We were watching our neighbour's kids today - which meant there were six kids under the age of six in the house. The morning went strikingly well. However, there was one moment that was really worth recording.
About two hours after they arrived I decided to take a roll call. I could find everyone but Addie. 'Where's Addie?' I asked everyone. No one answered. All of the older five kids were downstairs playing in the main sitting room.
From process of elimination, I went upstairs to find her. The room to her door was closed. I pushed it opened to find her lying on her back with her thumb in her mouth, her meme(blanket) pulled close. It was obvious that she needed a break from the chaos downstairs. I just found it incredibly cute (and mature) that she had closed her door in the process. The little lady just needed some privacy and a place to chill! With two older brothers as crazy as she has, I don't blame her!
Monday, 5 September 2011
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Brothers!
Jack came up to me today and started doing some weird dance and making an even weirder noise in my face as he did it. I quickly told him, 'Jack I am not in the mood for that.'
Jack did not even leave the room before Theo came running up yelling, 'Jack, I'm in the mood for that. I am. I really am.'
And this, my friends, is what little brothers are for!
Jack did not even leave the room before Theo came running up yelling, 'Jack, I'm in the mood for that. I am. I really am.'
And this, my friends, is what little brothers are for!
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Superstars - Turkey Part 2
One of the first things you must understand when visiting Turkey is how much Turks LOVE children. Turkish people have a real affection for children, and babies for sure. After eleven days in Turkey with three fair skin, blue-eyed, blond kids, we have seen Turkish people at their best.
It is not uncommon at all for random Turkish women and men to come up to you and grab your child's cheek in an affectionate way. Nor is it uncommon for them to lovingly mess up their hair, ask to take their picture, or blow kisses (or actually attempt kisses!). Here are some of our favourite paparazzi memories:
When we were at the beach, a lady and her husband passed us while walking along the beach. They spotted Addie and were immediately drawn to her. They came over to pinch her, talk to her, etc. I went right next to Addie to try to reassure her that it was okay. I then instructed Addie to say 'bye bye' trying to get Addie to interact but also send a message that Addie was getting freaked out and it was best that they continue their walk. The lady completely ignored, or more charitably, didn't understand, my attempts and proceeded to pick Addie up. Armando was laughing and actually got this moment on camera:
Just for the record, this was not the only time this type of interaction happened. In fact, it happens to Jen and Armando's kids enough that Armando has now gotten fairly bold at politely telling people, 'Please don't. He doesn't like it' -- especially with their middle child who hates it.
This is where personality comes in. For anyone who knows Jack, it will come as no surprise that he loved the attention. One afternoon Jen and I gave Charles and Armando the chance to go out on their own exploring, and we took the kids back to the house for rests. This meant that she and I transported six kids from Europe to Asia (doesn't that sound so impressive??? - it is accurate!).
Two of the kids were in backpacks and four were on foot. Our trip included tram, boat, and a lengthy hike up a mini-mountain to their house. We contemplated taking a taxi up the mountain instead of walking it with the kids, but after our first taxi ride (see previous post), we opted for telling the kids that M&Ms awaited all who made it up the mountain without whining. (For the record, it worked. Theo, whom we were most worried about, led the pack!).
During the tram leg of the journey, we were crammed onto a metro-type train in the centre of Istanbul. Many people tried to help and offered Jen and me seats. I don't know what was most surprising: the lady who offered Jack a seat ON HER LAP or the fact that Jack happily took it. She then put her arms around his waist and held him the rest of the way. It was hilarious to see Jack being held by some random fifty year-old Turkish women on the train. One stop before where we were suppose to get off, I told Jack that he needed to tell the lady he was getting off. He turned and said, 'I get off here.'. The lady, who clearly didn't speak any English, happily squeezed him, ruffled his hair and blew a kiss good-bye.
There were also the fifteen year-old boys who were very 'into' our kids. We met them at the neighbourhood playground. They came up and wanted to hold Addie. After Charles took Addie home for a bath, they quickly moved to Jack and the other boys. Jack was really entertaining them with his 'two Turkish words' (hello and thank you, for the record). They kept picking him up and twirling him around. They had a little English and kept calling him 'Jack Daniels'. He told them he was 'Jack Anderson', but I am not sure their English was good enough to understand that. It is amazing how even Turkish teenage boys have so much time for random kids and babies. It was constant though - these instances were not isolated.
