Rachel Callahan

Can She Get College Credit for This? . . .Or Maybe Preschool. . .

October 20, 2008 Rachel Callahan Toddlers: The Experience

Ali and I have been “playing” with shapes, letters, numbers and colors lately. She has gotten to a point where she can be focused for a longer period of time, and she really enjoys these type of learning games.

So I bought her two big tubs of foam shapes, letters and numbers – AND they are stickers.

Because in toddler world, everything is better if they are stickers. Just like in Daddy world, everything is better if wrapped in bacon. And in Mommy world, everything is better if coupled with a fountain coke.
So anyway, I have been laying a bunch out, then asking her if she can find the “A”, the triangle, the purple heart, etc. She will get really focused and actually search for the requested object:
And is usually successful, with much glee!!
Here’s a video of our new game:

Can She Get College Credit for This? . . .Or Maybe Preschool. . .

October 20, 2008 Rachel Callahan Toddlers: The Experience

So I bought her two big tubs of foam shapes, letters and numbers – AND they are stickers.

Does "Tough Love" mean Tough on the Parents or the Kids? Both.

October 20, 2008 Rachel Callahan On a more serious note. . ., Toddlers: The Experience

Ali is one of those toddlers who wakes up fairly often in her sleep. She sleeps long, but it is usually interrupted. Sometimes I have to go in and pat her and tell her to go back to sleep, and sometimes she goes back to sleep on her own. Usually at night she doesn’t wake up, but if she does, she almost always goes back to sleep on her own. But during naptimes I almost always make one trip up to lay her back down. Odd, I know. But not the point of this blog.

The other night she woke up crying, and since I was in a deep sleep myself, I didn’t do my usual analysis of “does she sound like she is going to go back to sleep on her own?”, but jumped up and ran in there uncognizantly (yes, I just made that word up). I patted her and told her to go back to sleep and went back to our room.

A couple of minutes later, she was crying again. I went back in and asked her, “Do you want Mommy to hold you a minute?”, and of course she said “Hooooold you!!”. So I held her and rocked for a few minutes, falling in and out of sleep myself, then put her back in bed.

A couple of hours later she woke up again, except this time her cries weren’t heartfelt – they were obviously “I’m trying to get your attention” cries. After giving her a few minutes, I went back in there, and she immediately said (not really in an “I-need you” tone – more like an “I’m-the-boss-matter-of-fact” tone), “Mommy, hold you a minute”.

I knew that I couldn’t. I could see the dangerous curve ahead leading down a habit-path that I didn’t want to go on.

So I had to tell her, as hard as it was, (sigh) “no”.

I patted her on the back and she went back to sleep with no protests at all, and didn’t wake up again that night, or any of the nights following.

But it still hurts my heart that she managed to articulate “Mommy, hold you a Minute”, and I had to decline.

But that’s what parenthood is about – or at least the hard part of parenting. Kids have to know that they do not rule the world, that there are boundaries to which they have to be okay with. Especially when there is only one child. But whether she ends up with siblings or not (which is another subject for another day), she has to understand that the world doesn’t revolve around her.

And that’s hard.

Sometimes it’s so much easier to just let them have what they want than to insist on what they need. Whether it’s sleep, candy, one toy after another in the backseat of the car, or telling Mommy what to do. But what is easy in the short run can make things much more difficult – for the parent and the child – in the long run.

It is much easier to teach selflessness to a 21 month old to a 21 year old. It is much easier to learn selflessness at 21 months old than at 21 years old.

I have always thought that selflessness is one of the key ingredients to a happy marriage (or any other relationship, for that matter), and I want that for Ali. So therefore, I have to make the investment now so that it will pay off later.

Photographical Evidence of the Week

October 19, 2008 Rachel Callahan A Day in the Life, I would NEVER take too many pictures. . .

Ali and I babysat AJ earlier this week, and as usual, the girls had a blast together. They are starting to play more “together” than just next to each other, and it’s so fun to watch them:
AJ also enjoyed posing for pictures. She was very much enjoying smiling, then looking at her picture.Ali, although usually loving to see pictures, was much too engrossed in understanding ALL of AJ’s toys:
Do you think they look more or less like each other than they did here, 6 months ago?

I also have a video of some of their fun over at B-Sides.

In other news, Ali is definitely attached to her squares-winnings-chair. She calls it “new chair”, and begs, “Play new chair!! Play new chair!!”

It is so amusing to me how toddlers pick up on their parent’s habits, even if they aren’t exposed to them all the time.

