Rachel Callahan

iPhone 5s Slo-Mo: Changing Kid Vid Forever.

December 9, 2013December 8, 2013 Rachel Callahan Actually Possibly Informational, I'm No Videographer, Kids: The Experience., Newsflash, The Blissfulness of Life

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Before reading this post, please ensure that you are in a place where you can and will watch short videos with your volume on. I understand that watching someone’s kid videos is a huge virtual commitment nearly to the level of seriousness of friending someone on Facebook, and I promise to make it worth your vulnerability and risk.

Proceed only if prepared.

It took me two months to finally get around to making the simple swipe over to this feature.

Two months of wasted life.

And because I care about you, I do not want the same fate to befall you. If you have an iPhone 5s, then this is your wake-up call.

And if you don’t, then this is your Christmas list.

It found me one afternoon while Ali was in art class. Noah and I have this one hour every week in a quaint, small downtown as a date.

Sometimes he asks me out – “Mommy, can we go get a drink?” Other times, he just wants to run up and down, up and down the caboose ramp nearby.

Last week was a doubleheader – we did both.

And it was at that Caboose ramp, on his 692nd journey back and forth, where I got bored enough to flip over to the slo-mo video feature – just to see what it did.

And it was fantastic.

It turned my son’s voice into that of James Earl Jones trapped in a deep well.

(If you’re wondering, he’s saying “GO!”)

And gave him the breath of a dragon.

He found it equally as fantastic as I did, begging me to play the videos endlessly as he laughed to convulsion and hiccups.

So the next day, when we had a couple of friends over, I decided to make more recordings, which is when I discovered that the fun is exponentially multiplied by the number of children involved.

You get entire fleets of Chewbaccas,

Babies turning into beasts – squeaky shoes and all,

And an entire chorus of angry mating whales.

Every time the children would finish a video, they’d all gather round to hear their voices transformed into Wildebeests, officially making me the coolest mom on the block, and perhaps even the neighborhood.

But then.

Then I loaded all of the videos on my computer*, muted out my gaggle of ogres, and put it to music.

And this happened.

(Forgive the ad and close it out – that’s YouTube’s way of paying Susan Boyle on my behalf for the use of her recording.)

http://youtu.be/zr9Y3IBUYcU

I might’ve cried. Or at least nearly cried. And felt like I was watching the last three minutes of the final episode of a long-running television drama. I might have even had one of those moments where I actually believed that kids really *do* grow up fast (they don’t.)

(Okay maybe they do but I’m telling myself they don’t. So let’s believe that.)

Anyway. I know that other people’s Kid Videos are never as fantastic as your own, so please – get out there and try it.

You’ll thank me later.

* Technical Note: Because Slo-Mo videos record at 120 frames per second and your computer doesn’t understand this, loading iPhone slo-mo videos onto your computer is tricky – if you just copy and paste, it will lose the slo-mo effect. And if you email them, they will lose their quality. So you must either:

a) upload them to YouTube directly from your phone’s photo roll (this will keep the highest quality),
b) use the free app TruSloMo to convert them to “regular” videos then copy them onto your computer (I did this so that I could edit them, but was sure to save out of my editor at highest quality), or
c) redo the slo-mo settings once they’re on your computer (this seems like a total waste of time.)

If all of that scared you, then forget I said it and just record your kids in slo-mo. You’ll still thank me later.

Big Bang Theory MBTI Chart.

December 5, 2013December 20, 2013 Rachel Callahan "Deep" Thoughts by Rachel, Actually Possibly Informational, Pop Post

I can’t stop.

Making and discussing the Downton Abbey MBTI Chart was so much fun that I decided to give my other favorite television show a try, The Big Bang Theory.

(Despite my fears that there wouldn’t be enough introverted types to go around for such a geekfest of a show.)

(But in fact, there were just enough.)

There are a few things I have discovered from the feedback on my last chart:

1. There are zero ESTPs (“The Doer”) on social media. They’re all way too busy for such things, AS THEY SHOULD BE.

2. Personality typing television characters is a subjective science. There will be disagreements, and I’m cool with that.

3. INTJs are very sensitive about the fact that they’re always represented with villains (it was unfortunately true with Downton Abbey, Star Wars, and Harry Potter.) So I was drenched in overflowing joy when I discovered that one of the most lovable characters of The Big Bang Theory was the INTJ. You’re welcome, INTJs of the internet.

If you need a personality type refresher, here’s an explanation of the letters in the terms of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator:

First Letter: E or I – Extroversion/Introversion – Are you stimulated and refreshed by being with other people, or by being alone?

Second Letter: S or N – Sensing/Intuition – Do you use your five senses to interpret the world and prefer facts, or do you rely on your instincts and prefer hunches?

Third Letter: T or F – Thinking/Feeling – Do you lean towards using logic and objective criteria, or values and subjective ideas?

Fourth Letter: J or P – Judging/Perceiving – Are you purposeful, liking structure, plans, rules, and organization, or are you laid-back and flexible, open to change, and explorative?

And so, enjoy:

Which character are you? I NEED to find that elusive internet-using ESTP.

Nativity McQueen.

December 4, 2013December 3, 2013 Rachel Callahan Kids: The Experience., Lego Love, Quirky quirky quirkiness

There are two hobbies that my husband is possibly more passionate about than football (a subject we won’t be mentioning this week): Legos and Christmas Decorations.

