Rachel Callahan

Strategic Play and Dinner

Posted on Posted by Rachel Callahan Categories A Day in the Life, Actually Possibly Informational, Toddlers: The Experience

I needed to cook dinner this afternoon (Which, by the way, after writing about it this morning and craving it, I made Pork and Spinach with Egg and Lemon Sauce), and Ali is going through a rather clingy stage, due to neverending teething. She played for a little while, but then kept saying “Mommy Hold You!!”.

I decided to try out some “Michael & Debi Pearl” wisdom. Now, for those of you who are aware of their books (“To Train Up a Child”, and other books published by No Greater Joy Ministries), you are probably also aware that they are a bit controversial. I really enjoy a lot of their writings, more so on the marriage side (“Created to be His Help Meet” is awesome), but definitely have some issues with a FEW of their child-raising techniques. (My least favorite part of their writings is their seemingly arrogant stance that if you do things their exact way, your children will be perfect little angels, but if you don’t, they’ll be horrid.) However, as with most child training books, if you can sift through and use what works for you, they do have a LOT of wisdom.

Anyway, with that being said, one of the Pearl’s big tenets is to not give children mindless toys to play with, but rather give them the same thing you are doing and let them “play” at being just like you. I love their stories about people who work in No Greater Joy’s shipping department that bring their toddlers to work every day, and they are completely consumed all day, every day with tape and boxes because they are pretending to do what Mommy or Daddy is doing. That thought makes me laugh.

I don’t think that anything, no matter how much it was like Mommy or Daddy, would keep Ali’s attention all day, and CERTAINLY NOT all day, every day.

So I decided to try this idea with cooking. I gave Ali a pan, two spoons, and animal crackers in her pan. I showed her how to stir them like Mommy, and sat her to work cooking.

She enjoyed it for a few minutes, then felt the need to taste-test her concoction.

And taste some more. . .

Upside: It actually did work for long enough to get phase one of dinner made, which was great.

Downside: she ate every one of those animal crackers and so then was not hungry for dinner.

Maybe I should have used something less appetizing like uncooked rice.

At any rate, here was our lovely dinner, fit for a King, if only I had also made Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake. Oh yes, and the Dolmades. And Tzatziki and Hummous Dips.

Oh nevermind. Here is dinner:

One Meal For Jesus

Posted on Posted by Rachel Callahan Categories "Deep" Thoughts by Rachel

Yes, yes, yes. I was just playing around with my camera during the game on Saturday (it took me less time than usual to get bored since I hadn’t been feeling good all day), and experimented with the color swap function, and found that it worked pretty well!! Hence the red field. I think Alabama should take my advice and give it a try, don’t you?

On to blogging:

Everyone wants to give Jesus their best, right?

Well, Chris asked me Friday night, as he was preparing for tailgating, “If you could make one meal for Jesus, what would it be?”. In other words, what is the best meal that you prepare that you would deem the “fittest” to serve Jesus?

Chris’ meal:

  • Boneless Ribs, grilled and steamed -This is what he was preparing for Saturday and what spawned the conversation. They are quite good. But then he was concerned about whether or not Jesus would eat pork. So this is an iffy one.
  • Fried Rice – Chris makes some AWESOME fried rice.
  • Replacement for Ribs if Jesus was still Old Testament about his meat choices – Teriyaki Chicken Wings. Yumm.

Rachel’s meal: I think I would go with a Greek theme. After all, my family is Greek, my favorite food is Greek, and Jesus was kinda near Greece during His days on earth, so maybe he enjoyed a good Greek street vendor every now and again.

  • Appetizer: My Mom’s famous Tzatziki Sauce Recipe, and, if I could get it, the Hummous Dip recipe that they served us at Taverna Plaka in Atlanta. And of course some Feta Cheese and Kalamata Olives.
  • Main Course: Hirino, Spanaki Me Selino Avgolemono (Pork and Spinach with Egg and Lemon Sauce) with sides of creamed corn, dolmades, and crescent rolls.
  • Dessert: Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake with the White Chocolate Topping.

Most of the recipes to my meal can be found here. Chris’ aren’t documented, so if you want his, you’ll have to ask him.

So – I’m curious – please do tell. What would you make for Jesus if you had the opportunity to serve Him a meal?

Thoughts and Images from a Day in the Life. . .

Posted on Posted by Rachel Callahan Categories A Day in the Life, I would NEVER take too many pictures. . .