One of the other funny paparazzi memories would have to be at the Blue Mosque - which is one of the most touristy areas of Istanbul. We were standing there all talking in an open park-ish area. Charles was somewhat distracted with Theo or Addie, when he looked up and saw Jack standing in the way of what appeared to be a Turkish family taking a family photo. Charles quickly yelled, 'Jack! Jack! Get out of the way. You're in their picture.' Jack quickly answered, 'No, Dad. They want me in it.' And sure enough he was right! These people had pulled Jack over, motioning him to be in the picture. Somewhere in some family scrapbook there is a Turkish family with a cute little borrowed blond boy in their family photo.
For eleven days it was fun, and even refreshing - especially how this attention is in stark contrast to how kids are treated in England. I am sure it would get 'not so fun' if it happened all the time. I would hate to see how big our kids' heads would be if they constantly got this much attention. But for this holiday, they truly had a glimpse of stardom and soaked up every minute of it.
It is not uncommon at all for random Turkish women and men to come up to you and grab your child's cheek in an affectionate way. Nor is it uncommon for them to lovingly mess up their hair, ask to take their picture, or blow kisses (or actually attempt kisses!). Here are some of our favourite paparazzi memories:
When we were at the beach, a lady and her husband passed us while walking along the beach. They spotted Addie and were immediately drawn to her. They came over to pinch her, talk to her, etc. I went right next to Addie to try to reassure her that it was okay. I then instructed Addie to say 'bye bye' trying to get Addie to interact but also send a message that Addie was getting freaked out and it was best that they continue their walk. The lady completely ignored, or more charitably, didn't understand, my attempts and proceeded to pick Addie up. Armando was laughing and actually got this moment on camera:
Just for the record, this was not the only time this type of interaction happened. In fact, it happens to Jen and Armando's kids enough that Armando has now gotten fairly bold at politely telling people, 'Please don't. He doesn't like it' -- especially with their middle child who hates it.
This is where personality comes in. For anyone who knows Jack, it will come as no surprise that he loved the attention. One afternoon Jen and I gave Charles and Armando the chance to go out on their own exploring, and we took the kids back to the house for rests. This meant that she and I transported six kids from Europe to Asia (doesn't that sound so impressive??? - it is accurate!).
Two of the kids were in backpacks and four were on foot. Our trip included tram, boat, and a lengthy hike up a mini-mountain to their house. We contemplated taking a taxi up the mountain instead of walking it with the kids, but after our first taxi ride (see previous post), we opted for telling the kids that M&Ms awaited all who made it up the mountain without whining. (For the record, it worked. Theo, whom we were most worried about, led the pack!).
During the tram leg of the journey, we were crammed onto a metro-type train in the centre of Istanbul. Many people tried to help and offered Jen and me seats. I don't know what was most surprising: the lady who offered Jack a seat ON HER LAP or the fact that Jack happily took it. She then put her arms around his waist and held him the rest of the way. It was hilarious to see Jack being held by some random fifty year-old Turkish women on the train. One stop before where we were suppose to get off, I told Jack that he needed to tell the lady he was getting off. He turned and said, 'I get off here.'. The lady, who clearly didn't speak any English, happily squeezed him, ruffled his hair and blew a kiss good-bye.
There were also the fifteen year-old boys who were very 'into' our kids. We met them at the neighbourhood playground. They came up and wanted to hold Addie. After Charles took Addie home for a bath, they quickly moved to Jack and the other boys. Jack was really entertaining them with his 'two Turkish words' (hello and thank you, for the record). They kept picking him up and twirling him around. They had a little English and kept calling him 'Jack Daniels'. He told them he was 'Jack Anderson', but I am not sure their English was good enough to understand that. It is amazing how even Turkish teenage boys have so much time for random kids and babies. It was constant though - these instances were not isolated.
One of the other funny paparazzi memories would have to be at the Blue Mosque - which is one of the most touristy areas of Istanbul. We were standing there all talking in an open park-ish area. Charles was somewhat distracted with Theo or Addie, when he looked up and saw Jack standing in the way of what appeared to be a Turkish family taking a family photo. Charles quickly yelled, 'Jack! Jack! Get out of the way. You're in their picture.' Jack quickly answered, 'No, Dad. They want me in it.' And sure enough he was right! These people had pulled Jack over, motioning him to be in the picture. Somewhere in some family scrapbook there is a Turkish family with a cute little borrowed blond boy in their family photo.
For eleven days it was fun, and even refreshing - especially how this attention is in stark contrast to how kids are treated in England. I am sure it would get 'not so fun' if it happened all the time. I would hate to see how big our kids' heads would be if they constantly got this much attention. But for this holiday, they truly had a glimpse of stardom and soaked up every minute of it.