I always cuddle up in a blanket when on the couch – but usually this happens after Ali’s bedtime. But apparently she has seen me do this enough that she is aware of my habit and wants to be like Mommy. She found a blanket and made it her “new chair covers” – she leaves it in her chair, and every time she crawls into her chair, she pulls her covers over her. Then she’ll point to my blanket at say “Mommy’s covers!!”, wanting me to cover up also.And today, we took Ali to Tuscaloosa. We didn’t stay for the game, just for the tailgating. Here are a few pics:
Truly “tailgating” with Daddy:
Happy to sit in a “big girl chair”
Daddy bought Ali a doll when we were out on our walk. It got much love for the rest of the day.
Eating is always a potentially messy time at tailgating. . especially when the name of the food already begins with “sloppy” (joe’s).
Ali kept trying to sip-steal my coke (she’s never had it but she sure does try!!). Isn’t that a felony in 48 states?
Sitting with Papa:
Noooo, she’s not the center of attention. . .
Sharing celery with Mommy:
And really examining Kristina’s buttons.
It was a fun but exhausting day – we got her down for her nap at a record-late 3pm!! We woke her up at 6:15pm. I think she would have slept through the night if we hadn’t woken her up.

The Perils of the Petting Zoo

October 18, 2008 Rachel Callahan I embarrass myself just for your amusement., Utter Silliness, Yes I'm a beach bum. What of it?

Quick Note: Be sure to check out “A Dose of Humor” at 5 Minutes for Parenting – today I featured Jen Smithson from Rolling Through Looneyville, One Wave at a Time.

I mentioned earlier this week about going to the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, one of our favorite family places to go. And yes, it is where they filmed “The Little Zoo That Could” on Animal Planet a few years ago. It was a miniseries about their adventures of evacuating all 200+ animals three times in one year due to three different hurricanes.

We do love this place. It is so homey and familiar. However, it doesn’t come without it’s perils.

For instance, if you feed animals, a logical conclusion is that sometimes you WILL get bit. We have had three biting experiences – one for each of us.

The First Bite: Chris.
Chris and I used to go to the zoo even before we had Ali. I just really loved feeding the animals, especially this big ole’ guy, who would never bite anyone:
he has since passed, unfortunately.

Anyway, Chris would feed the animals, but he was never quite as excited about it as I was. One of these visits, I was feeding the huuuuuge turtles.

I told Chris “OH! That was so NEAT! He just ever so gently picked up the food off of my hand! You’ve GOT to try it!”.

Chris, having heard stories of snapping turtles, was a bit reluctant, but because of his love for his young wife, decided to give it a try. He timidly put his hand in with a piece of food, and the turtle came toward him. He leaned toward the piece of food, and then in a flash, you could see the thought going through his head as he pondered, “food or finger?” and he dove for Chris’ finger and chomped down.

Chris yells at the top of his lungs.

Being that this was a PETTING ZOO, there were plenty of kiddos around to witness this debacle.

After a couple of seconds, the turtle lets go.

I am halfway between laughing and crying. Laughing because the scene was absolutely hilarious, crying because I feel horribly guilty for talking him into becoming turtle bait, AND because I don’t know if he is okay or not.

He was ok, but he has VERY RARELY fed an animal since, which is why I was so surprised when he fed the teeniest, innocentest goat he could find here.

Bite: The Sequel. Me. When I was VERY pregnant with Ali, we went to the zoo again. My friend the giraffe had been replaced with a pair of camels. Since they were in the same pen as the camel had been in and there were no signs not recommending feeding them (like there are at the tigers and lions – DUH!), I decided to feed the camels. They were fine eating from my hand, but then one of them was especially hungry and decided to nose his way into my cup of food. In doing so, he chomped down on the cup and the hand holding the cup.

Odd, but they have since moved the camels WAY out of reach – actually on the other side of a pond from the walkway!! If I squinted hard enough I thought I could read a sign: “Do not feed camels. They have a special liking to biting extremely pregnant women.”

Ali: The Last Bite.
On Ali’s first visit to the zoo this year back in March, she was standing at the fence watching the ducks. I really should have known better, since the ducks regularly bite our feet, legs, or whatever is in reach trying to get some food (but for the record, they don’t hurt). Ali sticks out her finger, pointing at the ducks, and one of them decided that it MUST be food.
Although it didn’t hurt her, it did spook her from wanting to feed any more animals on that trip (or since, for that matter, although I try to blame that more on toddlerness than on the biting duck experience).

The Perils of Last Week’s Zoo Trip:
We were getting ready to feed our first animals of the trip (and hoping that we could convince Ali to feed one), when one of these guys that Ali looks so sheepish about
starts peeing and – turning around and DRINKING IT straight from the tap. And it wasn’t just a little bit. It kept going and going and going and going. We stood there, mouths agape, all of a sudden feeling very disgusted at feeding these animals. All the while, Chris is quoting our nurse friend Lydia, saying, “Don’t worry!! Urine is sterile!!”.

