Almost live American Idol (May 13)… May 13, 2008

I’m late, I know. But we got a call to go have dessert with friends after dinner tonight and well the thing about living life is that well, you miss out on a lot when you don’t live it. And unfortunately, internets, that means y’all take a backseat to my real life friends. We had a great time and stayed too late. I drank too much coffee, had great chocolate cake and laughed. A lot!

But I’m back with y’all now and ready for American Idol, even if I am a little sleepy. We’re down to the final three - the Davids and Syesha. They are each doing three songs tonight so it should be interesting. Is tonight judges choice? I guess we’ll find out.

Ryan introduces the judges and my, isn’t Paula sparkly tonight? Her hair looks rather nice tonight. And I’m right - it IS judges choice. And producers choice. And Idol-ee choice. This. could. get. interesting.

We start with judges choice and we get the news live at their hometown.

David Archuletta - And So It Goes by Billy Joel via Paula - David is excited to sing the pretty song. Which makes sense since he’s such a pretty boy. He does pretty well. And he’s really pulling off the acapella thing. NOT an easy task. It’s all a little pageant-y for me. He’s doing a MUCh better job at keeping his eyes open though. I wonder if he’s reading my blog? He sang for his audience and he sang it well. It was exactly what I expected it to be. No more, no less.

Syesha Mercado - If I Ain’t Got You by Alysha Keys via Randy - Ok, first, I’m automatically put off by the fact that she says she’s going to sing it just like Alysha Keys. Of course she is. Because that’s what she does. Or what she tries to do. When she tries to be something she’s not, she usually falls a bit flat. And that’s exactly what she’s doing. She’s singing it well, but I don’t see anything that screams out and says this girl can make it on her own and do anything original. She looks pretty though.

David Cook - First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack via Simon - I applaud Simon for picking a song that is way outside of anything Cook would have picked on his own. It’s a great song. A difficult song. And wow! He really brings his A game tonight! That was amazing! I couldn’t type. I could just sit and watch.  And I think Randy’s harshness is all about Simon and not about David at all. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

And we move on to the Idol-ee’s choice…

David Archuletta - With You by Chris Brown - The poor little boy looks so nervous to have chosen his own song. But I like that he’s singing something a little different than anything he’s done before. He looks comfortable - even if he does mess up the words a bit. I swear it sounded like he just picked random names from the phone book to sing there. He hits it strong now and his eyes are STILL open! Not my type of music, and forgetting the words aside, I’m glad he tried something new. Cheesy, but some people like cheese.

Syesha Mercado - Fever by Peggy Lee - WOW her legs are long in that dress! This is VERY Broadway. And I swear I’ve seen this song done exactly this way before - chair included. She’s doing nothing original vocally. She’s a great singer, but definitely not a musician. Syesha will be a GREAT Broadway star someday. She’s got what it takes to be on stage as an actress. Not sure she’s got anymore in her as a singer though than a second-rate wannabe. This whole season has been about her trying to be like someone else.  And as harsh as that is, she just doesn’t have any originality. Broadway, baby, that’s where she belongs. But, she does look AMAZING! She does sparkly well!

David Cook - Dare You To Move by Switchfoot - It’s starting out really low. Creepy low. Which tells me there will be screaming later in the song. WOW that was short. It’s like he can just get started with the song and then it’s cut short. I feel ripped off that we didn’t get the whole song. It was weirdly short. Not a good song choice. Pretty predictable.

Up next - producers choice…

David Archuletta - Longer by Dan Fogelberg - And he’s SQUINTING again! And it’s just a bit weird to hear him sing this because the song is older than he is! He hits that last note and his fans start passing out all over the place I’m sure. It was boring and predictable. A beautiful song, done well. I was bored. But it’s not his fault - the producers are trying to sabotage him I think. It’s just weird to hear a 17 year old sing a song about loving someone forever.

Syesha Mercado - Hit Me Up by I have absolutely no idea - I hated it. That was just kind of goofy and weird. And it was from a movie with Penguins - although I can’t remember which one because there have been so many lately. That was *not* a good choice and I think the producers should stick to producing and not choosing songs. That was not good.