In fact, I often wonder if the reason we had children was so that he felt justified in playing with Legos again.

Anyway, for the last three years, he’s been combining these two hobbies to create unique nativity scenes for our mantel.

And this year’s show just rolled out. He is fairly proud of himself, and of course has banned the children from playing with their featured toys for a month.

So without further delay, a commemoration of the birth of the Son of God:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David.

But there was no room at the inn.

And so Mary gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them,

and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi arrived in Jerusalem.

They came from the East and asked,

“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of tires gold,

traffic cones frankincense, and organic fuel myrrh.

Now there, don’t you feel all Christmasy inside?

Notice Where You Are.

December 3, 2013December 2, 2013 Rachel Callahan A Bit More Vulnerable Than I Usually Am, I Love Birmingham, I Play at Photography, On a more serious note. . ., Thoughts about Faith, Writing WAY Out of my Comfort Zone

Lately, photos have come more easily than words.

I’ve caught myself eyeing every turn, every sky, looking to capture something magnificent.

…And then still end up surprised when magnificence is everywhere I look.

Those stunning sights have always been around me, but it took this summer to seriously look up from my life and see them. And I took it on as a challenge – an adventure.

And yes, perhaps I’ve become a little obsessed with catching the sun just so, the shadows ever lengthening…

The city in a new and shocking angle…

But the thrill that comes from capturing an image that says so much without having to utter a single word is inescapably addictive.

And watching the painting of a constantly morphing but ever more beautiful portrait is deeply moving.

This year has been a journey for me.

A journey not of my choosing, but one in which I am confident that God is absolutely in control of the start, the stop, and the long in-between.

There have been small glimpses of promise throughout the trip – that I am still in His hands, and clearly in His care.

And the sights that He’s led me to notice – the ones I’ve never paid attention to before – have been a thundering part of that reassurance.

And though on some days it feels as if I can just barely see the sun,

It’s always right there – just beyond the clouds and waiting to burst forth in a glorious day.

And so I find myself, constantly chasing that mesmerizing sun,

Because here is always peace there,

And I take great comfort in that.

And the glory of capturing something beyond myself reminds me of how much God has in His care, and how little my problems really are.

And that is good enough for me.

And thanks to my husband and a fleet of tiny nails, I now have that reminder even when I’m at home.

Good thing we have plenty of walls in our house. Because I’m not quitting.

Dinner Placemats of the Thankful Variety.

December 2, 2013December 1, 2013 Rachel Callahan Actually Possibly Informational, Kids: The Experience., The Blissfulness of Life

I have a confession to make: I am a cynical Thankgivingist.

Not about the family or the food or internal giving of thanks, but mainly about public thanksgiving.

I shy away from posting what I’m thankful for or doing Thanksgiving crafts with my kids because I fear it will be contrived rather than genuine. Not to say that other people aren’t genuinely thankful in November, but something about being put on the spot to be publically thankful RIGHT NOW makes me thanks-adverse.

I know, I know – this makes me a horrible person. I acknowledge this and am thankful that God will forgive me for my abounding cynicism.

But I found myself quite accidentally thankscrafty last week. It came upon me unexpectedly and was a genuine moment of thankfulness shared between Ali and I – exactly the way I prefer it.

Ali lives to make and give away cards. She has giant bags full of cards that she’s spent hours making, and at the beginning of the day, she’ll ask me who we might see so that she can prepare herself with the number of cards needed.

She is so task-oriented about her card supply that she often heaves a great sigh and says “I have SO MUCH CARD WORK to do during quiet time.”

…because her current inventory of 487,000 cards is never enough.

As such, I told her a few days in advance that we would be having our family over for Thanksgiving, and that it was the perfect opportunity to make cards. And, since it was Thanksgiving and all, it would be fantastic if she could write each person a note saying what she was thankful for about them.

She jumped at the idea. We made a master list of our guests (16 people), and I helped her brainstorm about each card, then I left her to her work.

I’m pretty sure she spent an entire quiet time intricately crafting her notes, and they were awesome – even containing illustrations.

I have several books full of scrapbook paper left over from my ModPodge Framing days, and I thought it might be fun to add a border to her cards.

Then I was all like, to heck with it – we’ll use a full sheet to back each card.

As we worked, I realized that they were now pretty much the perfect size for placemats – and we had a serendipitous moment of thanksgiving for our crafting fortune.

We finished backing all of our cards Wednesday evening, and on Thursday morning, as I was admiring our work, Chris said, “I assumed you were going to laminate those.”

LAMINATION!! Now THAT’S something I can be thankful for!

I whipped out my laminator and figured out how I could use 1 1/3 sheets of the laminating plastic I had in stock to on each card to seal them into perfect placemats.

And as the children watched the parade, I basked in my coffee, pretty papers, delightful notes, and my best friend the laminator.

That right there is the cure for any amount of Thanksgiving cynicism.

I had to trim the pages ever so slightly for them to fit, but in the end, they made for my most favorite placemats ever.

And they helped create a beautiful makeshift-tablescape for seventeen:

(The kid’s placemats later got moved to the kid’s tables.)

They didn’t photograph well individually, but here are a few of my favorites.

Ali’s thankful for her Great-Grandmother because she gets to give her cards. I told you she was a cardaholic. Also – that drawing totally looks like Mammaw.

