Well, the day started off with a bang.  It seems J’s diaper wasn’t on well last night.  Fellow parents are cringing, knowing what that means.  Yes, it fell off, and yes, it was a Large Mess inside his footy pj’s this morning.  Whew!  He needed a quick washing off in the tub, but I didn’t do my usual toweling set-up on the counter.  Instead, I lifted him out to the floor, reaching up to grab the towel.  Quick little bugger tried to run off, and slipped on the bathroom tile, cracking his bottom lip open. 

Poor boy.  I felt terrible.  He sucked on a frozen teething ring for a few minutes, and I though it would be no big deal.   It got bigger as the day wore on and looked worse and worse… you know, thanks to munching on crackers, tomatoes, other nicely salted and acidic snacks that he demanded. By naptime, he popped his pacifier in his mouth, sucked for a sec, and started wailing and threw it at me.   He grabbed his little lip and cried and cried.  He sobbed for half an hour as I was trying to get Analise to nap, finally collapsing for an hour. 

At dinner, he didn’t want much to eat,and he kept grabbing his lip, saying "Occh".  I put some Oragel on it, hoping it’d make it feel numb enough to use his pacifier, and sure enough, he put it right in his mouth, rolled over, and I haven’t heard a peep from him. Poor tired boy. The pharmacist said I could use it as often as I needed tonight, and hopefully, the swelling will be down and it will have healed a bit overnight.  I’m sure this isn’t the last fat lip we’ll deal with!

I have to share how cute he’s been lately.  He’s full of words, and he’s working so hard to communicate with us.  One funny thing is that you’ll never believe is that he recognizes the Great Sphinx in an "Where in the World is Elmo?" book.  The first time we opened the book, he pointed right at it and said, "Sfix!"  I couldn’t believe it, but he has seen it on a Little Einsteins episode that the kids have watched several times.

I just pulled the wooden train set back out, and he’s been busy playing with it. He’ll come running up to me with a piece of track, saying "Boke, mama", tugging me in to fix it.      His favorite word lately is "hippo", with an emphasis on the HIP.  So cute.  And he’s still figuring out what to call Analise.  But he called Abigail, our babysitter, "A-bagel" yesterday.  I love hearing him talk!  I’m sure we’ve got plenty of toddler issues on the horizon, but I do love this stage of watching him learn so quickly.  He’s becoming such a little boy, it’s amazing!

I’d better sign off to get some sleep, in case he decides he can’t sleep because of his fat lip tonight… ‘Later!

Thanks to my sister, Anna, for this wonderful creation.  Hers is better than mine, but this was super quick and DELICIOUS with some Tastefully Simple Bountiful Beer Bread.  YUM!

Tortellini Soup

• 1 package tortellini (I used Buitoni whole wheat cheese, found in the refrigerated section)
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 box chicken broth
• 1 bag of frozen mixed veggies
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 T dried minced onion (you could also use half an onion, sauteed in olive oil)
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp Trader Joe’s 21 Salute Seasoning (or any good seasoning blend)

Toss it all in the pot, bring to a boil for 5-10 minutes, simmer for 20 minutes to an hour.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese and a good chunk of bread.

I did actually complete the unfinished bow project of a few days ago…

The ones I finished the other evening were the blue (center bottom) and the pink/white (bottom right), both on clips.  Today I made the little pink/white/purple hair ties in the center from the leftovers.  I’m still learning how to fold an actual bow, so the pink/purple on the left look a bit flat.  But I made those and the pink/purple folded clips on the top right in the fall, along with the curly orange halloween clips. 

I think I’ve got the curly bows figured out, which are my favorite.  But I need to practice on the loopy bows.  I’ll keep you posted…    If anyone would like some, just let me know!  I’ve got lots of ribbon!

Comfort food, pure and simple. Someone brought this to a church dinner a couple weeks ago, and I was stunned at how delicious something so not-pretty could be. YUM. We had it last night for dinner, and it was super easy and just as tasty as I’d remembered. It’s straight from the Kraft Foods magazine (sign up for the free magazine, if you haven’t already! YUM… one of my favorite pieces of mail!).

Easy Shepherd’s Pie

It’s obvious what I am afraid of running out of when I’m at the store…

Yes, that’s 9 cans of cream of mushroom soup.  Anyone in the mood for green bean casserole?  You bring the beans…