David Cook - I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith - Chip says, “Why did they have to arrange it like a Michael Bolton song?” And I couldn’t agree more. This is all just a bit overproduced and weird. The ending was better than the beginning but wow. I might need to watch that again to get a real feel of it all. The song is an amazing song. I disagree with Randy calling it predictable. *that* mess was anything but predictable. But it’s enough to get him into the finals.

Who goes home? Syesha. I really think that the powers that be decided a long time ago that the Davids would be the final two. And they deserve it. Cook is just a great musician and Archuletta has the potential to be given a bit of time and life experience.

Best of the night goes to David Cook. Worst of the night was Syesha. Going home will be Syesha.

Tackle It Tuesday… May 13, 2008

It’s Tuesday and I’m grabbing it by the broom handle! Spring hasn’t really completely sprung here yet. I’m ready to be able to pack up the winter clothes and pull out the summer clothes, but the weather just is *not* cooperating! It’s only 56 degrees here today and breezy - which makes it a bit sweatshirt-y out there! Something I’d like to pack away, but when you want a sweatshirt EVERY day and are still wearing jeans it’s a bit hard to put those things into storage. Let’s talk about this global warming thing again, eh? I think maybe I’m going to start leaving my lights on all the time and maybe running empty appliances for a while. Maybe that will warm things up around here?

Anyway, I’ve decided that I’m going to tackle Tuesday anyway. And I’m going to use “Life Skills” as a reason to make the kids help and incorporate it all into schoolwork for the day (they are done with their curriculum, just trying to fill these last few days with “legitimate” activities). So, we’re packing away things like winter jackets and snow boots (because if we end up needing snowboots again, I *will* most certainly need some serious Starbucks therapy). We’re going to clean the living room, dining room, office, kitchen and bathroom today. That will take care of the entire downstairs.

And I’m going to make those kids of mine WORK! And work hard. My theory - and mind you it’s only a theory - is that if they WORK hard to get things clean, then maybe they’ll actually want to *keep* it clean for more than 20 seconds? They’ll be singing that “Cinderelly” song by the time I’m done with them and wishing for a far off prince to wisk them away (or a princess for the boys).

So, what are your plans for the day?

Ready for the weekend… May 9, 2008

I’m sitting in the recliner with my feet up. It’s going to be a LONG night for me I’m afraid since I just accidentally popped 3 excederin migraine pills. Oops! I went in there after Tylenol and wasn’t thinking apparently. Hopefully I’ll get some sleep tonight. And I hope the headache goes away.

We took off this afternoon and went shopping. I bought a super cute new pair of shoes (slipper?). They are a pair of brown plaid super-cute shoes! And they are really warm! I’m not sure they are something that I’d wear out and about, but they’ll be great for kicking around the house.

 Oh! Did I mention that they were only $8!!!

And while I’m all snuggled into my chair, I’m gear up to watch the Phil Wickham concert FREE on his blog via mogulus. Go check it out - http://philwickham.com/blog  He’s recording a live record tonight while he’s there and streaming it free online while it’s going on. I’m off to listen…

Almost live American Idol (May 6th)… May 6, 2008

The final four go at it tonight on ROCK night! Ryan just told me that I *must* vote, but honestly the polls are going to be closed for me before I’m done watching. Really, if Idol wanted lots and lots of votes, they’d figure out a way to only allow one vote per phone number but keeping the lines open longer. Because of the wonders of the DVR, I’m automatically disqualified from voting because I’m not watching live. I can’t fast forward through commercials or Ryan’s time-wastingness either.

I’d really like to go to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But of all the nights on Idol so far, this is the one that scares me most. I just don’t know that I can see anyone but David Cook doing a decent job.

ROUND 1 - *ding*ding*ding*ding*

David Cook - Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran - I expected it to be a great performance and it was. I didn’t hear anything original, but it was good. It fit his voice really well, but it was safe. We’ve come to expect great things from him and this was just little boring from David Cook.