As you read this, I am in Tuscaloosa enjoying an all-day-outdoors-tailgating-extravaganza, a la Chris. I will have left at some crazy time in the morning, and won’t be getting back until way after blogtime bedtime. But I care about you, my readers, so I would never leave you hanging without a blog for an ENTIRE day (or mostly never, anyway), so I prepared this blog last night because I am just THAT thoughtful.

I’m really starting to look like that wacky blogger, taking pictures of random things. I know this, and I’m okay with it. We all have our quirks.

Chris text messaged me Friday morning and told me to fill up my gas tank, due to Ike coming in and raising all of the prices. However, I had a full tank, and usually when these gas scares happen, it goes up like 10 cents – big deal. Plus, I’m not one to harp about rising gas prices. So I texted him back and told him that my tank was almost full already. However, I immediately changed my mind as I was passing between two gas stations, and this was happening at the one on the right:
That’s right – she was raising the price by 46 cents!!! At one time!!! That is ludicrous. So I pulled in the other gas station, that was still at $3.52 and put as much gas as my already full tank would take. Of course, while doing this, my way-too-objective brain was spinning.

The hurricane hasn’t even hit land yet!!

They paid a certain amount for that last truckload of gas.

That price hasn’t changed.

So who is getting that extra .46?? The guy who owns that station? Or does Exxon Corporate get all of those extra dollars?

I’m sure that Neil Cavuto could clear all of this up for me, but I’m not up for a bunch of mumbo jumbo. I just know that it seems ludicrous to me. Oh – and Chris said that the guy at the gas station he stopped at said that he was about to raise his price by over a dollar.

Craziness.

After championing over the gaslords as much as possible, Ali and I headed downtown to eat lunch, again, at the Greek Festival, this time with our good friend Dana. We were early, so I thought I would be smart and park in a parallel spot near the Church, rather than the lot two blocks away and have to lug me, my purse, the diaper bag, Ali, AND her stroller all onto the shuttle. Sure enough, less than a block from the church, there was a big, wide parallel spot open.

However, this was my first time to try and parallel park in my Pilot. I’m good at parallel parking in a Civic – which I’ve had one or another of for 9 years. But I quickly discovered that there’s a BIIIG difference in a Pilot and a Civic.

I worked on it and worked on it, much to the amusement of the guy on the sidewalk, who stopped to try and help me for a minute.

Then, SUCCESS!! It was a perfect parallel parking job. Perfectly straight, and not too close or far away from the curb. Believe me, I was PROUD.

I got out Ali’s stroller, got it all set up, and reached in my purse to put money in the parking meter, and then noticed this:
THIRTY MINUTE LIMIT?!?!?!? Are you kidding me???

All that work for nothing. I knew we would be there way longer than that, and considering my driving record of late, I needed no opportunity for the police that are magnetically attracted to my car to come ticket me.

So, I packed up the stroller again, got in the car, and drove out of my delicately parked spot, much to the amusement of that helpful guy on the sidewalk.

We were planning on taking Daddy back to the Greek Festival tonight, but were running a bit later than ideal, and Ali had been pretty impatient in her stroller or due to the loud music our last two visits, so we bailed and went to Mudtown instead.

We hadn’t been in a while, and let me just say that it was even better than I remembered. I got my favorite, the Tilapia/Fruit/Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad, which is SO MUCH BETTER than it sounds. And, true to the day’s form, I took a picture:
I actually took this picture to tempt Lindsay, since I’ve been trying to convince her to go try this for the longest. It is SO delicious and refreshing, AND it shouldn’t mess up your next Friday Fess Up, since it’s Grilled Fish, Fruit, and Salad, right?!?!?!

Well, that was my day in pictures. Hope you enjoyed it enough to make up for all of the oddly staring people.

Our Own Little Miracle

Posted on Posted by Rachel Callahan Categories On a more serious note. . ., The Blissfulness of Life

Well, obviously the miracle really belongs to Brad and Deidre, but we all feel like we got to be a part of it!!

We have been praying tenaciously in our small group for Kendall’s adoption and arrival for a year and a half, and we all got to meet her last night!! It was unreal seeing her in person, after watching her grow from a newborn to a toddler through pictures. She is absolutely gorgeous, and perfectly adorable!!

They got home from Guatemala last week, and last night at small group was her first time to be around kids her age since leaving the orphanage a few weeks ago. She LOVED her new friends!!! Deidre said that she was really relaxed and being herself. Here are the pictures to prove it!!

