Thursday, November 9, 2006

Wow, I really don’t feel like writing this journal, but ce sa faci (what can you do?)? Well, today was Shannon’s birthday. I woke up at like 7 and started using the internet. Shannon’s family called her at 7:30 and afterward she went to go use my computer and found that it wasn’t there. Jess and Megan went to school with Mihai today and apparently they took it with them and didn’t even respect me enough to ask first. Like, if they’d asked I would’ve been fine with them bringing it, but the fact that it’s my computer and they just took it and didn’t even ask first, as if they have as much right and control over it as I do. That really bothered me. Anyway, so that wasn’t cool. Dancu was pretty good though. Petrica was sooo good today. Like, he was showing a lot of interest in me and not being in his own world. First, one time when I walked in the room he looked at me and I moved in front of him and he followed me with his gaze. So then I moved a little closer and just said something to him, still not touching him and he smiled, then I moved even closer and just put my hand out in front of him on the couch and he put his hand on top of mine! So that was good, then later, first he was just sitting on the floor and then he actually crawled to me! Like, got from the sitting position to the crawling position (which he never does) and then actually started crawling without me instigating it (never does) and also just crawled toward me and not a toy or something (definitely never does). Like, that’s three great things right there. I almost couldn’t believe it when he did it, because it’s usually hard enough to get him wanting to crawl period, even when Shannon and I are both trying, we specifically place him in the position and we’re shaking a toy! He crawled to me and I put my hands on the floor and he crawled til he reached my hands and then he just put his hands on mine and I pulled him to me and just gave him the biggest hug! Also, along the same lines, he never crawls on the couch, yet today I was sitting on the opposite side of the couch from him giving Costica some attention, when Petrica actually started crawling across the couch to me. Yeah, pretty exciting day with Petrica all around. Other than that, I spent some time with both Mihai and Costica. I’ve usually been working on reading books to Mihai lately. He’s still a little impatient to turn the pages, but he’s getting more used to just having me go through the book page by page and me reading some of the words on each page and then letting him turn each page when I’m ready for him to. I just want him to get used to the idea. Also, usually with Costica I’ll just start off with rubbing his back or something low key like that. Then when he starts whining I’ll turn him. Then each time he wines I’ll do something else til eventually I’m like holding him and swinging him in circles or something. After a while I run out of things to do that make him happy. Well, today I decided to do it differently. Instead of doing something different when he starts crying, I’d just stop doing anything til he stopped and it worked! He definitely cried less overall and I didn’t have to keep coming up with ways to make him happy. After Dancu, though, I was sooo not looking forward to having such a long day, and I feel that way pretty much every Thursday, so I’ve decided I’m just not going to go to the hospital on Thursdays. So, I came home and so did Shannon. I took a shower and then a nap. The problem was that by the time I was out of the shower Shannon had already fallen asleep and so I couldn’t ask her to wake me up and I don’t have a watch, so I went to sleep and just figured since she was going to Dacie too, she’d wake up and realize I was still asleep and wake me up. Well, I guess she didn’t mean to fall asleep because she never set her alarm and didn’t wake up til right about when we were supposed to leave to go to Tirgu Cucu. I really did not feel like doing anything but sleeping, but ce sa faci? So I quickly got ready and went over there as quickly as I could. Since Shannon slept so long she didn’t get the things done she needed to do, so she didn’t go to Dacie. So, it was just Melissa at the 3rd floor and me at the 7th. It was hard. The kids were just rowdy and wouldn’t listen to me and all over the place and sometimes I just felt like “ahhh!” because I’d have 5 kids like right up on me, all of them either holding onto my scrubs or pushing each other and I’m trying to tell them not to do it, but the only thing I know how to say is “nu!” and that doesn’t work at all. They aren’t very good at waiting or sharing or listening. Like, much worse than normal kids, so combine that with me not speaking much Romanian and there being 6 of them and you’ve got a tough situation. Plus, the worker today is one that I don’t think likes us much. I feel like she thinks I do things with them I shouldn’t do, but she has never told me the rules and she’ll tell the kids not to do stuff but won’t tell me what she wants them not to do, so I never know. That’d be fine if I spoke the language and could understand what she says to the kids, but I don’t! I still love them though, even if they drive me a little insane. I can’t help but love Viorel’s sweet little smile and the way he is so enthusiastic about everything and so innocent. I always thought it was easier for me to love the normal kids cuz I thought they were cuter, but honestly, at Dacie, I’m finding that it’s so much easier for me to love Costica and Viorel, the two most behind and the ones that are the hardest are Mihai and Marian who are the most normal. Like, I can’t explain the love I felt today when I was doing “coca nani” with Viorel. Anyway, I was supposed to meet Melissa at 6:20 at the tram stop, but I figured the worker would have me leave by then, because they usually do, so I just waited til she said to leave. Well, when the girls had been home for quite some time I finally asked her what time it was and it was already 6:30. She wanted me to stay for 10 more minutes, but I had to go and I felt bad because Melissa had started to worry because I didn’t get there til 6:35. Well, we took the tram to the Villa and went to Outreach. I talked quite a bit to Raluca and Christina. At one point when Raluca and I were watching Hackett and some other guy play ping pong we found these crazy ugly huge thick glasses and tried them on, which was fun. At the end I talked to Mihai for a while. It was a pretty good conversation, but I felt bad because it was like, I understood what he was going through but didn’t know how to help him. Anyway, he walked us home. Megan made rice crispy treats for Shannon, so when she got home we all sang to her and at them. I’m kind of frustrated because I realized that my computer hours for today really just don’t work. Like, A.) I was scheduled for some time when I’m not even home and B.) I was scheduled for both computers at the same time!