Syesha Mercado - Proud Mary by Tina Turner - It’s a stupid choice. Everyone does this song. She picked the ONE diva rock star. When is this girl going to learn? And she’s going to copy the choreography too? She’s singing it ok if you can actually concentrate on the singing. It’s just unbelievable. Unbelievably bad. I’m sitting here shaking my head. (Chip says, “Rock and Roll - The Musical”). It definitely showed her personality and she had fun with it, but wow! Just wow! And not in a good way.

Jason Castro - I Shot The Sherrif by Bob Marley - He’s still doing that weird thing with his face. Is no one that helps him put together his performances actually watching him sing? It’s completely distracting to me. In a concert it wouldn’t be a real problem because unless someone gives me tickets I’m not going to be close enough to see his face anyway. I didn’t think it was as bad as the judges. I just don’t think the judges can figure out how he’s still in the contest because Castro is not the type of music they would choose to listen to voluntarily. It was better than I thought it was going to be.

David Archuletta - Stand By Me by Ben E. King - I’m glad he found a song that he could actually sing. Because I was nervous for little Archie. It’s all a little high school variety show, but he’s still in high school so I won’t hold it against him. It’s not nearly the wreck the last two were. And that little touch at the end was great! I actually liked him *almost* as much as David Cook. And it makes me want to break out a classic movie!

And we’re back from commercial and the bell is ringing…

ROUND TWO!!!

David Cook - Baba O’Reilly by The Who - And this type of thing is why we love him. This is what we’ve come to expect and I wish just let him sing the whole song instead of letting Syesha or Jason sing. LOVED it!

Syesha Mercado - A Change Is Going To Come by Sam Cook - I cannot believe that she just compared her being in the Top 4 with the Civil Rights Moment. But her dress is AMAZING!!! And this song suits her well. But she’s pushing it a little bit with her voice. She just tries too hard. I think her fans are going to really enjoy it. And at least *this* song is worthy of some votes.

Jason Castro - Mr Tamborine Man by Bob Dillon - He did NOT just forget the words!!! (Chip says maybe he’s trying to *be* Bob Dillion so we just couldn’t understand the words! ROFL). It’s just too late in the competition to do that kind of thing! If he had these kind of performances in Hollywood week, he’d have been sent home. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Do *not* vote for Jason this week! That was rough in every area!

David Archuletta - Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley - He’s GOT to open his eyes all the way when he sings! It’s driving me insane! Maybe the boy needs glasses? He always looks so squinty eyed. But he did a GREAT job with song choices this week. The boy doesn’t have an ounce of rock and roll in him, so I was wondering how he’d do. But he took two “rock” (and I use that term very loosely with these songs) and made them his own. He melted the hearts of all the little Archuletta fans. For the first time, even though I’m *not* a fan, I’d have to say he was definitely the best of the night. Not that I want to listen to him sing those songs again since I’m not a fan of that kind of music.

Best of the night - Overall, it was David Archultta.  Best single performance of the night belonged to David Cook with Baba O’Reilly.

Bottom two - Syesha Mercado and Jason Castro.

Should go home - Jason Castro

Will go home - Not sure, but it won’t be one of the Davids.

Menu Plan Monday… May 5, 2008

I need to go grocery shopping. In an if-I-don’t-we’ll-all-certainly-starve kind of way! Right now I have stuff for turkey stroganoff. And some apples. And maybe some boxes of macaroni and cheese. We don’t even have any bread - or bread products. Very disheartening to our carb-loving family! And the scariest part? We might not even have time to hit the grocery store today! We’re leaving early this morning for Springfield because we have a birthday to celebrate (Seth turned 3 last Friday but we were busy and Chip’s parents couldn’t join us). We’ll do Starbucks, Build-a-Bear, Dicks Sporting Goods (Kait needs a new ball glove), Toys R Us, and Chuck E Cheese and still somehow make it back for Kait to be at softball at 4pm and then Noah has tball at 5:30pm. But we still have to eat, so we’ll find time in there somewhere to go to the Kroger.

