Name that Baby

L is growing up so quickly. He's been very active the past couple weeks. I got out the Jumparoo and Exersaucer recently. He loves them, especially the Jumparoo. He loves to show off how much he can jump. He will look at you as if to say "Watch this, Mom." Then we will go to town and jump and jump and jump with a huge smile on his face. It's so cute!

He finally mastered the art of rolling from his back to tummy the other day, but is still working on getting from his tummy to his back. One arm tends to get stuck under his belly preventing him from rolling over easily.

I started L on baby food. He's been eating rice cereal, sweet potatoes, sweet peas and carrots. We tried oatmeal cereal, but he seemed to be having an allergic reaction to it, so we stopped feeding that to him.

It seems like everywhere I go people look at L and say "He looks just like N!" I can see the similarities, but I can also see their differences.I thought it would be fun to look through their pictures to compare their looks, so here they are. Can you guess which baby which? (Please respond with "N" or "L" rather than their full names.)





As for the rest of the fam. N is growing up, too. He's almost got potty training totally whipped. Thank goodness!!! He does really well during the day and at nap time. We just need to get him night trained, but I hear that takes a while. I was out with some friends a while ago and one of the girls said her mom said she was fully potty trained at 18 months. I joked that it's taken me 18 months to train N. It's been a long and trying road, but (knock on wood) I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm just prayin L will be easier to teach. He is much more particular about having a wet diap, so I think that's a good sign.

I am feeling better. I wasn't feeling well since L was born. I attributed it to lack of sleep and adjusting to being a SAHM of two boys, but recently put the pieces together and have come to the realization that I have some food allergies/sensitivities. I haven't seen a doctor about it yet, so it's not "official," but I think I'm allergic to eggs and sensitive to milk, peanut butter and some fish. My reaction to eggs is the strongest. The muscles in my neck tense up and my throat feels like it's swelling shut. I can eat eggs if they're baked into something such as muffins, cookies, cake. But I can't eat them if they're alone (scrambled eggs) or "near the surface" of the food such as french toast for example. I've had to make a big change in my diet, but am feeling much better.

We are really glad to be able to get outside now that the weather is warming up. D has washed his truck a couple of times, jogs outside when he can and works in the garage when he has a spare moment. N is happy to be able to dig in the dirt again and I am glad to play outside with the neighbors and soak up the sun!!

Friday Funnies (Belated)

I check on both boys every night before I go to bed. The other night when I went into N's room I found this (pictured). He was sleeping with five books, six stuffed animals, a toy train, toy car, an extra pair of socks, an extra pillow, his Doodle Pro and a sippy cup. Oh, and three blankies. Too funny!

Thank you Betty Crocker

This recipe is so easy to make and delicious I wanted to share it with you. As I was assembling it to make for dinner I was thinking, "This is a meal I'd like to pass on to my boys. It's something they can make when they are living on their own." I'm sure you could use any variety of filled ravioli. So, thanks for another great recipe, Betty Crocker. :)

Easy Ravioli Bake

1 jar (26 to 28 ounces) tomato pasta sauce (any variety)

1 package (25 to 27 1/2 ounces) frozen cheese/beef-filled ravioli

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces) (I used Kraft Natural 5 Cheese Italian)

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of rectangular baking dish 13x9x2-inches, with cooking spray.2.Spread 3/4 cup of the pasta sauce in baking dish. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in single layer over sauce; top with half of the remaining pasta sauce and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.3.Cover with aluminum foil and bake 40 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in center. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Great Day

We had such a great day today. We started it out with our usual McD's breakfast. I usually drink a diet coke with our McD's. The caffeine gets me charged up and ready to get stuff done, so I cleaned the boys' bath tub, gave L a bath and did a few odds and ins around house. Then I decided to clean and rearrange the room we call the library.. (it's our spare bedroom with a book shelf in it. We just call it the library because it has a few books in it that's all). N has taken very good care of his books lately, so he has earned back ALL of the books. For that reason I put all of his books back on the shelves in his room and in the library. He was really excited about that, so we sat together and read for a while. I went on my first outdoor run for the season while D washed his truck and the boys slept. It felt so exilerating to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine that I ended up running four miles. My original intention was to walk about two, but ended up running 90% of four miles! Felt sooo good! Once we all got cleaned up we visited a "tractor friend" of my husband's. The man lives about forty minutes from here out in the country. He has a real tractor collection (as opposed to toy tractor collection) like I've never seen before. He was very good with N. He let him sit on his front loader and fork lift for quite a while. I think he would have let him sit on more of his tractors, but they were all outside in the snow and mud. D's friend offered to let N look through his binoculars to find the deer that were eating in the field. N loved those binoculars. I really wish I would have taken the camera with us because N looked so cute exploring with the binoculars. We told N if he was a good boy at D's friend's house we'd go to McDonald's (yes, McD's twice in one day. Eek!) to eat supper and play. The Playland at the Mcd's nearest D's friend is incredible. N had so much fun playing and D and I had a great time talking while he played. L enjoyed watching all the kids run around. We headed home after that and are now enjoying a quiet evening because the boys are so worn out they are already sleeping. Yay!!

Hope you had a chance to enjoy beautiful weather today too. -C

Friday Funnies

N told me Santa has a big beard, Grandpa has a little beard and he (N) has a teeny, tiny mouse beard..

I have really, really dry hands right now. I've been washing them more than usual because both boys have been sick. I have several cracks on both hands from being washed so much. N has been concerned about them hurting me. He asks to look at them from time to time to see if they've healed yet. The other day I went upstairs to wake him up from his nap. N reached for my hand and said, "Let me see your crack, Mom."