The Early Bird Gets The Beater

I was up at 6:20am making cupcakes for the birthday festivities tomorrow.

Apparently, Phoebe can sense good things being baked in her sleep because she wandered down waaaayyy before her normal "wake-up time". So I let her lick the beaters before breakfast. She is the birthday girl, you know.


I think more batter ended up on my counter than in Phoebe's mouth!

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My friend, Heather, emailed a brilliant idea that she found here. She thought that I was just the person to create/design/build/run this little venture. I told her that I have absolutely no ambition whatsoever, but I have always dreamed of having just such a place in my own hometown. I think I just might live there.

But as my great-grandfather used to say, "Spit in one hand and wish in the other and see which one gets full first."

*Sigh*

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We've been having a little trouble with Eli getting up after bedtime to play with toys or read books or whatever.

Do you think it might be catching up with him?

Life Lessons

Somedays, as a mom, it seems like you spend your entire day speaking words that you've said a thousand times before and really may not carry that much importance in the grand scheme of things. And then somedays you find yourself saying things that you never imagined you would utter and are struck by the life lessons contained in those words. Today was one of the latter.

* "Don't burp on girls. They don't like it."

* "Don't steal your dad's chips at lunch. He likes the hot ones."

* Sometimes mommies are too tired for books, but mommies are never too tired for cuddling."

* "If you spend all your time in the morning being silly, you won't have time to pretend you are Luke Skywalker."

* "Sticking your fingers down your throat will make you choke."

* "Don't take your sister's strawberries. She bites."

* "When your friends want to play something different than you at recess, you have two choices: play what your friends want to play or play by yourself. You have to decide what you are going to do because you can't decide what everyone else is going to do."

* "Don't get out of bed after 'lights out' to get a toy. Mommies always know."

Did anyone else impart any life lessons today?

Loving Eli

Loving Eli is like loving the ferocity and strength of a tornado. Or loving the way ocean waves crash into the rocks on the shore. Or loving the wind and roar of a hurricane. He is all movement and noise and passion.

From my last post, I'm afraid I might have given the impression that I don't love Eli or that Eli doesn't hold a special place in our hearts and family. He does. But instead of nestling in that place quietly and securely, he wrestles and wiggles and pushes his way around in the ties that bind.

I've come to realize that I love my children drastically different. They are both loved more than they will ever imagine or fully realize, but that loves is different. I love Phoebe because she is sweet and gentle and calm. Interacting with her is so rewarding because she soaks up attention and is all goodness and light. She is epitome of a hope realized after a walk through a dark, desperate tunnel. I love Eli like one would love someone who has spent time in the trenches alongside you. You may have fought and yelled and cursed and been hurt, but when the smoke clears, you realize that you were fighting for the same thing and are bonded to that person forever after. I love him because-- and sometimes in spite of the fact that-- he is full of energy and passion. I love him because he runs headlong into everything and keeps running. He is fearless and strong-willed and not-easily-hurt.

The best way to describe Eli is this: He is always up for a challenge. In everything, be it big or small, mundane or important. Last summer, we were at the grocery store and Eli was standing in the middle of the aisle (because that's what he does). A woman with a cart asked him to please move and instead of moving, he quietly and deliberately planted his feet and placed his hands on his hips. I, of course, yanked him away and talked (way too much I'm sure) about how we listen to other people, do kind things, blah, blah, blah. But the bottom line is that Eli is going to do what he wants to do whether I talk a blue-streak or not and that is where I feel that I've failed.

They say that with an iron-willed child like Eli, all you have to do is point him in the right direction and he'll never waiver from that path. I'm not quite sure that the "pointing" won't leave me old, grey, and exhausted and Eli still directionless. What keeps me going is the hope that there might come a day where I don't argue and worry and pray and use every ounce of parenting skill I have... but we ain't there yet, and I don't have a map!

I think my great-aunt said it best,

"That child is full of bees and gunpowder!"

