Self Care and Taking a Breath

Dear sisters,

I find myself so fascinated by this concept of self care. It’s all the rage right now, maybe because everyone is realizing how very wonderful it is. Instead of a Donna Meagle
TREAT YO’SELF day (which is also great), you can do something special and call it self care!

Moving, having a baby, travelling to see family over the holidays, everyone being sick for a month, these things kind of put me in survival mode. There were still plenty of wonderful days and memories to be had, but my over-arching feeling was one of tension, bracing for more illnesses, gritting my teeth and wearing Helen for naps in the airport, not sleeping much so both children were happy and settled. Recently, I’ve realized I don’t need to be bracing for anything, nothing to grit my teeth for! We are here, settled in Fort Collins, we have a fledgling community of friends and acquaintances that we’re getting to know better, and it’s time to take a breath. I wanted to stretch and enjoy my days a little more.

A Day in the Life: Staying home with two

Dear sisters,

I’ve thought of many different blog posts that I would love to post, but I’ll take baby steps back into blogging with this Day in the Life post. I enjoy reading other people’s posts in this format, it is fascinating and comforting to know how similar and different our lives are! So, here goes:

Helen’s Birth Story

Dear sisters,

Birth stories are a tradition here. Find Calvin’s here, Thaddeus’s here, and Eve’s here.

It’s time to write up Helen’s birth story. I’ve had enough time to settle into being a stay at home mom to feel like I can use naptime for writing and there’s a bit of a calm before our storm of moving into our new house next week. More on that later.

Helen at 5 days old. Babies are pretty incredible.

the summer of my (almost) content

Hello dear sisters.

It is August 10th and I have a rare day at home because I’ve been afflicted with a summer cold. Miriam is at her grandparents’ for the week, Eve is at daycare, and instead of being at work, here I am in my pajamas on the couch, blowing my nose and coughing. It’s strange to be sick in the summer–really, it shouldn’t be allowed–but at least I have some down time to write to you all, finally.

We are in the last few weeks of summer already, how did that happen? Of course it goes by too fast every year. Summer is a tough time of year for me. I’m still adjusting to working right through it without a break. Having been raised by two college professors gave me the skewed idea that summer means months of free time! For some, it does. For most of the parents I know, it doesn’t. Homer Simpson summed it up so perfectly:

Writing again to share…

Hello sisters,

This blog has been on a long hiatus. I don’t know how much I’ll be writing here in the future, now that I’m expecting another baby, but I know I enjoy looking back at these posts. A lot of big moments have been written about here (and little ones too, which is just as nice), but I thought I’d add another big one.

Kevin and I are moving again, to Fort Collins, Colorado. Now, some of you may be wondering, wait…Colorado is farther away from family and friends, and you’d be right! Kevin and I had been hoping to get back to the East Coast eventually. Being within driving distance of many of our loved ones would be lovely, but at the same time, permanent jobs in the field of ecology are also lovely!

I think I may have to learn how to ski…

As Kevin’s post doc started winding down (and federal funding became less of a certainty…), he started applying to permanent jobs. There were lots of fish in the water, but the one that took his bait was Colorado Parks and Wildlife Service in Fort Collins, CO where he will be a spatial ecologist! It’s another big move, farther west. Kevin joked that in 10 years we’ll be in Japan at this rate.

ordinary days

Hi sisters.

This space has been pretty quiet as of late. I know I have been trying a little to scale back on my online socializing, in favor of face-to-face interaction. Still, I miss sharing bits of my everyday life with you all, and since we do not live close enough to hang out, I’m returning to this shared space.  Recently I took a few quick pictures on my phone and thought, hm, these aren’t anything special but I think together they give a little glimpse of what everyday life is like for my little family. Want to see?

Miriam doesn’t let me do her hair much but a few weeks ago I managed to do pigtails for her and Eve! I had to take a picture to commemorate the rare occasion.

Eve continues to ask to do my hair, and I find it so adorable.

Speaking of adorable. My kids always want Nutella on their breakfast toast. I’m not a huge fan of this since it’s basically candy on bread. I have succeeded in only letting them have it on half of their bread, so…progress. Anyway, this is Eve’s face every morning, after finishing her Nutella toast.

I had President’s Day off, and Miriam was at a day camp for the day, so I took Eve to a nearby playground for an hour or so in the morning. It’s nice to be with just one kid!

This! Look at my big kid, vacuuming! She asked to try it and quickly proclaimed that it was fun. Hooray for children doing housework! May it continue.

Eve asked to put on Krestia’s sweater and walked around the house for a bit, wearing it like a dress.

They grow so fast. Life goes slowly and fast all at the same time. What is it they say? The days are long but the years are short. Someday I will miss having these kids around. Right now, though, I’m trying to type this with Eve on my lap, and I’m going to step away from this screen to attend to them. Miss you all.

Love,

Rachel

 

Eve’s birthday

Hi sisters,

After the heartache of the past week and a half, here are a few photos from Eve’s birthday party. How thankful I am for my family that helped me learn to love beyond the boundaries around race, religion, gender, and sexuality that some people have been trying to draw in heartbreaking ways since the election.

Sustainance for the party ahead.

Grandpa made a big leaf pile. Eve helped keep it organized.

Miriam felt that there should have been gifts for her to celebrate her anniversary of becoming a big sister. So we made a crown for her.

Pose choices were all hers.

Happy birthday, dear Eve. You are loved abundantly. May you love abundantly.

Your aunt Janna.

Personality Tendencies

Sometimes, I learn concepts that alter how I see the world around me. For better or for worse I’ll come across something that gets the (sometimes-rusted) gears in my head turning and gives me a deeper insight & new perspective on my interactions with the world around me.

The concept of Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies is an example. Read along & it could get your gears turning too!

The Four Tendencies is a framework to understand how people respond to expectations and rules. The expectations and rules a person experiences are broken down into two categories: internal and external. An external rule is something that the world or another person wants from you. That might mean a deadline, a law, a scheduled social event, a “request” from your significant other, etc. An internal expectation is something you personally want or believe is needed: a New Year’s resolution, deciding to exercise, writing a book, etc.

A day in the life with a 16 month old

Dear sisters,

This week has felt a bit idyllic. Calvin has settled into sleeping past 6am most mornings (praise the lord). He still rouses a few times in the night, but getting past the 5am or 5:30am wake ups has been nice. Something that seems to have helped was transitioning him to one nap a day. It feels like he’s sunnier and sillier every day and while he definitely gets stridently annoyed about things, time with him is so very wonderful. His ability to play by himself is increasing from 30 seconds to maybe a few minutes! I’ll take it!! This past Monday (which is my day with NO WORK), we had such a wonderful time together that I decided to document it for the blog.

Calvin woke up at 6:15am! Woot!! We had to drop off one of the cars for an oil change, so Dad stayed home a bit later in the morning (he usually leaves at 7am). After dropping off the car Calvin and I played at home.

7:45am Flannel came out to combat the rare early morning chilliness.

Speaking Clearly

Hi sisters,

At the end of July I turned 28. That doesn’t sound that old to me, but I most definitely feel much older than I did last July. Maybe old isn’t the right word for it, I feel more…mature. I feel like I’m learning more about my relationships with my husband and child, with my sisters and parents, with my friends and coworkers. At a younger age I wouldn’t have thought much about these relationships beyond: is the other person happy? If no, then how can I make that person happy?