Author: Melissa

Colin was fussing and fussing and crying. We had no idea why. I just laid him down on his belly in the family room and let him cry while the girls and I ate our lunches. Suddenly…
BURP!!!
I swear the windows rattled.
My girls immediately go into full horrified-girly-mode: "EWWW!! Gross!!! He burped!!!!"
Colin has a huge smile on his face and – I kid you not – laughs. Not just a little baby giggle, but a deep belly laugh: "Heh heh heh!"

I think we are starting to learn the difference between little boys and little girls.

I know we have little girly-girls.  Girls who love dresses and ribbons and frills. Girls who live for princess tea parties. Girls who voluntarily wash their hands when they are dirty. Girls who drive past a construction site and say "Yuck! Look at all that dirt!" Girls who we had to teach how to spit, since they were swallowing their toothpaste, and when they do spit out their toothpaste, say something like "That is just so gross!"

I’m not sure we’re ready for this boy.

24 – number of hours that Ellie will still be contagious. A visit to the Minute Clinic near my mom’s revealed that she has strep-throat and an ear infection.

5 – number of times my kids woke me up last night.

2 – number of days until the wedding that I STILL don’t have a dress for. Or shoes.

1,600 – number of little pins I have put into boxes for my mom’s company over the last week.

4 – number of days until we leave to go home.

5 – number of days until Husband comes home from Turkey!!! Yay!!

1 – number of times I have left the house this week.

18 – number of hours of continuous sleep I could use.

5 – number of time-outs Grace had yesterday.

87,645 – number of annoying kids videos I have watched during Ellie’s sickness.

5 – approximate number of pounds I have gained being at my moms. Darn ice cream truck. And Rice Krispie Treats.

6-12 – size clothing my 3 month old is now wearing.

4 – number of weeks since I painted my toenails. REALLY need a pedi over here.

1,600 – number of little pins I have put into boxes for my mom’s company.

7 – number of quilts I made while I was here. So that was good.

11,000,000 – number of things I have to do when I get back home to Philly.

I turned on the computer this morning and saw this. The US Embassy was attacked in Istanbul, where my Husband is.
Please pray for the safety of my Husband and the team there.

UPDATE: I was able to talk to Husband today! There is evidence of LOTS of increased security around the cities, but other than that things seems normal. They’re now in Ankara, the capital, for the next few days, returning to Istanbul on Saturday. He is, however, sick. He’s still  trying to keep up with the rigorous schedule, but he’s exhausted and not feeling well. Thanks for praying, you guys!

Life here at my mom’s house is zooming by. It is seriously JULY already! What?? When I’m not taking the kids swimming or nursing Colin every 3 minutes or sewing, I’m doing work for my mom to earn some extra cash or going to yet another store to try to find a dress for the wedding on Saturday. I have gone to a zillion stores and still have nothing. I have a beautiful dress that doesn’t fit. And a really cute dress that is not really "black tie" but was so cute I had to buy it anyways. Tomorrow I’m heading to the mall and I will NOT leave until I have a dress! And a wedding gift.
I’m really excited for the bachelorette party on Thursday! That should be super fun. Haven’t been to one of those for awhile 😉
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Ellie is sick today. She fell back to sleep at 9am. Then she woke up saying she was really cold. Now she’s wrapped in a quilt watching a movie. Poor baby. Hopefully she will recover quickly, since I don’t want to try and find a doctor here. I’m hoping she’s just really tired – these kids are totally exhausted after all this family time!

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Husband was able to call yesterday and he is having an amazing time in Turkey. His luggage finally arrived, which is a definite bonus. They missed their flight to Istanbul and ended up going through Madrid. But their luggage went on its own little vacation. They met with the church there on Sunday and he said it was totally amazing!  Today they travel to Anakara for a few days. He’s already taken over 1,000 pictures – I can’t wait to see them.

So the dress arrived.
Beautiful. Gorgeous. Perfect. LOVE IT!!
Doesn’t fit.

Of course.

Now what???

I’m thinking Banana Republic Outlet? White House/Black Market? Any other suggestions?

Grace’s new talent: Counting to ten in Spanish.

Sort of.