Monday - Turkey Stroganoff

Tuesday - Grilled chicken legs with

Wednesday - Hamburgers and homemade ovenbaked fries

Thursday - Spaghetti with garlic bread and salad

Friday - Homemade pizza

Saturday - Three Cheese Baked Pasta (this is our friend Karen’s recipe - I’m hoping it’s half as big a hit with our family as it is with hers).

1 lb uncooked pasta (I use mostaccioli)
1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
6oz mozzarella cheese
6 1/2 cups tomato pasta sauce (Use your favorite spaghetti sauce)
6oz provolone cheese thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheesePreheat oven 350 degrees. Brown ground beef and onion in skillet over medium heat. Drain meat. Stir in Pasta sauce. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, then drain. Lightly grease 9×13 inch pan/baking dish. Layer ingredients as follows: Half of the cooked pasta, all of the provolone cheese (layer evenly), all of the sour cream (spread an even layer), half the sauce, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Bake in oven 30 minutes.Sunday - CORN (Clean Out Fridge Night) because this momma isn’t cooking on Mother’s Day!

S - CORN (Clean Out Refrigerator Night)

Happy 3rd birthday, S-man! May 2, 2008

Today, Seth turns THREE!!! Can you believe it? Most of y’all have watched him grow up from a bitty baby by following my blog. I’ve been blogging longer than he’s been alive. Finding pictures of him for this post was easy because he’s always bringing me a camera and asking to have his picture taken. We’ve celebrated and celebrated today. Right now, he’s celebrating in true 3 year old boy style by ripping up the box his gift came in and throwing it all over my living room. But he’s the birthday boy and he’s only going to be this age, right now, once. I’m content to let him be.

I had to be up early this morning. I came home from the church at about 8:50 and was planning to get him dressed to bring him over with me. He was already dressed and Kait was helping him put on his shoes. He dressed himself - completely with backwards dress pants and his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine tshirt. I just let it go. It’s his birthday. We walked into the church, where the church rummage sale was in full swing. He walked in the door and the place ERUPTED in cheers of Happy Birthday and the Birthday Song. It was all a bit overwhelming for him and he hid behind me until it was done.

We spent most of the day hanging out at the church. When we were done, we loaded up in the van to go buy his birthday cake - angel food cake and fresh strawberries. We made a quick stop on the way home for some strawberry plants at Buxtons and a short visit with Sam - the garden farm dog. We came home then and cut up the strawberries and put them in the fridge and then he got his birthday present - a little people alphabet zoo - from us.

What came next was a big moment in Seth’s life. He threw away his beloved “gi” (hard g, long eee sound). His paci has been more than just a comfort item. It’s been a friend to him. And today, he took the brave steps towards growing up and threw it in the trash. There were no tears, but he did need a big hug and a lot of reassurance that this really was part of the growing up process.

And to celebrate all of his growing-up-ness, we did birthday dinner at McDonalds. All day long he said he wanted to a hamburger for dinner, but when it came down to it he ended up with chicken nuggets. After that, we drove THREW a storm front (it was really cool to come out on the back side of it) for a trip to Target. We bought him a new pair of Cars “flip flops” (really sandals but he insists they are flip flops) before coming home to play with his new toy and watch Alvin and the Chipmunks (I was pleasantly surprised with since even Chip and I found it rather entertaining).

Monday, we’ll celebrate in normal Sanders’ fashion - Build-a-Bear and Chuck E. Cheese. It was very important to Seth that PawPaw and Gamma (Chip’s parents) come with us - so we’re postponing it just a few days. I’m looking forward to another whole day of listening to him sing happy birthday to himself!

Happy birthday, Big Man! You bring more joy into our home than you’ll ever know!