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Glorious Turkey! - Part 1
We just returned from an eleven day holiday to Turkey. No trip to Turkey is complete without book-end taxi trips. The driving in Turkey is like nowhere else I have ever been. On the US embassy website they list the following advice for driving in Turkey:
You should drive defensively at all times and take every precaution while driving in Turkey. Drivers in Turkey routinely ignore traffic regulations, including driving through red lights and stop signs, and turning left from the far right lane; these driving practices cause frequent traffic accidents. Expect the unexpected.
After arriving at the airport and handing our taxi driver, not only the address, but instructions in Turkish from our friend, Armando, we headed off very quickly onto the highway. Charles was in the front. Theo was on my lap in the back. Addie and Jack were both in carseats (thankfully!).
Despite these good directions, it didn't take long to realize that our taxi driver had no idea where he was going. How did we know - just some clues: (1) he was driving about 30 mph yelling to the taxi driver in the car next to us (2) he kept looking down at the directions and shaking his head (3) he kept trying to fix his GPS/sat nav, and (4) he pulled over to the side of the road. I don't know a lick of Turkish, but I knew he was clueless.
Charles tried in English to communicate with no luck. I told Charles to offer him the phone to call Armando. Charles then held his mobile phone up and said 'friend, Turkish?' The driver got excited, 'Turkish, Turkish' he yelled. Charles dialled the number and connect our driver with Armando. After a few minutes of Turkish yelling we were on our way again. Charles asked the driver if all was okay. The driver made some movement of his head, which we took to mean yes.
Not only were we on our way, but we were on our way fast! We were going very fast with almost no space between us and the car in front of us. No exaggeration, we went through the toll booth which was listed at 30 kph at 80 kph. Literally, I closed my eyes, squeezed Theo tight and prayed that the taxi driver had good width perception. He must be decent because we made it.
After this incident, Jack even let out a nervous laughter. Let me remind you, he is five and not the most perceptive with driving conditions. But even he knew this was 'not normal' - at least in England.
I have never been more happy to see Armando. When we pulled up and he came bounding of the door to help us with our luggage I was quite relieved. I was also relieved when he checked the meter, ensured the meter was accurate, and helped pay the driver.
This is only the beginning I warn you. There are many more stories from Turkey awaiting you. Check back soon!
You should drive defensively at all times and take every precaution while driving in Turkey. Drivers in Turkey routinely ignore traffic regulations, including driving through red lights and stop signs, and turning left from the far right lane; these driving practices cause frequent traffic accidents. Expect the unexpected.
After arriving at the airport and handing our taxi driver, not only the address, but instructions in Turkish from our friend, Armando, we headed off very quickly onto the highway. Charles was in the front. Theo was on my lap in the back. Addie and Jack were both in carseats (thankfully!).
Despite these good directions, it didn't take long to realize that our taxi driver had no idea where he was going. How did we know - just some clues: (1) he was driving about 30 mph yelling to the taxi driver in the car next to us (2) he kept looking down at the directions and shaking his head (3) he kept trying to fix his GPS/sat nav, and (4) he pulled over to the side of the road. I don't know a lick of Turkish, but I knew he was clueless.
Charles tried in English to communicate with no luck. I told Charles to offer him the phone to call Armando. Charles then held his mobile phone up and said 'friend, Turkish?' The driver got excited, 'Turkish, Turkish' he yelled. Charles dialled the number and connect our driver with Armando. After a few minutes of Turkish yelling we were on our way again. Charles asked the driver if all was okay. The driver made some movement of his head, which we took to mean yes.
Not only were we on our way, but we were on our way fast! We were going very fast with almost no space between us and the car in front of us. No exaggeration, we went through the toll booth which was listed at 30 kph at 80 kph. Literally, I closed my eyes, squeezed Theo tight and prayed that the taxi driver had good width perception. He must be decent because we made it.
After this incident, Jack even let out a nervous laughter. Let me remind you, he is five and not the most perceptive with driving conditions. But even he knew this was 'not normal' - at least in England.
I have never been more happy to see Armando. When we pulled up and he came bounding of the door to help us with our luggage I was quite relieved. I was also relieved when he checked the meter, ensured the meter was accurate, and helped pay the driver.
This is only the beginning I warn you. There are many more stories from Turkey awaiting you. Check back soon!
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Jack's last day of reception
In England, kids start 'reception' the September after they turn four which means Jack was due to start reception this year (think kindergarten just a year early). We decided to homeschool this year and had a good time in the process. As a celebratin for Jack's last day of school, the 19th of July, (decided because Grandmother was flying in the next day) we took a family field trip to Pizza Hut.
Jack and his reception teacher :
Jack and his reception teacher :
Here is a picture of Jack and his Tuesday Tutor along with his best classmate:
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