But I was VERY glad that Ali still had no interest in feeding any animals this time.

Now hopefully this has portrayed the adventure in going to the zoo, not scared you away from it. It’s a fun place, and obviously we love it or we wouldn’t keep going back for more!

Bumbleflies and punkins

October 17, 2008 Rachel Callahan A Day in the Life, Toddlers: The Experience

Ali and I went to the Great Pumpkin Patch yesterday with Jaci, Mia and Averi, Greta and Sam, and a few of Greta’s friends. It was much fun! (Incidentally, Jaci and Greta beat me to the punch and already have posts up about our trip!)

Here are Ali and I:Sam was a daring little adventurer on the hay ride – we were bouncing around everywhere, but he was still running back and forth from one end of the wagon to the other! Ali, on the other hand, being a bit afraid of the ride, was quite snuggly! Parenting tip #434: Fear is a great way to get your kids to snuggle with you.
And they’re off!! Searching high and low to find the perfect pumpkin!
Sam really liked Ali’s stick.
Ali wanted a “white punkin”. She rushed past all the orange ones looking for a white one.
Averi was happy to just sit and drum on the first pumpkin in the patch: an ugly, lopsided, bumpy, lumpy one that left no doubt as to why it had been left there. Averi must have a kind heart to those left out.
Sam, being the only man of the group, picked out quite a manly pumpkin.
A white punkin!!!!
Ali was quite proud of her find.
On the way back, she got a bit braver and ventured up to look over the edge of the wagon at the pretty flowers.
Resting after lunch:
And then we took a choo-choo train ride!! This thing was hilarious. It was a tractor with plywood cutouts attached to the sides that were painted to look like a train. The “train” even had four hubcaps attached to it!
All of the kids catching bubbles:
And the ride home. We actually had three car seats going across my backseat – Mia, Ali, and Averi, but unfortunately we couldn’t get a picture of all three.
Oh – Bumbleflies!
At lunch, Ali and I had this conversation:
(A fly lands on the picnic table in front of Ali. This bothers her, and so she says in a “shooing off” tone:)
Ali: All done, bumblebee!! All DONE, bumblebee!
Me: It’s not a bumblebee, it’s just a fly!
Ali: OOOOH. Fly. (in an enlightened voice)
(pause)
Ali: All done, bumblefly. All DONE, bumblefly!!

A Blog "Not" about The Office.

October 17, 2008 Rachel Callahan "Deep" Thoughts by Rachel, A Day in the Life

Eeeenteresting. . . so my bloggy friend Rachel G. complains that people only comment on her blog when she brings up a controversial topic (or at least “discussional” topic), but apparently all of my readers clam up when I bring up a topic for discussion. I guess my readers prefer entertainment posts, not discussion ones. On that note, I think I’ll talk about television. . .

Regarding The Office: I feel a major deja vu of the 90’s when I was the only person alive that didn’t watch “Friends”. Now granted, I caught up mightily in ’01 when we got married. I watched many a rerun of Friends while cooking huge four-course dinners for the two of us that we would never eat the leftovers of and so therefore have a never-ending fridge full of fuzz.

Ah, newlywed days.

Anyway, on Thursdays and Fridays, it seems like every Facebook Status and a whole bunch of blogs are always about The Office. And everyone’s always talking about it. I am starting to believe that everyone watches it but us.

Our original reasons for not watching it were:
1. It airs on Thursday night – our small group night. So we would have to DVR it every time, and since we didn’t know if we liked it, we never started.

2. We used to watch the British version of The Office on BBC America, and although it was hilarious, it was also pretty crass, and since then, we’ve attempted to “clean up” our viewing habits. We were afraid that the American version would be just as bad, so we made the decision not to get sucked in (however, since then I have heard it is not as bad, but I’m not sure what the meaning of the word “as” is).

3. We didn’t need any more TV show addictions.

However, I am starting to feel like we’re missing out on a huge cultural experience, since it certainly seems like it is watched by 299 million Americans.

We didn’t have small group last night, so we turned it on halfway through, and TOTALLY didn’t get it. Obviously we’re missing the storyline. We’re sitting there asking each other, “why is that guy driving around with a stroller attached to his car?”, “Why is that girl at the laudromat instead of at work?”, and “How did they manage to have so many fresh vegetables in their office to cover that baby in?”.

Anyway, you get the point. We’re totally out of the loop.

So. . . are we the only ones out there who don’t watch it?

Is it worth borrowing the DVD’s to get caught up?

Or should we stay blissfully un-hooked?

Grasping for Objectivity in Health and Wellness

October 16, 2008 Rachel Callahan Do You Know? Because I Don't., On a more serious note. . .

