We Will Survive

We are back among the land of the bloggers...sort of.

The move last Saturday went very well. We had so many good friends to help us move and it only took about three hours. It's amazing how quickly one's life can be completely turned upside-down. We didn't have any internet until Tuesday and then I was too tired or busy to sit down and think about posting. Things have slowed down a little. There are still boxes everywhere, but my kitchen, closet, and bathroom are mostly unpacked. With those finished, I can function so it doesn't feel quite so crazy. There are still lots of people in and out of the house. Today we've had trim guys putting up towel racks, toilet paper holders, and weather stripping. There are concrete guys outside pouring our front steps, back sidewalks (aka Eli's racetrack), and the driveway. Supposedly the fireplace guy and the sound guy are both going to show up later. I've learned to live with sawdust and drywall dust all over everything. At this point I've just given up. When everyone is finished and gone I'll figure out a way to remove the dust. I'm not sure how yet, but I'll just put my mind to it and come up with something! :)

In the meantime, I've thought of Five Things I Love About My New House:
1. I am much closer to Target. (Brad is really thrilled about this one!)
2. Eli' new bunkbeds.
3. Eli and Phoebe have made a "track" through the kitchen, living room, breakfast nook, and Brad's office. Because the concrete guys don't want them outside because
of all their big, bad equipment, I told them they could ride their scooters, trikes, etc. in the house. That was a big no-no at the other house.
4. Cooking on a gas stove is so much fun! Even when three of your five burners don't work, it's fun to do.
5.

And I've also thought of Five Things I Miss About My Old House:
1. Everything had a place and I knew where it was. I really hate to unpack and there have been a few times when my brain just cannot think of another place to put something. It's like it just turns off!
2. I was only three minutes from church. It was also Eli's pre-school and we were very spoiled.
3. My TV. I know, it's silly, but we don't have our TV's hooked up yet. There is just a time and place for vegging out in front of the TV.
4. It felt like home. This house will get there, but when I stopped by the other house on Monday, it was just empty and sad. That's where I brought my babies home and spent those glorious first years. We just need to make some memories in the new house! :)
5. Trees. The other house was in a lovely old neighborhood with big, old trees (quite a rarity here in West Texas) and fall was the most beautiful time of year. The red and yellow leaves blowing and twisting in the wind. Sigh. Giant tumbleweeds just don't have the same effect.


I have to keep telling myself that we will survive this...that this too shall pass. I just hope that in pushing through all this chaos and change that I don't miss something too important.

Please don't forget about us! I'll try to be a better blogger!

Introducing: Elvis and His Groupie!

It's harder than you think to get a good picture of both children at the same time. Especially when at least one of them knew that we were headed up to church for the Funavil. He couldn't wait to play games and gorge himself on candy and cotton candy. There was booth offering apples, but who wants those?

Rockin' Out


A kiss for a fan


Jail House Rock Elvis (Dayton) and Blue Suede Shoes Elvis (Eli)


Eli, Corbin (Micheal Phelps), and Dayton


Two little girls who were more interested in their candy than in having their pictures taken


"We really are the cutest ones here!"


Phoebe and Mommy. No, I did not dress up. I wasn't even wearing Halloween socks! They were packed and I could not find them. Oh well.


The two Elvises sang a rousing rendition of "Jail House Rock" and "Blue Suede Shoes." They brought down the house!


Their fans could barely contain themselves!


All in all, it was a great evening. We went home and bathed (yes, the black hair dye did come out...I don't know if my bathtub will ever be the same) and were in bed by at least 9:30!! It was very hard to get Mr. Eli up this morning for KU, but it helped that we got to wear the costume again for KU Trick-or-Treating. We'll wear it one more time for actual Trick-or-Tricking tomorrow night before The Move on Saturday. Yes, it's still happening.

Why (you might ask) am I not spending more time packing and less time blogging?

I am out of boxes. Brad went to get me some more from the hospital (those people get more supplies each day than I have ever heard of in my entire life!) and I can finish up tonight. I'm sure I could be putting "hang-up" clothes into garbage bags, but I decided to take a little break.

Okay, break's over. Sigh.

Old Mother Hubbard

Yes, my cupboard is bare.


