Borrr-ring

Is it just me or was last night's American Idol totally boring? I watch two whole hours of a bunch of boring performances (except Kelly and Carrie) and cheesemoso celebrity skits to see who gets kicked off this week. Except, hello? Wait, what? No one got the boot? Are you kidding me? So stupid. What a waste of two whole hours (ok, so I did tune out while it was on - and didn't see Gwen - did she even sing?)

And yes, it was for a good, no, a great cause, but there were sooo many stinking commercials that I'm sure FOX made as much money for their pockets as they raised for charity.

There were some things that I did like: Seeing Simon and Ryan actually get along (and who knew that Simon actually had a heart), Carrie singing and playing with the kids, Kelly singing with the old guy playing guitar, the fact that even though they were forced to wear those stupid matching white suits, the boys were able to figure out how to personalize them (loved the fact that Chris wore a white hoodie under it - looked really good!). I also liked the fact that they helped American people and not just ones from Africa. Don't get me wrong - I really do believe that the people of Africa need our help, but there are still some areas in our own country that are in extreme poverty.

Oh, and let me just say how nice it was to not have to see Sanjaya sing this week - even though we still had to be subjected to seeing him sitting in the audience.

Grace Day

What a great day today was! I got to spend the day with all my old friends from my high school church youth group - it's been almost five years since I've seen any of them! These are the people who for a period of time were always by my side. We spent so much time together as a group and not just at church. We would normally spend all day Sunday together - going out to eat, hanging out, playing cards... It was a great group of friends and I have missed them.

When I first got there, it felt a little awkward, but after a few, it was like we just saw each other yesterday. We hung out at Lisa's for a bit and then went bowling. I was so excited - I got a strike on my first frame. But, after that, I tanked and only bowled a 86. But in my defense, it's been at least two years since the last time I bowled.

It was amazing to see God hard at work in our lives. Some of us are married, there are babies, babies on the way. Some are still in school, some are working, some are stay at home mommies. Even though God has changed us so much, deep down, we are really all still the same.

Below, I have posted a few pictures - old and new. And let me just say, that I can't wait to see everyone again - and lets not wait 5 more years!

A Fun Cousin Visit

Yesterday I had my niece and nephew, Jordan and Ryan over. Since they were undoubtedly bored out of their skulls, I decided that we would go to the park for a picnic for lunch. This would also be Dillon's first trip to a playground. So, when lunchtime approached, we went to Subway and got some sandwiches, sides and drinks. No more are the days when all you could get was chips, now you can choose apple wedges or raisins or yogurt. How healthy. Off we went to the park for our picnic. We opted to sit on a blanket and forgo the table - even though it was right next to where we laid our blanket. It was such a nice day out and the sun felt so nice and warm on my face.

After we ate, we went and played on the playground. We pushed Dillon in the swing - which he loved - and then Ryan took him down the slide a few times. I'm not sure how he felt about the slide - he had no reaction. We played for a bit and then packed it up and headed home. Dillon was so worn out that he barely made it into his crib before he fell asleep.

Since Dillon was sleeping, we busted out the Game Cube and played Mario Party 7 the rest of the afternoon - even after Dillon woke up. He was trying like crazy to grab our controllers, so we gave him an old one from the Nintendo 64 and he was pleased as punch. At one point when he was bored, he found the reset button for the Game Cube and there went the game - on our last turn, no less. But, we were in luck - it automatically saves the game - Yippee!!

We went out to Shakey's pizza for dinner - something that we never do - and then went for ice cream for dessert. Came home and played more Mario Party. We (or at least I) had a great time - what fun I (and Jason and Dillon) had with Ryan & Jordan!

Sayonara Sanjaya

Finally, all is right with American Idol and it is now a real competition. Sanjaya is gone, hooray! I am still really in shock that it took so looooong to bid him bye-bye. I now am looking forward to hearing some really great singers. My favorite is Jordin, followed closely by Blake.

And can I just say that I was also happy that for once Phil was not in the bottom? Yeah!! Also, I really thought it was funny when Ryan asked Melinda to choose a side and she sat down - how diplomatic of her.

Ryan's Birthday

Today is my nephew Ryan's Birthday. He told his mom that he wanted a cake like Dillon's but one that was chocolate, with fudge in the middle, chocolate frosting and his name on it. So, not really like Dillon's, but what he wanted was a layer cake. Being the nice aunt that I am (and really that it gave me a chance to bake something) I offered to make the cake for him. So, I woke up early and went to the market to buy the stuff to make the cake: 2 boxes cake mix, 2 jars hot fudge, 2 containers of frosting and eggs. (Yes, I took the easy way out and used cake mix.) The girl bagging my groceries actually asked me if I was making a cake. I had to bite my tongue to not reply with a response along the lines of: No, I'm making soup!

