had. The best kind of project!


January 15 - Bye, Bye Banana Tree. - Well, at least temporarily. Our gardener let us know it was time to hack down our gigantic banana tree for the winter. Boo. I know it has to be cut back, and that it will grow back fast, but our backyard looks so barren without it in the meantime.


January 16 - Artsy Organization.  I've been in house fluffing mode,so today I gathered up all of the art supplies we use most often, and put them all together in a tray on the dining room table. It makes sense, since that's where we use them the most, and their colorful togetherness makes me happy. (For now.) :)

Anybody else out there doing a photo project this year? Let me know...I'd love to follow along!

Photo Project -The 2014 Edition: 365 little things *1-9

If you've been hanging around here for awhile, you know I'm not much on making and keeping New Year's resolutions. You may have also observed I am a big fan of photography, and like to start off the year with a photo project. This year will be no exception. Maybe I will get further through the year with this one.  And maybe, since I was the world's worst blogger of 2013, I will get back into the groove of blogging two or three times a week. This will hopefully guarantee at least one of those times. :)

Alrighty then.

Photo Project - The 2014 Edition: 365 little things begins now.


January 1 - 12:02 a.m. (Ok, so obviously I didn't take this picture. But, since I have no rules for my photo project, I'm going with it. I don't remember who did take this picture that night, so thank you picture taker, and welcome to the project!) This was how Jason and I started 2014. Having fun with friends, decked out in 1920s style! Here's to a great 2014!


January 2 - Reality Bites. Back to Reality. Time to unpack all of our bags from our trip to the States. I really detest unpacking. I may or may not have lived out of this suitcase for a few more days after this picture was taken, and Jason may or may not have put this stuff away for me in the end.


January 3 - Reading Divergent. Has any one else read this series yet? I was engrossed, and had to read all three books, back to back. Thank goodness the series was all written, because I hate to start a book and then find out I have to wait for months or years (Diana Gabaldon. Grr.) to see how the story ends. It didn't end how I thought it would, but it was still a good read.


January 4 - Goggle-y eyes. Brennan still loves to play in the bath tub. And, yes, googles are a requirement.


January 5 - In the Cartoon Zone. I'm not sure what show he was watching so intently, but he wasn't missing a bit of it! I like that he's holding Darth Vader's lightsaber. Stars Wars and Legos are his current obsessions.


January 6 - Makin' Mayo. Back in December, Jason and I decided to go Paleo. We took a break while we were in Indiana, and now we are back on the wagon again. One of the things I do every week is make a batch of mayo. It is a bit time consuming, and sometimes it doesn't turn out. This was a good batch, and later helped to make some Ranch Dip and Honey Mustard Sauce. Yum!


January 7 - Tiny Daisy. Brennan and I walked home from school this day, and he picked me a little flower on our walk. I love that he can be such a sweet boy.


January 8 - Legos, Legos, Everywhere. I mentioned earlier that Brennan's newest interest is Legos. I did not realize before now how Legos can fully infiltrate your life. These tiny plastic bits end up everywhere! This is the pile that is perpetually on the bar in our kitchen. Brennan likes to sit there and play with them while I'm chopping and cooking stuff. Thankfully I haven't stepped on one barefoot yet, but I'm sure that day will come.


January 9 - Snowflake Ring from a 5-year-old: Priceless. Back in December there was a Christmas Shop set up at school for the kids to buy gifts for their friends and family. Brennan bought me an ornament and this snowflake ring. He asked me to put it in my jewelry box with my other rings. You know I had to say yes to that. :)

Dressing Up, Bowling, And A New Carpet

Hello Everyone! First of all I would like to thank the sweet reader who emailed me to see everything was ok with us since it has been so long since I last posted. And also for everyone who has mentioned they miss my blog posts and enjoy reading and keeping up with us. I miss it all too. Since I've gotten so far behind, though, it just seems overwhelming to start again. I'll get it together soon. Maybe I'll start with a year in review, and do monthly recaps until I catch up.

But for now, I want to share our fun-filled weekend with you.

First there was this. Which was technically not a weekend event, since it was on Thursday night, but is going to make the cut regardless, because anytime we are able to get all dressed up, get a babysitter, and go out by ourselves is worthy of documenting.


Aren't we cute? This was a graduation ceremony/dinner for an ALS class that included one of Jason's Staff Sergeants. Congratulations Eric!

On Saturday, we HAD to go visit Sparky the Fire Dog and his friends. Earlier in the week, Brennan's kindergarten class went on a field trip to the fire station for Fire Prevention Week. While they were there, the firefighters told the kids they would be at the BX at 10:00 on Saturday, and everyone needed to come. Brennan took that to heart, and on Saturday morning, he was ready to go bright and early with this fireman hat on.


Looks like a future fireman to me!








Sparky!


He was just a little excited to have on the fire suit and to stand by the truck.


One with Daddy.


A hug goodbye for Sparky.

After our visit with the firemen and Sparky, Jason had to go work on a squadron Halloween project and Brennan and I went to the commissary. I know that doesn't sound like fun, but since we weren't getting much, I let Brennan push around one of the kid size carts, and he had a blast at that.

Later that evening, we went to a  BBQ at some friends' house. It was nice just to sit back and relax. We had a good time conversing around the fire, playing cards, Brennan played Wii with some other boys, we all had some great food (and there may have been a few drinks for the adults.)

Then Sunday was pajama day! Yay! Brennan and I are big fans of pajama days, and since he started school we haven't had a chance to have one. Jason, not so much, but he does occasionally enjoy a lounge around the house day.

On Monday we went into the Alley to one of the carpet shops. Originally, we weren't planning on buying anything, but after being offered a really great Columbus Day Sale deal, we ended up coming home with this new addition to our Turkish carpet collection.


What do you think? This is the biggest carpet we've bought so far. It's a nice and neutral grey, so when my frequent urge to redecorate strikes again, it should transition just fine. (Speaking of redecorating...some of that will be happening soon, so stay tuned!)

After our carpet buying trip, we headed to the bowling alley for some bowling and pizza.


It was Brennan's first time bowling. I think this picture sums up how he felt about that.


He used the rack for a little bit.


But most of the time he wanted to bowl like Daddy.


Checking out the scoreboard controls. Does anyone actually know how to score bowling by themselves anymore?


The monster face. This is Brennan's current photo face. I think it's payback for all the times I've told him to smile with his teeth, haha.








Pizza at the bowling alley must be better than pizza at home. Brennan ate a whole small cheese pizza all by himself.



Jason was the bowling winner, of course. Sadly, I think Brennan beat me at a couple of games, too. We'll just say that it was because he had bumpers.

Yep, that's it.