Rachel Callahan

The Post After Which AJ’s Family Disowns Me.

October 13, 2009 Rachel Callahan Football and I have a Complicated Relationship, The Blissfulness of Life, Toddlers: The Experience

Ali and I had the privilege of hosting AJ and Tessa for a couple of hours on Friday. Ashley was headed for a bridesmaid luncheon for THE wedding of THE year – David’s Sister-in-Law, Sherri, married a local Radio DJ, Justin. I have become convinced that between the two of them, they pretty much know everyone in this city.

Ali, of course, was thrilled to have a friend to hang out with:

And yes, Ali IS still wearing her pajamas. She’s like her Mommy: if given the opportunity to stay in jammies all day, why not take it?

Tessa wasn’t quite as excited to come over, but AJ made sure to follow through on her big-sisterly duties and comfort her heartily:

I put Ali’s Greek Dancing Skirt on Tessa, and the jingles and jangles definitely did their job of keeping her entertained (and me entertained, as well):

And then, I got to experience something that I haven’t done in quite some time: feed a baby to sleep:

Ahhh….that’s the life. If only I could drift off to sleep while eating…

Ali and AJ did not forget that it was my birthday. They made me a cake:

And sang heartily to me:

…which also led to Ali calling me “Rachel” for the rest of the day. I think it made her feel like w we were on equal footing in this relationship of ours…

AJ managed to find something ~~that I thought I had hidden really well~~ that I had put away for a special occasion (never) – a very over-the-top Alabama bow that Chris bought Ali:

Despite the fact that this child is supposedly being brought up as a Tennessee Vols fan, as soon as she found that tacky thing, she begged me to put it in her hair, then ran off to find Alabama Shakers.

Then she informed me that she wanted to play Roll Tide.

(Apparently, Ashley and David aren’t doing a very good job of passing down their values.)

I’m not the type to deny playing what you want to play, so AJ played a very rousing game of Roll Tide:

And then, she finally recruited Ali to play with her:

Just in case you wanted to see them in action, here’s a proper Toddler Pep Rally for you:

Pep Rally Notes:

No, Ali did not, in fact, actually take a DRINK of her juice. It just needed to have easy access, I suppose.
Yes, AJ did tell Ali that we were playing ROLL TIDE right now, not Pop Goes the Ali, and to pick up her shaker and PLAY RIGHT.
Yes, I suppose I might have gone a LITTLE too far in undermining AJ’s family values by encouraging them to say “Beat Them Vols”. But let’s just call it the price of my babysitting services..
At least I stopped short of getting out the Alabama cheerleading outfits, which AJ also begged for multiple times. (Mainly because Tessa was asleep in the room with them, but still – I should get some credit.)
No, AJ didn’t suffer any permanent eye injuries from all of the pom-pomage that she took to the face.

And so, if any of your toddlers need a proper schooling on how to cheer for the Crimson Tide, I have the perfect Tennessee Vols fan to teach them how.

Dear Gramamma: Please Ship Ali to Rising Fawn. We’re Not Coming Home.

October 11, 2009 Rachel Callahan I'm a Glutton for Adventure, The Blissfulness of Life

At the moment, I am sitting on the second floor porch of a beautiful antebellum-styled house a couple hours north of Birmingham, pretending that I’m in Gone With The Wind.

Or, I suppose what GWTW WOULD have been with the perk of indoor plumbing.

And wireless internet.

Oh – and no civil war.

At any rate, I think I may never come home. Our hosts told us that there were no guests coming in after us, so we could stay as long as we liked. You don’t think they’d notice if we stayed until next month, do you?

Here’s the view of the Bed and Breakfast we’re staying at – the dreamy General Woods Inn, from the driveway:
And, as beautiful as that view is, the views FROM the inn are stunning. This is what I’m currently staring at:
I can’t believe this heaven is so close by and I never knew about it. The last three guests in the guest book are from England, Ireland, and Canada, so apparently the REST of the world has already discovered it. We’re just slow.

When Chris and I started looking for a place to get away to for my birthday, we were looking for a cabin or hotel. I’ve never been too interested in the Bed and Breakfast concept because the one time we stayed in one, the rooms were tiny and you could hear everything everyone else in the house was doing. At all times.