I like things to be black and white. Obviously, as per my blog title. It’s not that I expect everyone in the world to agree on issues – that is way too idealistic. I just want to feel assured that I am informed and correct. That sounds arrogant, but it’s not meant that way. I just like feeling “sure” about things.

Lately I’ve been a party to a lot of conversations regarding health, prescription drugs, alternative treatments, etc., and I will be the first to admit that I am not well informed or well-researched, but I wish that I could be.

Two of the products that it seems like keep coming up in conversation or life are Mannatech and Mona Vie. I’m not sure if they are the new “rage” or if I just keep bumping into them.

The only problem is, it seems like very educated people can have very opposite opinions on these issues.

For instance: If you go to a doctor (who has years and years of education on the subject), they will most likely tell you that medications in general are good, and that “health and wellness products” are scams, don’t do anything, or my favorite that I heard someone say their doctor said recently, “well if you grow a third leg, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.”

If you talk to someone who sells, uses or believes in health and wellness products, they will tell you that it cured their diabetes, cancer, disease, blood pressure, sleeping problems and freed them from taking any and all medications. You name it, someone out there will claim it.

Some of the claims that I have heard recently regarding the need for these supplemental nutritional products are:
1. Fruits and Vegetables get most of their nutrients as they do their final ripening on the vine. However, since very few products are allowed to vine ripen anymore, we are getting no nutrients, even if we THINK we are eating healthily, and even if we are eating organic.

2. Cancer, disease, obesity, etc. have drastically risen in this country (which I agree with) and the lack of nutrients is why. We are “poisoning” ourselves by what we eat, which is why we are all sick or dying.

3. Prescription medications all have side effects, and the side effects cause as much harm as what we are curing. Therefore, by taking these (which are needed due to lack of nutrition), we are hurting ourselves worse. (By the way, on this note, my current favorite drug commercial is for a new drug that treats Asthma. At the end of the commercial, it says “This medication may increase the risk of Asthma-related death.” L-O-V-E it!!)

I have never been very “hippy” when it comes to supplemental products but I have tried a few here and there (but nothing so all-encompassing and expensive as Mannatech and Mona Vie), and I certainly will take medication when and where medication is called for. But the claims that I wrote about above, although maybe exaggerated, do sound logical and reasonable. But then again, people can pretty much shape “anything” to sound logical and reasonable (for evidence of this, I hereby present all of our presidential debates this year, and the pundits who analyze them).

And then there’s the cost – Mona Vie is $45 per week per person!! Mannatech is around $150 per month per person. This seems crazy unless you have some super illness that is miraculously being cured by these products. And – what about the knock offs out there? I saw a juice that looked like Mona Vie at Sam’s last night for $13. Is it the same?

So I feel like no matter how much I research it, I will not be able to come up with a correct conclusion. THE correct conclusion. Because I like things being right or wrong, black or white – no gray areas please.

What do you think? How do you feel about nutrition, organic, supplemental products, medications, etc.? Is it worth researching? Is there a way to come to correct conclusions out there?

I would love to hear more opinions and thoughts on this subject.

Thankful Thursday

October 16, 2008 Rachel Callahan Thankful Thursday

Hello everyone!! First of all, I am thankful for the beautiful weather this week, and the projected beautiful and FALL-LIKE weather this weekend!! I am also VERY thankful that I am all well, and that neither Ali or Chris caught my nasty disease.

And, for reason #376 that I am glad that Ali is the age that she is:

She is starting to function like a “kid” rather than a baby – especially in the area of transportation. We took her to the zoo this weekend, and she walked the whole time! What fun to see her running from place to place, having the “independence” to be a kid.

And also, a congratulations to my bloggy friend and loyal Thankful Thursdayer Amanda who has just announced that she is expecting baby #4!! She has the best thankful Thursday this week!!! Be sure and stop by and leave your congrats!

OK – your turn!! What are you thankful for today? Leave it in a comment, or if you have a blog, write a post on your blog and link it in with Mr. Linky (at the bottom of this post), and you can have the pleasure of welcoming my wonderful readers to your site!

To use Mr. Linky to link to your blog, just type in your name in the first slot, then copy and paste the URL of your blog post in the second one and click “Enter” – then there will be a link to your post from my blog! ***be sure to put the link to your actual “Thankful Thursday” post – not just your main blog URL.***

My "Musical" Daughter

October 15, 2008 Rachel Callahan I'm No Videographer, Toddlers: The Experience, Utter Silliness

Why is it that 99% of videos taken of toddlers turn out to be outtakes? Ali had been happily and steadily playing the guitar with Daddy for at least 5 minutes. Daddy was even changing up the chords and made it sound like music. I get out the camera, and this is what transpires:

Oh well. Sometimes outtakes are more memorable than “intakes”. And payback will come when Ali is a teenager and she sees this video. Heh heh heh.