For my Mom, she was sure to point out “Hey Gramamma – see all those circles on your face? I drew your moles for you.”

(And no, those are moley hands, not chocolate chip cookies.)

Ali already enjoys partying with her brother and he’s not even in preschool yet. Mental note: send them to separate colleges.

(NO, Y’ALL – Noah’s holding a Lego, not a bong.)

Her cousin Eli was given three illustrations to help him choose his facial covering for Movember:

My brother Nick is good for one thing:

Which may or may not be as fun as the one thing that my brother JC is good for:

And of course, I surprised Ali by adding in a seventeenth card.

Which pretty much abdicates me from all of my thankful cynicism ever, and prevents the generational spread of my disease.

Or at least I’m hoping so.

The Shot Heard ‘Round the State.

November 29, 2013November 28, 2013 Rachel Callahan "Deep" Thoughts by Rachel, Football and I have a Complicated Relationship

I originally wrote this post in February of 2011, after a particularly crazy Alabama fan poisoned a couple of old, important, and sentimental Auburn trees.

Yes, he killed historic trees. Because of football.

I thought it would destroy our state, but miraculously, the two teams rallied together, and Alabama raised money to help fix Auburn’s trees.

(They couldn’t be fixed, for the record.)

Then a few months later, Auburn returned the favor and raised money to help Alabama with its city’s horrific tornado damage.

It is now two years later, and the day before the biggest game the two teams have ever played, perhaps with a National Championship for one or the other on the line. And the love is forgotten – all that can be found are Hashtags of Hate.

And so I suspect that the damage done back in 2011 has simply been simmering below the surface, and my prediction may yet come true…

The Date: 2042.

The Setting: Ali’s kids are over visiting my ancient grandmotherly self, and the following conversation occurs…

“Gramamma, why is there an East Alabama and a West Alabama? And why is there that huge orange and red wall up between them??”

Well, it all started when your mother was a little girl like you are now…

You see, there was this sport called Football. It’s long been banned from the country now, for the very reason that we have two Alabamas…

There were two big football teams in our state – and they had the biggest rivalry in the entire nation. But it was a good rivalry – after all, football wasn’t football without having a rival, so although the teams and fans were constantly “bickering” (or, as they called it back then, “Trash Talking), they were actually enjoying themselves – that’s what made the sport fun for them.

(Of course, I myself was just a marginal fan, so I would have preferred there to have been no booing, bickering, or trash talking, but your Grandfather was quite the fan, so I obliged and cheered, but never booed.)

Anyway. The problem with rivalries is that while most people are just having fun, there are always the crazy people who don’t get the memo that sports fandom is supposed to be enjoyable and light-hearted, and think the whole thing is serious and “life or death”.

Well one day after the two teams had won back to back National Championships and the hype (and, therefore, the rivalries,) were as high as they’d ever been, one of those crazy people did something over the top, horrible, and even criminal. He poisoned ancient trees that were an integral part of the other team’s campus, and that had unbelievably huge sentimental value to the other team.

Which led to outrage on both sides…

(Thankfully, almost all of the fans of the team that the crazy man was associated with were horrified at his actions, also.)

But the extremists on both sides turned it ugly…

Which led to the non-extremists getting mad at the extremists…

Which led to retribution…

Which led to Civil War.

You know how your Mommy puts you and your brother in time out when you start arguing? Well, the reason she does that is so that you can both cool down and quit being so angry, so that you don’t keep ramping up your fighting and end up doing or saying something you regret.

Well, no one could put the entire state of Alabama in a time out.

And that’s why we have East Alabama and West Alabama.

You might want to pray for our state tomorrow.

Kiosk Warfare: A Guide for Survival.

November 27, 2013November 26, 2013 Rachel Callahan "Deep" Thoughts by Rachel, I'm a Glutton for Adventure, Shopping: A Girl's Best Friend, Utter Silliness

Originally Published October 27, 2010. If you decide to go shopping this weekend, may the odds be ever in your favor.

The mall is a glorious place for Moms of young children. Akin to an indoor playground for both Mother AND Child, it is full of glee-filled places such as Toy Stores, hot dog trucks, carousels, and, of course, shopping.

But it doesn’t come without it’s risks – without the dangers of attack.

The Kiosk Predators.

I often wonder if they hate their job as much as I hate their job.

Although some kiosks sell desirable things, the ones with the predators are the ones that sell things that no one wants for more money than anyone would ever pay, and their only hope is to convince you to let them try their undesirable product on you which will STILL not make you want it, all of which creates an attitude of desperation, which, if handled wrong, can turn into hostility and even, legend has it, violence.

So, you can either spend your mall visits having the following continuous dialogue… “No, I would not like my hair straightened. No I would not like a freaky hairpiece. No, my three year old doesn’t need a hairpiece either. No, I would not like a 15 minute massage while my kid runs amuck throughout the mall. No, I don’t smoke, nor do I know anyone who needs your electric cigarettes. And, by the way, you look really cheesy smoking them.”

Or, you can implement a few simple strategies to help you avoid, overcome, and come out victorious against the Great Kiosk Predators.

And, since everyone may not spend as much time at the mall as I do, I decided to write a guide to help you survive any holiday mall trips you may find yourself embarking upon.

1. You must know your enemies and their strategies.

a. The Eastern European guy at The Nutty Bavarian booth will try to draw you in with his dark, mysterious, sultry Mediterranean eyes. Do not make eye contact lest you become unable to refuse his nuts.

b. The Barbie-esque hair straightener girls are vicious. Don’t turn your back on them lest you find yourself jabbed in the back with a 200 degree hair straightener. Also, if not told no firmly enough (all while not turning your back on them), they will try a second attempt of wanting to straighten your child’s hair. Apparently, they lack the common sense that 200 degrees + 3 year olds does not end in a happy equation.

c. The balding guy at the sea salt lotion booth will implore you with a look of desperation, as if he is kept in a cage underneath the kiosk at night. He will also not give up. You must be firm and walk fast. Very fast. Oh – and the Israeli trinkets he sells at Christmastime? Check the little gold sticker. They’re usually made in Lebanon, for what it’s worth.

d. The Hairpiece Lady may try to throw a hairpiece into your head before you even see her. This may feel like you just got attacked by a small, furry woodland creature. Don’t panic – she’ll use your moment of confusion against you.

2. Be aware of High Risk Days. Similar to the smog alert that comes on the news each morning, prepare yourself accordingly.

If it is a less crowded day at the mall, the risk of attack is higher because the prey is less available.
If it is holiday season, the number of Kiosk Predators may be higher, raising the risk of attack.
If you are alone, your risk is MUCH greater. Travel in packs to help ensure safety, and to help you escape (without buying a small woodland creature for your hair) if you get ensnared.

3. Know the Kiosk Danger Zones and plan your route accordingly. For instance, I have made the following sample diagram and legend of my mall, the Riverchase Galleria, to aid in the planning process:

As you can see, most areas of certain attack can be avoided by strategically planning your route between the two floors. But, of course, you may NEED to go through the high risk areas of the mall, so when you enter a yellow zone, you need to go ahead and start planning your Strategy of Avoidance…

4. Strategies of Avoidance:

Hang back away from the red zone until you see someone of a similar attackable demographic walking by. Then run past as quickly as you can while they are devoured by the flesh-eating-Kioskers.
Walk as closely to the “real” stores as possible, looking intently in each and every window. This is a weak strategy, however, because Kiosk Predators are not afraid to reach out and grab you. Also, you may walk into someone else due to your intent focus on the stores.
Pinch your child to make them scream right as you’re walking into a red zone. They should decide that you’re not worth the kill, but even if they don’t, you can pretend you can’t hear them over the wails of distress.
Have a failproof excuse for each booth. To the Nutty Bavarian, say as you walk by quickly, “I’m allergic to nuts.” To the hair straightener girls, “I prefer the frizzy look.” To the hairpiece lady, “I’m already wearing a hairpiece. Can’t you tell this isn’t real??”

The bottom line is that preparation is key. And it may be the only way that you don’t find yourself wondering how and when you bought a hairpiece for your infant.

Christmas Shopping: Ten Ways to be a Double Blessing.

November 25, 2013November 27, 2013 Rachel Callahan Actually Possibly Informational, Shopping: A Girl's Best Friend, Stuff I like

Starting at the end of this week, the Christmas madness begins. We all feverishly make our lists, attack the stores, and desperately seek out unique and thoughtful gifts.

I gave up on the stores a few years ago – I discovered that Amazon was easier, and often less expensive. Plus, having all of my Christmas shopping delivered to my door was too dreamy to pass up.

But this year, I’m going to do something new – shopping for good. I know I won’t be able to do it for all of the presents I need, but for those that I can, I will be buying from organizations that are helping others. And by doing so, my gift is a double blessing: a blessing for the recipient, and a blessing for the gift creator.

I’ve done my research and identified many reputable organizations selling quality products, and I’ve listed them here if you want to join me in this mission.

Disclosure: I am not being compensated in any way to share about these companies.

1. Freeset – Freeset is a jaw-droppingly incredible ministry that I’ve been excited about all year. Their domestic headquarters are here in Birmingham, but have their factory in Kolkata, India, where they employ women set free from the sex trade that is rampant in their city. There are 10,000 trafficked workers in their factory’s neighborhood alone with stories that are unimaginable. Most trafficked women do not willingly choose this as a profession, and many were stolen as children and sold as slaves into the industry – it’s horrifically heartbreaking.

Freeset has a vision of employing all 10,000 of these women. Would that not be a miracle?

Freeset was also affected by the UPS plane crash in Birmingham earlier this year – their entire fall inventory, $150,000 of merchandise, was on that plane. Yet instead of being upset, they chose to make new t-shirts and sell them to raise money for the families of the two pilots who died in the crash. And, although UPS reps told them that nothing survives a plane crash, they were miraculously able to retrieve over half their inventory, in sellable condition, from the crash site.

It gives me chills every time I read about it.

Freeset’s organic bags would make magnificent gifts on their own, or would be super cool gift wrap that is also an extra present for your recipient AND helping to set women free from human trafficking.

I love their Bondhu Bags,

their Hope Bags with braided sari straps,

as well as their Horizon Bag,

and their whimsical Apollo Bag in Moby Dick Print:

Their Farmhouse Bags are also fantastic for everyday toting.

Freeset has many other great bags and t-shirts, and also offer customizations and special orders.

2. Karama Gifts – I told you all about Karama in August and I am still IN LOVE with Dyan and her team behind the operation. They train, equip, and employ women from all over Africa who need a way to provide for their families with dignity and a fair wage. And in the process, they make lovely gifts. They have even more products now, and I highly recommend browsing at length for your Christmas shopping.

I still love the purse that I bought and use it every day, but they now have these Crazy Bags that are so very happy. And only $28!

These gift tags from Tanzania are a fun, inexpensive way to add uniqueness to your gift-wrapping:

Or, if you wanted to give a little extra present with your gift-wrapping décor, you could put a Tanzanian Angel Ornament or Baby Star on the outside of your presents:

The Loleen Necklace, with beads made from recycled paper, is gorgeous and on sale for $12!

(Note – that’s several strands of the same necklace – each necklace is one strand.)

Karama also has a collection of stunning scarves, including this Sarah Scarf from Ethiopia:

I love their vibrant colors, unique designs, and the heart in their products.

3. Krochet Kids – This company was started by three guys who learned how to crochet in high school because they enjoyed making themselves cool beanies. Years later, they turned their talent into a non-profit to teach over 150 people in Uganda in Peru how to crochet and provide for their families with their product. They now sell hats, scarves, purses, shirts, and countless other items that are made by these people groups.

I especially love The Hoot hat for kids,

The Juliet headband for women,

and The Pocket Hoodie for both men and women.

4. Project Hopeful – Project Hopeful is a missions organization that has a far-reaching impact in advocating for and aiding families in adopting children with HIV or special needs. They also run a Village of Hope in Guatemala where they provide Family-Style care and love for special needs orphans who have little hope of ever being adopted, since international adoption is currently closed in Guatemala. In addition, they have Hope+ Sisterhood, an organization which offers HIV+ mothers in Uganda and Ethiopia skill training, jobs and even micro-loans to start small businesses.

They are selling this beautiful Guatemalan Hand-Beaded Wrap, and proceeds go to the Village of Hope.

They also have these Hope+ Red Strands, all proceeds going to benefit the Hope+ Sisterhood,

Or, if you would like to directly and practically bless the people they serve, they offer a way to give $45 to give an Ethiopian family a goat, $50 to feed a Ugandan family for a month, $250 to provide an Ethiopian woman training, support and startup costs for her own business, $10 to provide a Ugandan child a mosquito net, and many other life-changing gifts.

5. WorldHelp – Speaking of helping others with practical gifts, WorldHelp has an entire catalog of items that you can purchase for families in need. We’ve supported and corresponded with a Guatemalan child, Nataly, through WorldHelp for years, and can vouch for this organization’s integrity and aid for children and families in need.

6. 147 Million Orphans – This organization partners with international artisans to sell their beautiful products. The proceeds help provide food, water, and medicine for children in need.

I love these Beauty from Ashes Green Earrings from Haiti:

as well as these Ugandan Hoop Earrings.

7. Adoption Fundraisers – With regards to adoption, there are so many families selling beautiful things to raise money for their own adoptions. International adoption is expensive, requires great sacrifice, and is often coupled with intense heartbreak as the process is long and arduous. Supporting these families and getting great gifts in the meantime is a fantastic way to help bring a child home. Feel free to add your own links in the comments, but here are a few I know about.

a. Mei Mei and Co Hair Products – I’ve known the creator of these products, Tiffany, since we were kids. Tiffany and Steven recently adopted a beautiful daughter from China. They are now in the process of adopting her a little sister, so Tiffany is making beautiful clips and headbands to sell to raise funds. And her hair products would make adorable stocking stuffers for little girls.

I think these a la mode headbands are beautiful, and only $8:

These lemon drop clips are lovely as well – I adore the pigtail use!

b. Noonday Collection – This is a super cool company. It was started as an adoption fundraiser, selling beautiful homemade items from artisans in third-world countries. After adopting their own children, the creators turned it into a trunk show company so that other families could do the same. They now provide for over a thousand artisans AND have helped families fund hundreds of adoptions. Brilliant!

(I will note that their products are a bit pricier than a lot of the others I’ve featured, but there’s a lot going on with that money, so it totally makes sense.)

(Also, my links to their products is raising money for an adoption of a friend of a friend of mine.)

They have beautiful notebooks, stationary, and tea towels in their Home and Gifts section,

As well as some fantastic jewelry, including this Shalom Necklace,

Scattered Steps Necklace,

And Violet Necklace.

c. Vitafamiliae’s Suggestions – My beautiful, wonderful, amazing friend Lora Lynn has adopted internationally and has many friends still adopting, and she recently wrote a post about how to support these families as they are trying to bring their children home. She has many helpful links and tips.

8. Women’s Bean Project – Based in Denver, their mission is to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty by helping women discover their talents and develop skills by offering job readiness training opportunities. They strive to be the stepping stone to financial independence for families in need. They sell gourmet food items as well as jewelry.

I love this Glamour Necklace, and it’s on sale for $15:

And how cool is this Dreams Necklace? It would go with any outfit.

I’ve also heard that their spice rubs and soup mixes are fantastic.

9. Ten Thousand Villages – This company is HUGE, and no wonder, because they’ve been selling fair trade products for over 60 years. It may take some dedicated browsing time, but they have some beautiful stuff.

This Embroidered Star Garland from Kolkata, India is a really fun decorating touch,

And they have some seriously unique nativities, including this charming Arctic Nativity:

For Grandparent gifts, I have always found framed photos of the kids to be a great add-on – even though it is perhaps a bit narcissistic on my part, they are always thrilled. With that in mind, Ten Thousand Villages has a great selection of handmade picture frames, some ornate, and some uniquely entertaining, like this recycled Bicycle Chain Frame:

10. NOVICA – Another giant clearinghouse of international artisans, I’ve written about NOVICA several times in the past. Besides the fact that their products are fantastic, the handmade packaging that they come in is often better than any giftwrap you could buy here. But again, combing through the massive selection can be insanely time-consuming. They have EVERYTHING and I’ve bought many pieces of jewelry there, but here are a couple sweaters that jumped out at me this year:

Both of these sweaters are handmade Alpaca Wool sweaters from Peru. Stunning.

Links to the sweaters: Left, Right

And, since you can’t buy anything for the men of my state unless they’re in team colors (I jest) (no I don’t), I found an Alabama and Auburn sweater, which I’m sure were the exact teams those Alpacas were cheering for while being sheared in Peru.

There are so many more similar organizations out there – it just takes a bit of research to find them. Let me know of any you have found. And Merry Christmas Shopping!

Birmingham Bucket List: Autumn Walks.

November 22, 2013November 22, 2013 Rachel Callahan A Day in the Life, Actually Possibly Informational, I Love Birmingham, I Play at Photography, I'm a Glutton for Adventure, Kids: The Experience., The Blissfulness of Life

Despite the fact that I would prefer for it to stay out of my house, I do love nature – especially in the fall.

And although it seemed to start later than usual, Autumn has been lovely here. The weather has been mild and sunny, and the extraordinarily bright leaf colors seem to have come in two distinct waves, offering a magical encore as soon as I thought they were falling.

As such, we’ve been trying to appreciate the outdoors as much as possible, including exploring some new places.

On my birthday, which was before the leaves changed, I walked at Red Mountain Park with my kids and a friend. Although I’ve taken countless hikes on many different RMP trails, there are still several I hadn’t checked out, including the trail to the SkyHy Treehouse.

On our journey, we found ruins, some of which looked more like Mexican ruins than mining leftovers in Birmingham, leading me to perhaps pretend that I was on an exotic birthday exploration rather than twenty minutes from home.

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I had no idea what to expect when we found the Treehouse, but upon first seeing it, I just knew that Ali would NOT be going over that bridge.

It was much higher up than it appears, wiggled a good deal, and was extraordinarily narrow.

But she was miraculously brave, and with the help of my friend Ashley, excitedly made it to the other side.

…Where she promptly had to sit down and document her journey thus far. The girl is nothing if not a journalist.

While she made notes, I tried to ferociously hold onto Noah while taking photos of the exciting new view.

And yes – that is Birmingham – seemingly in the middle of a forest. Viewing from above can certainly offer a new perspective.

For our next walk, we visited the little known Irondale Furnace Trail. It’s actually in Mountain Brook (On Stone River Road, for those who want to find it), and about 1 1/3 miles long. It’s fairly flat, which is something that’s hard to come by around here, and is also an important feature to cut down on the Toddler Whine Factor.

(The TWF was extremely high for the above Red Mountain Hike, but still worth it.)

The Irondale Furnace Trail runs by a creek on one side and a forested hill on the other. And right now, it’s stunning.

About halfway down the trail, you’ll find the ruins of the Irondale Furnace, which increases the educational value of this walk from P.E. (exercise) and Science (leaves) to PE, Science, and Alabama History. Homeschoolers everywhere should be flocking to this trail post-haste.

Across from the ruins (which, despite their educational value I did not photograph,) there’s a clearing where you can walk down to the creek, and perhaps throw sticks for someone else’s dog. Or your dog, if you’re a better person than I.

The trail empties out into someone’s driveway on Old Leeds Road, and has a final hoorah of having rocks on which to sit and contemplate one’s journey thus far.

Good luck prying your kids off of those rocks for the walk back.

Last Saturday, we went with Chris to Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, somewhere we’ve embarrassingly never visited (as adults, anyway), despite its centralized location and stunning beauty.

Ruffner Mountain is a shockingly big nature preserve in between Birmingham and Irondale – over 1,000 acres of beauty right in the middle of the city.

There are several overlooks of quarries and city, all fantastically stunning right now.

We took the 1.5 mile hike to the Birmingham Overlook, and since Chris was with us, he brought along the jogging stroller in case we had a high occurrence of Toddler Whine Factor.

I do not recommend this strategy.

The trails were narrow and winding,

And had quite a number of natural and unnatural stairs involved, none of which were friendly to the jogging stroller.

Not to say that the TWF didn’t crop up, but Noah refused to ride because the trail was too bumpy, so the stroller’s impact to our walk was a net 50% reduction to the parental ability to help, stop, and guide children.

(After passing the sixth person that said “Wow – a jogging stroller? Never seen that out here before”, Chris admitted to the error of his attemptingly-helpful ways.)

But we finally made it to the top overlook, which was thoroughly worth the uphill walk, despite the fog enshrouding Birmingham that day.

If it had been a clear day, the view would have been exactly opposite of the one from the SkyHy Treehouse at Red Mountain, looking at Birmingham’s East side instead of its West.

(As opposed to our normal sunset view, which looks at its South side. But Birmingham really doesn’t have a bad angle.)

