The Life, Times & Random Thoughts of the Slagle Family

the pumpkin patch

2010-11-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

dillon has been asking to go to the pumpkin patch since... well, probably since february. everytime we drive by the lot where it is he asks when it's coming back. so, a few days before halloween, we finally took him. and then the pumpkin patch promptly took all our money.

when i was little we used to go to the pumpkin patch at the local dairy. it didn't have bounce houses, slides, pony rides, petting zoos, etc. it had pumpkins. and some hay. after all, it was a pumpkin patch. and the pumpkins didn't cost an arm and a leg.

so, we went to the pumpkin patch and let dillon go down the $5 slide. and jump in the $3 jumper. and go in the $4 obstacle course. and then after, well we went to the market and bought pumpkins for $2.50 each. the same sized pumpkins that they were selling for $20 at the pumpkin patch. i wonder how many pumpkins the so called "pumpkin patch" actually sells?

(and while dillon jumped and played, i totally geeked out and took a ton of pictures of pumpkins - quite possibly the real reason why i wanted to go to overpriced pumpkin patch in the first place.)

the sign

2010-11-09T14:13:00.000-08:00

the other day dillon asked me for a sheet of paper. the kid loves to draw. a few minutes after i gave him the paper, he came back asking for some tape. once again i obliged. next came the "mommy, come and look what i did." this is what i found:

"mommy, it means no you or daddy in my room."

"and this part means if you come in, i'll play my harmonica really, really loud."

seriously? i about fell over laughing!

hi

2010-11-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

i'm back. i'm going to try (keyword: try) to keep my blog updated more frequently (at least more than once every eight months). a lot of stuff has happened since my last post, so, while keeping my posts current, i'll throw in some "flashback" posts.

a friend asked my why i stopped blogging and i really didn't have a clear cut answer. there are many reasons - some good excuses, some not so great excuses. i have been on a journey these past two years and have really changed as a person. that being said, sometimes i felt that i couldn't be open and honest about what i was thinking or feeling because i thought people my judge me or say i needed therapy. so, i've decided that i'm just going to roll with it, i'm going to throw in the good, the bad and the ugly. not just the good, the better and the ok. many times i would write a post and then just delete it without posting out of fear. i've decided that it's ok to just post what i'm feeling.

other reasons: laziness, busyness, just didn't feel like it and then when i did feel like it i didn't really know how to start again. (lame excuses, right?)

oh well, whatever my excuses are/were, i'm back.

How I Spent My Birthday

2010-03-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

My Birthday was Sunday and to celebrate we headed to where else... the Happiest Place on Earth. Spent the morning and early afternoon there with some of my very favorite people and then when it got crowded we left. Later we went out to Outback for dinner and then came back home to eat cake. It was a fun day... with the possible exception of being a year older.

All About Me Cake

2010-03-03T15:22:00.000-08:00

This year I made my own cake. I was excited to do it. Actually, I begged Jason to let me do it. I wanted an ice cream cake, so I decided to decorate it with butter cream. I thought it would be fun to make a cake that represented me - things I like: Coach, cooking, Disney, flip flops and of course, Starbucks. I really like how it turned out... although, at one point I almost gave up and bought a store made cake. I *shudder* at that thought. The making of this cake was one disaster after another. I'll share because it's funny.

Jason went to the store to get something for dinner. He told me to text him my list. I did. After he was home for about an hour I asked him if he had put the CoolWhip in the freezer. What CoolWhip? Oh... the stuff for your cake. He forgot to check his text. Well, that sucks.

We eat dinner, I finish up my butter cream transfers and then head to the store. It's already after nine. Ugh. My list: Cake mix (yes, I cheated, but I always make my own frosting), CoolWhip and ice cream. The first place I head in the store? The bakery... Maybe there is some plainly decorated cake that I can just scrape off the crappy store done design and then put my transfers onto it. Maybe. Because I'm tired. Really tired. And at this point I just want to go to bed. But no luck. They are all hideously decorated with way too many flowers and balloons to remove. And expensive. So I go get my supplies, pay and then drive home.

I preheat the oven. I gather up my eggs and my oil. Crap. I'm almost out of oil. I pour it into the measuring cup and it's just short of the quarter cup that I need. It's almost ten. I'm tired and there is NO way i'm heading back to the store. Instead I head to the computer and hop onto Google. One suggestion, just use extra water. Ok. This I can do. I add the little bit of water and dump it into the mixer bowl along with the mix and the eggs. I beat it for the required two and a half minutes. I check the batter. It's thick. Really thick. Why is it so thick? I added the three eggs, the oil mixture and the water... wait! I. didn't. add. the. water. Crap. I add in the water and turn the mixer on low and the water sprays me. Crap. I grab a spoon and try to mix it in. It works so I turn the mixer back on and mix it up some more. Not bad. It's usable. I put it into my four little pans and pop them in the oven and wait the twenty minutes, take them out and let them cool in the pan for the required ten minutes. I go to unmold the pan and the stupid things break apart and pieces of each are stuck. in. the. pan. Crap. I realize that I forgot to grease the pan. It's a nonstick pan. Nonstick my butt. I save what I can and toss the rest. I grease the pans and go for round two. I fill my pans and run out of batter. And I have no more oil. Great. Just great. I put what I have in the oven and hop back on the internet. Some suggest apple sauce and some suggest mayo. I decide on mayo. I grab the jar out of the fridge and attempt to open it. The lid won't budge. I'll have to go with the apple sauce. Ugh, it's cinnamon apple sauce and it's eleven thirty and at this point I don't care. The timer beeps and I take out the baking cakes, they cool and I remove them from the pans. Some come out without a fight and some, well they break again. It's midnight and I'm defeated. Who needs and ice cream cake. I'll just serve plain cake with ice cream. I grab a normal square pan, grease the crap out of it, pour in the freshly mixed batter made sans oil and with the cinnamon apple sauce. I bake it. I cool it. I pop it out of the pan. Success. It's nearly one thirty. I have to get up at six. I go to bed. Cake undecorated. I don't care.

The alarm goes off way too soon and I hop in the shower. While I'm standing under the hot water trying to wake up the light bulb goes off. I quickly finish my shower and head to the kitchen. I grab my pan and cover the bottom with plastic wrap and dump the ice cream in it. I spread it around the pan and then toss the chocolate-cinnamon-apple cake on top. I throw it into the freezer and I now have my ice cream cake. It may be undecorated but it's a cake. I head to my "party" and come home several hours later. I takes me maybe ten more minutes to finish the cake. Perfect.

Next year... I. will. let. someone. buy. me. a. cake!

Fun Giveaway

2010-03-02T23:02:00.000-08:00

Check out Jeannett's blog for a giveaway. She is giving away a pair of the coolest shoes. I *heart* these shoes... I just might have to buy a pair them in black... or silver... or maybe both.

Call The Fashion Police

2010-03-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

Dillon has become so independent lately. His new favorite thing is dressing himself... and unfortunately that often includes picking out his own clothes. Shorts on cold days. Plaid shorts with checkered shirts. At least when he decides to wear jeans they go with most things.

And some days he even decides to accessorize. Usually that includes a beanie or his Nemo hat. Or sometimes a tie. Or sometimes he'll sport a hat AND a tie.

or a guitar...

Brown and Blue

2010-02-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

I love the colors brown and blue together. It's soothing to me.

Dillon was running around the front yard and I was struck by the beauty of the bare tree in our front yard against the cloudless blue sky.

As I was taking pictures this sweet little yellow bird fluttered into frame and landed gracefully onto the very branches I was capturing.

Oh, how I love little unexpected surprises.

I love how the tree is beginning to bud but there is still one lone leaf hanging on.

Fifteen Minutes Of Fame

2010-01-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

Do you see who I see?

No? Look again...

How about now?

Yup, that's Dillon and Ryan Seacrest (or as Dillon calls him, Ryan Seacrust). We happened to be at Disneyland on the day that they filmed the Christmas Parade... no, they don't actually film it on Christmas. I think it was in November. I don't remember the exact date, but I do remember that it was like eighty degrees out. I felt bad for Ryan in his long sleeves and sweater. But I guess when you're getting paid bookoo bucks you get past it.

Just Call Me The Paparazzi

2010-01-09T12:06:00.000-08:00

Ever since I got my camera last year for my birthday I have been dying to do a photo shoot with some people who are not named Dillon. Don't get me wrong...I love taking pictures of my handsome little man but he doesn't take direction well and ninety percent of the time he is striking some strange rock star pose with his tongue sticking out. I wanted real, bonafide, ~~Guinea pigs~~ subjects.

As one of David and Kara wedding or shower presents, I'm going to make their guest sign in book. I wanted it to be full of pictures of the lovebirds, so I told them that I was going to take a few pictures of them. Little did they know that a few would be somewhere in the neighborhood of four hundred pictures. They were my willing subjects as I dragged them around Bishop during our Thanksgiving trip. Four locations and some pictures taken in the middle of a few streets.

I am absolutely thrilled with how they turned out. Jason was joking that I should charge them for the pictures. So, here are a few... and don't worry - I won't post ALL four hundred. Just some of my favorites.

