It rained today

All day.  It rained all day.  Which means this boy didn't get to ride his bike.... which is what he would do ALL day if you let him.  All day.

He was bewildered by the rain and why it should keep him from riding his bike.  Perhaps a jean jacket would make this scenario plausible?

I WIDE MY BIKE?!?!?!
p.s. Keith learned how to ride a bike.  Next week he is getting his motorcycle license.  I love the under 3 developmental milestones.... amazing.

It's gonna be a long month

"Mom, it smells like Halloween!"
This was Patrick's declaration after we dragged the Halloween bins out of storage last weekend. And with that scent of potpourri (which has been in my Fall rotation for YEARS but hasn't made it out of the Ziploc since we lived in Sacramento but penetrates everything Fall nonetheless) firmly under his nose, Halloween was on in our house. I didn't actually unload the treasures until this weekend. Owning this much Fall stuff is a tad overwhelming, I have to work up to it. And then there is the problem of TOO MUCH HELP.
Pumpkin Snatcher (I was taking a break from decorating to practice with my camera and the only subject that will stay still, until said subject was kidnapped)



Fall Vomits in My Dining Room

and Leaves it There Until the Next Day or two.

I Love Fall. And it looks like we might finally be getting a taste of Fall weather this week! Feeling optimistic, I put the duvet back on our bed and ordered the boys new sweatshirts (and sweaters and fake Uggs).

Patrick had a special prayer tonight: "Thank you Jesus for the gift of Halloween, Amen."

And the fake spider trick never gets old. And we have Martha back in rotation. We love Fall!

A Spooky Confession

Don't tell anyone.... I am not Halloween's Number One Fan. (or number two). I have a kind of take it or leave it attitude about Halloween. I stopped enjoying Halloween when I experienced my first apple bobbing contest. Dry Creek circa 1984. Lots of saliva in the water, Halloween never was the same.

Halloween is really one of those things that the idea is better than the execution. The apple bobbing of course. Eating lots of candy sounds good until you are puking Skittles. The clown costume is a good idea until you are dripping white makeup at recess. Transforming your house to a haunted mansion is great until you realize that you take it down as soon as you put it up. Keeping your porch light on sounds good until the teenagers in jeans and t-shirts come by. Scary music and such is great until the four year-olds come by your house. Oh and don't get me started on the price of candy and the moldy pumpkins.....

Then came Patrick. Really 98% of our Halloween accoutrements were Patrick selections over the last 3 Halloweens. I was of the attitude that a pumpkin always trumps a jack-o-lantern because a pumpkin can stay out through Thanksgiving. So we have been doing some Halloween decorating. It is hard to say no when your kid has passion and imagination. It is kind of contagious. I'm still not one of those parents who dresses up to take their kids trick-or-treating but I did throw a pretty fun Halloween party.

We watched The Sword in the Stone a few months ago and Patrick decided that he was going to be a knight. Then he decided that he would be a Dragon Slayer Knight and Keith would be a Dragon. Cool.



Here are the big boys. Ian, Patrick and Chase


Here are the babies (not really anymore) Ryder, Keith and Ava (our lone girl). How cute are they?!!? This is the best part of Halloween! Keith barked at Ryder the whole time we were trick or treating.



Keith has a serious silky problem. He was convinced that Ryder's costume was a silky. He also thought that since Ryder had his clothes off well....


I bought a lot of candy (three or four hundred pieces of the good stuff). The boys were in charge of the door (Plain White T's) and it was all gone by the time we left to trick or treat. They were generous and there were TONS of kids.


The little kids caught on quickly. Keith tried to run into our neighbors' house (first stop) but after that he got it. He then proceeded to chat with everyone along the way.



By the end of the trek Patrick had divided all of his excess weight among the 5 adults. He was walking up to the door and putting his hands out. We all needed a break before the final stretch.


And that is when we met up with Chewbacca. I guess I always imagined Chewbacca as a Heineken kind of a Wookiee. Turns out he goes for the Nati Light. This is the kind of culture you can only get on Halloween (see why I love it so much?).


We had a really great time. I love that Halloween is over and we can relish the idea of next year. Woohoo! I wonder what Patrick will come up with next year.....

Happiness Is.....