I got home and preheated the oven and started making my cakes. As I was making them, I kept thinking of the incident that Marci had last week when making a cake for her dad - Her son accidentally dropped it on the floor. Luckily, that didn't happen to me and Ryan's cake turned out perfect. I was so excited at how smooth and line free I managed to get the frosting on the top of the cake and the lettering turned out awesome - even with my normally ugly writing.

So, I put the cake in a box lined with foil to transport it to the birthday boy and we set off on our 29.29 mile trip to deliver the cake and then go out to dinner. All the while I kept thinking how much it would suck if the cake were to fall off my lap (I'm such the optimist). We were about 2 miles from our exit when we had an accident... (Yes, were ok - notice that I said that we had an accident and not that we were in an accident. There was no car accident, just a cake accident.) Jason was driving and I was holding the cake on my lap and staring off into space. I was trying to figure out the rational of the guy driving the truck next to us. It was for sale. It was a 1994 Chevy Truck. With a big dent on the side. All for the price of $16,000. I was pondering who would actually pay that much for that truck when Jason hit the brakes hard and the cake slid out of my hands and landed - upside down on the floor of the car. A rarity ensued when expletives flowed from my mouth like lava from a volcano. I just stared at the bottom of my beautiful cake, wanting to cry. Jason just kept telling me to flip it back over. After I got over the shock of what had actually just happened, I came to my senses and did what he was telling me to. The foil that I had - Thank God - loosely covered the cake with was now smooshed to the top of the cake like silver icing. When we got to the house, I carried to remains of my cake in to survey the damage. I peeled back the silver bandage to find this:

All that was left untouched of my beautiful work of art was the "N". I decided that with some major surgery, the cake could be repaired. So, Jason and I drove to the store to buy more chocolate frosting and a pack of writing icing. We got back to the house and I mentally prepared myself to fix the cake - all the while Jason is taunting me about how this wouldn't have happened to the "Ace of Cakes" to which I retorted that I just saw it happen last time I watched the show - only their cake disaster was MUCH worse! So with a little patience, I was able to fix the cake. Or, at least make it better...

It was still smashed onto the side of the box, but I definitely think that it was a major improvement from what it looked like before I repaired it. Later on, we went out to Red Lobster so Ryan could have his favorite food - crab! Dillon got a little fussy towards the end of the meal, so my wonderful nieces and nephew took him to see the lobsters. He looked at them and then decided that he wanted to jump in with them. Luckily, they are fast on their feet and he wasn't able to dive into the tank.

When they brought him back to the table, Dillon demonstrated to everyone his lemon eating skills. He ate (or rather sucked on) three lemon wedges.

After dinner, we went back to the house for cake and ice cream. Even though the cake wasn't so easy on the eyes, it was great in the mouth. Well, maybe a little rich, but luckily we had vanilla ice cream to help wash it down... Anyway, I hope Ryan had a Happy Birthday and that he like the cake that he requested.

(I really liked this picture of Dillon - It's from before we ate dinner)

Dillon Update

Yesterday, Dillon had his one year check-up. Everything checked out great. He now weighs 23 lbs. 10 oz. and is 30 1/2" long. He is in the 75% for both height and weight - what a lunker!!

He had to have three shots. This did not make for a happy man. Although, he stopped crying as soon as I picked him up. But, we left the doctors office without putting his pants back on. Luckily, it was still 80 degrees out. It's so hard seeing your baby get shots, but it is getting easier as he is getting older and I am getting more used to seeing it happen.

He has now been given the green light to eat any and all kinds of foods. His pediatrician even said we could give him some spicy food and see if he likes it. This might seem a little weird, but I told her that Jason & I eat a lot of spicy things and feed Dillon something else from what we are eating. The nurse gave me a pamphlet on toddler nutrition entitled - "Why is my toddler such a picky eater??". I had to laugh because this so does not describe Dillon. He really likes all types of foods - we haven't found anything yet that he doesn't like. The other day, he kept grabbing for a lemon wedge, so we let him have it. He really is his mommy's little boy - He liked it!! Didn't even make a face.

I mentioned to his doctor how headstrong he has become and she said that even though he just turned one, he is in the "terrible twos" since this is actually his second year of life. Just great! She said that one year olds can be really stubborn, but I need to be more stubborn. She also said that this can be very hard. Yeah, I'm experiencing that already - oh boy! Lucky me!!

He still isn't walking but is getting closer. On Wednesday, he forgot the fact that he doesn't know how to walk: Jason walked in the front door and Dillon was standing holding onto my fingers. As soon as he saw Jason, he let go! and then he fell flat on his face. Poor little man. He now pulls himself up everywhere. Yesterday, he was standing holding onto the baby gate. Such a little monkey.

Well, that's all I have to update on...

Saved By The Bath

Yesterday was a very uncharacteristic day for Dillon. Nothing made him happy. He wanted up, then down. He wants to stand, no he wants to sit. He wants to pull Mommy's hair, no... well, actually, he did like doing that - but that's a no-no. I put him down for a nap - yeah, he screamed. I got him out of his crib, yup, still screaming. He did get quiet when I gave him some Tylenol, but when he realized that he was done getting it, he got mad again. I put him in his swing and he feel asleep - while he was screaming - but the stupid phone rang and woke him right up. Nothing worked - not a bottle, not his sucky (he's so trained that the sucky is for sleeping only, that he would just throw it when I would give it to him). So, from about 2:00 until 4:30ish, I had a mad little man. That is until Jason came home. He stopped crying - until Jason didn't pick him up right away. He (Jason) had to finish up a few work items. So, Dillon's crying and I'm about to have a nervous breakdown, when my wonderful husband says to me: "Put him in the bath." As soon as his little body landed in the water he looked at me and smiled! All was well in the Slagle household. Put him in the bath? Duh - why didn't I think of that?!?

Still Watching...

Ok, so, yes, I will still be watching American Idol even though Sanjaya is still around. I will give it another week because, truth be told, I have to agree with Simon - He wasn't horrible. It was actually pretty good and I didn't have to run from the room covering my ears while he was singing. So, I don't usually run from the room, but I usually do have to leave the room while he's singing. I think that the right person was sent home this week - but next week Sanjaya better be packing his bags and heading home.

And while I'm thinking about it - Poor Phil Stacey! That guy has been in the bottom 3 like every week! And, he's really not that bad... I think he's good. At least better than Sanjaya. Maybe it's because he's kinda funny looking - he kind of reminds me of that "bat child" that you see on the cover of those cheaper "National Enquirer" magazines at the news stands. I don't know. But since we know Sanjaya won't be leaving this week, it will probably be poor Phil. Hopefully, Sanjaya can't sing country - I can't picture it.

Easter

We had a very nice Easter (except for the fact that I was sick). We went to Jason's sister and brother-in-laws house to spend the day with his family. The kids had an Easter egg hunt and Dillon got to "find" his own little eggs. This meant that Daddy carried him around and when Mommy found one, Daddy leaned Dillon down so he could pick it up. Once he picked up an egg, he didn't want to let go. One of his eggs he had to have held onto for at least half an hour. Later, after our meal (I'm not really sure if it was a late lunch or early dinner), we all watched a movie. It was a really great day!

Dillon's Party

We had Dillon's birthday party on Saturday. All in all it was really nice with only a few minor problems. All the important people in Dillon's life were there - Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and a few friends. The worst problem of the day was that it was supposed to be 80 degrees out and I bought Dillon a cute pair of shorts and well, it was in the 60's and there were a few sprinkles. So, after everyone saw him in his Birthday outfit, I changed him into pants.

We had the party catered by a company that makes tacos. The food was absolutely wonderful. We chose Carne Asada, Carnitas and Pollo. They also made grilled onions, rice, pinto beans and two kinds of salsa - a hot one and a hotter one!

I made the cakes for the party and they turned out pretty good (especially since it was the first time I have attempted to decorate a cake). I made they to look like baby blocks. I made a vanilla layer cake, a chocolate layer cake, and a little mini block layer cake for Dillon. He did really well with his cake and didn't smash it to bits - but he was a double fisted cake eater.

Dillon got lots of really nice presents. But the sunglasses that Alyssa got him really stole the show. He knew that they were on his face, but couldn't quite figure out where they were at. He kept trying to pull them off of the top of his head. He had everyone in stitches, which of course made him crack up, too.

After the party was over, Grammie gave him a bath and then he played with some of his balloons. He was so exhausted that he went right down to bed when it was time.

How Dillon Spent His Birthday

A blog from the view point of Dillon...

In the morning I woke up and my mommy made me a bottle... breakfast in bed.

After I finished it I was all smiles and ready to start my day.

Mommy went shopping for some things for my party and I played in my jumper while Daddy watched me.

After I jumped and played with my balls, I had some Cheerios...

Next, Mommy took me to the Picture People to get my pictures taken. Now that I am 1, so won't drag me there every month. I looked so cute that Mommy had a really hard time deciding which pictures to get. She wanted to get them all...

When we came home, Daddy pushed me in my swing while Mommy was baking my birthday cakes for my party tomorrow.

While I was swinging, my Grammie, Grandpa Steve and Nana came to see me. They brought me lots of presents that I couldn't wait to open. So, they let me open them...

After I opened all my presents, I played catch with Grandpa Steve until it was time for bed. Daddy brought me into the kitchen to say "ni ni" to Mommy and I stole a piece of cake. It was super yummy. I can't wait until tomorrow when I can have a whole cake all to myself...