Trick-Or-Treat

Tonight we took Dillon Trick-or-treating at my dad's, Jason's parents' and to Jason's sister's houses. He was the cutest little pirate! Jason worked with him and taught Dillon to say "Arrrgh" when asked "what does a pirate say?"

While we were at Grandma Shirley and Papa Neil's house, a group of Trick-or-treaters came to the house and Dillon ran to the door to see what was going on. I think he was a little confused as to why there was a skeleton at the door. After they left, he kept pointing out the door wondering where they went. He found the stash of candy and kept pulling out the packages of M&M's and then handing them to us. It was cute because it was the only kind of candy that he would take out.

Next, we went and visited Auntie Sheila and cousins Tommy and Christopher. They had set up in the driveway and Dillon loved seeing all the people come in costume. Someone came dressed as Jason from Friday the thirteenth and it was the only time he got scared and started to cry. Dillon was standing there all by himself and started to cry and I yelled "Jason" meaning my husband not the scary guy and the trick-or-treater looked at me totally confused - but at least the real Jason knew what I was talking about. A group of girls came by and said that Dillon won for the cutest costume ever! Actually, we heard that a bunch. Christopher said that Dillon always has cool costumes (last year he was a bat). Dillon walked to the end of the driveway and saw a house all decorated with lights - he had to go to see it! Tommy and Christopher took him to see the house. I think that the highlight of the night for Dillon was Auntie Sheila blowing bubbles for him. He loved them and was so excited by them! On the way home he was so tired - I think he was asleep before we were even off of their street!

Pumpkin Hunting

Today, Dillon and I went to the pumpkin patch. I had wanted to take him to a big pumpkin patch at Irvine park last week, but due to the Santiago fire, it was closed. The little one we went to had a small petting zoo and some little chickens in a chicken coop. Dillon was awed by the chickens - he just stared at them. I had the hardest time getting him to look at me for one single picture - he was too busy looking at the goats, chickens and muma's (that what he calls pumpkins - a little too close to mama in my opinion). He had fun rolling the big pumpkins over and taking all the little ones out of the baskets.

Dillon and his muma's (above) ~~ mesmerized by the chicks (below)

Yes

Dillon has added "yes" to his vocabulary. He surprised me yesterday afternoon when I asked him if he was ready for his nap and he said "yes." He then walked into his room and pointed to his crib. Today when we had to go get some lunch, I asked him if he wanted to go "bye-bye" and he said yes again and then walked to the front door. My little baby is getting so big and independent. Now, here's hoping that he doesn't learn "no" anytime in the near future!

A Thing That Makes Me Go Hmmm...

I have never understood why people think it's okay to bring their dogs to places like The Home Depot and Lowe's. I think it's strange and unsanitary (even though I have yet to see one actually pee in the store). I mean, you don't bring your dog into Trader Joe's or Albertson's, so why to the hardware stores? It's not like the dog is there to pick out paint colors for her dog house or plants it wants to pee on in your yard. Is the dog going to install hardwood flooring in the owner's house or put up vinyl fencing? No, it's not. Do dogs enjoy going shopping at Lowe's as much as I do? I highly doubt it. I guess some little dogs look kind of cute riding around in the shopping cart, but why do people bring their big dogs in there on leashes? If the dog needs exercise, take it for a walk around the neighborhood or put it on a treadmill. And as if people bringing their dogs to hardware stores wasn't crazy enough, I found the guy who takes the cake...

Yesterday I was at Lowe's buying paint for the kitchen. I am standing around waiting for the lady to mix all my colors and I look over at the long lines for the register and see a man with a bird - a bird! - perched on his shoulder. What, does this guy think he's a pirate or something? What would he do if Polly decided to spread it's wings and fly away? So long, Tweety! That guy would be having to buy a new bird! Maybe he doesn't care or maybe the bird's wings are clipped or something, I don't know. All I know is that pets don't need to go shopping.

Lil' Cutie

Not much going on here (besides the kithen stuff) so I just thought I post a few pictures of Dillon.