Pink Shoes

Who knew that a new pair of pink shoes could make a mommy cry?


I'm ashamed to admit that when the sonogram tech told us we were having a boy in January of 2003, I cried. Not tears of joy...tears of regret that we weren't having a girl. I didn't know what to do with a boy and, as it turns out, I still don't know what to do with this boy. But that's another post for another day.

Fast forward to October of 2006. Same sonogram tech, same sonogram room, but things were drastically different. We were older and jaded and maybe even a little bitter after the ordeal and difficulties of trying to conceive another child. But God is good (and completely unfathomable) and here we were again. I was scared. I was scared that something was going to be wrong with this baby. It had taken us so long to conceive and I didn't trust my God the way I once had. I fully expected there to be a problem. I was scared that we were having another boy. A part of me knew that this might be our last baby and I still longed for a daughter. I know that we would have loved another son...that Eli would have loved having a brother. But I wanted a girl. (I'm pretty sure Brad didn't care what we were having.) So when the tech told us it was a girl, my first response was, "Are you sure?!" She assured me she was and from that moment on my world has been colored in shades of pink.

I longed for a daughter not just because of the bows and dresses and shoes (although they have been a delightful diversion!), but also because daughters are the protectors of traditions. I longed for a daughter to play dollies and dress-up. I longed for a daughter to pass on my love of all things old and meaningful. I longed for a daughter to be the keeper of memories and stories and ratty old quilts. I longed for a daughter to teach about the ways in which our Father loves and cherishes us as women...that there's a special place in the Kingdom for strong, godly, precious girls.

And in this I have been blessed.

For awhile I was worried that Phoebe would be a tomboy because she loved nothing more than to play with Eli's cars and balls and trains. Lately, I've been abused of this notion. This baby is ALL GIRL! Just this morning I put on her pretty new pink sneakers. (Although I'm not really sure you can call canvas maryjanes "sneakers".) She was enchanted. She kept saying "pink shooz" over and over again. It's what made me start thinking about this phenomenon of having a girl in the first place...and what made me realize that she is getting so much bigger each and every day. She showed them off to everyone at Wal-Mart (where I went over my $100-a-week budget...again, but let's blame it on Phoebe's birthday party this upcoming Saturday) and took off all her clothes at naptime except her pretty pink shoes.

She is everything I could have hoped for or wanted and so much more!

Things We Do For Fun

* Watch and report on the daily sightings of a road-runner family who (I think) lives in our backyard. We see them often on our back porch and at the fence line in the back of our property. Brad has tried to get a picture, but those little buggers are fast! When Phoebe sees one, she shouts, "Bird!!" which scares them off because I think they can hear her three houses over she's so loud.

* Twirl until we fall down in a dizzy heap.


* Practice walking on stilts. My mom gave these to Eli for Christmas and Eli likes to practice walking on them. He's not very good yet considering the stilts and Eli are still the same height. I think this skill will serve him well in life...especially since the only career I can imagine him in is with the circus.

Nena is pretty good on the stilts, too.

* Play with the webcam on my laptop. It still makes Phoebe cry, but maybe that's why Eli likes it so much!

* Star Wars. Enough said. (Yesterday on the way home from KU, I told Eli that we could talk about anything except Star Wars. It stumped for about 2 minutes and then we had a nice chat about being "girl-trapped" at school. You know, when you are surrounded by girls at the lunch table, craft table, van, etc.)

* Watch in amazement as Phoebe consumes large amounts of food. Last night at dinner she had 2 1/2 chicken thighs in her Thai Peanut Chicken. Apparently she's on a chicken kick right now.

What does your family do for fun? I'm sure the McCalls could always use some new, exciting ways to spend our Friday nights.

Peek-A-Boo

I guess there is a good reason for not being completely unpacked.

Just think of all the other trouble they could've gotten into while I was cleaning up the breakfast dishes.