Sliding down the slide in Brooks’ lap:
Even though she’s been praying for Kendall for months, Ali was a bit spooked at first for some reason. . . here is Ali walking away, saying “All Done, Kendall!!” Thank goodness they really bonded later.
AJ and Kendall meeting for the first time!
Here are Ali, Nathaniel, Brooks and Kendall playing blocks together. Such fun!!
Sharing blocks – Kendall was the best sharer ever!! I guess she learned that pretty well in the orphanage.
Kendall was cracking the other kids up by putting blocks on her head, so they all had to take turns putting blocks on her head THEMSELVES. . . Here are Brooks, Claire, AJ and Kendall:
Luckily for her, I think Kendall likes being the center of attention!!Last night was truly amazing – what an awesome, tangible, miraculous answer to prayer!! We have prayed through some tough ups and downs during this whole process – times when it all looked hopeless. Praise be to God that He hears and answers our prayers!!!

Don’t Miss Out on the Fun of the Greek Festival!!

Posted on Posted by Rachel Callahan Categories A Day in the Life, Delicious Greekness, Newsflash

I may post more on our adventures at the Greek Festival later after we go TWO MORE TIMES – for Lunch and Dinner today – yes, it is THAT GOOD, people!! The food is magnificent, the music is great, and the atmosphere is fun.

Ali and I went with Eli, JC and Lindsay yesterday for Lunch. Here are three of them enjoying all of the hubbub (notice Eli’s cute Greek outfit):And here’s a video of Ali dancing to the Greek music and Eli laughing:

Now – get downtown today or tomorrow and enjoy some Greek food and atmosphere!!

They Found Me!

Posted on Posted by Rachel Callahan Categories I embarrass myself just for your amusement., Newsflash

Oops.

I actually thought it would take less time than it did.

Someone googled “Dragon*Con and Alabama Clemson” yesterday and found my post on our Adventures in Atlanta related to the Dragon*Con convention. They came back three or four times, so I’m thinking, “uh oh. They either think it’s funny or they are a Crazie (Dragon*Con-ner) and are offended.”

Sure enough, I started getting hundreds of hits on that post last night from a Dragon*Con Conversation Thread on Live Journal about the clueless things that non-Dragon*Con-ners said/say about the Dragon*Con convention. I was called clueless, “a mundane” (my personal favorite), and one person even said that I was “stupid and rude”.

However, for the record, of the hundreds of visitors I have gotten, at least two have found themselves in my pics and commented on my post (excitedly, might I add) to identify themselves. So it seems like all of the people that I actually featured on my post are happy to have found themselves on the ‘net.

Since the LiveJournal thread was started, I was also StumbleUpon ‘ed, and someone else has also referenced me in another LiveJournal feed, so I’m getting a ton of hits on that post.

I’m sure the hype will die down, but to all of the “crazie’s” that are reading my blog, if you end up reading this post, let me say:

1. Thanks! Glad you got a kick out of it, one way or the other – either making fun of me for being clueless (which is fine), or by spotting yourself in photos.

2. To the few who were offended, I was not trying to be rude, simply to document the event from a “clueless” person’s point of view and be entertaining to my readers. I called the football fans “crazies” too, and by crazie I just simply mean “extreme enthusiast”. It’s not an insult. Just a documentary.

3. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the parade / Dragon*Con people in general. It was extremely entertaining, which is why I blogged about it – so that more people could be entertained. That is, after all, what it’s all about, right?

Anyway, I’m glad you’re all enjoying my clueless interpretation of the events!

p.s. – as clueless as I have been labeled by the D*C-er’s, I bet that they indoctrinate Freddy (who is NOT a Dragon*Con-er. . . that I know of) on the spot for his ultra-long comment to the post explaining in detail all of the characters. He’ll be the next Dragon*Con King!!

Thankful Thursday

Posted on Posted by Rachel Callahan Categories Thankful Thursday

I would be remiss in not taking this Thankful Thursday to thank God in His provisioning regarding my upcoming surgery. I am so thankful that He took care of me during the intense pain and let it be during a time where I was safe (i.e. not driving, etc).

I am also extremely thankful that I have such wonderful family and friends that are so willing to keep Ali for me during my surgery and recovery, and aggressively offer to help (as I am a bit uncomfortable asking for help). Thank you all so much!

Also, as today is the 7th anniversary of 9/11, I am so very thankful that God has protected our country from another terrorist attack like we suffered in 2001. It is mind-blowing to think back to that day 7 years ago – the fear that was evoked in all of us for the days, weeks, and months to come. My most vivid memory regarding the fear-aftermath was going to football games that year. All I could do was look up in the sky, thinking about the fact that I was in an enclosed area with 90,000 other people, and hope and pray that a terrorist didn’t find that fact an opportunity.

Then, in 2002 for the first game of the season, they had the most amazing flyover I have ever seen – a full sized airplane flew down into the stadium and back up and out the other side. It was incredible to see, but it scared me witless, as there was no announcement or warning in any way that the flyover was planned. I really did scream and start to cry. Along with about 45,000 other people.

I am thankful that God has protected us from such tragic events again, and pray for His continued protection of our country.

Anyway, here is my weekly thankfulness as well:

Now, for Reason #373 that I am Thankful that Ali is the age she is:

Ali is finally starting to be able to verbalize memories when asked, such as remembering in the morning that Daddy told her at bedtime that he would be at work in the morning.

Yesterday, she had a phone conversation with Daddy, where Daddy promised to bring her candy home from work. When he got home, he asked her, “Do you remember what Daddy promised to bring you?”, and she immediately screamed, “CANDY!!!” Or, more accurately, “TINNY!!!” But we knew what she meant.

Another example: I was telling Chris about her stay in the nursery during Bible Study. Donovan was the only other toddler in her room. Chris asked her what she and Donovan did, and she said, “Blocks. Puppies (and proceeded to pant like a puppy).” I have no idea what they were doing with Puppies, but I do know that there were a bunch of blocks in there. It’s fun to hear her tell us about her time away from us.

Your turn!! What are you thankful for today? Link a Thankful Thursday blog post in using Mr. Linky (just copy and paste in the URL for your post), or comment your thankfulness!!

It Started Out as Wordless Wednesday. . .

Posted on Posted by Rachel Callahan Categories Wordless Wednesday - as IF I could be wordless.

Ali has a mega-crush on Thomas the Train. As Mom mentioned in her guest blog, all Ali has to do is hear a train, and she sighs and says in the most I’m-a-highschool-girl-talking-about-my-biggest-crush voice, “THOMAS. . . “

She knows about Thomas because we have a couple of Thomas books. We read them quite often. Last week, I thrilled her by buying her Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel trains. She LOVES them and takes them everywhere.

On Saturday, I DVR’ed her first episode of Thomas and Friends from PBS. Since we had a busy weekend, we didn’t get around to watching it for the first time until Monday afternoon. I had not mentioned the TV show to her at all, but she is THIS obsessed with Thomas: I went to get her from her afternoon nap on Monday, and said “I have a surprise for you!!”, to which she immediately responded, “THOMAS!!”. Shocked, I said, “Yes!!! Thomas on TV!”

When I turned it on, she squealed with delight – it is so amazing to see a child discover something that amazes them so much!! She was just overcome with excitement over being able to watch Thomas on TV.

She doesn’t watch too much TV, and usually when she does (Veggie Tales), she sits still for about 30 seconds, then she’s off. But she sat on the couch, with her fingers in her mouth and Thomas, Annie and Clarabel in her lap for 25 minutes of the 30 minute show.

The not-so-wordless Wednesday pics are from her joyful discovery of Thomas on TV.

She IS Like Me!!

Posted on Posted by Rachel Callahan Categories A Day in the Life, Toddlers: The Experience

So you remember when I was so excited that Ali was finally portraying a personality characteristic of mine?

She has another one!!

This one may cause her serious injury down the road, though.

No, she’s not sleepwalking yet (well, she is in a crib, so you never know), but she is on the first step of that slippery slope.

She is talking in her sleep!

I heard her a few mornings ago, yelling out, “AJ AJ AJ AJ AJ!!!!”. I figured she woke up and then fell back asleep.

Then, two nights ago at 10:45, we heard her talking upstairs. That NEVER happens. If she wakes up in the night, it’s crying, not talking. I was actually worried that she hadn’t ever fallen asleep (which is ludicrous, of course).

That same night, when we headed to bed, I heard her talking again. I went into her room, and she was SOUND ASLEEP on her stomach, snoring away!!

The next day, I heard her during her nap – “Daddy!! Daddy!!”.

This could make naptimes confusing, but it is SO cute!!!