I'm Hungry

I fed Dillon lunch and then heated some leftover pizza for myself. Of course Dillon wanted some, so being the nice mommy that I am, I picked him off a few pineapple chunks. While I was eating, Jason called and while I was eating and talking to Jason, the doorbell rang and it was the plumber. I was so distracted by everything happening that I set my pizza down on the chair without realizing what I was doing. As I was talking to the plumber, it dawned on me what I had done and thought that I better move my plate to higher ground. But, it was too late - my pizza was gone from the plate. I looked at Dillon and in his little hand was the crust - that's it. He ate my whole stinking piece of pizza and now I am hungry and there is nothing left to eat.

One Hundred

I have finally made it to my one hundredth post! Hooray for me! Since typically number one hundred is supposed to be a list of one hundred things about me and since I have already done that, here is a list of five's for you to enjoy. I saw this survey and thought it would be good for my hundredth post.

Five jobs I have had in my life:

1. photographer

2. library page

3. secretary for a ter mite company

4. personal assistant for a clinical nutritionist
5. domestic engineer

Five places I have lived:

1. La Mirada, CA

2. La Habra, CA

3. Cypress, CA

4. La Habra, CA (different house)
5. (I am leaving this space blank because, well, there are only four places)

Five places I have been on vacation:

1. Maui & Kauai

2. Disneyworld

3. San Diego

4. Las Vegas
5. Cruise to Mexico

Five foreign places I would like to visit:

1. Ireland
2. London
3. Greece
4. Australia
5. Caribbean

Five places in the United States I would like to visit:

1. New York City
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Seattle
4. New England
5. Other Hawaiian islands

Five of my favorite foods:

1. Steak, cooked medium-rare

2. Caesar Salad
3. Chicken McNuggets

4. Enchiladas with green sauce
5. Lobster

Five of my favorite beverages:
1. Iced Tea
2. Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino
3. Cranberry Juice
4. Hot Chocolate
5. Patron Silver

Five I like to spend my money:
1. Target
2. Crate & Barrel
3. Home Depot
4. Children’s Place
5. Old Navy

Five restaurants I like to eat at:
1. Ruth’s Chris
2. Woodranch
3. Carnitas
4. Daphne’s Greek Cafe
5. Islands

Five television shows I enjoy watching:
1. Grey’s Anatomy
2. Ghost Hunters
3. Heroes
4. Hannah Montana
5. Friends

Kitchen Stuff

I am still without a kitchen. It has now been one month and sixteen days. This time last week it looked as though the kitchen would be near completion by the end of this week. But then, the figurative skies opened up and rained down on me. Or I guess you could say that I awoke from my dream to a nightmare.

We had everything all set for this week: electrician finishing yesterday, counters being installed today, appliances delivered tomorrow and installed on Thursday. The tile crew is set to start repairing drywall that has once again been ripped out by the electrician and then tiling the back splash on Saturday. All that appeared left to do were the little things: painting, installing moldings, unpacking the boxes and putting in the little decorative details. But now a wrench (or in this case wrenches) has been thrown in the plan.

We went to order the tile for the back splash on Saturday. Normally, you can order any day of the week and your order will be in on Thursday. Well, like I said that's normally... unless you pick out a custom blend mosaic tile that nobody sees it as important to let you know is a custom made thing. Nope, that won't arrive for around four weeks. Four. Long. Looong. Weeks! Stupid custom blend. Grrrr... Well, at least the normal tile that we ordered will be in on Thursday as normal.

The electrician came yesterday and mostly finished, just a few measly finish up items. But this morning I was wandering around the kitchen and it dawned on me - how could I be so stupid? Where is the stove going to plug in? Sure, it's a gas oven, but hello, it still needs a plug for the clock and stuff. So, they have to come back on Thursday and add a plug and finish up the other stuff that needs done.

So, now that makes my schedule for the week way off kilter... The counter tops are going in now, the appliances are still coming tomorrow, the electrician is coming Thursday, appliances going in on Friday, drywall and tile starting on Saturday and finishing in four weeks. Hopefully we can get everything else done in the next few weeks while we are waiting on the tile and maybe one of these days I will have a usable kitchen.

