So long 2012!

We spent the day watching movies in our jammies.  Now the boys are showering and putting on fresh jammies so we can go party! 
Just a few highlights from our year.  

Work: A very productive year for work for Kevin.  We are looking forward to another busy year.  I taught several classes and finally found my rhythm as an instructor (only to have all of the requirements change).

Reading:  Patrick read hundreds of books this year.  Millions of words.  Keith is on the brink of reading and soon it will be his turn to delve into the world of books (solo that is).  I read all five books in the Game of Thrones series.... well, 4.3 books.  Book Five is still in process.

Date night every month:  I am proud to say that for the first time ever, Kevin and I had a date night every month.  Sometimes it was a date breakfast and other times it was dinner alone while the kids watched a movie, but we did it.  Trust me, it is no easy task.  Especially when your husband works every weekend and many weeknights.

Iowa or bust: The kids and I spent the bulk of the summer with my family in Iowa.  It was a memorable trip and we had so much fun seeing our Keith relatives. 

Half Marathons: I ran in not one but two half marathons this year.  I know that you already know about my running career but I am still surprised that I am was a runner.

Talking back: Lauren finally started talking.  She learns a new word every day.  Today was TuTu.  Other recent highlights include, Elmo, Marley, tie, Buddy, house, Tinkerbell, and BOYS.  Those are the words she taught herself, I teach her more useful words like, a lot, eggs, and please.

Finance VP: I took advantage of the teeny tiny bit of extra time I have to become the Finance Vice President for the Junior League of Fresno.  It has been such an amazing experience, I can't believe that my year is half over!  I love the ladies who I work with and I really enjoy putting my otherwise idle non-profit management skills to use.

40% paid:  We successfully paid off 40% of our debt this year.  We are working really hard and everyone is making sacrifices to help the Callahans become debt-free.  We aren't there yet but it is good to celebrate the milestone.

Sports: T-Ball, golf, soccer, judo.....  And Lauren in My Gym!  2012 had just the right amount of activities for our personalities!

2013 will be more of the same and a lot of new.  One thing that I learned a long time ago is that predicting what might come is a fools task.  We will plan and prepare and do what we need to do, however, we won't know where God's plan might take us until we actually get there.  I say bring it.

Have a safe and happy new year!

Christmas Wrap-up

 I am spending the final days of 2012 having an internal debate about resolutions (or solutions as Patrick said).  One moment I'm walking miles and miles with dogs and kids in tow, drinking  water, counting calories, cleaning, planning, and organizing.  The next moment I am surfing the Internet/watching old Rescue Me episodes/playing Scrabble, drinking wine, eating carmelita(s), and trying to suck the final life out of 2012.  Maybe this is my world in balance.

Our Christmas round-up!

 Lauren No-Nap went to bed early on Christmas Eve and the boys stayed up. They got to open (and assemble) their new Lego table and watch Elf again.  Christmas morning Lauren slept and the boys got their Santa gifts and we ate fried mush.  Once she eventually woke up we opened the rest of the gifts.

Then we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for some yummy Italian food and more presents.  The next day we headed to the Torosian's for another Christmas celebration.

Cousin Abby got a puppy for Christmas.  Lauren was in love with little Charlie.

Now we count down the days until we have to go back to school.  The boys start back on the 7th, Kevin's new academy class starts on the same day, and I start teaching a class on the 8th. Once I eat all of these carmelitas I'm definitely going to change my evil ways.

Merry Christmas One and All!

 

We haven't opened any presents and this has already been the best Christmas ever!  Merry Christmas!

That Boy

Sixteen years ago, I met a boy.  He was just finishing up the police academy and he wanted nothing more in his life than graduate from the academy and become a cop.  This is not that boy.... that boy graduated from the academy and went down a different path and became the phenomenal man pictured above.  He married me, earned a bachelors degree, became a father, turned out to be a darn fine police officer, earned a masters degree, and went back to the academy.  

Life has a circular nature.  Sometimes the roundness of life is disconcerting, other times it is comforting.  In this case it is immensely rewarding.

Kevin went back to the Police Academy this fall as a Recruit Training Officer (RTO).  His job is to mentor, encourage, discipline, cajole, evaluate, and support the police cadets.  He's an awesome cop, but he absolutely shines as an RTO.  And he is doing this in addition to his regular job!

Two weeks ago the kids and I attended the academy graduation and then Kevin and I went to the celebration banquet that night.  I love this picture because at that moment I saw my husband through new eyes.

He gave a speech at the banquet, an unscripted speech and he totally rocked it.  If you knew that boy, you would be surprised that he could get up in front of hundreds of people and give a speech.  He's not that boy, he's this man who gives out his cell phone number to two dozen recent cadets. He's this man who teaches and leads.  He's this man who makes a difference in the lives of these future cops and that makes a HUGE difference in our world.