After our walk, we drove a few blocks over and ate at The Irondale Café, which was a great place for the children to watch trains, and for me to watch graffiti.

Also – who knew they had Chuggington Bushes?? You can’t find those every day.

In the last couple of days I’ve noticed even more stunning colors than before – perhaps a third wave of color. So it’s not too late – at least around here. Get out there and explore, people.

After all, it’s a kid-approved activity. Most of the time.

The Home Invasion.

November 21, 2013July 21, 2020 Rachel Callahan A Day in the Life, Blogging: the therapy., I'm a Glutton for Adventure, Just My Luck, Popular Posts, Storytime

Sunday afternoon.

Noah was lazily waking up from his nap, I was finishing a couple of blog posts, Ali was having quiet time, and Chris was out running.

It was a calm, lovely day.

Noah started moaning, so I went to retrieve him. He was crying by the time I arrived, which led to cuddling.

He explained between hiccups that his eye got poked. Upon further discussion, he told me that he poked his eye with his finger.

He calmed down fairly easily and we were snuggling happily. Ali heard us, so she walked across the hall. She stood, chatting in the doorway of his still-dark room, then looked up to the ceiling and said, “Oh – look!”

I looked up and saw the shadow of a flutter.

At first I feared my arch-nemesis, a flying roach. But that’s only because the object moved too quickly out of my peripheral vision for me to realize its size or shape.

I adjusted my vision, looked again, and wished it were a flying roach.

It had at least a twelve-inch wingspan.

And silent, chill-inducingly fast-flapping black wings.

His swoop descended and circled, ever closer to the level of my head.

I shoved Noah into my chest and let out sounds that had previously only been uttered by a hyena immediately before being eaten by a lion. I ducked and ran-fell out of the room, bashing Noah into the footboard as we careened into the hallway.

Both Noah and Ali began crying as I slammed his door, flung open the linen closet, and stuffed an undeserving beach towel under the door.

I uncalmly tried to explain between hyperventilating.

“A BAT!! A GIANT BAT!! THERE’S A BAT IN YOUR ROOM!!”

Wheezing and shaking, I somehow managed to transfer myself and my family down the stairs without passing out, falling, or throwing up, thanks in full to the fact that I am on pulse-regulating heart medication.

We all silently walked to the kitchen and stood at the top of the basement stairs, waiting for Chris to get home.

After a few minutes, he rounded the corner, beaming and energetic from a beautiful Autumn run.

Noah broke the news.

“Dere’s uh BAT in my woom, Daddy.”

I studied Chris’ face as he processed this revelation and mentally changed gears from the evening he thought existed.

Ali quickly chimed in.

“Yes! It’s giant! And I saw it first!”

I’m not sure I said anything, perhaps muted forever by the traumatization.

“Well, okay then. Give me a few minutes.”

He descended back into the basement where he Googled “how to catch a bat” and collected his supplies: an ice chest, old towel, and work gloves, then came upstairs to select the tallest piece of Rubbermaid from my kitchen.

He went upstairs and peeked stealthily into Noah’s room. Then came back and said,

“Okay. He’s asleep, hanging from the ceiling. Is that where he was when y’all saw him?”

I nearly choked at the thought.

How nice THAT would have been.

“Uh, NO. He was circling the room, swarmed our heads, and barely let us escape.”

“Ohhhh. I see.”

Then he went to the bathroom. It’s always best to thoroughly empty oneself before facing a flying rodent, he later explained. I can’t say that I blamed him, and wished I’d been afforded the same opportunity.

I tried to calm myself, sitting on the couch with the Starbucks Chris had brought me from his run, telling myself that everything was okay. SURELY the bat hadn’t been present for Noah’s entire nap. And if he had, then CERTAINLY he hadn’t touched Noah.

Which is the exact moment that Noah decided to offhandedly mention,

“It was da bat dat poked me. Da black bat.”

OH DEAR JESUS PLEASE TAKE ME HOME RIGHT NOW I’M DYING I KNOW I AM I CAN’T TAKE THIS

Stupid heart pills. Try as I might they wouldn’t let me die.

I took a Grand-Canyon-deep breath and said,

“But you said it was your finger?”

“No, it was da bat. He poked me. In da eye.”

“Baby. Don’t lie to Mommy. Tell me the truth. How did your eye get poked?”

“DA BAT! HE POOOOOKED ME!”

He’s just two. He’s lying. He’s getting his stories mixed up. He’s being silly. He’s using his imagination. It isn’t true it isn’t true it isn’t true it isn’t true it isn’t true it isn’t true it isn’t true it isn’t true it isn’t true.

It isn’t true.

I swallowed a liter of bile and nearly tore a hole in the couch with my nails, willing my brain to forget what it had just heard.

Chris finally returned, seemingly fully in tact, cooler in hand, and perhaps a bit more testosteroney than when he left.

“I have been successful in my mission. I have saved the family. Want to see it?”

He led us all into the bathroom and shut the door.

With much pride, he sat down his cage and removed his manly gloves.

He then opened the cage.

And removed the covering.

He checked the lid’s seal twice, then exhumed the container from the cage, and set it on the bathroom counter.

The depraved villain straight from the warmest Port-A-Potty of Hell bared his yellowed fangs straight at me. The claws on the tips of his wings were more disgusting than a toddler’s fingernails after playing in his own feces, and his back fur was wet, as if he’d recently peed himself.