Autumn Afternoon

This afternoon is such a perfect Autumn day - there is a slight breeze and the leaves are swirling about, the air is crisp and cool, but not too cold, the sun is shining brightly and there are stray wispy clouds in the sky. Tired of being stuck in the house on this wonderful day, I loaded Dillon up in the umbrella stroller and we went for a walk. It was so quiet out, except for the occasional crow cawing, that I felt as if I were walking through the country. I loved watching the wind blowing through Dillon's hair, but didn't really feel the same about it blowing mine every which way. Along the way, Dillon pointed to several "treasures" that he had to have and ended up with a collection of leaves, flowers and sticks. He is so cute, he holds them so gently in his little hands and doesn't want to get rid of them to gather the next prize, so he hands them to mommy and I store them safely in my sweatshirt pocket for him. I hope that the weather stays nice for a while so that we can continue taking our walks together.

Check Up

Yesterday Dillon had his eighteen month check-up. I can hardly believe that my baby is already a year and a half old. He now weighs twenty-six pounds fourteen ounces and is thirty-two inches long. Average weight but Jolly Green in height status. He also has a bit of a pumpkin head with his head measuring in the eightieth percentile - but his pediatrician said that he would grow into it. He did really well and co-operated during his whole exam - Last time he burst into tears when she put the tongue depressor in his mouth. She did tell me that he has a small hernia (I had been noticing that his little belly button was becoming an outie) but that ninety-nine percent of them heal on their own before age five. However, if it doesn't close by the time Dillon is five, he may need surgery to repair it. I am not worried because it has three and a half years to get better and I don't want to spend that much time worrying (there are plenty of other thing that require my worry time.) He met all the necessary "requirements," like identifying body parts, but he is a little short in the word department. She said that it's not really a big deal until he turns two. She suggested trying to teach him some baby signs to help ward off frustration and I told her that he already knows "more" and she was quite impressed - hooray for me! All in all, everything checks out just fine.

Tis The Season For Shopping

You know that the holidays are upon us when your mailbox becomes stuffed with catalogs. Since Tuesday, I have gotten fifteen different catalogs! I usually only get five or six a month! I like to start my shopping early so I can be finished by December first, but it's only the fourth of October.

What Happens In Vegas Goes On The Blog

Over the weekend we went to Las Vegas to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. Truth be told, I wasn't really looking forward to going (it was my first time away from Dillon for more than one night), but I ended up having a great time! We did a little bit of gambling and a lot of sightseeing.

On Friday, we did a bunch of shopping at the outlet mall at stateline and I picked up some new serving bowls at the Williams-Sonoma Marketplace that I hope to be able to use one of these days. Friday night we hung out at the Hard Rock Casino since it was right next to our hotel (which didn't have a casino and was except for a floor or two smoke-free). It was really cool to see all the guitars and drums and clothing items that they had on display. There were two neat chandeliers - one was made out of saxophones and the other out of cymbals. Even a few celebrities were there: Willie Nelson, Gene Simmons and Vince Neil.

Saturday we had breakfast at the Venetian hotel. I ordered the french toast and it was amazing. After breakfast we wandered around the shops and then went to Paris. Susan and I strolled through all the shops and the boys played video poker. Next we took the monorail from Bally's to MGM Grand and walked from MGM to New York, New York. We had a snack and some drinks at The Nine Fine Irishman and then went back to our hotel for a few minutes of R and R. After our little break, it was off to the Hofbrauhaus, which is a recreation of the place in Germany where they have Oktoberfest. This was the place where Dale wanted to celebrate his birthday and the whole point of twelve people going to Las Vegas (and it was pretty much the only time we were all together).

Friday night at the Hard Rock, Jason got us hooked on Deal or No Deal slot machienes. We had to search for them at each and every casino we went to. It was nice because generally they were penny slots. I was so used to playing one cent slots, that I didn't even notice when I sat down at a five cent slot. Saturday, while walking through the MGM Grand, Jason gave me five dollars to play with and on my first spin, I got to play the suitcase bonus game. The banker offered me fifteen-hundred credits and I, not wanting to be greedy, decided that sure I'll take fifteen dollars. I didn't stop to think that I was actually nickels, not pennies and I had actually won a lot more than fifteen dollars - I cashed out with ninety-three dollars plus change! I was so excited because I never win on slots. So, on the way home from Vegas, we stopped at the outlets again because there were a few things there that I saw on the first trip there that were calling my name.

me taking a picture of Susan...

taking a picture of me!

Jameson... yummy!

Playing Deal or No Deal: