Rachel Writes

Soj and Whitty are funny kids. That's why I like this picture. Whit is bug-eyed and Soj is making a goofy face. Oh yeah, and the balloon hats are great. I want to remember things about them-- the way that Whit gets stuck between the mattress and the wall during nap time (He's in no danger-- the mattress is on the floor) and instead of crying, just coos at me until I wake up. Or the way that Soj makes sense of the world-- she calls my razor a hammer, because I click it against the side of the shower as I use it. She asks so many questions and loves the sound of her ow n voice. Some days I feel like I don't have the energy to do fun things. Some days I day dream about nap time for the first 6 or 7 hours of the day. But some days we do things right. Some days we laugh, A LOT!! We don't have many holiday plans. We'll go to the beach on Wednesday the 23rd, Sojo's birthday. We will have one night at a mountain "resort" (I use quotations because, ...

Soj and I made a scarecrow today. We stuffed some of her old clothes with wood shavings and used a manila envelope for the face. She helped me put in about two handfuls of wood shavings before saying, "Dirty." Heaven forbid! So I finished it. I do love a good random craft. Sojo is also enjoying saying that she is scared of things lately as it means that I will pick her up. So as soon as the scarecrow was brought to life (stuffed and standing) she reached up for me. "I scared of scarecrow." "No you're not," I said ( invalidating her feelings) with a smile, "But I'm happy to hold you." Everyone is in better health! We had a Thanksgiving meal with Soj's babysitter and our house helper and their families. It was a lot of fun! Missing many of you at this time. Be blessed.

My favorite kid moment of late is Sojourner's desire to include Whitaker in almost every activity. "Whitaker want a turn?" she asks. "Whitaker want to eat this? play with this? do this?" Yes, they are practically the same size-- Whit at 5 months. Soj almost 2 years.

Whitaker is on the library floor, stretching out. He's having a hard time getting comfortable and I need him to be comfortable so he can sleep. Okay, that was a euphemism for he's got some gas. Taking some time to use the Internet at school (after how many weeks?) so that Micah can have some alone time. Soji's in bed so the house should be nice and quiet. We were without water today. The neighbor man was so thoughtful. He brought water from his own water reserve over and put it in our car park area so we could have any if we needed it. He said, "You can't be without water, what with you having a little baby and all." So nice! That's what I'm wanting to focus on these days-- kindness. The nice words and acts that make all the difference in a day. I'll be honest, today was difficult. It's the end of school break and many of my friends have the blues. I'm not in a teaching position this year so the beginning of school does not mean a huge c...

So the days are challenging lately. Not upsetting, just time consuming and requiring... effort. Ick . It's so hot here. I don't like exerting energy. :-) Micah and I have been disagreeing over the "rightness" of complaining. I claim that it holds its place in life. Sure, there are limits to how much one should complain, the time to complain, and who to complain to. All this noted, complaining is a healthy way of relieving stress and (hopefully) moving towards a solution. I think (but could be wrong) that Micah sees complaining (especially about events that one may have stepped into or invited) as just plain stupid. Anyways, I am not supposed to complain to him. I've used up my complain quota for the... month? next two months?... and now I am just complaining here in BlogLand . That's right. Airing out my frustration. So, if you don't feel like hearing complaints (which I can understand) then feel free to skip this entry. Here are my problems: (1) The gas s...

Sojourner and I went to the pediatrician again this Saturday. We get there half an hour before it opens so that we can be first or second on the waiting list, because by the time Dr. B gets to his office around 9, there are at least 10 patients waiting to see him. Dr. B had diagnosed Sojo's cough and runny nose as allergies. That was 3 weeks ago, and after all the medicine she's been taking , her condition still had not changed. So (drum roll), we're on to new medication. We should see improvement in a week. I just don't want to mess around with the health of Soj's lungs. Especially since she uses them a lot. She's loving singing lately-- loud, unrestrained, anytime, anywhere singing. It's refreshing. I've been tired lately, but had a wonderfully relaxing Sunday, so am feeling very good this morning. I have a large list of things to do before the baby arrives sometime in June, but am not panicky (right now). We'll see what gets done today. And then...

Shhh . Don't tell my students. I cannot grade. Thankfully, I only have two teaching days left and then I'm back to my simple, wonderful librarian job. It's not that I don't want to grade. Or that I don't think it is important. I really think that it is a matter of self confidence. I really doubt that I am an authority on poetry (that's what I've been grading lately). AND the other issue is that sometimes I start changing the student's work to say what I think it should say. Truly awful! It's just that I know how I would like it to sound when I read it, and I don't always have a reason why it should be changed. Now, it's not all horrible. There are sometimes tha t I feel like I'm really helping a student. That's a cheerful prospect. I think that if I had it my way, I would edit with the student, not just sit and read the paper by myself, but there is the great limiting factor of time-- so often my enemy. Anyways, since my teaching time...

Cool Kid Sweetie There's nothing like a good swing.

I just found an assignment that Micah developed for his British literature course. It's genius and, like him, funny, to the point, and deceptively instructive. Other news in Rachel world: I'm so tired that I can hardly sit up straight. I wrote a ridiculously long unit test because I forgot how to write good tests. Oops. And all three of us ( Sojo , Mic, and me) have colds. Even with that, I've been feeling the best I've felt in ages. Hoping to get some good sleep today because right now I am absolutely worthless.

We're taking our time and I'm hoping that we are using it well. There's a lot to be done since we have moved, and it's exciting and overwhelming at the same time. We will have to pay some late fees for being slow, but I'm guarding my sanity and not allowing myself to be too rushed. Sojourner is teething and adjusting to her new home. This means that she wants to be held a lot and sometimes is crying for no apparent reason. The majority of the time, though, she is quite happy. We're expecting a new baby in May or June. I have yet to have the ultrasound that will determine the due date. We're thrilled! So there's lots of change and lots of hope. When you think of me, hope that I am trusting in God and breathing deeply. These next few months are going to be fun!