FALL!

It is finally here. It blew in on Thursday with a Winnie the Pooh style blustery gust. The best things about Fall in the Callahan House....

Blankets: The boys' favorite blanket is my favorite blanket. I call it the "napping blanket" because everyone takes excellent naps under this blanket. My grandma makes a hand-tied quilt for her grandkids when they graduate from high school. My blanket is a particularly special blanket. First, my grandma made it for me while she and my grandpa were visiting. Second, my grandpa and dad tied the quilt in my mom's family room. Even my rarely impressed teenage self was smart enough to take mind-photograph of two of the most important men in my life making me a blanket. My grandpa passed away right before I left for my second year of college so the quilt has extra special meaning.
Grandma had the foresight to make the blanket big so it is perfect for napping (I thought it deserved another mention), forts, floor beds, playing hot lava, endless endless games and enjoyment. And of course this blanket plays a prominent role in the "sick bed couch" that is Patrick's number one comfort when he is sick.

Boots: Fall means colder weather, colder weather means pants, and pants mean boots are allowable footwear! Patrick has three pairs: cowboy, rain and fake uggs. Right now the fake uggs are the boots of choice. The only disappointment (for Patrick) is Keith's fake uggs aren't the same color as Patrick's. Keith will hopefully be able to fit into Patrick's old cowboy boots, then each boy will have three pairs. By the way, why is it that girls have all of the cute clothes. I had to buy the boys boots in the girls section the same weekend I went to Old Navy to find the smallest possible section for baby and toddler boys with the same longsleeve polos and vests they have featured for the last four years!

Hoodies: Fortunately for me, Patrick's wardrobe is predominately comprised of Cousin Jack's hand-me-downs. It is great, the boys love a lot of the same things (Cars, Buzz Lightyear) and have some matching clothes (so Keith and Patrick have matching clothes since they are the same age difference as Patrick and Jack...does that make sense?). The only problem is Jack lacks the peculiar obsession with hoods that Patrick has boasted for a year now. I am guessing that the hoodie in this pic will be a prime wardrobe item this season as most of the hand-me-down sweatshirts don't have hoods. Patrick will have to make do with the six or seven hats Jack handed down!

Baking: There is something about summer that makes me want to grill everything. I hate to turn on the oven and I have no desire to take the time to sift dry ingredients. Generally speaking the KitchenAid stays in the cupboard until October or November. Tonight I baked banana bread. It didn't take long, it smells fabulous and it makes the insane wind outside seem appropriate.


I have been rather irritated by this huge push to bake bread (have you noticed?). I have seen at least four different segments on various talk shows about baking bread. The premise is: the economy is horrible, save money, bake your own bread! Here is what is annoying to me, a loaf of bread costs me $2.50. The fresh baked stuff is $1.99 ($3.99 if you want kalamata olives). Bread is not that expensive. In my mind, my time is worth at least $100 per hour (a volunteer's rate is about $18 per hour) and I know that it will take me at least four hours to make bread and clean up the mess. Meaning my loaf of bread is worth $400 (or $72) and it won't keep and Patrick will likely refuse to eat a sandwich on it.
On the other hand, I haven't made bread in a long-time because baking bread is a luxury for me (it usually takes a lot of time and butter). Eating my own fresh baked bread is even more of a luxury. So instead of thinking about saving money, I should be thinking about enjoying the luxuries of life. Sometime soon we'll bake bread, just for the sake of baking bread and eating it warm with lots of butter and homemade jam. Priceless...

Soup: I made the first pot of soup last night. I had some stuffed pasta, a cup of spinach leaves, some frozen vegetables, and a dream.... Soup is easy and comforting. Plus it combines our whole dinner (plus yummy bread of course) protein, veggies and all into one pot and one bowl. Easy clean-up and more time to cuddle under the napping blanket.

Thanks for coming to the party Fall. We hope you brought your fake uggs to go stomping around the house with us!

Into each life a little rain must fall

Longfellow, right? Ours wasn't a dreary day. Patrick and Keith have been waiting for a reason to wear their rain boots for weeks. Patrick has been praying for rain. There wasn't enough rain to create any significant puddles, but Patrick found a small one at Grandma and Grandpa's house.