I have been packing and packing and in my free time, I've packed some more. A sweet friend of mine said that I must be pretty organized to get as much done in the last few days as I have. Ha Ha. If she only knew! I have packed the kitchen (hence the empty cupboard), the front bathroom, the living room, the dining room, the craft armoire, Phoebe's bedroom, Eli's bedroom, and our bedroom. I should mention that in all this packing, I haven't touched our clothes or shoes. We are still wearing them and I think I'm just going to ant-track them across town. Still left to pack are my bathroom, the laundry room, the pantry, and the computer cabinet. The places that I am NOT going to pack (I have a reason...really) are the fridge, our clothes, and the playroom. I feel like it would be easier just to take out drawers to stack them up and drive them across town...empty all the contents of the fridge into a cooler to load back up in the new house...stack up the toy bins (all the toys are already in plastic, labeled bins) and dump them in the new playroom. I'm sure there are lots of crazy reasons not to do this, but I've made up my mind. If you feel need the convince me otherwise, just plan on coming on over and packing it up for me! :)

The reason for all this packing? Brad says we are going to move this weekend! I have two thoughts on that: YEAH! and ARE YOU CRAZY?! It's a little overwhelming, but today I think it just might happen. Yesterday I was still very dubious. Today, not so much.

The Funavil at church is tonight. Please wait with bated breath to see pictures of my children in their Halloween costumes. They are awesome!

Terrific Tie-Dye

The guys in our Huddle think that we should start saving now to pay Eli's shrink bills when he gets to high school.

I think they look precious!

My friend, Careese, and I made these a few weeks ago for all our children. We made eight shirts and had high hopes of getting all the children together for a picture. So far that hasn't happened...but I haven't given up!

They really are best buddies.

Do You Know The Pretzel People?

Since I felt like I had neglected my children most of the week, I decided we would do something "fun" yesterday afternoon. Not wanting to go to the grocery store, I was limited to what I had at the house. I decided that we should make pretzels. I had some frozen bread dough in my freezer so I thawed it out while Eli was a school and we made them after Phoebe woke up from her nap. Years ago I had read in a magazine to use frozen bread dough to make pretzels and I'd always wanted to try it.

Of course, I took pictures.



Rolling out the dough is so exciting!!



"I'm not sure that is how they roll out the dough."




Inspection time.



Painting on the eggwash.





Adding the toppings took too much supervision so I didn't get any pictures. I didn't want sesame seeds and kosher salt all over my dining room. I'm just nuts that way, I guess. We used red sprinkles, cinnamon sugar, salt, sesame seeds, and minced onion for my topping... but not all on the same one, though! :) They baked at 375 for about 15 minutes. I meant to take a picture of the finished product, but by then, I was making dinner and things got a little crazy. We all had a cinnamon sugar or sprinkle pretzel for dessert and while they are no Pretzelmaker Pretzel, they were pretty darn good!

Two More Reasons I Won't Be "Mom of the Year"

There are so many reasons I won't be voted "Mom of the Year"-- two of them occurring just this morning. Today is the day Eli's pre-k class is going to the Pumpkin Patch...and I am not. Due to my illness (which I'm over now, thankfully) I am waaaayyy behind on the stuff I need to get done with the house. My children can trash a home in nothing flat...especially when they are unsupervised like they were yesterday. For example, Phoebe managed to climb on the toilet in the front bathroom and pull out every single bandaid from their boxes and then proceeded to unwrap every single one tearing each wrapper into as many pieces as possible. It looked like somebody had paper confetti parade in my bathroom. I needed to use this morning just to pick up my house. While I was gathering up all these little pieces of paper, Phoebe pulled out all the bloomers to all her dresses and spread them around her room. Sigh. And there are still boxes to be packed for The Move. I felt like I could probably justify not going on the field trip if not for one teeny, tiny problem. Eli has no winter coat. I just haven't gotten myself together to find one for him and last year's coat (which was actually the coat from the year before) does not fit. The high today is supposed to 52 degrees...and it's a little windy. I layered him up as much as I could (long-john pajamas under a t-shirt and jeans, a long-sleeved t-shirt over that, a sweatshirt, and a hoodie over that...along with a toboggan and gloves), but I'm just not sure it'll cut it. Oh well, kids don't feel the cold, right?

Because I feel like I've neglected what's really important when it comes to Eli (you know, quality time and basic needs) I've decided to post a boatload of pictures of Phoebe. Seriously, I think all we did last weekend was take pictures of Phoebe. She's just so darn cute and photogenic!


This is what Phoebe looks like at the end of the day...just a little crazy.