However, we couldn’t find anything that was available AND that didn’t have a two night minimum AND that fit The Vision* of what I wanted for my birthday, so we branched out to look at B & B’s.

(* The Vision = sitting in the brand-new-crispness-of-fall, on a porch, sipping coffee, looking at any type of pretty view, and completely relaxing.)

When we found this place and realized it only had three for-rent rooms, (and it looked absolutely huge), we decided that the neighbor issues would surely not be quite as much of a concern.

Sure enough, we’ve only seen the one other couple staying here once. And haven’t heard them at all.

This B&B is THE most amazing place I’ve ever stayed. If they had a room-of-the-month club somewhat akin to a jelly-of-the-month club, I’d most certainly be joining.

And, The Vision* has most certainly has come to pass:

Our bedroom is also fabulous and oh-so-roomy:

We were greeted upon arriving in our bedroom with this beautiful bouquet of flowers picked out of the gardens:

The front entry is every Southern Girl’s dream of what a house is supposed to look like:
As is the front porch.

The house is named after the Man of the house, who is a Brigadier General in the US Army. He is often in D.C., so his wife Nadine decided to turn their home into a B&B to have people around while he was gone. The house is decorated with fascinating memorabilia from his long military career:

He happened to be here this weekend, so he sat and chatted with us about all sorts of fascinating things while we ate our breakfast.

And, just because this place is so fabulous, I have to share some more pictures.

The back gardens, photographed from the also-roomy back porch right off of our bedroom:

The wedding Arbor very nearly made me want to get married again:

And apparently it had the same effect on Chris, too.

We had planned on eating breakfast on the front porch this morning, but the mountain sun was so blinding that I couldn’t open my eyes:

So we ate our delicious breakfast in the back gardens, instead:
And finally, a couple more views from the yard.

Seeing as how it’s only 2 hours out of Birmingham, we will most definitely be returning here. Hopefully VERY soon.

Last night, we drove to Chattanooga for dinner (25 minutes away). We went to Big River Grille and shot pool while we waited for our table:

I have amazing talent at pool. Even though I completely stink, I always manage to win by either,

a) my opponent shooting in the 8-ball, or

b) my opponent shooting in enough of my balls accidentally that I’m able to pull ahead.

And, so, Chris shot the 8-ball in. Victorious!!

Then our food arrived:

Wow.

Although we’ve eaten like royalty all weekend, I had yet to have any birthday dessert. So we ordered the dessert sampler plate, expecting SMALL pieces of three desserts.

Instead, we got at least 5 pounds of sweets:
We about died, but we left the plate like this:

Okay, okay…with the help of a go-box.

(Speaking of which….)

(Okay. I’m back.)

We then walked around the gorgeous downtown area of Chattanooga while wishing that Birmingham was half as cool.

We walked across the riverwalk bridge:
And then found a super-comfy couch to rest on:

Or…maybe NOT so super-comfy.
Especially since it hit our legs mid-calf – a very awkward feeling indeed.
We also saw some great signs along the way of our journey.

Don’t tape ANYTHING to the Ice Machine.

Except a sign saying to not tape anything to the Ice Machine.

And I’m not sure what this actually IS, but it’s apparently not Gum.

I DO love the inappropriate use of quotation marks.

Oh look – Chris is back from his run. I guess that means this post is almost over.

Yes, I needed the exercise also to work off all of these super-rich birthday meals.

No, I don’t run on my birthday.

Or my birthday weekend.

Or any day, for that matter.

I guess all of those calories and my thighs will be new best friends.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho… Snow White Giveaway – $80 Value!!

October 10, 2009 Rachel Callahan Giveaways and Contests

Chris and I are headed to have a little R&R at a B&B for my birthday, so I decided to leave you with a giveaway to pass the time!!

Disney re-released their first ever animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on Tuesday! The Diamond Edition set is a Blu-ray/DVD Combo – it has three discs – a regular DVD with a lot of bonus material, the Blu-ray movie, and the Blu-ray bonus material!

We don’t have a Blu-ray player yet, but I hear that the picture and features are awesome – and the discs are kid-proof and scratch-proof!