Favorite Food Friday:Famous Salsa

2010-01-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, a long time ago, Jason's friend Brett got into a dirt bike accident and broke himself. So, while he was recovering we would go to his mom's house every Sunday and watch football with him. Brett's mom, Pat, always put out a yummy spread, but I totally fell in love with her salsa. I would crave it during the week and couldn't wait until Sunday to scarf it down. On Sunday, I asked her for her recipe. I was sure it would be super hard to make and contain a trillion ingredients because it is to. die. for. But, it's not. It only has five ingredients. Yes, five. Easy Peasy. And did I mention that two of them come in a can? This salsa is so delish no one every guesses that it's not a hundred percent fresh ingredients. Out of all the things I make this salsa gets more requests than everything else. And not only does it taste great with tortilla chips, it makes an awesome dressing for a taco salad!

what you put in it:

1 - 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

1 can Rotel Mexican fiesta tomatoes, drained

1 bunch green onions (cut into fourths)

1 bunch cilantro (minus the stems)

garlic salt to taste

how you make it:

Put both cans of tomatoes, green onions and cilantro into a food processor. Pulse until everything is chopped small and mixed together. Add desired amount of garlic salt and pulse a few more times to mix it in. Enjoy!

(To play along with Favorite Food Friday click here!)

Polar Bear

2010-01-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

Dillon started back at swim lessons this week. Yes, it is winter. Yes, the pool is outside. But, yes, the pool is heated. And, while most of the country is covered with snow it's been in the seventies here. So, no, I don't feel bad.

But, he is the only kid in his class, so apparently I am just a physco mom who thinks her kid is a polar bear... I, however see it as an opportunity - private lessons for half the cost. Oh, and the pool isn't totally empty. There are people swimming laps and after his lesson they have water aerobics and that class has at least ten people in it.

Totaled

2010-01-06T15:44:00.000-08:00

So, I just got the dreaded call from our insurance company letting me know that our car is considered totaled. I honestly feel like crying. That car has so many memories attached to it. It was my first new car. Picked out especially by me. I chose the colors I wanted and got all the options that I wanted. It was blue and beautiful. It was the car that would bring a newborn Dillon home from the hospital. I remember riding in the backseat with him and trying to convince Jason that his choice of music (Korn) wasn't fit for his little ears.

Even though my perfect car was no longer driven as my primary car, I still loved driving it. It was just four thousand miles short of hitting one hundred thousand miles. Jason kept joking that he was going to pull over at the milestone and jump just like they used to in the old Toyota commercials.

The guy at the body shop called earlier today to ask a few questions and the first thing he asked me was if everyone in the car was okay. When I told him yes, he was surprised. I am so thankful that we are all okay and that God was watching over us. It could have been way worse. We were lucky and after all - the car can be replaced and we can't.

The Holidaze

2010-01-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

This holiday season has really just sped by me in a blur. We were gone for five days at Thanksgiving. We went to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary two weeks after Thanksgiving. The next weekend was the Slagle family Christmas party on Saturday followed by Christmas dinner with dad, step-mom, David and Kara that was at my house - meaning that I did all the cooking. Two days after that we were back in Bishop to celebrate Christmas - this time for six days. Home for a day and a half. Back on the road to ring in the New Year in Havasu. In Havasu for four days - got in huge car accident on the way home. (You can say that this year is off to a smashing start.) Somewhere in the mix we managed multiple trips to Disneyland, a family photo shoot, I hosted a table at my Bible study Christmas brunch, shopped for gifts, wrapped them all, decked the halls...

That being said, I enjoyed almost every minute of the big blur...

Thanksgiving was fun, despite everyone but David and I getting sick. The strange thing about everyone being sick was that everybody had different symptoms. Weird, I know.

Jason and I had a great weekend in Vegas. It was the first time we have been away together for more than one night since Dillon was born. We had a lot of fun doing not a whole lot. We went to a concert and saw Dead By Sunrise and Alice and Chains, but mostly we just did nothing... a little bit of gambling (I totally *heart* the Deal or No Deal slot machines) and what seemed like a ton of eating. Our room had a ginormous bathtub and I begged Jason to let me bring it home. It was paradise.

the bathtub:

Our Christmas was a white one! It snowed about a week or so before Christmas and there was still snow on the ground (not a lot - but it totally still counts). There was tons of snow about ten minutes from my mom's and we took Dillon to play. The first thing he did was throw himself on the ground and make a snow angel. He also tried to swim in the snow but that didn't work so well. Dillon scored a new wardrobe for Christmas - too bad it's in the high seventies and he can't wear anything yet.

Slagle Christmas Party:

Christmas in Bishop:

(yes, Dillon is sledding in a box. We're ghetto like that. Actually, it was Christmas day and being in a small town nothing was open and we couldn't buy a sled.)

New Years was so relaxing. It was like a big movie marathon. I watched so many movies - it was awesome. Some were old and some we new and some I had already seen. But it was like a breath of fresh air to just sit and vege. I saw Julie & Julia, The Ugly Truth, Night at the Museum 2, Sleeping Beauty (Dillon watched it for the first time and when they showed the princess as a baby in the cradle he started yelling: Look, Baby Jesus! It's Baby Jesus! How sweet was that?), Cars, Monsters Inc., Ice Age 2... I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but you get the point. A. Lot. Of. Movies. Dillon spent the weekend playing / feuding with Addison, one of his favorite little people. They built forts, played with Batman, Barbies, and Disney Princesses, and just plain ran amok. To prevent them from further tearing up the place, we took them to the park. It was so cold (for us parents) so that idea was short lived.

On a side note... I must really be getting old. I barely made it to midnight. I was so tired. And we were in a different time zone. As in it was only eleven o'clock at home.

So... I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things... The Cookie

2009-12-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

I love oatmeal cookies (but not with raisins), chocolate chip cookies, and anything with cranberries in it. So, I combined a few ideas and came up with these little babies. They have become one of my favorite cookies and one of my most requested recipes. Oh, and I love making them as bar cookies too - it's like a whole other recipe!

what you put in it:

2 sticks butter, softened

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 eggs

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups oatmeal, uncooked

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

how you make it:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.

3. Add egs and vanilla; beat well.

4. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to sugar mixture; mix well.

5. Stir in oats, cranberries, and chocolate chips; mix well.

6. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet and then remove to wire rack.

Makes about four dozen

For bar cookies: Spread batter evenly in an ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes.

Fall Fun

2009-11-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it is already the end of November and I have yet to even post Halloween pictures. I've been so busy lately that I've been going to bed by nine! What an old lady! So, since I have once again gone forever without a post, here are some of the highlights...

At the beginning of October, Dillon and I went to the pumpkin patch with my mom's group from Church. Dillon had a blast jumping in all the different bounce houses and riding on the "ATV" train. He did not like the petting zoo at all. He went in and then wanted right back out.

Next up was a dinner to celebrate my brother's engagement! I am so excited that he is getting married - I love my future sister-in-law and am so lucky that she is going to officially going to be a part of our family!

And finally, it was Halloween and Dillon got his first experience with Trick-or-treating. He told us that he wanted to be a skeleton for Halloween, so that's what we got him. I found a pair of skeleton jammies at Gymboree for ten bucks! How perfect - he can wear his costume over and over. He was such a cute little skeleton. When we started out trick-or-treating we didn't think to bring the stroller and by the time we got to the end of our street Dillon said that he was done. We went home and got the stroller and he was ready to go again... but after ten minutes he was finished. He said that he just wanted to go home. I'm sure next year it will be a totally different story.

Crafty Pants

2009-10-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks I've been wearing my crafty pants. I've been working on several projects and thought that I would share a couple that I finished recently.

I saw this wreath in a magazine (can't remember which one and now I can't find it either) and fell in love with it. It was so simple and best of all, cheap to make. I bought the paper mache letter at Joann's and spray painted it with a couple coats of brown. I bought some fall leaf vines at Michael's (for 40% off) and just cut all the leaves off of the vine. I used my handy glue gun to glue on all the leaves in a few layers. When I was done I glued some magnets on the back and and once it was dry I stuck it on the front door. The magnets were leaving some black marks on the door, so I gave them a quick coat of Mod Podge and viola - no more black marks.

I wanted some kind of banner it decorate my mantle with and decided on this one. It's sort of a variation on the one that I made for Dillon's birthday. I love how it turned out. I cut 12x12 scrapbook paper down to fit in my printer and printed the letters on the back using the reverse printing option. I cut out the letters with scissors and an exacto knife and attached them to paper circles that I cut out with my circle cutter. I used scrapbook photo mounting tape and attached the circles to some ribbon and then I stuck them to my mantle with some removable velcro strips.

I got tired of Dillon asking me multiple times every. single. day. how many more days until Halloween, so with the scraps left over from my banner, I whipped up this count down chain. Every morning we take of one ring and now he knows that when we get to the last ring - the one with the three and the one - it's Halloween. Each day, as we take off the rings we count how many days are left - so it's a good teaching tool too. And it was free to make - gotta love that!

I still have a few more craft projects that are in the cue that I haven't gotten around to yet - but I'm definitely not hanging up the crafty pants yet.

Laguna Beach

2009-10-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

Dillon absolutely loves the beach. He loves playing in the sand, splashing in the water, and looking for sand "shrabs". When we go he never wants to leave. I, on the other hand, have never been a "beach person." It's not that I don't like the beach, it's more like the beach doesn't like me. It gives me poofy, frizzy, curly hair and my skin gets all sticky and gross feeling. But the more time I've been spending at the beach with Dillon, the more it's growing on me. I'm not paying attention to the fact that I leave the beach with an Afro... as much. And I'm ignoring my overwhelming desire to run to the nearest shower, because I love how much Dillon loves the beach. It's worth sacrificing my cleanliness and overcoming my vanity to see the sheer excitement that Dillon has at the beach.