April 2007 - helping clean up the floor after we pulled up the carpet…

May 2007 - Ready for swimming in the big pool…

June 2007 - Summer days just make him tired…

August 2007 - He held his new cousin Wesley more than anyone! Now Wesley is so big I think he’d have to hold Seth…

September 2007 - Not EVERYONE was happy on the first day of school. Seth was *not* happy that his “bo-bo brother” (Noah) had to do schoolwork instead of playing with him…

October 2007 - Seth is the ONLY one I got a picture of this month. He absolutely INSISTS quite often that I take his picture. This one because he got a new shirt…

November 2007 - This is one of my favorite pictures of Seth and Noah. They really are more than just brothers - they are also best friends…

December 2007 - decorating the Christmas tree…

January 2008 - Seth developed his own cooking show that we all watched daily for most of the month of January. It was a long, cold winter…

February 2008 - We potty trained Seth at his direction. The book on his head is called The Potty Train…

March 2008 - Seth STILL loves his cheese fries…

April 2008 - Noah took this picture of Seth while we were at the chiropractor…

May 2nd, 2008 - by the time I took this picture, Seth was DONE with birthday pictures…

American Idol results (April 30)… April 30, 2008

I can’t believe these results shows are STILL an hour long even with just 5 contestants left. The PERFORMANCE show is only an hour. Certainly they could get the results show down to only 30 minutes? Or maybe just commercial length during another good show. But wait, this is FOX…

Neil Diamond, Natasha Bedingfield and viewer questions. Honestly, I could do without ALL of it. And I can REALLY, REALLY do without the Top 5 Tribute to Neil Diamond.

And WHAT is up with Jason Castro’s voice? It didn’t even sound like him singing there at the beginning. I had to actually look up and make sure it was him. Archie rocks it out the best he can as he talks about being a rosy child. And David Cook comes out and makes us all play it now and then we go into Brooke going all Very-Merry-Brady with Syesha. Can you tell I really, really hate these group numbers? It’s all a bit Partridge family with this group thing. One rock star and a bunch of tag-a-longs.

Ryan wastes time in the audience with Constantine and Gina Glockson. Really.Don’t.Care.

We look back at last night and I’m going to change up my opinion. I think Syesha or Brooke will go home tonight.

Ryan assures us that they all love Paula and the rumors are not true. Whatever that might be.

Jason is out first and he’s got to be nervous tonight. But he’s safe tonight. And I’m shocked.

David Arculetta is out next. He’s starting to do some weird thing with his face when he sings. I think he’s trying to look angry? It doesn’t work for him. He needs to start smiling more again. But he’s safe for another week. And I can hear the teeny-boppers still squeeling.

We come back from commercial for another commercial? What on earth? I’m not going to watch “So You Think You Can Dance?” I know I can’t dance and I don’t need to go make a fool of myself on television to find out. And the guy dancing in his whitie-tighties is the stuff nightmares are made of. American Idol - there are CHILDREN who watch this show! GIVE US ALL A BREAK ALREADY!!!

And then they have to show us a CUP?! design??? OH MY GOSH!!!

David Cook is out next and I’m thinking they’ll try to “trick” us into thinking he’s in the bottom two when really he’ll be safe and they’ll call the last two out for the bottom two. Because he was clearly the ONLY star on the show last night. And I’m right, because he is indeed safe for another week.

So they bring out the losers I mean bottom two. My guess is we’ll hear BOTH of them sing one last time. They remind us how Syesha stunk it up and then moves on to Brooke and reminds us that she does well singing karaoke with animated creatures. Syesha says song choices are tough and this isn’t Miss America (thanks to my husband for putting it into words for me). Brooke says she’s finally just at a place where she’s wants to have fun doing this again and hopefully she didn’t make that decision a little too late.

Commercials are over and they are ALL on the sofa - I think Ryan wishes he could sing - to listen to Natasha Bedingfield sing. I don’t know who she is. Apparently she’s really popular across the pond. I’m not all that impressed, but I don’t hate it. That’s not going to keep me from fast forwarding through it though. Ryan asks for her opinion on first auditions and such and she really doesn’t have much to say because well, she never had to compete to get a contract. She was just discovered. Then she sits down and kisses Archie on the cheek and he turns about 8 shades of red and purple and then she agrees to go to prom with him.