On the other hand, maybe it's just better if I didn't. :)

Now This Is What I Like To See!

When you live on the prairie there are a lot of chores to do and everyone in the family has to pitch in and help out.

Even sweet, adorable, almost-two-year-olds.

Actually, sweeping is one of Phoebe's very favorite pastimes and I'm always one to encourage "helping" whenever possible. She especially loves to use my new-handy-dandy-sweeping-machine. While I wouldn't go as far to say it does the most amazing sweeping job I've ever seen, it does pretty well on all those day-to-day pick-ups. Since I usually sweep at least once a day (sometimes more) it has come in quite handy. It even picked up a piece of sticky, gross banana left on the floor from breakfast. Not one to be too picky, Phoebe also drags out my regular broom and dustpan several times a day to clean up all those other wayward dust bunnies.

Maybe that's why she ate three chicken legs at dinner! Granted they were BBQ Baked Chicken Legs (a family favorite), but THREE?! Sheesh.

She also consumed one corn on the cob, a fairly good-sized serving of green beans, and a cheese biscuit. I feel sure that all of you out there in blogland just love to hear about all that Phoebe had for dinner. I know I personally find it very amusing.

But don't think we don't have our fun, too. Who can say no to a little family Wii playing? (Actually, I can because I don't really enjoy video games, but it was family time just the same.)


Life on the prairie just isn't half bad.

Mondays Are For Mopping (Or Is That Moping?)

I really don't want to do my "chores" today. Usually I don't mind the daily cleaning and de-cluttering of my house and I really don't mind the sense of satisfaction I get from a (mostly) clean house. I live with a five-year-old boy and an almost-two-year-girl so the very best I can get is "mostly."

Maybe it's because it's Monday. I don't mind Mondays, as a rule, but there is something so daily about the start of another week. Oh, I know that technically Sunday is the start of another week, but, really, don't we all just consider Sunday the last day of our weekend? Monday is really the start of the week and on around here Mondays are mop days. I have a schedule of my "chores" so that my house stays "mostly" clean "most" of the time. Sick children and my random doctor visits always screw up the schedule, but for the most part, my schedule works. I like schedules. And routines. And normalcy. But that's beside the point.

Anyway, Mondays are mop days. Fridays used to be mop days and Mondays were bathroom days, but then I realized that when you mop on Friday, the floors look disgusting again on Monday and the if you have company coming, you have to clean your bathrooms again on Friday anyway, soooo...they got switched. Mopping is my least favorite chore of the week and now I do it on Mondays. I think it's my least favorite because as soon as it's finished someone spills something or drops crumbs somewhere or I live on the prairie and the dust just blows and blows and it looks like it needs to be done again immediately. It's so unsatisfying.

Then Brad has to go back to work. I haven't figured out a way for Brad to have a job, but not actually have to go anywhere or do anything. I like it better when there is another grown-up to talk to and help interact with the children. I think I also just like hanging out with him and when Monday rolls around, he just leaves. And I am left here...to mop.

This morning was especially hard because I forgot to program my coffee maker and there was no hot coffee just waiting for me the moment I rolled out of bed. Eli is still feeling puny and has been rather whiny and now Phoebe is also running a low-grade fever. Cranky people all around.

But now it isn't so bad.

I finished my mopping (and Phoebe promptly dropped her lunch plate containing canned peach juice on the floor). Eli and Phoebe have both been doped with Motrin and are sleeping peacefully. I am sitting in my kitchen listening to the hum of the dishwasher with the knowledge that all I have to get done today is folding one more load of towels. After that, I will have crossed off all items on my to-do list and the day will be filled with endless possibilities again. Of course, "endless possibilities" will probably entail coddling some sickly children and making dinner, but at least I will have a choice in the matter (you know, because it's not on my to-do list).

Tuesdays I only have to clean the kitchen and I so prefer to sanitize the sink and clean out the microwave than mop the floors.