I think she may have Uncle Ben wrapped around her little finger. I don't know too many people he will share his ice cream with!


Who can resist giving this baby anything she wants when this is your thank you?!


If Uncle Ben runs out, then go find Grandaddy!


I think we are going to have to teach this gal to not just kiss anybody who gives her ice cream!


I think all we did on Sunday was dress her up and take pictures. These were before church.



And After.




"Enough pictures already!"


Nena makes it all better!


Well, my spellcheck isn't' working so I guess it's time to stop with the picture-posting. Please excuse all my mistakes.

Update: My spellcheck is working again (sort of) and I am sorry for all of you who read this post with misspelled words. It's very embarrassing. Especially when your mother is a librarian.

Carrie Barrie

We're moving a bit slow around the McCall house this morning. Yesterday I felt very overwhelmed. I was exhausted and achy and I had a headache. This is on top of feeling the pressing need to pack boxes and get ready for The Move in a few weeks. It was just one of those days (or nights really). Well, it turns out I was running a 100-degree fever. I was so relieved. I know, it sounds a little crazy, but I was so glad it was an actual ailment and not just overwhelmed that it made me feel a little better. At least emotionally. I still feel like crud this morning because I'm still running a fever. Not right this second because I took some Advil, but I still feel completely drained. That's why I'm at the computer. It doesn't take any energy to type...where it takes infinitely more than I have to pick up the three loads of laundry I folded yesterday afternoon or all the toys my children pulled out because they were completely unsupervised for most of the evening. (Brad had to go do "house stuff"...I will be so happy when it's finished! Oh wait, that will mean we have to actually Move so I take that back. Denial is much easier to live with.) This is all to say that I will not be posting a lovely post about my weekend. I went to Dallas for my sister's lingerie/bachelorette party. Eli and Brad stayed here (I flew and it was free to take Phoebe so the boys stayed home and had a boys weekend) while Phoebe and I went to Dallas. I think the girl enjoyed a little spoiling! :) But I'll post those pictures later.

Here are some pictures of my little sister, Carrie. She's always been incredibly photogenic and it's very irritating coming from someone who has a hard time taking any good pictures! Even when she's acting silly, her pictures look great. Grrrrr.




Well, it's off to comfort Phoebe who is crying at the backdoor because Eli just left. A friend is taking him to gymnastics and then home with her to play with her boys. He'll have a great day and I won't feel like he's been completely neglected. I think Phoebe feels a little neglected, though.

Eliball

Playing games with Eli is like Calvinball. Yesterday, for example, we were playing "slugbug" (where you point out VW bugs to earn points...we don't "slug" in the McCall version) in the car and here's how it went:

Mom: Slugbug! (We were three to three at this point. Seems there were a lot of VW bugs on the road yesterday)

Eli: You lost a point because you said "Slugbug." You have to just say "Slug."

Mom: No, that's not how we play. I have three and you have three. (A few seconds pass.)

Eli: Slugbug!

Mom: Eli, that's the same one I just called. You can't call it again.

Eli: No, if you call it, then I can call it again.

Mom: Eli, that's not how we play the game. We're still three to three. (A few more minutes go by) Slugbug!

Eli: Mom you can't call that one because it's black. We drive a black car so you can't call black slugbugs.

Mom: Yes, I can. Now we're four to three.

Eli: Well, once you get to four, the other person gets seven. So now we're seven to four. But it's okay, Mom, because later you'll have ten and I'll have seven.

I gave up after that and decided that a lesson on changing the rules so he could win was really cheating. I'm sure I will only have to go over that once, right? Eli is always so open for those learning moments and only has to hear them once.

I'll go wake up Eli for the day when I stop falling off my chair laughing.

Lights, And Tile, And Counters....Oh My!

Brad and I went out to the house yesterday. I haven't been much lately because the weather has been bad and they've been laying tile so there were areas where we couldn't walk. It just seemed easier to wait. The difference today is amazing...it actually looks like we might be moving in a couple of weeks. *Gulp*

I took a few pictures to show the progress.

My dining room light fixture. It matches the pendants and I think they look pretty good. Please ignore the disgusting fly tape hanging from the ceiling fan in the living room. We had massive fly problems and they were leaving fly specks on our new white trim. Brad found these at the local feed store and they did the trick...albeit grossly.



The kitchen with countertops.



The entry light.


