I find myself composing blog posts in my head during the day sometimes...and then forgetting them by the time the kiddos go to sleep. Well, here are a few attempts at the crazy stories of my mommy-life over the past few days:
Yesterday I took Lulu to the doctor with Moo in tow. After two vaccines, I found myself at the checkout desk a couple hundred lira short ($100+) of the amount due. (Alas we only have one ATM card here (usually in Rick's wallet) and our US charge card charges us a whopping percentage on overseas charges). Happily, I have discovered that the doctors offices here are often quite willing to let me pay the balance at future doctor visits. How they know I will return and finish paying, I'm not sure, but I appreciate their trusting nature!
As a reward for Micah sitting through a doc visit, we hopped on over to the Little Caesars next door that just added a kiddy playground! (Hooray! Another kid friendly destination in our neighborhood). Knowing I only had about 10 lira and some coins in my wallet, I looked for the cheapest thing on the menu...hardly bothering to really read descriptions. The server offered me an English menu, but I said, "No need, just give me this parmesan pizza and an order of nuggets". 45 minutes later, when playtime was done and it was time to pay, boy was I surprised to find my order totaling 18 lira! I asked the server to check for a mistake, and to my dismay discovered my 'cheapest thing on the menu' was merely the cost of the special crust on a 9 lira pizza. Oh dear. I shook out my wallet and my pockets and surprisingly had enough to cover the bill. I'll have to give a tip next time.
Another surprise we discovered while we were gone was that they overhauled the bus payment system. You can no longer pay cash on the buses and they phased out the old keychain electronic payment method. Thus...new cards are needed that are only sold at certain city centers with exceedingly long lines as everyone tries to adjust to the new system. As I stood at the end of a line of 40 people with Micah in the stroller and Lydia strapped in the Ergo on my chest, sun beating down, my watch telling me I was already 5 minutes late for dinner 15 minutes away...I wondered what the likelihood of me ever getting one of these new cards would be. Then some beautiful pushy ladies behind me told me that I needed to go to the front of the line...I couldn't possibly stand here with these two kids in the hot sun as long as that line was going to take. I didn't think that would go over well with the other people who had been waiting in the hot sun.....but these ladies just pulled me to the front of the line and begged and pleaded and scolded until someone let me go in front of them.
As I carted my kids around on public transit this week, I was so blessed when someone on each bus helped me get my stroller on and off. I really appreciate the way they watch out for moms with little kids here. I think back home we sometimes expect moms to do it all and keep their kids quiet at the same time. I had 6 different people offer me a seat on the bus last night when Lydia started crying. Lovely.
Yesterday I took Lulu to the doctor with Moo in tow. After two vaccines, I found myself at the checkout desk a couple hundred lira short ($100+) of the amount due. (Alas we only have one ATM card here (usually in Rick's wallet) and our US charge card charges us a whopping percentage on overseas charges). Happily, I have discovered that the doctors offices here are often quite willing to let me pay the balance at future doctor visits. How they know I will return and finish paying, I'm not sure, but I appreciate their trusting nature!
As a reward for Micah sitting through a doc visit, we hopped on over to the Little Caesars next door that just added a kiddy playground! (Hooray! Another kid friendly destination in our neighborhood). Knowing I only had about 10 lira and some coins in my wallet, I looked for the cheapest thing on the menu...hardly bothering to really read descriptions. The server offered me an English menu, but I said, "No need, just give me this parmesan pizza and an order of nuggets". 45 minutes later, when playtime was done and it was time to pay, boy was I surprised to find my order totaling 18 lira! I asked the server to check for a mistake, and to my dismay discovered my 'cheapest thing on the menu' was merely the cost of the special crust on a 9 lira pizza. Oh dear. I shook out my wallet and my pockets and surprisingly had enough to cover the bill. I'll have to give a tip next time.
Another surprise we discovered while we were gone was that they overhauled the bus payment system. You can no longer pay cash on the buses and they phased out the old keychain electronic payment method. Thus...new cards are needed that are only sold at certain city centers with exceedingly long lines as everyone tries to adjust to the new system. As I stood at the end of a line of 40 people with Micah in the stroller and Lydia strapped in the Ergo on my chest, sun beating down, my watch telling me I was already 5 minutes late for dinner 15 minutes away...I wondered what the likelihood of me ever getting one of these new cards would be. Then some beautiful pushy ladies behind me told me that I needed to go to the front of the line...I couldn't possibly stand here with these two kids in the hot sun as long as that line was going to take. I didn't think that would go over well with the other people who had been waiting in the hot sun.....but these ladies just pulled me to the front of the line and begged and pleaded and scolded until someone let me go in front of them.
As I carted my kids around on public transit this week, I was so blessed when someone on each bus helped me get my stroller on and off. I really appreciate the way they watch out for moms with little kids here. I think back home we sometimes expect moms to do it all and keep their kids quiet at the same time. I had 6 different people offer me a seat on the bus last night when Lydia started crying. Lovely.
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