  

And he makes a huge difference in my own little world.  He will return as an RTO for the next class and we may not see him much but we sure are proud of him. 

All Aboard The Polar Express!

Where are we going?  Well, the North Pole of course!

A Callahan Road Trip!

We are coming off of weeks and weeks and weeks of Daddy working 6-7 days per week.  We all survived and to celebrate, we splurged on a trip to the North Pole (via Sacramento) on a school day (minimum day with class parties).  We slept in, ate out, and had an absolute blast.

The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento offers a Polar Express Train Ride every Christmas season.  The event starts in November and runs through December and is incredibly popular.  It sells out in a matter of hours.  Kevin and I decided to surprise the kids with tickets.  My sweet husband was so excited about this trip.  Polar Express is his favorite Christmas movie and he knew the kids would love it. 

We took the 5:00 train and it was perfect.  The kids bundled up in their new pjs (WOW JUST FOR ME?!?! NEW PJS!) and we were off to the North Pole.  Yummy hot chocolate, cookies, music, and Santa.... there was even a hobo (he had a stick with a bandana tied to it, he was a hobo.  We saw plenty of homeless people in Old Sac, this guy was a hobo).

The hobo was magic, he made it snow inside the train..... on Kevin's head.  The hot chocolate waiters were there dancing and creating their own magic too!

We don't get to do a lot of things like this so it is extra special to have this time together. 

And just so that little chaos cloud that follows us around doesn't think we forgot.... Do you know what happens when you feed your home cooked toddler nasty restaurant food?  G-A-S (rhymes with class).  On the Polar Express.  It is a good thing that the windows opened.

Fear.

I have nothing profound to say about what happened in Connecticut yesterday.  I've prayed and cried and avoided the news.  It feels kind of cowardly to avoid the constant updates and speculation but I feel like I need some kind of shield from the terror and fear.  I just wish that there was a rewind button to bring back the innocence that was lost.

Yesterday I took the little kids to the car wash.  This is a rare occurrence so Lauren had not been through an automatic car wash since she was a baby. 

The car wash is terrorizing for a 2 year-old.  Screaming terror.  She's not screaming in this picture because her brother is consoling her (and having the time of his life).  But her face speaks of fear.  I hope that she will never know real lasting fear.  The kind that fights to keep you in the darkness and haunts the corners of your mind.  I pray that no child has to hear or witness terror and fear that yanks them from the safety of childhood.  I hope the worst that they know is car wash fear because that always ends and eventually you realize that the octopus isn't going to eat you.

Matthew 10:16
Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Philippians 4:6-9
 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Buddy's First Twelve Days of Christmas

I know there are elf HATERS out there and that's ok.  You can hate his game but you have to love Buddy.  He makes the kids laugh every morning and he's just getting started.

Buddy also brought elf seeds that grew into little Christmas tree cookies... he must have erased those pics when he was fooling around with my camera.  So there are only 9 pictures for his first 12 days of Christmas... sounds about right.

Christmas at Tiffany's

Meet my Christmas tree. And welcome to a bit of Callahan Christmas Chaos.  Because it ain't Christmas without a little vomit.

Here's the tale of the tree.  We ( the Junior League of Fresno Board of Directors) in the heat of the moment (it was late October and still warm) agreed to participate in a Christmas Tree charity event at the Bankers Ballroom on Fulton Mall.  Our job was to decorate a tree and get lots of people to attend and vote for our tree.  The proceeds of the vote and the subsequent silent auction would benefit our organization directly.  Let's do a Breakfast at Tiffany's tree to promote our signature event at the same time!  Great idea for December-ish! So we returned to our regularly scheduled programming and went about our business leaving all of the planning of said tree for Thanksgiving week (aka 2 weeks before the event).

That's when you find out what a Junior Leaguer is truly made of.  Let's just say, we make miracles happen baby (especially LeAnn, Angela, and Terri).  I showed up and did as I was told: wire, scoot, stick, hang, SPRAY GLITTER!  Others (and our non-JLF friends that might be male) designed, shopped, dreamed, and executed.

Welcome to decked out dollar star ornaments, gorgeous Tiffany's boxes, pounds of rhinstones, crystals and shine galore.  And lots and lots of glitter.

At some point during the process I decided that I wanted this tree.  After 4 hours of tree decorating on Saturday, I told Kevin that I wanted the tree.  I didn't think he would get all practical and start talking about how we could transport the tree, which door to bring it in, and the maximum bid.  I think the rhinestones and 1,100 lights were twinkling in my eyes, so Kevin wanted me to have the tree. (I know, don't you just love him)

 Chaos follows.... me and the kids at Fulton Mall.  The kids fell in love with the tree (probably because it was THE JUNIOR LEAGUE TREE!), they wanted it.  I couldn't stay to bid so I had my loyal friends bid for me.  It was an emotional roller coaster, I had the tree, I lost the tree, I had the tree......

 In the end, the Junior League spirit prevailed and the tree was mine.  We just had to get it home.  How do you get an 8-foot fully decorated tree from one side of town to the other?  First, catch a cold.  Get real sick and grouchy.  Next, procrastinate about renting a Uhaul.  Show up at the rental place in the middle of a Christmas party and ask for a large Uhaul that will fit the tree.  Accept the tiny Uhaul.

Then make sure that you have to make the tree pick-up happen in a 2 and a half hour window between the time that your husband wakes up and the time that he has to leave for work.  Next, encourage your two year old to vomit all over herself (Cough Cough Puke) on the way to pick up the tree.  The next part is tricky because you want to stand outside in the cold on Fulton Mall for at least 30 minutes, preferable 45.  So you need to make sure that the building is locked and the manager is "10-15 minutes" away.

Just to add to the fun, stick your finger under the tree while trying to load the tree on the cart.  Make sure it's your middle finger, because you are a Callahan.  Say something like, "Um, the tree is on my finger."  To which your husband will tell you to pull your finger out.  Yep, still stuck.   A homeless angel rolls in about this point and is the only real help getting the tree loaded.

Throw that tree in your tiny Uhaul and head home.  At this point, you might want to wonder if your husband will deliver the tree to your house or run the Uhaul off a cliff.  He was sort of pissed.  Totally happy now (loves the tree), in the moment not so much.  But he loves a story and appreciates the chaos.

 I'm excited about this tree.  I love this tree and love having it in my house.  But my boys, they love this tree.  And they love it because I love it and they love it because it is GORGEOUS.  We only lost 10-15 ornaments and my boys got everything right back on in no time.

Come join us for more fun March 9th Breakfast at Tiffany's our signature event.  Brunch! Fashion Show! Silent Auction!  Fabulous and Fun!
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4633045564

Lauren's Birthday Party Recap

Late... I know.
Lauren turned 2 and we threw her a party.  It was a bit complicated because Kevin had to work and couldn't get an extra day off.  That meant we were throwing a party in between shifts.  That meant that I was on my own. Plan and execute as much as possible as early as possible.  That was my tactic.  Seriously, I tend to get in WAY over my head.  So I was trying really hard to keep it all on this side of crazy (that's the non-crazy side).   I mostly succeeded.  I love pouring myself into my kids' parties  because they look forward to it, it makes them feel special, and they really appreciate it.   So, here it is....

Lauren loves Minnie Mouse and Elmo.  Patrick had an Elmo party when he turned two and I appreciate originality... so Minnie Mouse it was.  I didn't make a Pinterest Board (lazy?) but most of the ideas are filed on my Random Parties Board

My Girl
My friend started a new company called Monkey Ruffles. She made this cute shirt for Lauren.

"I'm TWO!"

Decor

Food
Hmmm..... I didn't take a picture of the food?   I kept it easy: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Sandwiches, Hot Diggety Dogs, Chips, Salad.  We were eating late (so Kevin could sleep) so we packaged the kids' lunches in boxes to make serving easy. 

Cake
This was my first solo cake.  It isn't perfect but that's what makes it great.

The Minnie Head was made out of Rice Krispies.  I haven't watched a lot of Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes but I've watched enough to know that Rice Krispies are essential.  And guess what, the kids all wanted to eat the Rice Krispie Treats.

The cake was a three-layer lemon cake.  Lauren loves lemon cake.  Pink fondant with white polka dots.

All together.

Oh I made cupcakes too.

because I can.

Favors
This is where I went a little nuts.  I hand painted mugs for each of the kids.

First, find the right font free font.  Print out each child's name, use a pencil to shade the entire print area of the name.  Place the paper on the mug and trace around the outside. 
Now color in the name with special paint (or be smart and use something easy like sharpies.... or be obstinate and dumb and use paint that is impossible to smooth out or apply perfectly. If you are going to be difficult you might want to make 3 trips to Michaels and buy every paint known to man.  Discover that every crafting blogger known to man was sent a package of Martha's new paint line.  Realize that the cheap stuff actually works better.  Wonder why you didn't just go the Sharpie route.).  Sigh loudly and watch multiple episodes of The Tudors.  Bake and you are done.  SO EASY (for normal people)!!!

I also made the kids homemade hot cocoa mix and marshmallows (gag, I hate marshmallows).  AND...

these little stinkers. 
This was my first tour with the red candy melts.  I was all a flutter because I thought the red seemed a little on the pink side.  I added red coloring.  This totally compromises that candy melts.  And the color variation between the two batches (with additional red coloring and without) was not noticeable.  Duh.

And finally, More of My Girl.
She got lots of exciting presents that she oohed and aahed over (the glitter on the hands will go down in the family history books).  But her American Girl Bitty Baby was the ultimate excitement.

a

This is my baby.  Don't even think about it.

A special thanks to Katy and my parents for helping me pull it off.