I remember watching Snow White as a child and being in LOVE with those cuddly dwarfs…

They sent me a copy to review this week, and I let Ali watch it – her first ever full-length movie. I didn’t know if her attention span would last, but she was completely mesmerized. She especially loved the “little men”, just like Mommy.

(In particular, she liked the one with a pink shirt – who happens to be Grumpy. One day, she’s going to have to quit picking her favorite people based on the colors they choose to wear. That just seems like a strategy doomed to failure.)

There were some “intense” parts that I had forgotten about (intense for a two year old, anyway), but they didn’t seem to phase her. I did decide to fast forward through a couple of the “scarier” parts, but I let her watch almost all of it. Just a couple of hours later, she was already asking me if we could watch “Snow White and the Little Men” again.

I think we may have a new favorite movie.

At any rate, I have a giveaway for you to celebrate this new release! It is the Diamond Edition DVD, coupled with the Seven Dwarf Plush Set, for a value of $79.99!!

Aren’t they adorable?!? Luckily, this prize ships directly and not from me – otherwise, Ali might find the seven little men, resulting in your prize being delivered “slightly used”.

If you’d like to win this Snow White collector’s edition set, simply comment on this post! You can get up to three extra entries if you:

Subscribe to OR Follow my blog
Follow me on Twitter OR Facebook
Tweet, blog, OR Facebook about the giveaway

(be sure to leave separate comments for your extra entries.)

Best of luck! This giveaway is open until Monday, October 26th. The winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, October 27th.

27 Things I Learned in my 27th Year.

October 9, 2009 Rachel Callahan The Blissfulness of Life

So, being the geek that I am, I kept going back and forth on the accuracy of the above title. I think that technically, last year was my 28th year, seeing as how my first year was between 0 and 1 years old. But, then I was afraid that people would think I was turning 29 today – oh the horrors! So I’m being inaccurate because I would rather people think I’m turning 27 than 29.

But, to be completely clear, I am turning……28.

But no need to get caught up in numbers. The point of a birthday is not the additional digit unless you’re under 20. After that, the only perk (and it’s a big one, I might add) of birthdays is that it means that there’s a whole day devoted just to MEEEEEE.

So, without further unnecessary ado, Here is a list of what I’ve learned this year, in (mostly) chronological order:

Birthdays don’t always live up to their expectations. Puking can REALLY put a damper on a special day. (Hopefully, today will be NO repeat of last year.)
A lot can change in a year. I went from nearly having a complete social anxiety attack about merely attending my first blogger meet-up to being the instigator, planner, and leader of my second, third, fourth, and fifth blogger meet-ups… how did THAT happen?
Toddlers will believe that brown milk is something disgusting and undesirable for approximately nine months.
Speaking of disgusting, you can’t deny talent. Chris is very nearly as talented as his uncle at making Toenail Art.
Rooting out and finding the source of a husband’s aromatic crush is MUCH harder than one would have thought.
(No, I still don’t know what the magical scent is…if only I could have THAT for my birthday.)