Brad's office with the tile that looks like wood. We've used that in the entire first floor except our bedroom.



Brad modeling the laundry shoot in the children's bathroom.


Sometimes I think we've been working on this house forever and that we may never move in. Then other times I feel like moving day is barreling towards me like a train on a train track and I am tied to the rails like the heroine in those old silent films. To say I dread it would be understatement. However, countless families have moved and survived so maybe we will, too. I'm just not sure my sanity will. :)


Keep voting for Josh and Careese! The voting ends Monday, Oct. 20th.

Saving Supper Carnival

A gal is hosting a Saving Supper Carnival on her blog today. She poses the question "What do you do to keep your sanity during the "witching hours"? You know, that dreaded hour after nap and before dinner. The one where the children are cranky, the hubby comes home from work, the mommies are trying to make a delicious, kid-friendly, healthy meal that the whole family will enjoy all amidst the crying/yelling/whining of said house residents. Yeah, that one.

I'm not sure I've figured it out, yet. Then again, I'm not sure any mom I know has it "figured out" so I'm in good company. I have found a few things that occasionally work here in the McCall house.

* I really enjoy cooking...I think it's because I really enjoy eating. I enjoy eating good food, too, but what I love more than cooking and eating is finding easy good food recipes. My favorite website (currently) to find these meals is wwww.kraftfoods.com. It has features that allow you to make your own online recipe box, recipe searches by type of food or ingredient, and cooking demos (I don't usually watch those). My favorite recipes so far are: Chicken Lo Mein (I substitute whole wheat pasta and sometimes mix up the veggies...broccoli and carrots are delish), BLT Pasta, Beef N'Broccoli (I use brown rice), and Farmhouse Chicken. Most of these recipes cook in 20 minutes or so and all you need to do is throw together a salad or some other veggie and you're done!

* On those awful, everybody-is-cranky days, I let them watch Sesame Street. We don't watch TV while the children are awake so a video or "DVRed" Sesame Street is a real treat. I just love Sesame Street. It's so cool and artsy and educational. I'm pretty sure there is a reason it's still going strong after 30-odd years or so.

* I'm also a big "freezer." Our family is not full of big-eaters and nobody really likes leftovers. I've started making a whole recipe of something and freezing half in a ziplock bag or disposable pan. Soups, stews, pasta sauces, calzone or ring fillings all freeze really well. The soups, stews, and pasta sauces should be cooked, cooled, and then frozen. Fillings should be left uncooked and frozen to be cooked later. Casseroles can be assembled and then frozen before they are cooked. When I have some time, I also cook big batches of chicken. I'll boil four or five pounds of chicken, shred it, and store it in quart-sized bags by 2 1/2 cup measurements. When I need cooked chicken, I just pull it out of the freezer and defrost it. It saves so much time! Just be sure to label everything with the contents, date, and if need be, the instructions.

* Sometimes everybody is just plain hungry. I keep cut-up carrots, bell peppers, little tomatoes, and cucumbers in plastic bags in my fridge. I just pull them out and let them munch on those (hubby included) before dinner. If they fill up on veggies and are too full for dinner, oh well, they've filled up on veggies. I don't get out any "dip-its" before dinner...you know, ranch, vinaigrette, bbq sauce, whatever.

* I used to be really good at getting my son to "help" me with dinner. Before I had my daughter, it was a special time between the two of us...even if said "helping" was just sitting on the cabinet playing with the measuring cups. I got out of that habit and I'm kind of sad for it so I've been trying to get him to help me make dinner again. He can butter bread, chop veggies or fruit (with a sort-of dull knife), make a salad, and get everybody a drink. He likes to help and I'm trying to get up enough nerve to let him help with even more. I want both of my children to enjoy cooking and I know just letting them in the kitchen with me is what will inspire that.

* I picked up a supply of unprinted newspaper from our newspaper here in town. Sometimes you can get it for free! :) It's nice big sheets of paper that I lay down on the kitchen floor and supply the children with crayons or bingo markers or markers or any other fun, easy-to-clean-up art material. It can't be a supervised art project so it has to be easy!

Most nights I am too exhausted to eat at dinner. Most nights the witching hour gets the best of me and I too long for a quiet Barnes and Noble chair with a decaf Starbucks coffee in my hand. It's the end of the day for me, too, you know. But I try to keep in mind what I heard someone say about this season with my children, "It's the time of my life where the days are long and the years are short." Amen, sister.