Anybody else having a Mopey Monday?

The Valentine Curse Strikes Again

Yesterday morning Eli tried to "ruin" our Valentine's Day by falling from one our chairs and whacking his forehead on the tile countertop. I think he might be a tad accident prone.

Other than a nasty goose-egg, he made it through and managed to eat six heart-shaped pancakes at breakfast. It was a personal record.

Last night, however, the Valenine Curse caught up with him and he started running 102 fever around 9pm. He rallied a bit this morning, but is again running 102. I'm just hoping it's not strep.

Phoebe did not let Eli's misfortune rain on her parade. She was able to thoroughly enjoy the fondue anyway! :)


Yeah, she has chocolate above her eye. The girl really enjoys her food.

We've Been "Hearted"

This afternoon we found this on our front door.


My friend, Heather, and her daughters sneak around and decorate the doors of friends and teachers and this year we were included. Of course, I saw them drive up the driveway and start sticking things on my door so they really weren't that sneaky...but it was fun to be "hearted" anyway.

It seems like Valentine's Day has lasted a really long time this year. Usually, it happens so fast that I find myself wishing we had done more creative things to commemorate the holiday. This year, with the cookie decorating party, Eli's Valentine tea at KU, and Valentine's Day actually being tomorrow, I feel like I've really had time to enjoy it. Maybe because it's because I've always been at KU or it falls during the week, but it seems a very rushed, hurried holiday (albeit "made-up" one, too).

The KU Pre-K Valentine Tea went pretty smoothly. There's nothing like trying to pull your five and half year old out from under the table at tea with one hand while trying to keep your (apparently underfed) almost two year old from snatching mini-muffins off the serving platters with the other! Brad was there, of course, but he was too busy conversing with Randall to help keep up with the children. They are manly men, aren't they?


Teresa and I decorated for it and it seemed a little like deja vu since we've taught together for the last two years at KU. She's married to the guy in the pink shirt. Maybe that's why the tea seemed a little more stress-free this year...I didn't have much to do with it or worry about sending everyone else's children home on a sugar high! :)

Don't worry, I wasn't wearing all black to the Valentine Tea...I had on red shoes!

This is Eli and his friend, Corbin. In the manner of all little boy friendships, they each think the other is hilarious and together they just might be the two funniest boys on the face of the planet. Corbin is actually one day older than Eli and that's pretty cool,too. :) And, yes, Eli is wearing the same shirt from last year.



So, today I decided we needed to do some Valentine crafting of our own. After a quick run to Wal-Mart to replenish our supply of stickers, glue sticks, and flour, we came home and got to cutting and gluing and sticking. We haven't done much of this kind of thing lately with the move and all and I remembered how much I really enjoy it. I already have something "crafty" planned for next week, too! (And by "crafty" I mean something involving fingerpaint...not too creative, but loads of fun!)


In another moment of genius, I decided to hang all of these lovely creations from our light fixture making a Valentine mobile that will help us feel festive tomorrow night when we dine on the traditional McCall Valentine's meal of fajitas and fondue. I am so excited!! I'm not sure how we started the tradition of making fajitas on Valentine's Day, but Brad and I have done it since we were first married. The fondue was supposed to be added last year, but after Eli fell off the trampoline and almost gave himself a concussion, it didn't happen. Frantic phone calls to a neurosurgeon friend does not make for a fun Valentine's Day. I've decided that Eli is going to wear a plastic bubble all day tomorrow to prevent such a thing happening again.


Doesn't this look festive? However, I think I'm going to have to forgo the usual candlelight because it just might catch all our hearts on fire!

A Valentine Cookie Party

I meant to make and decorate sugar cookies for Christmas this year. It didn't happen.

I meant to make "winter cookies" in January. January came and went. No cookies.