(However, I DID learn my husband’s fantasy hairdo this year: Pippi Longstocking.)
Two things I’m REALLY NOT good at: Belly Dancing and pulling off Gold lamé leggings.
Phlegm, unfortunately, has chosen me to be his best friend. ALL YEAR LONG. As much as I’ve tried to oust him, he feels the need to continue on with this co-dependent relationship.
Mothering takes constant and continuing education to stay up to date with the current requirements of the job. This year, I learned that two year olds will figure out ways to be in control of their environment, using whatever brilliant means necessary. Whether it’s chipmunking or poop hoarding, they can, and often DO, have TOTAL control.
Even if you meant it as just a joke, if you teach your toddler to say something, like, say, “axiomatically bombastic”, it may very well become a part of their everyday vocabulary. Proceed with caution on teaching any new words. Especially “Funky”.
(Obviously, the creators of Thomas the Tank Engine did not realize this important point when naming a tank engine “Percy”. Thanks for that.)
I have learned to not be so concerned with image. After all, even Princesses aren’t perfect. Even CARTOON princesses may or may not get their hair color out of a bottle. Speaking of, I was also finally able to admit this year that I have a secret and strong desire to dye my hair pink. One day, people. One day.
One cannot escape from their past. Not even their fashion past. If it’s not the 80’s chasing me down, it’s the 90’s. I won’t be able to resist much longer, due to the total lackage of modern clothing available. Sometime this year, I may give in and become a visual example of my past fashion mistakes.
Those people that say that pacifiers are easier to take away before a baby turns one, as opposed to waiting until they’re a toddler? They’re right.
(And, for the (shameful) record, Ali still gets her paci halfway through her naps when she partially wakes up every day. I just can’t seem to stomach cutting naps in half to take it away. Yes. I’m horrible.)
You cannot, shall not, will not be able to be a mother without, at some point, doing things SO grotesque that your pre-Mommy self would have surely died right out at the suggestion.
April Fools + Blogging = Double the Fun! Especially when one of your best friends calls you, seething with rage at the fact that you DIDN’T TELL HER that you were PREGNANT with TWINS before announcing it on your blog!!! Hee hee!
Having a two year old in a wedding, although risky, is thankfully on the “cute” side of the Cute-to-Nightmarish continuum.
If you think the world will think you’re crazy because of your quirky OCD tendencies, then you’re probably right.
Sudafed is TOTALLY worth all of the ridiculous Crystal Meth Red Tape and scare tactics.
Although difficult, learning to tame a curly headed child’s hair is possible, and quite fulfilling when accomplished.
It only takes a couple of months and a couple of blog posts to solve a neighborhood mystery such as why there are dots on mailboxes. It was confirmed that it was the newspaper delivery service. I can now sleep again.
Apparently, you used to not be allowed to take a bath for six weeks after giving birth. Ew.
There is NO safe option for teaching toddlers about anatomy. You WILL be embarrassed, no matter how you go about it.
Waiting until she’s two to teach your child her whole name might cause confusion with zoo animals.
When it comes down to it, there are actually a very limited number of “usable” biblical names.
ALWAYS put the lid down on singing potties. On a related note, big potties make awesome pommel horses. On another related note, once kids start talking, the bathroom becomes a place of escape, rather than necessity.
Not everyone appreciates my sense of humor. Or finds it humorous. At all.
Sometimes, teaching your child improper table manners may help the greater good. Like achieving the actual drinkage of milk when taught how to blow bubbles in aforementioned liquid.
Calorie count listings ruin EVERYTHING. And nowhere has them listed more prevalently than NYC. So if you’re going to NYC and don’t want your favorite things ruined FOREVER (like, say, White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks), don’t go to any restaurants or coffee shops that you frequent back home. On a related note, just don’t ever read any packaging at all. You’ll live a much happier life that way.

And now, I’m off to celebrate the rest of the day that’s all about MEEEEEE!!!

…right after I do the laundry…and fix Ali some breakfast…and do the dishes…and play dolls with her…and get my work done…

An Open Letter to All of the Strangers Around Me.

October 8, 2009 Rachel Callahan Parent of the Year

Dear Store Clerks, Nice Old Ladies, Scary Old Men, and Random People that Pass Me By on a Daily Basis,

We don’t know each other at all, so it is perfectly understandable that you know nothing about me and (thankfully) my child.

In general, I’d most definitely like to keep it that way.

However, for the sake of this letter, let me fill you in on one fact about my child. You see, Ali is a VERY ridiculously cautious sort. She never bleeds and rarely bruises, because she has her Father’s double-whammy gene of complete non-clumsiness along with unbelievably thorough anal-retentive carefulness.

Because my child is more cautious than Warren Buffett would be upon receipt of an email requesting him to send funds to Nigeria for a great investment opportunity, I allow her some freedoms and privileges that I would not offer a less careful child.

Hence, why she is allowed to play “Gymnastics Buggy“, “Garbage Man” (riding on the end of a grocery cart), and to walk on whatever pretend “Balance Beam” strikes her fancy (almost always while holding my hand, thanks to her cautiousness), and other sorts of things that you apparently think are “irresponsible”, but I would tend to simply call “being a kid”.

(And, I’m sure my own a-little-bit-less-cautious outlook may play into these decisions as well.)

However, regardless of her or my level of caution, if I am standing within five inches of my daughter, the following directions to my child are not at all necessary when coming from you, a complete stranger:

“Get down from there, you’ll fall!!”

