our present, our future

forgive my lack of writing.  i hope to improve in the future.


here is the house we are leaving.  officially on the market as of yesterday.

i think that in my next life i am going to be a realtor, just so i can write the descriptions of the homes.

here is the home we are moving to.  it is quirky,  but i see it as a huge blessing. 

if you should decide to pray for our transition, i would feel grateful.  saying goodbye to houston is so terribly hard.  i cry at almost anything these days.  i even teared up at the library when i realized i didn't need to do the extended checkout because i won't be here on Sept. 1st.  boo.

boxing

sorting

donating

pitching

planting

weeding

painting

cleaning

painting

sweeping

re-decorating

painting

calling

painting

never have i been so tired, and yet still had so much to do. 
i have some pictures of my tireless helpers, but i cannot bear the process of dealing with the photos right now.  i just wanted to give thanks to everyone who has either helped me beyond whatever help i could have imagined on my house (namely LaLa, Poppe, Kelly and Sloane), or has helped me by watching and loving my boys while our home looks like a hurricane - GoGo and PaPa, the Calloways, Maggie and George, Anke and Matthias, Dan and Rachel.  I will forever get teary eyed when i think about how grateful i am to you all. 

now there is more:

organizing

washing

painting

sweeping

taping

and folding 

to do before bed. 

 

Texas BLT

for father's day last weekend, I attempted to spoil michael.

my sweet husband rarely makes food requests, because I believe he would rather me make simple meals and decrease the amount of chaos i invoke when i break open my cookbooks. 

all that to say, that when he has a request, i try to listen.  One of his few requests, as I was making sandwiches for our sweltering hot picnic, was a sandwich he had recently tried at the Mucky Duck.  it was a Texas BLT. 
He said it was so good, i thought i should share:

good bread (i used white Pepperidge Farm sandwich bread)

mayo

avocado

lettuce

tomato

bacon (of course)

and some jalapeno slices

ta da, your man is happy.  and all you have to do is make some bacon. 

my gentle giant

 Ford is decidedly not a sensitive child.

here is the low-down on my always singing, three times per day pooping, strong as an ox, cleptomaniac 18 month old:

1. he has an incredibly high pain tolerance.

2. He is obsessed with buckling any buckle he can find.  Michael has looked into making a board that has multiple buckles so that he can just clasp and unclasp them all day long.  (the buckling might seem like no big deal, that is until you want to get him out of the carseat after a trip to the grocery store in the 98 degree heat and 90 percent humidity and you go to unbuckle his car seat and he proceeds to buckle it again before you can pick him up.) 

here at the store with his sweet girlfriend, Yohanna.  (i tell you i would take twins if you could promise they would come out just like these two)

3. He is equally obsessed with wallets and cards.  he has misplaced not only one of my precious Starbucks giftcards, but also one of my credit cards.  neither to be seen ever again.  No sooner do you set your purse on the ground after coming inside from one of those melting trips to the store, than he has quietly run away with your wallet and found a secret corner to hide and re-arrange all of your cards.

this photo was taken on michael's birthday, not a great photo, but note that he has swiped PaPa's wallet during the singing and blowing out of the candles

4. He doesn't speak with words, but phrases.  for example, his first words besides mama, and dada, and "dis" (for "this" while pointing at what he wants), are "der yu go" (for "here you go" while handing you something), and "dank yu" after he gives it to you or "uh-oh" if he drops it.  he repeats parts of our sentences without knowing what they mean, and just sort of sing-songs phrases he hears.   He appears to have little interest in learning new words or demonstrating any understanding of the words that i say to him.  he doesn't have time for stuff like that.

5.  he is usually the one that reminds us to pray at meals as he folds his hands and starts singing the "God our Father" prayer song that Frank has learned at church.

6. His utmost obsession is with his doggie, and he will not sleep without it.  When you hand it to him, he immediately rotates the lovey and grabs the tail so he can stroke the tag with the left hand and suck his thumb on the right.  Lord protect us from losing this disgusting dog, please.

7. He appears to be left handed and draws on everything that he can, namely himself before he attempts to chew up and eat the marker tip.  i never understood how much i appreciated non-toxic products from Crayola until i had this child.


8. He wants to be in any jogging stroller or bike carrier that he can find, no matter how hot - as long as he can go fast.

9. He is picky about his books.  his favorites are: The Rooster Struts, Goodnight Gorilla, Goodnight Moon, and anything with a lift the flap.  He is so far NOT into Dr. Seuss.

10. He once ate everything that we gave him.  Then he loved all the meats.  Now he prefers non-soggy cereal, humus, berries, and every type of bread.

11. he desires to brush his teeth 2 - 4 times per day. by himself.

12. he never claps, but instead raises his hands like he is in a charismatic church, when he hears music that he likes. 

13. He has a serious love for shoes and putting them on, and then putting the shoes on everyone else in the house.  there have been countless days when i just want to have my shoes off after going somewhere and immediately, he comes around the corner with both of my heels or flats and starts picking up my feet, one at a time, to place them in my shoes where they belong.  he even attempts to do this with frank, though it is not always received quite so well from his brother.

14. he loves water, sand, dirt, rocks, slides, and toys you can push and ride.  he cares not about the temperature outside or inside, he just wants to get to work. it all may sound typical for an 18 month old, but he is mine, and i think everything he does is amazing.

 here he spent about 30 minutes taking the peaches in and out of the box and stacking them on the dog food container

frank has always been easy to capture in writing, while Ford is all in the watching.  michael and l love to just sit and watch what he does.  come on over and see for yourself.

Is Houston too far?  well then soon enough you can travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, the future destination for the Calloway Family Year of Adventure.  I look forward to writing about our time in the Ozarks just as soon as the Lord reveals our home and when we are going.  All we know is that it is time to live with our daddy again. we all need him so.

my sensitive one

 since frank comments are on the brain, i will share a few more stories from yesterday.

on our way to VBS, we were stuck in a colossal traffic mess on the freeway near our house.  3 lanes blocked by police and cones from a major accident that had occured at 5:00 am, according to the radio - as i was sitting in the traffic (when will i ever learn to listen to traffic before we leave the house?)
as we passed the sight of the accident, we saw a destroyed sedan that had been crushed on all sides and burned down to the frame.  I said without thinking, "wow.  i don't think the people made it from that car." (i am an idiot. I sometimes forget my oh so observant listener in the back seat.) 

Frank got quiet and started sucking the thumb and looking down, and not knowing what else to do, I suggested praying for the people from the accident and the police and doctors and families involved.  We did, and then he hardly spoke the rest of the way to VBS because as he said, "i am just sorry for those people in that accident."  if you know frank, for him to be silent in the car means that he is really thinking hard.

and then he said with a bit of hope, "i hope that all the people who drive by will pray for them."  and i said,
"wow.  that would be awesome, i wish so, too."

*****

on a lighter note:

we have blue toilet water.  when i first placed the 2000 flushes in the tank, the water changed colors each day due to, what i can only assume, is the large amount of rust and yuck from our very old pipes.  some days the water would be green, or gray, or gray-violet, or sometimes, it was just red.  which was troublesome on so many levels.  more than one person silently believed i was having my period and had forgotten to flush.  i got to a point where i would  explain our toilet to anyone heading towards the restroom, for fear that they think that i was just foul. 

after our trip to arkansas, however, the toilet has remained a lovely color of clear water blue. 
it is so pretty, in fact, that it must be much too fascinating for a four year old boy.

as i was putting frank to bed last night, he said in the sweetest most concerned voice, "is the blue toilet water poisonous?"
I said, "well, i don't know, it has bleach in it, so i suppose it must be somewhat poisonous.  why? did you drink it?"
his whole face dropped in fear as he explained, "I put my hand in it."
"well, did you wash your hand afterwards?"
"No..."
"is it the same hand of the thumb you were sucking?"
"Yes!"
"would you like to wash your hand now?"
"YES!"
he ran to the restroom, scrubbed his hands for the longest time, and then ran into my arms sobbing because he knew that he was poisoned.  i asked if he had put his thumb in the water, and then he said, "no, just my finger."
"did you put that finger in your mouth?"
"no."
"then you are going to be just fine, bud."

i am grateful for his sensitive spirit, and that he tells me things.  i hope he always does. 

*****

last night, jane sat by side while we worked on spiffing up the site.  do you like it?  would you rather see gray sides?  i will show you that tomorrow.  i am still debating on the colors and wishing the post titles could be red without the side bar letters being red.  that would be too much red, and i am not that flashy.
it is such a love/hate relationship with blogspot.  but it is all love for my friend jane, who is my buddy who hangs out with me, and is able to explain all things technical to me.  she is pretty cool.

i have said it before, but i would have been lost all these months without my friends.  i have not had a day without a playdate, a dinner date, or an opportunity to just be with other people.  I feel so very blessed, thank you all....and for the record, i am now beginning to have anxiety.  If only you were jerks, it wouldn't be so hard to move. 

the only way to overcome my fear of writing is by writing.

the last few months, we have seen a lot of travel, a lot of extra time spent with friends, a lot of decision making, and a whole lot of prayer.  needless to mention, i have once again slowed down on my posts to the breadmilkbutter site.  the problem with this is that if i don't do it all the time, the creative side of my brain gets all flaccid and weak.  my mind needs some mental yoga, so i am just going to let these here random thoughts fly and see if we can't get back into shape again.

Nothing inspires me like the words of frank (4 1/2).  here he was explaining what his leggos were doing:

"see this guy, he was a trash man. 

but now he is not.  

he is still alive, so he is flying this ship,

but all these other guys were allergic to "macsedamia" and so they all died.  

but he is not allergic to macsedamia.   

so when it shot out at him like this "pshwooosh! (while demonstrating some sort of lethal fuel shooting up in the air from a black leggo cylinder ) he did not die like those other guys."

and this conversation occurred while driving in the car listening to this song from Wilco.

frank: "What's inside a well?"
me: "water"
frank: "how dark is it?"
me: "wells can be pretty dark.  it depends on how deep is the well."
frank: "Is it as dark as bear skin?"
me: "what?"
frank: "you know, bear skin.  I mean, bear fur.  Is it as dark as grizzly bear fur?  Grizzly bear fur is as dark as my seat belt when the sun isn't shining on it."

(note, i do believe he was confusing the black bear with the grizzly as he has a small black bear at home, but only knows the word "grizzly" and is not yet familiar with all the different north american bear species. something to work on this summer perhaps.)

*****

Ford, on the other hand, is often best described in his photos.  What you can't see in this photo, is that his shirt says, "Dirt don't hurt" and that his booty is in fact, caked with sand.

*****

Last night, i squished up a ripe banana and mixed it with some conditioner and rubbed it all over my head. i did this because the man who dyed my hair auburn said that it would be good for my hair every once in a while.  a friend tried to skype with me while i had banana head, and i decided to decline the call.  After washing it all out, I proceeded to do other things that evening all the while wondering just how long i would smell like a smoothie.  Then this morning i discovered that the reason i still smelled like a banana was because i did in fact, have quite a number of pieces of dried banana chunks still in my hair.  And you know what else?  i didn't even wash them out before taking frank to his first day of VBS at a fancy church this morning.  I can assure you that i was indeed the only mom with dried banana chunks in her hair there this morning.  Thank you K-State hat, you have covered a multitude of hair-related faux pas over the years.  But the real question that i know you want to ask is: Did it work?

 yes it did.  thanks, ramin, my hair feels so soft.  and fruity. 

*****

all is right with my little world today, i got to type and bake, and share the evening with some sweet friends.

one good thing about summer: the fruit pies.  

next up, is the box of peaches sitting on my counter just itchin' to get made. 

*****

here's one for daddy.  miss you terrible.

what's happening in this picture?

here is the only way that i can think of to keep up with the past week or so.

so here is the game.  i show a picture and you guess why or what is happening.

roasting peppers for "Pasta with roasted red pepper sauce" from the pioneer woman - of course.  She put up this post.  which included some of her current favorite recipes.  i am gulible when it comes to food.  if a restaurant or a person declares, "this is the best ever ____."  i will assuradely find it, buy it, or make it.  So if Rhee Drummond says she likes this pasta and wants to lick the bowl, then i will put my peppers on the stove and see what happens.  and it was good.  not the best.  but very good and worth doing, just for the fun of roasting your own peppers.

Give me two reasons to eat wheat germ.

1.  because it is good for you.  i don't even know what it does for my body anymore, i can't remember.  but i know it is healthy and that is what we are striving for, right.
2.  because it is proudly made in Manhattan, Kansas.  that's right.  for the love of kansas, eat your wheat germ.

okay, i am not entirely sure what is happening here.  but i love it.  stephanie said he reminds her of winnie the pooh when he walks.  and it could not be more true.  here, he was trying on his brother's pirate patch, but felt that it was better around his neck than on his head. 

disparage the buick if you want.  but it makes for cozy car trips.  here are two of the world's greatest road trippers this side of the mississippi.  (not that i know what is on the other side of the mississippi - i've just always liked that expression)

small scooter type vehicle + michael = this

and here is the reason for the stop at the house with the scooter.  the beautiful mama and baby Vera.  Such a treat to see her all new and sleepy and sweet.

and for these guys to get to play and be silly together.  We love the Olsons and were just so excited to see them.  So excited in fact, that we missed any signs of frank's impending illness and exposed their entire family to strep throat.  Hooray!  would you like us to pop in on you next time?  maybe one our boys can throw up on your carpet or poop in your trashcan...and yes, all of those things have happened.

stay tuned for more of..."what's happening in this picture?"

under construction

i am sick of this blog format.  i am finding it limiting and uninspiring these days. 
So, i have been trying out other templates and other sites.  currently i am interested in using the iWeb version that came with our iLife.  It is really simple for photos and stuff, but apparently i need to have a server or FTP? 
unfortunately, i am unsure what these things are or how big of one i need.  me reading things about GB and bandwidths is similar to me reading my camera instruction manual.  i take a deep breath and then convince myself that "i am a smart person.  i can understand complicated subjects."  but after about 5 minutes of either one, i sigh, slump in my chair and say, "miiiichaaaaael, help."  but as stated in the beginning, this is not his project, it is mine.

So. 
anyone, can anyone else help me?  Jane? Joseph? Lindsay?

i just want it to be easier to upload photos and crap like that.  life is crazy enough right now.  writing on the breadmilkbutter site should be easy. 

LOST

if you know me well, you know that i love any excuse to dress up in a costume.  and could there be a better excuse to dress up than the LOST finale?  I don't think so.  I have loved this show as if i myself was a survivor of Oceanic flight 815. 

Our good friends hosted - what could only be - one of the best parties for like-minded t.v. geeks that has ever existed.  We ate island food, Mr. Cluck's chicken wings, Dharma crackers and drank Dharma wine.  I unfortunately was too excited about the trivia games, and forgot to take a picture of the awesome table.  All i have to show was some of our left over water bottles.

 I almost won the trivia contest, but got beat out by this lady:

she was the prison Kate.  and she was tough

i was the island Kate.  and i was dirty.

and Michael won the prize for Best Costume because he went as Boone.  

In case you have forgotten, here is a picture of the real Boone:

uncanny, isn't it?

I will not discuss, here, my thoughts on the ending.  you can call me to discuss if you wish.  maybe you can even help me finish clearing some things up.  

All I know, is that this show brought me closer to friends and family as we spent six years trying to unravel together just what the heck was going on.  and I know that those times have been well spent.  I love that there was a television program that involved beauty, faith, love, violence and redemption and required its viewers to actually "think" about what they were spending their time watching.  There seems to be a shortage of that in network programming these days.  

 

Now that my tribute is complete, i will move forward and gather my thoughts on the 24 series finale...and now that my two shows are over, i have officially canceled my cable as of Monday.  

dave rawlings

here is a link to a beautiful little music making session I stumbled upon. 

just wanted to share.

the week in review - short things written, but never shared throughout last week

blogging is currently being replaced by planning the days around eating, napping and getting to swimming lessons by 3:00.  i realize this may sound simple, but for me - it has been an intense two weeks. 

4:30pm.  both boys naked in the little pool outside, mama inside having some bourbon and diet dr. pepper. 

what the heck is wrong with all of the short producers of the world?  is there a good pair of shorts to be found?  all that i seem to find are shorts that are so short that only an 11 year old girl could look cute in, but shouldn't, because 11 year old girls should not be dressing like high school girls, who in turn should not be wearing such short shorts, and certainly 32 year old girls should not be wearing them either.  OR i find these ridiculously longish bermuda style shorts that are about an inch too long to be flattering.  if anyone has found a cute pair of shorts in the past 2 years, please share your source.  when michael gets home i will be making him cut off some of my jeans for me.  (he is better at that kind of project believe it or not)

counting down the days to the LOST season finale!!! it is so bittersweet.

further proof

Michael wanted to officially dispute my claim that he was a winner.  I quickly reminded him of how he usually catches the most fish - even though he rarely fishes.  and how he often wins at golf - despite rarely golfing.  and how he excells at pool, and how he cleaned up at the church kickball tournament.  He is humble, so he forgets these things. 

Then, our discussion progressed to how one should go about estimating the number of beans in a jar.  He challenged me to guess the number of Mike and Ike jellybeans that would fit in a jigger.  (i think he thought that i could win this one) I guessed 10, he guessed 15. 

the answer was 15. 

exercise when you can

I went to a class called "chiseled" today at the YMCA.
please someone enjoy with me the mental image of me trying to become "chiseled."
I was the palest, most un-athletic looking woman in the room.

it was great.  i will post a picture of my guns as soon as i can find them.

here's what you could do if you come to houston

before i had misplaced our camera behind the cushion of the chair, i took some photos of our family vacation in our own home.  Two saturdays ago, we wanted to do something fun as a family, but also wanted to sleep in.  So between the hours of 10 and 1 we packed the morning with some things we love to do and some things we have always wanted to do.

First stop: Catalina coffee.  This must be the best coffee shop in the entire city.  Not only is the coffee amazing, but that morning (and maybe it is daily - i am not sure) every person who worked there was dressed up.  All the girls had on cute skirts and shirts and the men had on vests and hats.  I so wish i had had my camera inside.  the pastries are beautiful and the coffee truly is handcrafted.  here is a link to their website.

Second stop: David Adicke's studio.  

frank is winking here.  George Washington is his favorite president.  Anyone know who the one behind him is?

Third stop:  the farmer's market on Airline.  it is always a treat.  I am forever wishing i spoke better Spanish when we travel to the back.  Frank wanted some peanuts so we asked for a scoop.

I got a cold Topo Chico and some mangoes as well.

Fourth Stop: Beer Can house. 

Unfortunately we arrived 15 minutes prior to it opening and the precious one in the back of the car was starting to fade, so i have still never been inside the fence of the beer can house.  But it was a sight to behold.

Fifth stop: Wabash feed store - again.  This time just to find out what to do about my ailing Norfolk pine.  Apparently all we can do is pray at this point.  Which i did.  because i love that tree.  It belonged to the elderly, crazy haired lady down the street before she died.  I love that it was hers and that it reminds me of her home and how she was a hoarder and how michael got to go inside.  I'd like to think that all the stupid stuff i hold dear will one day be a treasure to someone else when they have my estate sale.  Like my folder of unsent mail, it is always growing an maybe someone will be interested in my unsent thank you notes for people who's addresses that i couldn't find.  but anyway, i digress. 

next was home and some housework, but we all got cleaned up in time for watching the Kentucky Derby.  I just barely made it out of the shower in time so i threw on the first hat that i could find.  It is not proper attire, i apologize.  Have i mentioned that Michael makes the best mint julep known to man?  

i'd take him to contest if they had mint julep making contests.  he would win.  unlike my horse Noble's Promise, who did not win.  But frank's horse won - of course.  Have i mentioned ever how my son has a freakish ability at winning games and contests?  He beats me in marbles every single time we play.  I find it annoying.  Why can't i shoot a marble straight, anyway?  I have never won contests or games.  Why?  Is there a genetic component to these things?  Michael is a winner and overall good performer, too.  Congratulations to all of you who thrive during competition, and to all of you who can guess the number of jelly beans in the jar.  All i know is that if losing is character building, then i should be darn close to shakespearian by now. 

With that, i will go to bed and try to think of more fun activities to either make you thankful for or jealous of living in H-town in the summer.  It's hot.

so the dishwasher was open...

and i was checking my email, and all of a sudden, i was stabbed in the side with a sharp steak knife. 

Fortunately, my uber strong 17 month old was just trying to "hand" me the knife i believe, or i would have been in the Emergency Department instead of the podiatrist this morning.

p.s. michael found the camera.  the thieves cannot be blamed for this one i suppose.  BUT i am sure that they have borrowed those two netflix that we cannot find....

And by the way, completely altering the subject, have you ever tried to whisk your own mayonnaise?  what the ____?
I attempted this last weekend after the recipe from my glorious new cookbook made it sound so simple.  let me tell you something - it is not simple, Frank Stitt. 

adding one cup of oil "drop by drop" while whisking vigorously is far from simple in my opinion.  someday, if one of y'all can give me a tip, i will try this again so i can make some spicy coleslaw. 
But i did want to say thank you to my sister and my sister in law for their love of cookbooks that caused me to ask for this gorgeous cookbook on the left for mother's day.  If i can only master a few of these dishes, i will feel like a James Beard award winner myself.

Now the cookbook on the right is one that i had splurged on a while back. (and that is just how i felt when i got it, Jen - you read my mind)  So far, i am pretty in love with it.  Remember the homemade bread?  It was cinnamon swirl bread and it was amazing.


I don't often ask to have my picture taken with my food.  but i was pretty proud of this one. 

i am already ready to change my hair color again by the way.