So I was very excited when my friend, Sara, invited us over to decorate Valentine cookies today! We were all supposed to bring our own pre-made, undecorated cookies, but I ran out of flour (and I'm not going to the store till a week from tomorrow!). Sara, being the great friend that she is, let me roll out and bake my cookies at her house. I'm not sure I'll ever get the hang of this grocery-shopping-every-two-weeks thing.

Phoebe loved decorating the cookies.


Actually, she wasn't so great with the icing and I couldn't resist pleas of "Hep, Ma-ma" so I spread most of the icing. That girl sure can shake the sprinkles, though!


There's no time for a picture with mommmy! There are cookies to be eaten!


Apparently, Phoebe felt like every time she decorated a cookie, she should eat it. This was great for about three cookies, then I had to tell her that it was not a good idea to eat all the cookies one decorates. It's just uncouth! However, using only pink icing is perfectly acceptable. I think this was cookie number two.


Eli only used chocolate icing and only made two cookies...and ate both of them! Just look at that concentration. I think we have a future Wolfgang Puck on our hands, folks.


Simply divine.


This was my lone cookie creation. It took a lot of concentration to "help" Phoebe with hers (or should I say keep her from falling off the chair/eating the icing/making a huge mess in general).


About this time I (somehow) got pink icing all over my camera. I think it might have involved someone wearing a red and white dress with white bows in her pigtails. However, I did manage to take one last shot of all our hard work. Well, minus the five cookies the children ate and the one I ate and the one Sarah ate. Isn't that what cookie parties are for?

The Weekend Wrap-Up

Yesterday I sat down at my computer and couldn't think of a single thing that anyone might want to read. Nothing. Nada. Zipp-o. So I gave up. It was that kind of day. I intentionally didn't make a to-do list so I wouldn't have anything to do. I'm playing catch-up today, but spending the whole day in my pajamas with my children was worth it! :)

It wasn't that nothing happened the last four days, in fact, we were pretty busy. Here's what happened:

* Eli spent Friday trying to "earn" back his movie privileges after he'd lost them Thursday night. He dusted my stairs, cleaned up the playroom (by himself), and was generally cooperative and well-behaved. It made me wonder why we have such difficulty with him in the first place.

* We watched "Return Of The Jedi" with Eli! Being a big Star Wars fan myself, it's been fun to pass on this small passion.

* My parents and sister came to visit to see Eli's last two games.


* We watched Eli play two soccer games. He scored three goals on Saturday and one on Sunday.


* Eli received his medal and poster at the end of the game on Sunday. Needless to say, he's worn the medal for two days straight.

Phoebe is in this family picture. She's just lying in a heap on the floor because she couldn't have the snack that all the soccer players were having. Never mind that I had brought her a snack from home because this always happens. She didn't want her snack, she wanted Eli's.



* Brad and I told "Our Story" on Sunday night in our small group. We've been meeting with this small group for a little while and there are some couples who don't know us very well. Our youth minister (also the small group leader) decided it was good idea for some of the "older" couples (yep, that's us) to tell our stories and he wanted Brad and I to go first. Gulp. I really don't like to speak in big groups of people and I really, really don't like to reveal all the things that I'd rather people not know about me, but in the spirit of being authentic with each other, we did. I survived, but barely.

* It rained on Sunday night. No, seriously. This happens so rarely out here that each time is notable. So the McCall family all climbed into bed together and cuddled and listened to the rain. A great way to end the weekend. (Oh, Brad took the kids back upstairs later because we really can't sleep with them with us.)

Hope you enjoyed that little weekend wrap-up...it even had pictures!

Chocolate And A Caffeinated Latte...Not A Great Combo

I've just returned from a Girls Night Out at a chocolate shop here in town where I don't think my latte was decaf. It's bedtime and I'm wide awake!

So here are a few thoughts at 10:24pm.

These are my friends Tana and Malee. Malee makes all Phoebe's bows and I have a sneaky suspicion that Tana meticulously irons all her sons' clothes even though she says she NEVER does.


We all had a most interesting conversation about this handy-dandy product. Malee and Emily (who has deep conversations with my dad on his blog) swear it has changed their lives. I'm going to the Happiest Place On Earth to get one tomorrow. This is Emily and her chocolate creation. She made a heart-shaped box.


This is me making my chocolate creation.


I was the only brave enought to make chocolate handcuffs.


I made them out of dark chocolate because I feel dark chocolate is more sophisticated and cool. It's deep and dark and complicated...just like me.

This picture of Dixie, me, and Tiffani took three takes because I tend to have a lazy eye when I smile and then I over-compensate and look a little crazy. Tiffani and I decided that we all must be old because we spent our wild night out talking about sweeping and the fact that she bought herself the H2O mop with her birthday money. I think I have to agree.


These are the (way cool) boots I wore.


They were my Christmas present from Brad this year...except that I picked them out and purchased them. I couldn't love them more! :)

I think the real reason I'm still awake is because Eli made some bad choices at the soccer team photo shoot and I'm trying to figure out why and what I did wrong and how we can go about changing this behavior.

I think maybe a good night's sleep will give me more perspective and I'll be more ready to deal with it in the morning. (Insert big yawn here.)

Good Night!


By the way, my computer thinks it's about an hour earlier than it really is. It's really after 11pm. Really.

Wordless Wednesday

Eli Skywalker

Eli is all about Star Wars these days.

He asked me the other day why I didn't name him R2D2. I told him that I guess we just didn't think of it when he was born. He and another little boy in his KU class had a disagreement about how many legs R2D2 has when I was dropping him off this morning. Eli said three, the other little boy said two. Luckily, our youth minister was dropping his son off and he could settle the dispute because, apparently, he knows everything about Star Wars. (Both boys were right, by the way, because sometimes he has two and sometimes he has three...I knew you were curious.) Monday, he wanted me to call him Han Solo all day long. This was great because we didn't have to go anywhere. It's a little embarrassing to be yelling, "Han Solo! Stop pestering your sister!" in Target. I should know...I had to do it. :) Then there's his C3PO walk. It's pretty impressive. Light Sabers have become his constant accessory.





It helps when your backyard looks surprisingly like Tattooine.

Meatless Monday

I have discovered a most wonderful product in my dairy case at the local supermarket. It was by the butter.


It's pre-cooked, diced potatoes and onions...and it's only $1.54 at United so it's cheap, too!

I purchased them to make another dinner Saturday night and we had some leftover. Since I hate to have unused food in my fridge, I got a little creative. :)

First, I melted about 3 T. butter in a large skillet and sauteed the potatoes until they were mostly brown.


When the potatoes were almost done, I added some chopped green and red bell pepper, some chopped grape tomatoes, and some steak seasoning. Except for the tomatoes, this was part of the recipe from Saturday night so don't go thinking I'm some kind of culinary genius.


Then I whisked together 5 eggs, some half-and-half, salt, and fresh ground pepper and poured it down over the potatoes and peppers and tomatoes. I topped the whole thing with cheese and cooked it on low on my stove until it was "set" in the middle.


Since I like my frittatas to be brown on top, I popped it in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes. The whole thing takes about 15 minutes and my children loved it! (We actually have frittatas pretty often because they are so good and cheap and easy and have so many variations in which to use up stuff in your fridge. Eli calls them "egg avacadas") I didn't tell Brad we were having Meatless Monday until after he had finished. He thought it was great, too, and then asked if I had come up with the name myself. Unfortunately, I hadn't so he didn't think it was quite as clever. :)

** This was actually last Monday's dinner. It seemed silly to blog about Meatless Monday on any other day, so I just waited a week. Tonight we are having spaghetti...with meat. I think it just might be one of my Top-Five-Favorite-Comfort-Foods-Of-All-Times. I'm so very, very excited.