Now we go to questions becuase we have to waste even more time. Some little boy wants to know why Paula always give contestants a break and she says it’s because it’s a hard-knock life. A girl with another question for Paula and she wants to know if Paula will be doing another video with Randy. Paula says it’s a go as soon as Randy turns into an animated dawg. Someone’s mom wants to know which was more memorable - his kiss with Paula or his kiss with her when he was 9. Thankfully it’s someone that he really does know. And he wants to know if she’s still a hottie. And we’ve all just met Simon’s first crush.

And THANK YOU RYAN for reminding kids that 9 years old is too young to be kissing!

I skipped the Ford commercial because I don’t care. Neil Diamond is next and doing a new song from his new album. The song is Pretty Amazing Grace. I can’t tell if he’s talking about God’s grace or a pretty girl named Grace. I guess like all good love songs, it works both ways. Pretty amazing, eh? (Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself). I am a little disappointed that he went with more of a Johnny Cash look instead of a flashy, sparkly shirt.

And we’re running short on time, so I’m guessing now that we’ll only get to hear the person voted off tonight sing. Which is fine by me. Because really, if they aren’t voted off but were in the bottom two, they probably shouldn’t sing the song that landed them there again. Ever.

Syesha and Brooke are called back to the center of the stage and BROOKE is going home. It’s kind of sad because the second song she did was the best she’d done in WEEKS. Apparently it wasn’t enough to overshadow the spaz-y first performance.  I really expect her to cut a CCM a la Amy Grant type record once she’s done with the tour. I’ve heard some great stories about her and I she really seems like a genuine person who lives out her faith. I’m sad to see her go.

And she goes out giving me goosebumps even though she’s barely making it through. We’ll see Brooke again, oh yes we will…

Almost Live American Idol recap… (April 29) April 29, 2008

And I STILL haven’t called my Gram! UGH!

Ryan introduces us to the few remaining Idol-ators. Not many left and really not a lot of talent left. When you get this far into the competition, it’s easy to see who the stars really are. The grueling task of being a star will make people start to crack by this point. Could be interesting tonight.

Ryan is going on about how they have to JAM stuff into just one hour. Maybe if he’d just quit talking to hear himself talk we wouldn’t have to waste so much time? What a novel idea!

And it’s Neil Diamond night. I’m really hoping that someone will wear the shiny shirt. THAT would be entertainment! He an amazing musician who has proved himself and is about to release his 26th album. You know you’re successful when you can go the distance like that!

Ok, they are each going to sing two songs. And not be judged until the end of the second performance.

Jason Castro - “Forever in Blue Jeans” - Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. I think they should be making them do these back to back like they would in a real concert. Make them talk to the audience between them. Then we’d really know what kind of performer they are.

David Cook - ”I’m Alive” - Took us a minute to figure out all the AC stuff - Adam Cook. Great performance. Not even in the same caliber as the rest of the contestants.

Brooke White - “I’m A Believer” - This song usually reminds me of the Monkees (Carrie are you reading? How many HOURS did we spend watching htat show when we were in school?) However, this reminds me more of the Shrek version. I can just picture little fairy tale creatures dancing all around her. It’s a good performance and she seems more comfortable behind the guitar than she’s looked in weeks. I was nervous about her this week, but you could tell she had fun up there and actually made it enjoyable.

(anyone else icked out by the “my husband has a guy-crush on seacrest” sign? Ew!!!)

David Archuletta - “Sweet Caroline” - I should have made my predictions on the blog BEFORE it got to the point. I just *knew* he would sing BOTH of these songs! And he did well. In a Disney musical kind of way. It was about what I expected.

Syesha Mercado - “Hello Again” - I like this song. I’ve heard it so many times that I can actually hear Neal Diamond singing it in my head without any music at all. She sang it well, but I didn’t like it. It’s one of those untouchable songs for me.

Randy on Round 1 - Jason was ok, David C was in the zone, Brooke was better than last week but karaoke, Archuletta was GREAT, and Syesha was wonderful.

Paula wastes her time because she things Castro sang two songs and she get all confused and we don’t have time for this.

Simon says Jason:forgettable, David Cook:justabove average, Brooke:nightmare, David Archuletta:ametuer, Syesha: old-fashioned.

