Gamer

Well, as promised here is a photo today. Of course as you can see I took this photo at the very end of the day after kids went to bed so lighting is horrible.  My mom bought me this denim shirt yesterday as a 'mother's day gift'. It is exactly the type of shirt I was looking for. Thin and fitted with some interesting detail (silver studs on shoulders).... I got a different hue denim shorts to go with them but will also wear these with other non denim items to make some interesting combo's. This was one of them. Since everyone finds this skirt's lenght too mini for the city here I wore jean shorts underneath. Not sure if you can tell from the bulkiness. But I did feel a lot more comfortable knowing even if my skirt shifted I would not expose anything. This Tee was some movie promotiong t-shirt my sister got for free and was about to give it away. I thought it might look interesting and kept it. I think it looks great under this shirt. I used my coral necklace to pick up the red in the tee. These sandals give it just the right kinds of ruggedness as they have a boot feel.

Above is my first attempt to take the photos before my son went to bed. After him or his balloon got in every snapthot I took I gave up and waited until after he went to sleep.

Denim Shirt - Boutique in Turkey (Tally Wei JL) - 40 TL ($26)

Black Skirt - TJ Maxx - $12

Graphic Tee - thrifted from sister who got it for free

Black Sandals - Boutique 9 - Zappos - $120

Coral Necklace - Charlotte Rousse - $10

I wish I could say I thought of my outfit and felt good today but I didn't. I just felt good about coming up with this combo last night. Here is why...

Today's Activities:
It was a real effort today. I never had a moment to breathe. I realize now how having my husband's help in the morning was so very essential for my sanity. With my nanny gone, I am alone with both kids in a small house with 3 other people sleeping. The combination of my daughter crying and me getting out of bed to go to her woke up my son an hour earlier than his usual time. There was no way to get him go back to bed without me going back with him.  My daughter who is waking up way too early is super fussy and cries even if I put her down for a minute. I have to go to the bathroom with her on my lap just to keep her quiet. If we were at our house I would get her to back to sleep with a little crying but here it is impossible since we don't want to wake up the whole household.
After breakfast, it took me an hour to get them and myself dressed and the living room and kitchen picked up. We rushed out. Walked on the boardwalk until it ended. Love the boardwalk (Kordon) area. It has 4 paths!. One sidewalk which hardly no one uses. One soft path for runners and walkers (this is the path I use), one concrete path for bikes and carts (vendors) and one huge cobblestone area that is right in front of the water. Each path is separated by large grass areas. In the morning grass gets watered so I can't let the kids out but we walk peacefully. Found the huge and beautiful playground at the end. It is the nicest one we have found here. Had 5 slides, bridges, swings, other structures to ride on etc...Spent a lot of time trying to tire out the kids there. Then walked all the way back. Picked up the house keeper and went grocery shopping. Kept the purcases to a minimum since we had to carry them on foot several blocks back home plus the kids.
My daughter who is on a sleeplessness strike never fell a sleep during all this walking so could not make it until her usual nap time. I put her down early and of course she woke up an hour later right when I was putting my son down for his nap. Therefore I got no break.
Took her out for another hour long walk in the city with no luck of her falling a sleep. At least my son napped. My mom came over to take over the kids so I could see my grandpa for a little while. Met a new prospective nanny who barely speaks Turkish as my luck would have it. She also does not speak English. Since we are desperate and I need to help out with my grandpa we are going to hire her at least for couple weeks until our summer nanny can start. We tested her out for an hour tonight with the kids and she seems Ok so just need to find a way to communicate somehow.
Hoping for a more peaceful day for me and healthier day for my Grandpa for tomorrow.