And my eyes had not deceived me. He was larger than God should allow any bat to be.

Chris, not yet having heard Noah’s story change, was insanely proud of himself. He went in search of the appropriate prop for his instagrammed victory over the nefarious villain that had entered his domain and threatened his family.

I would have been more impressed if he’d had to face the bat mid-flight like myself, rather than just covering him with the bowl and plucking him off the ceiling. But if that had transpired, I seriously doubt we would have had our prisoner.

And after all, Chris was fantastic.

He took control of all the things my trauma still disallowed me to do, such as sticking the children in front of a movie, giving them leftovers for dinner, and eventually putting them both to bed in Ali’s room (there was no way anyone would be sleeping in Noah’s room that night) while I frantically left a message for Rid-A-Critter to come check for more, and went through Noah’s story with Chris and all of the what ifs that had been ping-ponging in my mind.

I reassured myself with a thorough inspection of Noah’s face and head, and found nothing.

Then I deassured myself by reading on the CDC website that bat bites are undetectable.

It was at that point that I lost at least two more years off the backside of my life.

I emailed my Pediatrician to see what she thought I should do.

I went to the Jefferson County Department of Health’s website, trying to find out who would test a bat for rabies. The first sentence on the page read,

“Years ago, Jefferson County, Alabama was unofficially know as the ‘rabies capital of the world’…”

HOLY CRAP, JEFFERSON COUNTY. THANKS A LOT.

I mean. Could they not have said “Rabies Capital of America”? Surely there was more Rabies in The Congo than in central Alabama. Right??

They had a phone number listed, but it was Sunday night and our county isn’t exactly known for its efficiencies.

But I called it anyway.

“If you have a public health emergency, press three.”

What the heck. I’ll try it.

I told my story to the person on call. She took it very seriously and said she’d have someone call me.

Ring

I told my story to a nurse at Children’s Hospital. She sounded grave and said she’d have someone call me.

Ring

I told my story to Rabies Control. They told me to refrigerate the bat (not freeze, please), and bring him to the Jefferson County Department of Health at 7:45 in the morning where we were to ask for J.C. Andrews. They would overnight the bat to the lab and we would find out the results on Tuesday or Wednesday.

These are the moments that one can truly appreciate having a basement refrigerator that houses nothing but canned drinks and the occasional possibly rabid bat.

Not that I’ll ever drink Sprite again. But at least I don’t have to burn my Greek Dressing and cheese spread.

Clearly, sleep did not come for me that night. Or if it did, my dreams were identical to my waking thoughts – sounds of bat wings fluttering, asphyxiating on guano, giant fangs tearing into my children…

I was not in my best mood the next day.

Chris and the bat set off early to go find the elusive J.C. Andrews. On the way, my parents called him and said that they wanted to drive the bat to Montgomery and hand-deliver it to the lab to skip the shipping time to make sure Noah didn’t have to start the rabies vaccine unless absolutely necessary.

(They lived through those days of Jefferson County being the Rabies Capital of the World and can tell horror stories of 50 rounds of rabies shots in the stomach and people that were never quite right after receiving them.)

After receiving the requisite paperwork with multiple colored carbons from the DoH that is required to deliver a freshly chilled, potentially diseased flying monster to a secret laboratory, Chris met up with my parents at an undisclosed location to transfer the dangerous biohazard.

Around nine that morning, I got a call from an extremely accusatory and suspiciously voiced woman at the Jefferson County Department of Health.

“Ma’am. Have you taken your son in to the doctor yet?”

“No – I’ve emailed with my Pediatrician, and we are going to wait on the results of the test before we start treatment.”

“You – you haven’t taken him IN yet? I’m gonna need your address.”

I dutifully surrendered my rights and my address.

“Now. Ma’am. WHY AGAIN haven’t you seen a doctor?”

“I EMAILED my doctor. We HAVE talked. I WILL take him in tomorrow depending on the bat’s test results. We do NOT want to vaccinate him UNLESS it is necessary.”

“Oh. Yes. Of course. We don’t want to put him through that unless he needs it.”

We stumbled through the school day, waiting desperately for the lab to call us and Rid-A-Critter to dispatch.

When the Batman did arrive, he climbed into the attic, and the first thing I heard was an impressed whistle.

Awesome.

Two minutes and he was back down the stairs.

“That didn’t take long!”

He shook himself as if he were tossing off a trenchcoat of bats. “I saw all I needed to see. And I made you a video. See all that? That’s bat poop. It’s a foot thick in the eaves – which means you have TON of bats, or they’ve been there a LONG time. And there’s a bat…and there’s a bat…and there’s a cluster of bats…and who knows how many more there are.”

He laid out the plan of cleaning up the guano and sealing up the holes and giving the bats a one-way exit (did you know bats are a protected species? Because they are) – so that they would have to find a new neighbor to tenantize.

A little while later the State Lab did call and after a ridiculously long introduction and buildup, confirmed that there was no evidence of rabies in our bat, God Rest His Soul.

The next morning, my Dad returned the ice chest (but thankfully not the Rubbermaid.) Noah ran up to tell him the whole story.

“Dere wus a bat in my woom! A BIIIIIIIG bat! And we all scweemed, and den wan away…”

My Dad asked, “Who all screamed?”

“Well, Mommy.”

And that about sums it up.