*ROUND TWO!*

Jason Castro - “September Morn” - Someone needs to tell the windshield wipers in the front row that this is NOT the right type of song for that thing and they are going completely too fast for this song! He’s got a soothing kind of voice that I could listen to if I wanted to be lulled to sleep or just wanted background noise while I was working. A step above Musak, but almost just as boring. Randy says it was just ok/whatever performance, Paula tells him to get out of his comfort zone and quit playing it safe, and Simon is bored by his lack of originality.

David Cook - “All I Really Need Is You” - LOVED it! Best by far and we should just end this competition and let the boy cut his album. The longer they wait to get it in the can, the less money they will make. Randy loved it, Paula really loved it and Simon thought it was brilliant and can’t say enough. Which is odd to hear Simon gushing with GOOD things to say.

Brooke White - “I Am…I Said…” - I can’t believe that Ryan just called her for cheating and writing the lyrics on her hand. But she didn’t need them. And she does a GREAT job with this song. Randy liked it. Paula says it works. Simon says again how much he hated the first song, but he really liked the second song. It wasn’t incredible, but she gets a “well done” from Simon.

David Archuletta - “America” - This song seems a bit “July 4th Musical”-ish. And his voice cracking really shows how young he is. He sang it well. Randy and Paula loved it. Simon agrees with me - David picked the right song to sing to get him the voices because Archuletta fans will LOVE that.

Syesha Mercado - “Thank The Lord For The Nighttime” - THIS is what she should have been doing all along. And why does she never do the big funky hair when she does songs like this? Because that would have so made her perfomance. Randy says she should have been doing songs like this all along. Paula babbles. I have no idea what she’s talking about but I do know that Syesha is no Corrine Bailey Rae. Simon says she demonstrates that she’s a great actress/singer and he thinks she’ll be in trouble tonight because there are only 5 left and that she didn’t have a memorable second song. I think he says that because he’s already forgotten about Jason Castro.

Should be bottom two: Jason Castro & Syesha Mercado

Will be bottom two: Jason Castro & Syesha Mercado

Going home: Jason Castro

I’m off to read more opinions now and see what others thought.

Happy 11th birthday, Elijah!!! April 26, 2008

My oldest turns 11 today!  ELEVEN!!!  I can hardly believe it!  He’s grown up so much in the past couple year. He turned FIVE about five months after we moved into this house. He’s a great big brother - always helping to take care of his little brothers and sister. He takes his job as the oldest very seriously.  He makes me proud! 

Happy 11th birthday, Elijah!

Celebrating his birthday at his restaurant of choice - Pizza Hut…

On his 10th birthday - April 2007…

Elijah with the HAL ball (hustle, ability, leadership) - May 2007…

Fun with mud - June 2007…

The HAL ball for the second time - only one other kid on the team got it more than once - July 2007…

Meeting his cousin Wesley for the first time - August 2007…

Starting 4th grade - September 2007…

Didn’t take pictures in October, here’s why - October 2007…

His first facial at his sister’s spa party, oh the things he’ll do for his sister - November 2007…

Celebrating Christmas - December 2007…

On the moving truck when we helped pack up cousin Taet to move to Wyoming - January 2008…

We got A LOT of snow this year - February 2008…

Easter legos - March 2008…

My great protector/mouse hunter - April 2008…

Happy, happy birthday Elijah!

Blah, blah, blah… April 25, 2008

With this post, I’m officially 1/4 of the way through my 100 days of blogging and I feel like I’ve got nothing to say today. I’m tired. It was a L-O-N-G day. A long, blustery day. I got about 75% of what I wanted to get done, done. I should work on folding laundry, but my back is killing me. Probably from doing laundry earlier.

And apparently it was a hard day for Seth too because he just crawled up into Chip’s lap a few minutes ago and he’s already snoring. We’ll wait until this Bee Movie is over and then put the kids in bed. Here’s some pictures of what he was up to today…

He pretended to mow and they got to help clean up afterward…

Using his little weeder to whack the weeds…

Sweeping up after all was done…

Playing soccer with his brother….