A while back we went down Laguna Beach (or as Dillon calls it Maduna) for the afternoon and Dillon was so sad when it was time to leave. He had fun building sand castles with Jordan and climbing on the rocks with Jason. I had fun taking pictures. The weather was nice - overcast but not cold. And though I had a smallish 'fro when it was time to go - it was so worth it!

Wordless Wednesday: Little Skater Boy

2009-10-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Favorite Food Friday: Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Pies

2009-08-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

So, yes I realize that it's the middle of summer and yes, it's super hot out now, but I was craving a full on Thanksgiving dinner: Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy... the whole nine yards.

And, what's a Thanksgiving dinner without pumpkin pie? So, since it is summer after all, I decided to forgo the traditional pumpkin pie and make some easy homemade pumpkin pie ice cream and then put a scoop of it into store bought mini pie crusts and then finish it off with a dollop of whipped cream. All the taste of a slice of pumpkin pie with a cool twist. What a super yummy way to beat the heat!

what you put in it:

1 - 15 oz can pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

a pinch of salt

8 mini graham cracker pie crusts (store bought or homemade)

whipped cream

how you make it:

Heat cream and sugars over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until tiny bubbles form around edge of pan. Remove the pan from heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Place pumpkin, chilled cream mixture, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and the salt in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer (I use my stand mixer) for 5 minutes on medium speed.

Pour pumpkin mixture into the bowl of an ice cream maker and freeze for 25 minutes (or freeze according to the manufacture's instructions). Scoop the ice cream into the pie crusts and place into the freezer until ready to eat. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.

Enjoy!

**note - this ice cream gets pretty hard so you may want to let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving**

(To play along with Favorite Food Friday click here!)

Guitar Cake

2009-08-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

So a few days before his birthday Jason and I had the following conversation:

Me: So... what kind of cake do you want for your birthday?

Him: No cake.

Me: What kind of cake do you want? You have to have something.

Him: One from the store.

.....................................................................

And do you think that I listened? Heck no! Me? Listen? Never! Ha Ha! So, I came up with the idea to make him a cake with a guitar on top. I made the guitar out of fondant and I love. love. LOVE how it turned out. And thankfully, so did Jason. The cake is yellow cake with chocolate butter cream frosting. I went chocolate because, one - it's super yummy and two - way easier to color it black.

Happy Birthday Jason!

2009-08-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

Today was Jason's birthday and to celebrate we went out for Mexican food. He thought it was going to just be the three of us, but I surprised him by inviting Derek and the kids and David and Kara! He was so surprised when we got to the restaurant and they were there. Too bad he wasn't as surprised by his gift...

He had mentioned that he needed a new wallet, so that is what I decided to get him (exciting, I know). Dillon was with me and insisted on getting him a brown wallet and I figured that Jason would like it since Dillon picked it out. I also got him a few gift cards and slipped them into the wallet before I wrapped it up. All day Dillon was so excited to give his Daddy his present that the minute Jason walked in the door Dillon handed him his cards and present and said "Open your cards and your present. It's a wallet and it brown. Open your wallet, Daddy!" It was cute!

I also tried to surprise him with a cake, but that failed too! I made sure that I had cleaned up every single piece of anything that I had used to make the cake with, did all the dishes, wiped down the counters, stashed the cake away in a cabinet, only to have my attempts at a surprise foiled by Jason... and Dillon. Jason was home for less than five. FIVE. minutes when he says "I smell cake. Dillon, did Mommy make a cake?" "Yeah, my Mommy make a cake for you and it has a guitar on it!" Thanks little big mouth!

Dinner was a lot of fun and delicious. The waiter found out that it was Jason's birthday (no one told him - he saw presents) and at the end of dinner, they surprised him with a sundae and stuck a big sombrero and his head, shoved a spoon in his mouth and sang him a birthday song. It was pretty funny and he was a good sport. When we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, Jason left the hat on the table and the waiter placed it back on his head and told him that it was his to keep. Just what we need - a big huge sombrero! At least Dillon will have fun playing with it.

Fun At The Lake

2009-08-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend we ran away to Lake Havasu with Derek and the kids to visit my Aunt & Uncle. It was beyond hot - over 110 degrees - but we had a great time. We went boating out on the lake two days and spent a ton of time relaxing in the pool. Dillon was a bit of a handful - the kid never wanted to get out of the pool - except to jump in again! And this meant that he didn't want to go to bed either. I don't think that I ever sucessfully got him to bed before ten-thirty and in the process of getting him to bed I ended up falling asleep too. And you would think that staying up late would make him sleep in... yeah, no... that didn't happen. But at least, even with his lack of sleep, he was in a decent mood.

Is Anybody Home?

2009-07-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

So, someone left me a comment a bit ago asking if anyone was home on my blog and the answer is yes... I've just been locked in a closet or something. Actually, there are many reasons why my blog has been neglected lately including: I have been out of the house a ton, out of town a lot, my trusty old camera bit the dust and my laptop crashed. Other reasons include lack of motivation. I fell behind my blog and then it just seemed like a monstrous feat to even try to catch up. Like trying to fill a bucket with water when there are several holes pierced into the bottom of it. Just doesn't work. Also, after all the stuff that happened to and in our family at the end of last year, I hadn't really been feeling like myself. Some days it just felt like I was going through the motions of my life but that it wasn't really my reality. I had stopped doing the things that made me feel like me...

And then one day a friend gave me some books and I started reading them - something the old me did all the time. I devoured those books in nothing flat. And shortly after that I went scrapbooking for a weekend- the first time in over ten years that I had gone without Susan. And it was hard at first, but by the end of the first day, I was feeling more and more like the old Rachel. It felt good to be getting back into the swing of my former self. There are still days where I feel like I am in a funk that I can't get out of, but each and every day it's getting easier to be me. Easier to be who I was before.

I have really missed writing and posting pictures on my blog. And I am happy to say that it is one hundred percent up to date - yay me! Here's hoping that it stays this way. (So, scroll down and read the twenty-something posts that I just published and leave me lots of comments... or not)

Circus Fun!

2009-07-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

I remember going to the circus many times as a child and liking it. But over the years, I have grown to dislike (and have a slight fear of) clowns, so when my dad called to ask if we wanted to go to the circus my initial response was "no way." He asked if they could take Dillon and I said that would be fine because I was sure he would like it. Just because his mommy is a bit neurotic doesn't mean he shouldn't get to experience the fun of going to the circus. And then I hung up with my dad and started thinking... Just because I don't like the circus or clowns did I want to deprive myself of seeing Dillon's reaction to the circus for the first time? Heck no, I didn't! So I called my dad back and said to count me in.

We got to the arena where the circus was and made our way to our seats, passing what seemed like a million souvenir stands. Dillon had to stop and look at every. single. one. And of course I felt like the meanest mommy ever when I had to tell him that I didn’t have any money to buy him something. It wasn’t really a lie – I had no cash on me – just my credit card – and there was no way that I was about to pay twenty-two dollars for some spinning light-up toy that would break in two days. Everything was so darn expensive. Sitting in our seats was no better – there were people peddling popcorn for seven bucks and cotton candy for a mere eleven dollars. I don’t remember things being ~~such a rip off~~ so expensive when I was little (although it probably was). What I do remember was always getting a snow cone in a cool cup when I was a kid and within a few minutes of sitting in our seats I saw a kid walk by with one in hand. So, at intermission, I forked over nine dollars and bought Dillon a snow cone in an elephant cup. And he was so excited and loved eating the snow cone and opening and closing the hat/lid. Plus, in the long run it wasn’t that expensive… I paid five bucks for a diet Pepsi in a paper cup – at least Dillon got to keep his cup.

Dillon enjoyed the circus. He especially liked the animals and was constantly asking me when there was going to be more animals. His favorite part of the show was the horses. The first thing that he noticed about the horses was that some of them were white with black spots. “They look like cows, mommy.” He also liked the zebras and the dogs. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of clowns - Most of them didn’t have the traditional white face. Every time the audience clapped, Dillon clapped along and every time he would ask me if it was over.

After the circus was over we were able to go and see the animals. Dillon liked looking at the zebras and said that the elephants make him sneeze. Totally cute, but he didn’t even sneeze (or neeze as he would say) once.

And I’m glad that I did go to the circus because I actually had fun.

Hanging Poolside

2009-07-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

When the temperature soars into the hundreds, it's so, so nice to head out to Corona and go swimming. This weekend it was hot and I mean Hot with a capital H!

Ahhhh... the water was so nice - it was almost like Heaven on earth!

Like father...

Like son.

Jordan's Cake

2009-07-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

My Wilton instructor decided to have a cake decorating class for kids and I decided to sign Jordan up for it. I took her to Michael's and let her pick out the pan that she liked and she chose a ladybug. Dillon was trying to convince her to make the Scooby-Doo cake. I gave her a cake cookbook and had her look through it to see what flavor of cake she wanted. She wanted to make a chocolate chip cake but to save time we decided to use cake mix and add a bag of chocolate chips to it. While we were shopping for the mix, she decided that she wanted a Funfetti cake instead of white cake, so we had a yummy Funfetti-chocolate chip cake.

She did a great job on her ladybug! Her cake turned out fabulous and was super yummy!

Cypress 5k 2009

2009-07-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

This morning Jason and his friend/boss Larry ran a 5k. It's the second one they've done this month and they both managed to shave over a minute off of their times. Since this one was pretty close to home, Dillon, Jordan and I woke up super early and went down to cheer them on and take some pictures. It was hot and humid and there is no way I would have run under those circumstances (not that I would run under any circumstances ha ha). Way to go guys!

a cute spectator:

Larry running (#732):

Jason running (#869):

The boys after the race:

Kelly... Again

2009-07-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

A few days after we bought tickets to see Kelly Clarkson at the Del Mar Fair, we found out that she was playing the Orange County Fair. Even though Jason was a bit peeved when I told him this, we decided to get tickets to see her again. And since Tiffany has never been to a concert and she likes Kelly almost as much as we do, we got a ticket for her too. Our seats weren't as good as they were in Del Mar, but Kelly was just as fabulous.

The concert was held at the Pacific Amphitheater which is where I saw my first concert. As we were walking in to the show, I was telling Tiffany... "the last time I was here I saw ~~New Kids on the Block~~ a band that I am embarrassed to admit that I saw." Not five minutes later we over heard a lady telling someone... "the last time I was here I saw {insert same embarrassing band name here}." Tiffany and I just looked at each other and laughed.

The concert was a lot of fun and I'm glad that we got to take Tiffany to her first show.

Swim, Swim, Little Fish

2009-07-16T23:42:00.000-07:00

Dillon has been taking swim lessons for the last couple of months. At first he wouldn't stay in the pool - he would just climb out whenever he wanted, but now he loves it and listens and does what he is supposed to do and stays in the water. He is so stinking tan, I'm totally jealous. After every lesson he runs to me with a big smile on his face - I love it!

What Bears Eat

2009-07-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

(this picture has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with this post, but it was cute and what's a post without a picture? It's from his three year old check up... he wore the gown for about as long as it took me to take the picture. If you're wondering why it is just getting posted it's because I just came across it in my phone)

The other day while Dillon and I were in the car he asked me what bears eat and the following conversation ensued...

Dillon: Mommy, do bears eat candy?

Me: Probably they would if they were hungry.

D: Do bears eat honey?

M: Sure.

D: Do bears eat cats?

M: Ummm... yeah, probably not. I really don't think bears eat cats.

D: Oh.

A little while later he was singing a song from the TV show "Yo Gabba Gabba" with the words "There's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy." He then started singing "There's bacon in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy." Then he says: Mommy, a bear would sing (and then he starts singing in a deep bear-ish voice) "There's a cat in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy" and he's been singing it that way ever since.

Not sure where he got the idea that bears regularly eat cats, but he's thoroughly convinced!

Julian Cupcakes

2009-07-13T23:42:00.000-07:00

For my scrapbook retreat we all contributed to bringing the food and I was in charge of - big surprise here - dessert. I made two different kinds of cupcakes. Two dozen Margarita flavor with Lemon buttercream and two dozen chocolate with peanut butter buttercream. I made simple swirls with lemon buttercream and topped them with colored sugar sprinkles. The town of Julian is known for their apples, so I colored the peanut buttercream red and made them look like apples. I topped the apples off with marzipan stems and fondant leaves. They were super yummy and at the end of the weekend there were only three left.

Candy Apple Inn

2009-07-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went on a scrapbooking retreat to the town of Julian. It's a cute little town full of history, bed and breakfasts and apples. We stayed at a place called the Candy Apple Inn. It's a house that the owner's rent out for scrapbooking. It was stocked to the brim with all kinds of fun tools and was decorated so cute. Each room had a different theme and name and it's own bathroom. The property was surrounded by trees and wild turkeys wandered around the yard.

One night I was outside on the deck talking to Jason on the phone and I heard a bunch of rustling in the bushes. It was eerie because it was so dark and I had no idea what was out there lurking in the woods. I ran back inside the house and asked if anyone had a flashlight because I couldn't stand not knowing what was out there. Was it the turkeys or raccoons or something else... something bigger? I went back outside - flashlight in hand and shined it across the yard there in the darkness eyes reflected back at me. And not just one pair but six or seven and they were not low to the ground. I went back inside before whatever was out there could come and get me and then I grabbed the other ladies that I was with and made them come outside because I still wanted to know what was out there ready to eat me (because I was sure it was a wolf or a coyote or a bear or the chupacabra...) As we stood there shining the light into the black abyss even more eyes were peering back at us. I adjusted the flashlight beam and finally saw what was out there... it was none other than Bambi and his friends! Boy was I relieved!

I figured that there would be no way I would be able to work on my albums the entire time we were there and I brought two books and a movie with me, but I was wrong. I got a ton of pages done - I think around fifty. I didn't read one page or watch my movie. Yeah, for fun and productive weekends!

Tutti Frutti

2009-07-08T23:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing is better on a hot day than some frozen yogurt for dessert. Our current favorite place to go is Tutti Frutti. Jason likes it because they have fruit flavored yogurt, Dillon likes it because he gets to pull all the knobs - it's a self serve place, and I like it because I can pile on all the yummy toppings my heart desires.

Solana Beach

2009-07-06T23:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing better than walking barefoot, hand-in-hand with my sweetie along a near-empty beach

Del Mar Fair and Kelly Clarkson!

2009-07-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

Way back in March, Jason and I discovered that Kelly Clarkson was touring and we were excited to see that she was playing semi-close. She was playing the Del Mar fair which is about two hours away. Upon our discovery, we quickly hopped onto the Ticketmaster website and scored ourselves tickets in the eleventh row! It just sucked that we had to wait so long to see her.

Our tickets included parking (and we got to park like twenty feet from the front gate of the fair),fair admission and dinner. The dinner was delicious. There were several choices but we both picked the fillet with asparagus and blue mashed potatoes. We were a little weirded out by the fact that the potatoes were blue, but they were so, so good.

After dinner, I went to snap a few pictures only to discover that the batteries in my camera had died. I was bummed because I wanted to take pictures at the concert. So, I dragged Jason all over the fair on a hunt for batteries. I finally found some - just in time for the concert. As we were walking into the show, we saw the sign... No cameras! Seriously? Yup, there were actually two signs. I looked at Jason and he said just wait and see if other people were taking pictures. And were they? You bet they were. Everyone had cameras and everyone was using them and nobody said anything. Hooray!

Kelly is really wonderful in concert. She has an amazing voice and is so down to earth. During one of the songs she stumbled over the words and she just laughed at herself after the song. She said "well, at least you guys know that I'm not lip syncing." A few songs later her mic pack fell out of her back pocket and she blamed it on her "big butt" - her words not mine!

After the concert Jas and I walked around the fair for a bit and went for a ride on the sky way. We saw a teenage get his foot run over by a security guard in a golf cart and saw all kinds of strange fair food, including but not limited to chocolate covered bacon, mac and cheese on a stick and zucchini weenies. The most intriguing of them all were the zucchini weenies - hallowed out zucchinis with a hot dog inside battered and then deep fried. We didn't eat any of these strange foods, but we did share a giant cream puff that had chocolate whipped cream inside. Yummy!

Fourth of July Party

2009-07-04T23:37:00.001-07:00

Friends

Food

Fireworks

Fun Fourth

Hope yours was a Fabulous one!

Fourth of July Yummies

2009-07-04T23:37:00.000-07:00

I did a lot of baking for the Fourth of July. I baked a two layer fondant covered cake, four dozen cupcakes and mini brownies that were topped with red, white and blue vanilla candy stars. The cake and brownies were for our party and I made the cupcakes for my cousin to take to a party she was going to. I love how the cupcakes turned out.

Wordless Wednesday: Relay Spirit Stick Pictures

2009-07-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Malibu

2009-06-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

My dad and step-mom were staying at a hotel on the beach in Malibu and they invited us to come hang out for the afternoon with them. Even though we were dead tired from not getting any sleep during the Relay we decided that it would be fun to do with Dillon.

Since their hotel had it's own private beach there were not a lot of people and it was just perfect for Dillon to play in the sand and chase the waves.

I kept looking for a celebrity since you always see pictures of them on the beaches of Malibu, but I wasn't lucky enough to spot any... darn. I did however see this lady dressed in this totally crazy outfit that included Ugg boots. Who wears Uggs in the summer and on the beach no less? She looked so funny that I had to discretely snap a few photos of her as she walked by us - coming and going.

The Ugg Lady:

Relay For Life 2009

2009-06-28T23:31:00.000-07:00

Last year Tiffany, Susan and I walked on a team in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. How things have changed in our lives since then. This year Tiffany and I decided to start a team in Susan's memory.

The Relay is an amazing event. Thousands of people walking in shifts for twenty-four straight hours raising funds for the American Cancer Society. I feel honored that I was able to participate in such an extraordinary event.

Tiffany, Jordan, and I arrived at the field, with Dillon in tow, right around seven Saturday morning... We left around ten-thirty this morning. Talk about a long day. It was hot. Probably high nineties. But it was also fun, rewarding, and emotional.

There were a few times when I could barely hold myself together because it made my loss seem more real. Sometimes it doesn't seem like Susan is really gone, but seeing the luminary bags that we decorated for her really drove it home.

There were bands playing all day, a bagpipe player during the Luminaria ceremony, and a DJ that played music until the wee hours of the morning. He made it really tough to get some sleep... We had a tent at our campsite and I was able to lay down for almost two hours, but sleep was next to impossible because all I could hear was boom, boom, boom, boom the entire time. Thankfully this didn't affect Mr. Dillon's ability to sleep. He slept all night long and was so excited to be on a "camp out."

My favorite part of the day was the Luminaria ceremony. It is amazing. People buy bags and then decorate them to remember those who have lost their fight with cancer, celebrate those who have won their battles and to honor those who are in the midst of cancer now. It is so emotional walking around the track and seeing all these lights shining. I think that I cried almost the entire way around the track.

Dillon had a blast - he thought we were at a parade. He got to ride around the track in a wagon that was built like a boat. There was a "kid zone" with bounce houses and fun things for him to do. And there were all kinds of yummy snacks for him - like frozen bananas and snow cones.

I am blessed beyond measure for all my friends and family and their friends and family who came out and walked on our team. And a special shout-out of thanks to Tori and Tricia who took one of the hottest shifts of the day - two to four in the afternoon and then came back to walk from two to four in the morning! You both are awesome!

And I know that I already said that I was honored to participate, but it really is special knowing that I was part of a larger picture... one that helped raise over $230,000 towards finding a way to stop this horrible disease, cancer. I really do pray that one day when someone has to hear the words, "You have cancer" it will be no big deal, because it will be no more terrible than hearing "you've got an ear infection" or "you have strep throat." And that is why I relay - to help make a difference.

Dillon in the "boat":

Derek's friend Tim in the "boat" (he felt bad for the guy pulling him so he donated $10 instead of the $3 that they were charging):

Jason's sister, brother and mom:

many of our team members:

the two to four crew:

the Luminaria ceremony:

The Last Class Cake... Ever

2009-06-26T23:31:00.000-07:00

I just finished the Wilton Class Four and I am so, so sick of eating cake, so for my final cake I decided to make brownies. I had so much fun taking all the classes and learning all the techniques and I highly recommend the classes for anyone who likes making cakes and wants to learn more. So, without further adieu, my last cake...

Tired Little Man

2009-06-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

Ever since we converted Dillon's bed from a crib to a "big boy bed" the kid has refused to take naps. Most days he really, really needs one but I just can't get him to lay down long enough to actually let his little self fall asleep. Today, he just crashed sitting in the chair. Out like a light. Too bad he didn't stay asleep long - but every little bit helps!

Wordless Wednesday: Scenic Bishop

2009-06-24T02:03:00.000-07:00

Father's Day Weekend

2009-06-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

For father's day weekend we decided to escape to Bishop to visit my mom and stepdad. Dillon had a blast, as always, playing in my mom's backyard - digging in the sandbox, splashing in the pool, running through the sprinklers and "fishing" in the stream nekkid. Jason and I went out to lunch up in Mammoth and were actually able to go see a movie that wasn't rated G. We saw the movie "The Hangover." It wasn't a movie that I really wanted to see, but it was hil.ar.i.ous. Seriously, it was - I could actually watch it again.

Dapper Dillon

2009-06-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

Today Dillon looked super cute and so I decided to torture him with a photo shoot. He ~~not-so-~~willingly let me take a bunch of pictures. He is really a big ham and loved vamping for the camera ~~at first and then I had to bribe him with jellybeans~~. I love how they turned out!

Crazy Daisy Cake

2009-06-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

I am on my fourth and final Wilton class. Already, I have learned so many different techniques for decorating cakes. This cake is actually three different cakes that she had us make into one cake so we could do all the styles.

Pay no attention to the gaping whole and missing gum paste daisy and ribbon on the one side of the cake. The fondant monster attacked my cake before I was able to take any pictures of it. At least he is an honest monster... "Mommy, I ate some of your fondant from your cake over there." Got to love a little boy who tattles on himself.

Splash Pad

2009-06-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

The aquatics center where Dillon takes his swim lessons has a water park. The park doesn't open for the season until next week, but every Thursday for the last month or so they have opened the area known as the Splash Pad. Today was the last Thursday that it was open and even though it was gloomy and a bit on the cold side, I decided to take Dillon. He has wanted to go to the water park since the first day that he started swim lessons.

At first he just kinda walked around the outside of the area not sure what to do. Then finally he went in a little and then a little more and after a bit he was having the time of his life! He was having so much fun that when they closed he didn't want to leave.

Of Mice And Men

2009-06-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

Tiffany's English class had a literary bake-off the last few days of school. Each student had to make a cake inspired by something that they had read during the school year. Tiffany's favorite book this year was "Of Mice and Men." So, we put our heads together and came up with the idea to make a cake in the shape of a mouse.

Together, we baked and decorated the cake. Actually, I made her do most of the actual work and I supervised - it was her homework after all. I LOVE how the cake turned out - I think it is one of my favorites ever!

Another Graduation Cake

2009-06-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

After I made the last graduation cake, another friend asked me to make a graduation cake for her granddaughter who was graduating from high school. I basically made the same cake this time, but I decided to make a round cake and charge more (not because it was round - but because I think I under charged the last time). When I cautiously told her the price, she didn't even bat an eyelash. I'm thinking that I could probably go even higher... hmmm... yeah, I don't want to get greedy.

The Cupcake King

2009-06-02T23:25:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when a little boy decides to eat a cupcake all by himself:

White Wedding Cake

2009-05-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

For the final cake in the Wilton Course 3 class you have to make a big cake. A big two-tiered fondant covered creation adorned with one million roses made out of fondant. Ok... so not a million, just forty something, but it felt like a million - my fingers were killing me after knocking out those babies. Most people made their cakes with pink or orange or lavender roses, but I opted to make mine white for two reasons: there was a small picture in the back of the textbook that showed the cake with white roses that I loved and two I was lazy and didn't feel like coloring a bunch of fondant. My laziness paid off - everyone in class was envious of my white roses!

Havasu

2009-05-25T23:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Lake Havasu to celebrate my cousin, Wesley, graduating high school. I clearly remember the day he was born and holding him a few days later. I can't believe that he has graduated! He joined the Air Force and leaves in September to go to basic training. It was great to be able to spend some time with him before he leaves.

We had such a fun, relaxing weekend. We went out on the lake two of the days. It was Dillon's first time on the boat and he loved it! He keeps talking about how the boat goes "really, really fast." It was also fun for him because two of my other cousins have kids around his age and they play so good together.

I think that my absolute favorite part of the weekend was watching Dillon. Seeing him interact and have real conversations with his little cousins was cool - He's never really had the opportunity to do it before. He was a real little person instead of just a baby. Amazing. How did that happen? And I loved getting to snuggle with him on the boat. Of all our trips to the lake and/or river, this one was definitely my favorite!

Ka-Ching

2009-05-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

All of my cake classes have paid off... A friend asked me to make a graduation cake for her daughter's college graduation. It was fun dreaming up the cake, but it was a little stressful actually making and decorating the cake because I wanted it to be perfect. It was a "real" cake, as opposed to a "practice" cake. I didn't charge much and I could have easily charged twice what I did charge, but I didn't feel comfortable giving a price... I really need to work on that.

Another Cake

2009-05-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm in the middle of Wilton Course Three. I'm loving making all the cakes and decorating them but I am getting a little tired of eating them.

Mommy's Day

2009-05-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

Relaxing with my loved ones.

Being spoiled by my boys.

Having a great day celebrating being a mommy!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Prom

2009-05-09T23:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight was my niece Tiffany's prom. She looked absolutely beautiful and I just had to share. Tiffany and her best friend, Alyssa, came over to my house and Kara did both of the girls' hair and makeup. She did a great job with them.

Locks Of Love

2009-05-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

My brother, David, has been growing out his hair for quite a while (I think somewhere around two years) with the sole purpose of donating it to Locks of Love. He was able to donate over fourteen inches of beautiful hair to help make a prosthesis hair piece for a disadvantaged child. I am so, so proud of him for doing such a noble thing.

Water Fun

2009-05-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

HoT dAy!

CoOl FuN!

...

Cake Class: Revisited

2009-05-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Last night I finished up Course 2 in the Wilton Method classes. This class mostly covered making flowers out of royal icing. They are really cool because you can make the flowers ahead of time because they keep for forever. They don't taste great and are hard as rocks, but they look awesome. Each week we made flowers that we would take home and let dry and then we brought them back to the last class to decorate our cakes with. I am really happy with how my cake turned out - I didn't think I would like it because I didn't really like the one in the book.

Favorite Food Friday: Asian Dressing

2009-04-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

I love salad! I can eat it as a side or as my meal or as a snack or as... well, you get the point. One of my favorites is salad with Asian style dressing.

The problem for me is I can never find one that I like in a bottle. And every time that I have attempted to create my own it hasn't turned out right - until now. I finely found a blend that I love - not too sweet or salty or orangey - just perfect for my tastes.

what you put in it:
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon Mirin
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup olive oil

how you make it:

Combine all ingredients, except for the oil, in a mixing bowl. Slowly add in oil while stirring with a whisk. Serve on a bed of lettuce mixed with mandarin oranges, almonds and crunchy chow mein noodles (also good are water chestnuts and bamboo shoots). Enjoy!

(To play along with Favorite Food Friday click here!)

La Habra Children's Museum

2009-04-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Our city has a children's museum that I have been wanting to take Dillon to. It is small and totally quaint. It has been around for over thirty years and I remember going there when I was a kid. I took Dillon and Jordan there today, even though I thought that she might be a bit too old and that he might be a tad too young. But I was wrong and they both had a good time. Like I said, it's small, so I thought that it would only take us an hour or less at the museum - I was wrong - we were there for close to two hours.

They had a play area, a dress up area complete with a stage, a "dinosaur" excavation area, a carousel and many more things. Since today is also Earth day the had a craft area where the kids were able to paint flower pots and plant a flower in it. Dillon loved painting his and Jordan's turned out great.

We had a fun day and I will definitely take Dillon back.

Quack Quack

2009-04-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today I took Dillon and Jordan to the park for a picnic and to feed the ducks. Dillon was excited to go but once we got there he showed almost NO interest in the ducks... or his lunch. He did have a great time playing on the play equipment and he did feed one or two ducks. There were some little ducklings and he was enthralled with them. They were so cute! We also saw a few turtles. I have never seen turtles in the pond before (and I've been going to this park since I was Dillon's age - probably younger) so it was pretty neat. There were four of them and every time I tried to get close enough to take a picture one would jump back into the pond. I finally outsmarted them and snuck up from behind and was able to get a decent picture.

Easter Egg Cake

2009-04-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Easter Celebrations

2009-04-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter despite the early start. We decided to go to the 7am service at our church and to get there on time we had to leave the house right around 6am which meant getting up somewhere in the neighborhood of 5am. We got to church only to discover that there was no Kidshouse that early (or if there was we couldn't find it in any of the normal locations.) which meant bringing Dillon with us into the "big church." We sat in the back near the exit because we had no idea how he would behave having to sit there for an hour (thankfully the service was shorter than the normal hour and a half since the last time he was in the "big church" he bust out singing the Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin while our pastor was praying- thankfully it was not during a service and better yet - I wasn't there). He did amazing... He bobbed his head along with the Worship music and sat still most of the time. He was quiet and only had to be reminded once. I was so proud of him.

After church we headed over to Derek's house for some donuts and an Easter egg hunt. He had fun looking around the house for his eggs and eating the yummy treats inside.

Next stop of the day was to Jason's parent's house. There was another egg hunt and Dillon was so excited. I even like it because we get to get in on the action as the Easter Bunny hides an egg for all the adults with a five dollar bill inside. We had a nice, relaxing day celebrating the resurrection of our King!

Easter Egg Fun

2009-04-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

Soaring Stats

2009-04-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

I took Dillon to the pediatrician for his three year checkup and every thing checked out great. He weight in at thirty-seven pounds (ninety-fifth percentile) and was thirty-nine inches tall (ninetieth percentile). My kid is likely going to be a giant - I swear that he will be taller than me by the time he is five!

Out Of The Mouth Of My Babe

2009-04-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

Dillon says some of the funniest (and sometimes annoying) things. The kid never forgets anything - he'll bring stuff up days, weeks and even months later. Here are a few of my favorite (and least favorite) things that have come out of his little mouth lately.

Something that he says all. the. time. that drives me insane is "what?" It's not so much that he says it probably in the neighborhood of five hundred times a day, but it's how he says it. It's like Whhuuuuttt. Loooooong and exaggerated and so annoying.

Another thing that he says quite frequently is "I'm upset." He never says I'm mad or sad, it's that he's upset. And I have no clue where this came from because neither Jason nor I ever says that.

I think that Dillon was born to be a nudist. The kid never wants to wear his clothes! This, for some reason bugs Jason - He is constantly asking me why I don't ever put clothes on the kid. The other day when I was changing Dillon's diaper shortly Jason was due to come home from work, I was trying to put his pants back on and he was not cooperating. I said "Don't you want to make Daddy happy by putting on your pants?" "No, I want him to be mad... at you!" Well, gee, thanks a bunch.

Back before Christmas we were watching the movie Mickey's Once upon a Christmas. There is a part in it with Huey, Dewey, and Louie. When Dillon saw them he said: "Mommy, too many Donalds!" Ever since then when there is a lot of something that is how he refers to it - as too many whatever. For example, "Dillon, do you want some grapes?" "I want too many grapes"

I took him to Disneyland a few weeks ago and decided to take him to see Playhouse Disney Live. I took him one other time and that was last May when we went with my mom and Nana. As we were sitting on the floor waiting for the show to start, Dillon looked at me and said: "Last time we came in here with Grammie and Nana." Wow! I was astonished that he had remembered something from almost a year ago - something that happened about a month after he turned two.

When we were driving home from picking up his Valentine's pictures he says to me: Mommy, my window get dirty. I looked at his window and sure enough - bird poop. I told him that a birdy went poo poo on his window. His response? "That is not nice!" The whole rest of the way home he kept saying, "why did the birdy go poo poo on my window" and "but, why?" We stopped at Starbucks on the way home and as we were leaving he saw a bunch of birds sitting on a telephone wire. "Mommy, too many birdies. (a short pause) I wonder which one went poo poo on my window. Maybe it was that one on the bell." It was a funny statement on it's own, but made funnier by the fact that we were about five miles away from where it all started.

He always wants to know who is singing when we are listening to the radio. During the Christmas season I constantly listen to Christmas music. One day while we were driving he asked me "Mommy, who's singing?" I replied "Mariah Carey" He responded "I don't like her... change it!" Jason about spit out his drink laughing so hard. A few songs later it was the song "Up on a Housetop." Dillon declared "Arrgh... a pirate song!" Why? Because they were saying (or so he thought) "Yo, ho, ho!" (You know, "Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn't go!")

We don't eat fast food often, in fact hardly ever, but that doesn't stop Dillon from knowing the names of all the places. My three favorite names are: Some Boy (Subway) Jacket Box (Jack in the Box) and Carlos Mc Junior (Carl's Jr.) I sort of understand the Jacket Box one but the Carl's Jr. one baffles me to no end!

Jason's parents are Catholic and have a statue of the Virgin Mary in their back yard. Dillon was watering some flowers near her and inquired about the statue. My mother-in-law told him that it was Mary and that if you talk to her she can talk back to you. Dillon looked at her and said "No she can't... She's a statue!"

There are soooo many more to share, but I don't want to keep you reading all day.

The Super Details

2009-04-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

Dillon's birthday party was a lot of fun to plan. I started with a photo shoot where I took over eighty pictures (gotta love digital cameras). The invitations were super easy. I made two different collages using one of my favorite sites, picnik. The front of the invitation was all pictures and the back had all the info and some more pictures. Next I uploaded them to Costco's photo center and had them printed as 4x6 photos in a matte finish. I used double-sided tape to tape the front and back together. I mailed them in 5x7 manila envelopes that I ran thought the printer to address. I decided that it would look more "top secret" to have the addresses printed directly on the envelopes instead of hand addressing them or using labels. I picked a basic font for the envelopes (I think it was Courier).

After I had made and printed and assembled the invites Jason and I thought that since the party was at one pm people might eat before they came and we were planning to have food, so I hopped back on picnik and made a food will be served card. I had them printed as wallets and put one in each envelope along with the invitation.

I wanted to keep the decorations fun and easy and didn't want to use crape paper and balloons. While I was brainstorming ideas, I thought it would be fun to have, for lack of better words, word bubbles like in comic books with the words used on the Batman TV show. I googled "Batman Fight Words" and came up with a list of words that I liked. I made stencils using this font and traced the letters onto poster board. The letters were painted using acrylic paint and then the poster boards were cut into jagged circles. I used a staple gun to hang them along the fence. My "niece" Alyssa made a poster that we hung on the outside fence reading "Slagle Crime Fighting Superhero League"

I also made a banner that read Happy 3rd Birthday Dillon loosely using this idea from the awesome blog imperfect / pleated poppy. (Really cute stuff over there!). Since I knew that my banner was going to be long, I made my background signs with half sheets of letter sized paper. I used the same font from the word bubbles for the banner.

Since most of the kids at the party were in the 2-5 age range, I kept the activities to a minimum. I bought a pack of PlayDoh from Target (on sale!) and some plastic cookie cutters from Michael's and set up a PlayDoh table. I also put out several sticks of sidewalk chalk and let the kids color on the patio with it. I decided on playing one organized game - pin the mask on the superhero. My brother drew me a cute little superhero and I painted it. I made some masks out of a sheet of cardstock. And after all the hard work on the game... we didn't play it! But the little guy looked super cute hanging on the fence with the signs.

I know some people don't give out party favors, but I like to. I bought some little bath buckets from the dollar spot at Target and filled them with Batman & Spiderman fruit snacks, a couple of Spiderman temporary tattoos (also from the dollar spot), a small tub of PlayDoh, some twenty-five cent crayons and some superhero coloring pages. Each bucket also had some Super Dillon bubbles. I bought bubbles from the party section at Target and peeled off the labels. I printed a picture of Dillon on some letter sized labels (three per sheet) and then affixed those labels to the bubbles. I coated the new labels with Mod Podge for paper so that the bubble drips wouldn't cause the picture to bleed.

So there you have the details from my lil' superhero's birthday. I would also like to thank my super helpers for all their hard work pulling this all together. Thanks Kara, Tiffany and Alyssa - you guys are awesome!!

Happy Birthday Dillon!

2009-04-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Age: 3

Personality: independent, strong willed, energetic, silly goofball, observant, sweet, loving

Favorite Books: Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy, Elmo's Ducky Day, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Snuggle Puppy!

Favorite Songs: "Twinkle, twinkle little star," anything by Metallica, "All I Ever Wanted" by Kelly Clarkson

Favorite Movies: Finding Nemo, Ratatoulli, Space Buddies, Cars

Favorite Food: Chicken soft taco, yogurt, apple sauce, fruit snacks

Favorite Games: Tag, football, basketball, domino's

Favorite TV Shows: Little Bill, Super Why, Scooby Doo, Curious George, Calliou, Yo Gabba Gabba

Favorite Toys: Balls - any kind, cars, Thomas the Tank Engine, play mat with streets on it, Doodle Pro, crayons & paper, drums

Favorite Activity with Mommy: snuggling, reading books, building "curvy" roads with play mat to roll balls, cars and hockey pucks down

Favorite Activity with Daddy: washing the car, playing in the back yard

Superhero Cupcakes

2009-04-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Six dozen cupcakes

Six designs

Six cups of homemade butter cream

Five flavors of cake

One-hundred-twenty-nine pieces of fondant:

Seventy-one letters

Twenty-five starts

Eleven word bubbles

Eleven superhero shields

Eleven superhero mask

A Superhero Party

2009-04-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

For Dillon's birthday we decided to have a small (and by small, I mean in the neighborhood of forty) party with a Superhero theme. I didn't want it to be Superhero, like Batman and Superman, so instead we had a Super Dillon party. We rented a bounce house and Dillon LOVED it - so worth the money we paid! We decided to keep things simple and just ordered some pizza from Costco, I made a pasta salad and a Caesar salad and we bought some chips and whipped up some dip (meaning that I tore open the powder pouch and dumped it into a container of sour cream). The party was fun and laid back and wore me out... but it was worth it! Later in the week I will do a post about the cupcakes and the party details... it would be a huge post if I were to include it all here!

the Super handsome birthday boy:

my niece and her best friend were brave and wore these:

Super cousins... couldn't get either of them to look... or smile:

the little kissing bandit:

Super Dillon!

2009-04-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

The Last Hurrah: Random Stuff

2009-04-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday: Make A Wish!

2009-04-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

The Last Hurrah: People

2009-03-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

The Last Hurrah

2009-03-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our Disneyland passes expired, so we decided to make one last visit to the parks. We got there before it opened and stayed the entire day. Dillon was a trooper and actually took a nap in his stroller - I can't remember the last time he napped at Disneyland! We had a great day and I swear I took a million pictures (OK, maybe not quite a million, but close). It was the first time that I brought my new camera with me and I didn't hold back. I took pictures of signs, people, plants, people by plants, and anything else that caught my eye. And so as not to bore you with a million pictures in this post, I have decided to bore you by posting the pictures in a couple posts over the next few days. Aren't I nice? First up, the plants...

Cake Class

2009-03-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

Thursdays are typically my busiest day. I go to bible study at my church and then I go to Dillon's mommy and me class right after. But, I have been tossing around the idea of taking a Wilton Method Cake Decorating class for a long time and apparently I am nuts because I finally signed up for one... and it's on Thursday. Like I didn't already have enough to do, right?

Anyway, I just finished up Course 1 and I loved it - I learned how to make roses, pipped figures and a bunch of different borders. I had a lot of fun and got a chance to do something that I love (not to mention a break from the house). I really recommend the class to anyone who loves making cakes and wants to learn some new skills.

Each week you bring a frosted layer cake and then decorate it while at the class. The first week the class focuses on decorating with stars and the cake you make is a rainbow made of stars. It also happened to be a few days before Jordan's birthday, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

The second class teaches figure making and pipped faces. We also learned how to make some flowers, but the cake for this week was clowns. I so do not like clowns, but I made the cake anyway. You do have the option to make a different cake, but I figured I might as well get the experience and I was the only one who made the "recommended" clown cake.

For the final you make a cake featuring a bouquet of roses. I had a hard time learning the technique, but once I got it down, they came out great and easily.

Breakfast Date

2009-03-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

This morning I went on a date with the most handsome guy on the planet. He seriously makes my heart melt with one glance. We sat at a checkerboard table inside of Starbucks and chatted over oatmeal. He drank chocolate milk and I drank a black iced tea. What a way to start the day!

Welcome Spring

2009-03-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

A Birthday At Disneyland

2009-03-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today is Jordan's eleventh birthday and I decided to take the kids to Disneyland to celebrate. Our first stop of the day was breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. It is a breakfast buffet where different Disney characters come and visit you at your table. I wasn't really sure how Dillon would handle it - if he would be excited or scared - but I was totally shocked at his actual reaction... He could care less! Goofy came up behind him shortly after he started eating and he didn't even bat an eyelash - he just kept eating. I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction - or rather - his lack there of.

After breakfast we headed into the park and rode a few rides and then went to California Adventure and walked around. Both parks were so stinking crowded and it was hot so we headed to Downtown Disney so that Jordan could do some birthday shopping. Disney has a promotion going this year that you get in free on your birthday, but since we all have passes, she was given a gift card to redeem for merchandise - in the amount of nearly seventy dollars! She was walking around looking for things to buy when Dillon spotted a "big Nemo" stuffed animal. He gave her sad puppy eyes and suckered her into buying it for him. When she was finished shopping we headed home for some Corned Beef and Cabbage for dinner. It was a good day from start to finish.

Vanity

2009-03-09T16:13:00.000-07:00

So, I'm not really a trendy person clothing wise (or any other way for that matter - well, except for my addiction to Coach handbags). I do consider myself somewhat stylish, but I'm not the type of person who has to run out and buy something just because it's new and in style. I have my own personal style that I am more than comfortable with. I know what I like and I like what I wear. There are more than a few items that I would never, ever even think of wearing out of the house. Those items include, but are not limited to: sweat pants, stretch pants, knit pants, t-shirts (the manly kind, with words and stuff - with the exception of my "Wicked" shirt), sandals with socks, pajama pants, slippers, bathrobes, clothes that don't match or that clash, shirts with loud prints (I prefer plain tops or tops with a basic design), anything that I consider even remotely ugly or completely out of style... those are just a few that pop into my mind (and don't worry, if you dress like this, I don't judge - it's just about how I feel comfortable). That being said, this is how I left my house Saturday morning:

and I was wearing these on my feet:

In case you can't quite tell from the pictures, I was wearing not only pajamas pants, but a pajama top as well - and they had penguins on them. I was also sporting a pink bathrobe, slippers featuring snowmen and la creme de la creme - curlers in my hair. I think that this combination breaks more than a few fashion no-no's. So, what on earth possessed me to walk out my front door like this? A sale. Yes, I went out dressed like this to save money at a local craft store. You received twenty-five percent off for wearing pajamas and an additional five percent each for donning a bathrobe, slippers and curlers. So, I was able to save forty percent of my total purchase.

And let me tell you I was highly embarrassed driving the eight miles to the store. I kept thinking that everyone was looking at the lady with the curlers in her hair wearing a flannel shirt with penguins on it. I'm sure that no one was probably looking at all, but I felt so self conscious. And when I got to the store? Yeah, I almost didn't get out of the car. I nervously peered through the front sliding doors of the store to make sure that I saw someone else dressed in clothing that would end up with a life sentence from the fashion police. When I finely did get out of the car, someone coming out of another store stared at me and pointed. I so wanted to die...

Once we got inside (I dragged Dillon with me - also wearing his PJ's), I actually had fun and forgot what I was wearing (until I had to walk back to my car). There were a bunch of other women (and one man) wearing equally ridiculous attire, they had donuts and other breakfast pastries and I saved nearly twenty-five dollars on my loot! So, the moral of the story? Sometimes, looking absolutely horrific pays off... and I need to loosen up a bit.

Chuck E.

2009-03-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

This afternoon Jason and I took Dillon to Chuck E. Cheese's for the first time. He seemed to like it OK, but there really wasn't much for him to do. Most of the games we geared at older kids. There were a few little rides, but he would try to hop off in the middle of a ride. And there was a climbing tube thing that he was just a tad too short for... and he ended up getting stuck and I had to climb in after him. Yeah, that was really fun.

While we were there I said to Jason: Is it just me or was this place a whole lot more fun when we were kids or is it that it was more fun because we were kids? I remember them having ball pits and shadow box rooms and way more stuff than they do now.

And the food was expensive... and not that great - hardly any cheese or toppings on the pizza (but I did like the salad bar). Dillon is already asking to go back, but saying he doesn't want to get any pizza next time.

Test Shots

2009-03-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting for months for my birthday so that I could get my new camera. I still adore my little point and shoot camera but I am absolutely in LOVE with my new DSLR camera. It makes it so much easier to take the kinds of pictures that I want. I have been told before that I am a good photographer and now with the new camera - the sky is the limit. I haven't had much to take pictures of yet, so I just wandered around the backyard and took pictures of plants and whatnot (and a few of the kids).

Thirty-One

2009-03-01T10:58:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday was my thirty-first birthday. Last year I dreaded turning thirty and all in all it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... I mean, I didn't spontaneously combust or anything. And as much as I dreaded turning the big three zero last year, I couldn't wait for that zero to become a one. Strange, I know.

Because I asked for a totally expensive but necessary birthday gift (a new camera) Jason had decided that he wasn't going to do anything to celebrate my birthday - and that was fine with me. But other people had other plans... Derek asked us what we were doing for my birthday and when we told him nothing, he basically said that that was unacceptable and that we were going to do something. So, our birthday party of zero became birthday party of seven. Then my brother, David, asked what we were doing... now party of nine. A day or so later Jason invited our friend Brett as well - so now we are up to ten. A few days before the big day Jason's other brother called and asked what we were doing... and after that, well, it just snowballed. Our party of zero turned into a party of nineteen. All of Jason's family plus my brother and Kara. We all went out to dinner at Carnitas and then came back to our house to play some Guitar Hero. And my awesome husband ordered a cake for me - something that he has never done!

All in all, it was a great birthday!

Miniature Golfer

2009-02-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

Jason and I have been cleaning out our shed and Dillon discovered Jason's golf clubs. Jason doesn't golf - ever - so he gave Dillon a few clubs and a golf ball to hit around the back yard. Dillon kept asking where the hole was, so I grabbed a plastic cup out of the kitchen and that became his hole. He was so cute and concentrated - when he was really trying to hit the ball he would stick his tongue out. It made me laugh because I sometimes have my tongue out when I'm concentrating on something. Our miniature golfer was occupied for over an hour - score one for us!

Down Up Painting

2009-02-27T15:57:00.000-08:00

Dillon and I take a mommy and me class through the community college district that we both love. Each week there is stories, learning of letters, singing, free play - inside and outside and arts and crafts. I have always been a pretty crafty person and I love making things. Dillon, however, does not share that passion. I have to practically force him to do his craft... there is usually two or three each week and I always have him try at least one (and usually it's only half painted or in the case of the Thanksgiving hand print turkeys - all one color). He has found two crafts that he actually likes; the first involves painting with marbles and the second one is painting with shapes. His teacher calls it shape painting but Dillon calls it down up painting. Basically, you take a shape (like Lego's or the shapes that you sort into boxes) dip it into paint and stamp it on your paper. The reason that he calls it down up painting is because the teacher explains to the kiddos that you can go down up with the shape several times before reapplying the paint. Dillon loves this one so much that he actually asked to do down up painting at home.

He has plenty of shape sorting blocks and I had some washable finger paints so, I figured, Why not? So, I squirt some of the paint into the little baby cereal bowls and thinned them down with a tiny bit of water (the paint we have is very gel like), grabbed his blocks, taped some paper to the kitchen table, stripped him down to his diaper and set him to work. And the kid painted, and painted and painted... for an HOUR! He filled up three huge pieces of paper all while saying out loud "Down up down up down up." And when he was done, I hung his art up to dry, wiped down the kitchen table with a wet paper towel and I popped him into the bath and the mess was all cleaned up. Love it.

Wordless Wednesday: Before And After

2009-02-18T17:45:00.001-08:00

King Of Hearts

2009-02-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my father-in-law's birthday. I volunteered to make the dessert since it gave me a great excuse to bake. He loves playing cards, so I took that theme and ran with it. He requested yellow cupcakes with chocolate pudding filling and chocolate icing. I have never made chocolate buttercream before, but let me tell you - it was delicious... I seriously thought about not frosting the cupcakes and just eating all of the frosting with a spoon. I made King of Heart cards out of fondant for half of the cupcakes and put red and white sprinkles and hearts and spades made from candy melts on the others.

When it was time to eat the cupcakes I gave Dillon one while my father-in-law took two. Dillon looked at his plate and said, "hey, I want two." I told him that he could only have one and his response? "But PaPa Neil has two." Smart little boy!

Valentine's Cupcakes

2009-02-15T16:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm a day late posting these but for Dillon's mommy and me class we had a Valentine's Day party and I, of course, made cupcakes. I made yellow cupcakes with buttercream frosting and tucked a little surprise inside the cakes - a Hershey's Kiss. I topped each cupcake with pink, red and white Nonpareils and little pink and red hearts that I made from candy melts. They turned out super cute and all the other mom's were green with envy at my cupcake making skills (so, not really, but I did get a ton of compliments on them and was told that they looked store bought.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

Favorite Food Friday: Easy Asian Beef And Noodles

2009-02-06T05:17:00.000-08:00

Before Jason and I were married, I saw a picture on the front of a Weight Watchers cookbook and it looked so good that I bought the cookbook so I could make this meal for us. Since that day, this meal has been a staple in our house (and I'm pretty sure that it's the only recipe that I have tried in the book). It's quick and easy and delicious. The recipe is for two people and it's one downfall is that it doesn't double well. It always turns out kind of mushy when I try. But it cooks quick enough that you could make it in batches or do what I usually do when serving this to guests - use two pans. It's worth the extra work - it's that good!

(slightly adapted from Two's Company cookbook by Weight Watchers)

what you put in it:
1 (8-ounce) rib-eye steak
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, divided
3 green onions, sliced into one inch pieces
2 cups prepackaged coleslaw
2 packages beef-flavor ramen noodle soup
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

how you make it:
Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak and onions; stir-fry 2 minutes. Remove steak mixture from pan; keep warm. Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil until hot. Add slaw; stir-fry 1 minute. Remove slaw from pan; keep warm.

Remove noodles from packages; reserve 1 seasoning packet for another use. Add the water and remaining seasoning packet to pan; bring to a boil. Break noodles in half; add noodles to water mixture. Cook noodles 2 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. Stir in steak mixture, slaw, and soy sauce; cook until thoroughly heated.

Enjoy!

(To play along with Favorite Food Friday click here!)

Swish Swish

2009-02-03T23:49:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we went out to celebrate my sister-in-law Sherre's birthday. Her first choice of restaurant went out of business a few months back (darn economy) so after much debate and deliberation, we decided to go out for Shabu Shabu, which basically translates to "Swish Swish." Someone in our party described it as Teppan but instead of cooking the food on a grill, you cook it in boiling water. Ummm... no, sorry, not even close. It's basically an Asian version of one of my favorites - fondue. The food was good and it was a lot of fun trying something new. My meal consisted of a plate of tofu, vegetables, udon and glass noodles and a plate of meat - four shrimp, thinly sliced chicken and thinly sliced steak (and by thinly sliced, I mean like lunch meat thin and I think that there was only like four pieces of those, too). The meat cooked in like five seconds - It was literally the time that it took to swish swish it through your water and it was done. Talk about fast food! And, while it was fun and tasty, it's more of a place to go for the atmosphere because, well, we left hungry. Yes, hungry as in I could have eaten again as soon as we were out of the place. Oh, well, at least it was a new experience.

Favorite Food Friday: Unstuffed Cabbage

2009-01-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

I really like stuffed cabbage, but I don't like all the prep work. Having to make meatballs, precook cabbage, wrap the meatballs with the precooked cabbage... I like easy. These meatballs remind me of the flavor of stuffed cabbage and are delish. To me they were begging to have cabbage wrapped around them. So, to satisfy my yearning for stuffed cabbage I always serve these meatballs with sauteed cabbage. It's just like having stuffed cabbage - just unstuffed!

what you put in it:

1 lb. ground beef

2 cups cooked long grain rice (I use Jasmine)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, divided

1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, divided

1 - 28oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 head of cabbage, shredded

how you make it:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine ground beef, cooked rice, onion, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Shape mixture into eight meatballs and place into a 7 x 11 inch baking pan.

Pour crushed tomatoes over the meatballs, sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper, and add the bay leaf.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

While the meatballs are baking, shred the cabbage and saute in a large skillet until soft, about twenty minutes.

Enjoy!

(To play along with Favorite Food Friday click here!)

Walkin' In The Rain

2009-01-23T17:40:00.001-08:00

Poor Dillon has been sick with croup this week and has been cooped up in the house. It has also been raining for a few days and we were both going stir-crazy with cabin fever, so I bundled him up and put on our rain gear and we went for a walk in the neighborhood. Thankfully, it wasn't raining. Dillon had so much fun looking at (and stomping on) snails and worms. The poor snails didn't know what hit them. He loved walking on the curbs, running in the grass, collecting leafs and I loved watching him. He is so full of awe for the things God has created. I absoultly love that about his little heart.

our rain shoes

Favorite Food Friday: Chicken Chilaquiles with Broccoli Slaw

2009-01-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

We love Mexican food in our house, so when I stumbled upon this on the pages of Cooking Light magazine, I knew I would have to make it. We really liked it and I have made it several times. It's not spicy at all and we like spice, so I always serve it with a side of Salsa Verde.

The picture in the magazine showed it being served with coleslaw and watermelon. I also like broccoli slaw (and my store doesn't carry coleslaw, but they do carry broccoli slaw) so I whipped some up to serve along with it.

Both recipes are easy, although the Chilaquiles does take some time to prepare.

Chicken Chilaquiles

(adapted from Cooking Light)

what you put in it:
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 - 12-ounce can tomatillos, drained
12 6-inch corn tortillas

how you make it:
Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine chicken, green onions, 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, Parmesan, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Place milk, cilantro and tomatillos blender; process until smooth.

Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and heat in the microwave for forty-five seconds.

Pour 1/3 cup tomatillo mixture into bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 corn tortillas in dish, and top with half of chicken mixture, top with 1/3 cup of tomatillo mixture. Repeat layers with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, tomatillo mixture, ending with tortillas.

Pour the remaining tomatillo mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Broccoli Slaw

(my own recipe)

what you put in it:
12oz. bag broccoli slaw
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup dry-roasted, salted peanuts
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

how you make it:
Place broccoli slaw, cilantro, green onions and peanuts in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine lime juice, olive oil, sugar and salt, stirring well with a whisk.

Drizzle over broccoli mixture and toss to coat.

Enjoy!

(To play along with Favorite Food Friday click here!)