“Watch out little girl, you’ll hurt yourself!!”

“You need to be careful!!”

“That’s not how you’re supposed to ride on that!!”

Also, when she helps me push all of the buttons on the credit card machine, (which she knows how to do and sadly may even know my pin number by heart), Ms. Cashier, please understand that she can probably pay quicker than I could, so it is not necessary to intervene and say any of the following:

“Don’t push those buttons!!”

“Children aren’t allowed to play on those!!”

“Don’t do that – you’ll break it!!!”

I sincerely promise all of you that I am, in fact, a suitable parent and will, in fact, protect my child from harm or from harming you or your stores. If she does get hurt, at that point, you have my permission to say “I knew that would happen.”

If you will refrain from saying these things to Ali (while apparently pretending that I am completely invisible), then I promise to never say to YOU the following:

“When you can make correct change without the help of a cash register, I’ll quit letting my daughter run my credit card for me.”

“If we weren’t in Target right now, I’d totally be taking your picture and submitting it to PeopleOfWalmart.com.”

“Just because you still have your 10 year old on a leash doesn’t mean that my two year old is enough of a flight risk to deserve one.”

“You know, running that cash register would be a lot easier if you didn’t have 12 inch long Fritos posing as fingernails on the ends of your fingers.”

Thank you in advance for your kindness and for the removal of those 12 inch Frito Nails from prying into my parenting skills,

~ Rachel

Pre-Pre-K Social Studies.

October 7, 2009August 13, 2016 Rachel Callahan Homeschooling: Not just for the socially awkward anymore., Toddlers: The Experience

All you need to teach your two year old their presidents:

– A Presidents Placemat

– Five minutes a day

– Marshmallows, nuts, Nerds, or any other type of treat.

After we finished up our studies of the states, I wasn’t sure what to do next.I wanted Ali to learn how to write her letters, but she had no interest in that (until she freakishly signed her name last week).

I thought that countries might be the best option, but after winning a book giveaway at Mama Hen’s blog, Ali became obsessed with one of the books that she sent us about the Presidents. Then, Lianne gave Ali a Presidents Placemat, which just intensified her love of Presidential Studies.

Rule #1 about teaching a geeky toddler: Capitalize on their obsessions.

So, we started learning the Presidents. Initially, we just read and talked about them. We just started “quizzing” on them last week, so she’s certainly no presidential expert, but I thought I’d share the beginning processes this time around …

Ali really loves these learning endeavors, and they aren’t as hard as they seem. With a little reward (aka Pistachios, Marshmallows, Gummies – whatever treat you don’t mind your kid having a few of in the name of education), “learning” has become her favorite game. I don’t know how useful recognizing who the presidents are will be in her life, but I figure if nothing else, it’s good for developing those brain synapses.

And as of the recording of the below video, we have also clarified that ALL Presidents (so far), regardless of the confusion of their picture, hairstyle or bow-ey like ties, are BOYS.

(As usual, my apologies for the video quality and my annoying cell phone that can never keep to itself when I’m recording.)

Princesses Don’t Poop.

October 6, 2009 Rachel Callahan Toddlers: The Experience

(I swore I’d never blog about potty-training.)

(I lied.)

(You’ve been forewarned. If you’d rather not read any further, you have my permission to stop and go read something about rainbows and unicorns.)

All of my life I’ve been one of those girls who tried her absolute darndest to deny the existence of bodily functions. I distinctly remember the first time I (VERY accidentally) burped in front of Chris. I was completely mortified – ready to melt through the floor, through the earth’s outer crust, and all the way to China, if I could manage to do so.

However, those niceties go by the wayside when one becomes a Mommy. I now regularly find myself having conversations with my child, with my husband, and with other Mommies about the intimate details of my child’s every function.

And that was all BEFORE potty training.

Now I’m just a regular poop-and-pee play-by-play-commentator.

Oh, the glamour of Mommyhood.

Ali was doing fairly well on the potty-training front, besides the fact that she’s kind of bored with the whole thing and would find it much more convenient to go back to diapers, something she often requests.

(At this point, my parents are laughing gleefully and evilly and feeling NO sympathy for me AT ALL, since a main story of our way-too-often-re-told family legends is about my potty-training experience. I learned easily and perfectly, and then one day announced, “I’m not going to do this anymore”, and quit cold turkey. No amount of bribing could convince me to re-tread the waters of leaving any sort of deposit in the toilet.)

Back to Ali.

The one problem with Potty-training is this: when kids are in diapers, they have no idea that they can control their bodily functions, and so they just don’t. However, when they start potty-training, they all of a sudden realize something:

THEY are in control.

As Peter Parker’s Uncle says, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

And so, when Ali decided that she didn’t want to poop in the potty anymore, instead of just pooping in whatever she happened to be wearing, she just decided to hold it.

And hold it.

Oh – and hold it some more.

Then, a FEW DAYS LATER when it gets to a critical mass, every few minutes, she stops what she’s doing, get a look of dread on her face, and say “Ooooh”, just like the Saturday Night Live Activia Commercials. Then she’ll get over it, INSIST that she DOES NOT need to go potty, and will keep playing.

For a couple of minutes, until she starts all over again.

So, when “it” refuses to reside at her inn any longer, it is horrifically painful, which confirms her decision that pooping is QUITE overrated, and so therefore strengthening her resolve to never do that AGAIN.

No amount of reasoning on my part can convince a two year old that if you put it off, it only gets worse.

Today’s experience with this cycle was the worst yet. It consisted of an hour of on and off weeping and gnashing of teeth, all while screaming, “I don’t WANT to pooooooop!!”

And so, if you ever see my brooding child with a look of dread and distress on her face, you’ll know why: because Princesses DON’T poop.

Personally, I can’t say that I blame her.

Friday Night Lights

October 5, 2009 Rachel Callahan A Day in the Life, I embarrass myself just for your amusement., Just My Luck

Friday night was Homecoming at our Church’s Private School, which also happens to be Chris’ Alma Mater. So we decided that Ali needed to experience “Little Football”, since she recently got her first experience of “Big Football”.

Ali was quite thrilled with the situation. Every time the fans would cheer, she would jump, wide-eyed with shock, and then start screaming and clapping.

I think she liked the fact that adults were acting like toddlers. Because, after all, the excitement that “big” people show at football games is, I suppose, somewhat comparable to the excitement that a toddler feels for finding a rock, seeing a butterfly, or finding a chip shaped like Ohio (and then eating it, of course, while screaming with glee, “I’m eating Ohio!!!”).

Some good friends of ours from Church sat right in front of us, namely “Missuh Gary”, someone that Ali absolutely adores from a distance, but is usually too shy to let him too close.

However, there was something about the wide open space and the fresh fall air that convinced Ali to lower her inhibitions, and within a few minutes’ time, she had moved down a row and became Missuh Gary’s date for the rest of the game:

(Miss Janey, Missuh Gary’s REAL date/wife, had made the poor decision to sit on the row below him, leaving a very open invitation for another woman to come in and swipe her date right out from above her.)

(She also happens to be Ali’s Sunday School teacher. Let’s hope she doesn’t take out her jealousy and make Ali be Judas or the Pigs possessed with demons or something equally awful when they’re acting out the bible story.)

Chris and I, of course, took full advantage of our childless situation and had a date of our own while Ali was fully entertained basking in the presence of the great Missuh Gary and mimicking the cheerleaders and the eagle:

I personally was enjoying the mental comparisons of the cheerleaders in Chris’ yearbooks from the 80’s and 90’s, with their knee length Super-Pleated skorts, and wishing that the alumni cheerleaders would attend homecoming in their era outfits.

Then, to those around us, I asked (very jokingly but maybe not-sounding-so-jokingly), “Why are the cheerleading uniforms BLACK?? Shouldn’t they be Green and yellow? What has happened to our SCHOOL??”

However, as my luck would have it, the cheerleading coach (whom I’ve never met before) was sitting DIRECTLY across the aisle from me, and was quick to jump to the defense of the uniforms that she lovingly and dedicatedly chose for the squad.

Oops.

Mental note: No live, verbal blogging should take place when in public for fear of it resulting in enjoying the cuisine of one’s foot.

I NEED….

October 3, 2009 Rachel Callahan Survey Says. . .

I NEED….some recipes for Chicken Salad. I’ve never made it before, but seeing as how it is the second item in my listing of favorite food groups (right after chocolate, of course), I’m DETERMINED to try it as part of testing of my new Ninja. Here’s what I do and don’t like in my Chicken Salad:
- The smaller the chicken pieces, the better. Shredded (like Zoës) is best. No chunks of dry tasteless meat for me!
- Fruit and nuts are acceptable ingredients, but not required.
- Nothing that tastes like it could be Chicken salad, but it might be Egg Salad or Tuna Salad (a la Chick Fil A’s Chicken Salad – YUCK!). It must clearly be Chicken Salad.
- Nothing too fancy. The simpler, the better.
I NEED…to know what I want for my birthday. It’s next Friday (store that fact in your most important short term memory bank!). Chris has been asking me for WEEKS what I want and I just can’t come up with anything!!
(We practice practical gift-giving in our house – you say what you want so you get what you want. Romantic guessing games of giving each other surprises, we feel, have more potential of leading to disappointment than simply giving what the other person requests.)

So….
- I don’t think I need clothes, but hey – clothes are always fun and a good standby.
- Chris asked me if I needed any new domain names (Yes, I’m THAT geeky. Yes, he bought me a domain name for Christmas), but I can’t think of anything blog related that I need…
- I COULD use a secondary camera battery (mine always runs out at inopportune times), but that just doesn’t seem very exciting to open up on one’s birthday…although maybe if it were paired with something else…

Okay. So you have your assignments. I need your Chicken Salad Recipes and I need you to read my mind and tell me what the PERFECT 28th Birthday present is. Get to work, people!

p.s. – because I’m anal retentive and have a great (though quirky) need for symmetry, I have a post of all pictures on B-Sides to counteract this visually lacking post.

Art Class 201

October 2, 2009 Rachel Callahan Homeschooling: Not just for the socially awkward anymore., I'm a Glutton for Adventure, Toddlers: The Experience

It’s been over a year since we last used fingerpaints, which means that I had enough time to block all of the memories of attempting to clean a slimey, gooey, multi-colored, covered head-to-foot toddler without turning into a slimey, gooey, multi-colored, covered head-to-foot Mommy.

And, the weather has been so gorgeous this week that Ali and I have been looking for any excuse to get outside.

So, we decided that today was the PERFECT day to explore our creativity.

Well actually, all she knew was “we’re going to do something really fun!!!”. But it was enough to get her to be patient while I gathered up the LONG list of supplies that one needs to create a toddler fingerpainting experience.

I got it all set up, including, of course, dressing her and I in pre-stained clothes, and then pulled out the paints.

Apparently, a year is long enough for her memory to fade, too. She just sat there, next to the paints and the canvas, as if she were waiting for me to hand her a paintbrush or something:
I was determined to give as little instruction as possible to see where her creativity would lead her, but I finally had to give in, after staring at her, staring at ME for at least 5 months in toddler years.

“Just use your fingers and paint.”

And so, one finger daintily dipped in,
And began a very minimalist picture.

She would stop and survey her work, then put a make a few more specific lines:
It finally occurred to her to use both of her index fingers,

And then all of the fingers had to jump into the fun.
No More Miss Dainty.

But art was still serious business:
And, apparently, something that is quite rude to be photographed. I’m not sure if she thought I was going to copy her work or what:

Happy with her progress, she applauded her own achievements:

And then very quickly regretted it.

Which caused her conscientiousness about making a mess set in:

But she got over it and jumped back in with both fists:
It didn’t take as long as I thought it would. She abruptly picked up her hands from the canvas, looked up proudly, and asked me to please put all the tops back on the paints.

“Are you all done?”

“Yes, I’m all done.”

“Okay, but you need to do one more thing first: You need to sign your name.”

“Okay….A…..L….I. I signed my name!!”

Yes, it MIGHT look like a hand shooting the bird at me.

I suppose it COULD be a subliminal message (especially since she’s always been quite prone to using her middle finger).

Or maybe it is just a result of our short-sightedness in naming choices. We went through every rhyme for her name to prevent bad nicknaming, but the SHAPE of her name – we never considered that…

At any rate, I’m sure you’re ready to see the complete finished picture.

Before: