Dusting Off the Ol' Blog

It's hard to believe that it has been eight months since my last post.

Life is crazy at the Hall House (just like your's), but I've been wanting to do a better job of keeping with our little family history.

So, our life.

Full. Beautiful. Thankful.

Spring is in full swing in the Magic City. Hostas are blooming, peonies are about to bud, our first strawberries have been harvested, and we've used enough baking ingredients over the past few weeks to warrant a small business loan.

The girls are great. Eleanor's third birthday is peaking around the corner, and Emma has officially fifteen days of kindergarten left. My, how time flies.

Our tradition of spending mornings at Pepper Place Saturday Market is back in the swing, and life is generally good.  I could complain about the busyness and hard work of life, but that's not very interesting.

Here's our life in pictures.

The Tooth Berry

Crazy doesn't even begin to describe how things are for us right now.  Our summer has been filled with all kinds of peaks and valleys - which is sincerely hope to update you all on soon.

That said, the Tooth "Berry" has been to our house. 

Twice. In two weeks.

Yes, although Emma just turned five a couple of weeks ago, she already has had loose teeth.  She got baby teeth very early, so our path to "big girl" teeth is on the same speedy track.

She was one happy camper when the tooth fairy left her sugary loot.

*As a parenting sidebar, last night's waiting for the tooth fairy was a disaster.  Emma was up until nearly midnight impatiently waiting for the tooth fairy's arrival.  She cried for almost two hours (yes, I'm serious) because she just couldn't go to sleep.  It wasn't enough that the tooth fairy was going to visit, she wanted to *see* the tooth fairy.  We tried to explain to her every rational thought in the entire world about why and how the tooth fairy works, but it didn't fly.

So, bleary-eyed and patience-pushed, we through in the towel around 11:30pm and strategically pushed a lollipop and bag of neon sour worms (per request) under her pillow, praying that it would work.  It did. 

We told her to look under her pillow and with a mighty big grin she said, "Ah, thanks, Tooth Berry."  And before the clock struck midnight, we were all asleep.  Finally.

Tales of a Birmingham Burnout

As I read a casual friend's blog this week, I couldn't decide if I should be flattered or frustrated.  

Her post described her recent conversation with a woman who she described as clever, quick-witted, creative, a great mom, woman of faith...and uncool?

I thought {as that woman}, I would add some thoughts to the matter.

First of all, I'll start out by saying kudos to my friend for her fierce commitment to our lovely city.  As a relatively recent transplant to the 'Ham, she and her family have, with impressive ease, joined the ranks of the Magic City.  Her tenacity, advocacy, and passion are palpable. Honestly, she reminds me of an earlier version of myself.  

But just as the newlywed magic of marriage wears off and the real work begins, the magic of this town wears off when year after year, decade after decade, the real work isn't accomplished. Constant political upheaval, embarrassing headlines, budget breakdowns and abysmal infrastructure is enough to wear a girl down.  And you start to wonder; maybe this relationship isn’t for keeps.  Bored - maybe not, tired - yes.

Merriam-Webster defines burnout as "the exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as the result of prolonged stress or frustration."  Yep, that about sums it up.  Prolonged frustration.  Exhaustion of motivation.  

I've spent 17 years as an energetic member of this community.  I've served on boards, organized community events, fought to save City Stages, helped lead an art co-op, spent long hours in an art festival tent and eaten many an Urban Standard cupcake {a sacrifice, I know}.

We know our neighbors (yay, Crestwood), grow an impressive garden (thanks, hubs), and are part of an organic dairy co-op (happy cows).  So, no cave-dweller here (her words).

And, as much as I appreciate her long list of Birmingham activities, it's going to take more than an evening music event (past my kid's bedtime) or another local brew fest (that I have to get a babysitter for) to make this momma happy.  There are many of us who were once counted in the ranks of motivated movers and shakers who are hard-working parents who need more for our families.  Forgive me if another free movie doesn't fluff my exhausted feathers.

Don't get me wrong, I love this town and want to see it succeed.  I’ve served for many years as ambassador extraordinaire to many a Birmingham hopeful.  And, yes, there are many glimmers of progress - local breweries flowing with carefully mastered, hoppy concoctions, our local parks finally getting the investment they deserve, and the earth {literally} moving to bring the Barons back to the city.

But after two decades of this city asking its citizens to be the coach, the quarterback, the defensive line, the financiers, and the cheerleaders, I’ve got a serious case of Birmingham burnout.

And that my friends, is what’s uncool.

Weekend Round-up :: June 3, 2012

This weekend was like most - crazy.

Saturday morning, Emma and I headed to Pepper Place Farmer's Market early, with Dugald and Eleanor joining us a bit later.  It was our usual series of comfort - iced coffee, chocolate croissants, bluegrass music, pork & grits, sno-cones.

The rest of the weekend was filled with laundry, house destroying, pool splashing, more house destroying and a bit of cooking (smoked red pepper hummus and strawberry jam).

And, our sweet, 50-year old Dogwood finally bit the dust.  Sad.

 

Perfection is Paralyzing

I'm happy to say that I'm dusting off the ol' blog and starting to post again.

Yes, there is never enough time. Yes, our life is crazy. But, I think the biggest factor for not posting is perfection. I want to craft perfectly written paragraphs with perfectly taken pictures...and when I can't, I don't.

So, here's my less-than-perfect, but otherwise written post. Our weekend was basically a usual Hall weekend - lots of cooking and kid-chasing.

1. One trip to Railroad Park - flew kites, rode bikes, chased kids.
2. Two batches of this amazing marinara sauce. Hello, slow cooker.
3. One batch of these, good-luck-finding-a-better-recipe brownies.
4. This chicken parmesan - yum.
5. This Pioneer Woman lasagna.
6. Six loads of laundry.
7. Four rounds of dishes - thank you Bosch dishwasher!
8. One case of conjunctivitis (Eleanor)
9. One new car seat. (Eleanor will be pleased to look at other things besides her toes.)
10. One rockin' sermon by Pastor Chris Hodges - wowzer.
11. Countless hours of running around outside in the sun. This is January?
12. A few, ok - several - cups of coffee.
13. One barre routine at Grand Jete.
14. One Handy-man Hall-built work bench.

Yep, that about covers it.

365 :: 7

Oh, the weekends. Crazy. Beautiful. Tiring. Fun.

Today, all the Halls went on our usual Saturday morning date to Pepper Place Farmers Market. Well, sort of usual.

Today was National Cancer Survivors Day, and UAB hosted a local celebration at the market. As part of the planning committee, I had to be there at 5:00am. It wouldn't have been so bad except that Eleanor woke up at midnight and then at 2:30am. Her sister heard the screaming at 2:30 and didn't go back to bed until almost 4:00am. My alarm went of at 4:15am. Fun times.

[I'm sure this sounds familiar to many of you out there.]

Anyway, it was a great celebration and the rest of the Halls joined in around 7:30. That's when "the usual" came back - smoked pork and chicken with grits, chocolate croissant, iced coffee, and blueberry muffins. Oh, and messy kids.

The rest of the day, we watched Eleanor climb in and out of baskets and search the house for jewelry and scarves. It's crazy - she crawls around looking for necklaces, scarves and bracelets, and we find her accessorized so much she can barely get around. She's definitely going to be my girly-girl.

Great day. Happy it's bedtime.

365 :: 6

Thought for the day ::

Long days + long week = tired parents. Geez.

365 :: 5

Thoughts for the day ::

I'm amazed at Eleanor's vocabulary. At just 12 months, she can say an incredible number of words: mama, dada, sissy, pop pop, mimi, kate kate, (we are working on grandma and grandpa) bye bye, night night, thank you, more, uh oh and no. That's quite a list.

365 :: 4 Emma's Ballet Recital

Well, it looks like I'm already behind on my posting...

Without further ado, I present to you the much anticipated ballet recital of Emma and friends.

Emma's Ballet Recital, May 2011 from Dugald Hall on Vimeo.

memories - in memory

Wow. Life and death are but a mere moment apart.

Steve Malone, my former pastor - a man who taught me, challenged me and married Dugald and I is gone from this world.

My journey with Steve began at Red Mountain Church many, many moons ago. As a young 20-something I was searching for my next step in life. Unmarried and unattached, I had high hopes of escaping the Magic City.

While waiting on my next great idea, I began to attend Red Mountain Church. Steve Malone, then pastor, had been tapped to lead this new urban church - charged with a mission and vision for the community. To be frank, this place blew my mind. Incredible messages, incredible music (thanks, Brian T. Murphy) and communion like nothing I had ever experienced. Each week, I left overflowing - full of questions, full of challenges and full of life.

Let's just say, I never escaped.

My experience with Steve changed me forever. He taught and mentored me in a way that no one ever had. His words awakened in me to whole new life. He guided Dugald and I into a covenant with one another and Christ on our wedding day. If it sounds big, it is.

But his story was complicated, and in what felt like mere moments, his story at Red Mountain was over. His story with me was over.

Let's be honest, Steve made some poor choices. Choices with consequences that ran (ok, still run) very deep. I don't really know all that happened, but the experience left me with an immense understanding that we all should cling to Christ and pray for wisdom to walk away from sin.

At the end of the day, Steve Malone was created in the image of God. He was loved. He is missed.

Steve taught us a song that is sung when a child is baptized. We sang it often at Red Mountain, and I think of him every time I sing to my sweet girls.

I am Jesus' little lamb,
Ever glad at heart I am;
For my shepherd gently guides me,
Knows my needs and well provides me.
Loves me every day the same,
Even calls me by my name.

365 :: 2 & 3

365 :: 2Happy babies = happy mornings


365 :: 3

Our first ballet recital was tonight. So cute!
Emma's style of dancing was more interpretive than classic, but she
had a WONDERFUL time. Will post pictures tomorrow.

365 :: 1

Big little, little big.

Our world is crazy. Emma wants to be a baby; Eleanor wants to be a big girl.

Case in point - snapshot before dinner - Emma has found Eleanor's binkie and crawled into Eleanor's baby chair. Eleanor has found Emma's sucker and is sitting in a wooden chair with it hanging out the side of her mouth.

Hilarious.

So, I'm Committing - 365 :: A Year of Posts

So, I'm committing to a post a day for a year - 365 :: A Year of Posts.

There are so many amazing little things that happen every day, it would be a real shame to miss out on these sweet memories.

What a Year!

Wow, it's hard to believe that Eleanor is a year old. And what a year it has been.

We were so excited to add her to our little brood, but man, two kiddos have been really challenging.

Now don't get me wrong, every mom is a working mom. Motherhood (parenting, really) is a job that is never-ending and rarely does one get enough rest, encouragement or fulfillment (honest, but true). Add to that a full-time, in-the-office, do-I-have-an-outfit-without-milk-on-it-kind of job, and it can be kind of brutal.

For those that know me, I've tried the part-time job thing, but it doesn't work. My career path is not one that is easily left at the office, and one doesn't ever arrive at completion. It's a daily grind of what-should-I-do-next, so it's not exactly part-time friendly. The only thing that was part-time was the pay. And that's not cool.

So, with Eleanor's arrival, Dug and I decided that I should pursue full-time employment. Staying at home isn't an option (for those of you who are wondering). The good news was that I was able to transition my job without really changing employers, so the transition was probably less challenging than it might have been. But, it's been a big change and has forced us to make some changes.

The first one is about protecting our family time and making choices that really work for us. This has meant that after-5:00pm activities have been seriously restricted, as it's really the only time for us to spend with the kids and get ready for the next crazy day. This has meant that our church home of almost a decade just leaves us completely crazy starting out our week - so, it's left us with some tough decisions.

We feel good about the decisions we are making, as we prayerfully consider our options. It may seem at times that we are only thinking of ourselves, but honestly, our job as parents is to help create a home that is filled with love and honesty, not a million things to do. We've stayed well-connected with our community and have sought out new relationships. It's been a fearful, but fruitful time.

So, I leave this post with a promise to post more - I'm actually thinking about challenging myself to a post every day for a year. We aren't talking some complicated group of pictures with a play-by-play of our life, but a nice reflection on the day.

Here's one from last week's celebration of Eleanor's first birthday - so cute!

Such a Joy

My kids are such a joy. Even in the midst of these challenging years, joy in the tiny moments are {often} enough to keep my heart full.

I ran across a journal with a single line for each day - basically a mom's journal with one thought about the day. A dear friend of mine does this, and I think it will be a true gift to my girls. So, I've decided to reflect each day with a thought for each of them.

I have to admit that I'm a little bummed about the fact that I didn't take the time to do this when Emma was a little one, but there's nothing I can really do about that, right?

Although I don't plan on blogging all of my thoughts, here are a few rolling around in my head from the past couple of weeks.

How can it be, Eleanor, that you are already pulling up and walking around objects? You are a mere nine months old {this week} - I'm not ready for this.

Emma, I love that you say "Magaline" for "Madeline" - your current favorite book.

Emma is obsessed with blueberries, even in this, the dead of winter. Each night before she goes to bed, she eats and entire bowl.

I'm amazed at the intensity of Eleanor's thoughts and emotions. Let's just say that she is quite spirited when she wants something. I'm thinking the twos just might be terrible.

Sleep, oh sleep, you are a mystery to me. Even now at nine months old, Eleanor eats twice a night!

Survivor Pantry :: Week One

When the pantry gets too full for groceries, you know it's time to stop spending and start surviving.

As the new year rolled around, we found our shelves too full and freezer overflowing - so Survivor Pantry began. What's nice about forcing yourself to use what you have is that creativity seems to abound. We allow ourselves to buy fresh meat if needed, and of course, food for the kiddos. The other thing we instituted is a weekly pizza night, which is a lifesaver in the middle of the week.

So, week one was a great success. It's been freezing here, so comfort food is on the mind.

Saturday :: A good ol' lasagna -- this recipe from The Pioneer Woman is great.

Sunday :: Sante Fe Chowder from Moosewood Restaurant - I love this soup! Super easy and pantry-friendly.

Monday :: Lasagna leftovers

Tuesday :: Chowder leftovers

Wednesday :: Pizza night!!

Thursday :: Five spice pork tenderloin and roasted sweet potatoes

Friday :: Tomato, red pepper and spicy sausage risotto - no recipe, sorry...it's a Dugald special.

Week one was a success. In the queue for week two - Saturday morning scones, homemade barbeque chicken with cornbread topper (ala Rachel Ray), breakfast potatoes and poached eggs, and whatever else we can figure out...

Holly-day

Better late than never, right?...

It was such a nice Christmas.

Although we are always happy to visit family, staying at home for our first Birmingham Christmas was a welcome new addition.

No bag packing, kid wrestling, no plotting and scheming...just a little cleaning and we were off to the races.

Emma has reached the age where Christmas is much more exciting. Her reaction to every Christmas tree, plastic yard Santa and ornament is pure elation...and quite amusing. It was also wonderful to have her learn more about the true celebration of Christmas, although I must say that Jesus, Santa and reindeer are all a bit confusing for a three year-old.

I, personally, was very emotional throughout the entire Advent season. It was quite a mix of emotions, really. This was our family's first Christmas at our own home, and our first Christmas with sweet Eleanor.

At 7 1/2 months, didn't have a clue about what was going on, but was thrilled to have three more people to entertain.

It was such a sweet time, but as with most holidays, it was bittersweet. With family all over the world, we don't have the opportunity to celebrate with everyone...at least in person. That said, Skype keeps the smiles coming through the ability to video chat. It melts my heart to see running to the computer the moment she hears the familiar voices of Grandma and Grandpa.

Life is sweet, folks. We have to take every moment captive, as we don't know what is around the bend.

Enjoy our photos!

A Change Gonna Come

I saw a dear friend today, and she said something that really struck me. We were talking about life and its stages, and she said (to paraphrase), "Not every friendship is meant for a lifetime." It doesn't mean that the friendship didn't serve its purpose, but sometimes people and places aren't meant for forever.

This just isn't something I've been able to incorporate without serious angst...yet.

Whenever I start to feel a transition creeping in, it paralyzes me. I tumble into this over-thinking mess, running through every possible scenario and its resulting negative effects. The troubleshooter in me tries to figure out a way to fix the problem -- when there might not be a problem at all. Maybe it's just time to move on to the next thing.

I worry about the loneliness that I will feel. I worry about what people might think or say. I worry it will be the wrong decision. But honestly, it rarely is.

I have to learn to trust. I must trust that when my heart feels the transition on the horizon, maybe it's the Lord's way of preparing me for what new adventures He has for me and my family.

A blog...

A blog can many things to many people. At times, an online stream of consciousness, others a photographic journey through the life and times. This little blog has been more the latter than the former, but I'm thinking times are a changin'.

I've not kept up with the blog because I haven't really had the time to put together a beautiful sequence of photos complete with cute descriptions. Maybe it's because our life hasn't felt like beautiful photos and cute descriptions, although I dare say that, since Eleanor is pretty cute.

So, for now, I've decided to use this blog as defined by many is a stream of thoughts...and maybe throw in a cute picture or two.

Park Playday