my big boy!!

Oliver has been taking a few steps here and there lately. Nothing terribly impressive, just one step to get to the next hand hold...but today! Today he walked 7 steps. Then he did it again...and again. I tempted him with some milk in a cup to get him on video (because nothing else was tempting enough) so hopefully I'll be able to post it soon. Ignore the screaming cries while he's doing it...he's NOT in pain - just tired and wanted that milk BAD. I'm so proud of my baby boy!

trying out some new recipes...

I got the new Parents magazine a few weeks ago and they had some really yummy looking soup recipes that I wanted to try. The next time I went out I got all the ingredients and cooked them up and they were really super!
The first one I made was Mac & Cheese soup - it's chicken broth with shredded cheese, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and macaroni (recipe calls for shells). I used fresh veggies instead of frozen (as called for in the recipe) and I used more cheese than it said, too. The only thing I would do differently is add chicken to it next time.
The other day I made Taco Soup. It was fantastic! It's made with beef broth, corn, ground beef (although I used ground turkey), black beans, taco seasoning, and tomato. I modified it a little bit, with the turkey and added black beans and pinto beans to make it thicker. I also used salsa instead of tomato. It was just the right spicy the way I made it. Of course, we dipped tortilla chips in it. The only thing I would do differently next time is to use half as much broth. The broth makes it harder to use as a dip. It was really good by itself too, though. I also shredded some cheese on top of Bob's when I served it. I think maybe you could mix a little sour cream in, too, and that wouldn't be too bad.
I would have posted the actual recipes but I can't find the magazine right now...maybe later.

if you have 12 children then this could happen to you...

she's the one on the left!

if you are researching vaccinations...

check out this book. I haven't actually read it yet (soon, though!) but I heard it has a breakdown of each vaccine with possible side effects AND what it could prevent. From what I could read on Amazon it looked pretty good. It even states that they present both sides of view - provaccination and antivaccination, although most of their information is against it. It also says that if you do decide to go ahead with the vaccinations to do it spread out over more time so your child isn't getting multiple shots at one visit. I'm going to get a copy of this book as soon as I can. I'll post more about it once I've read it. Here are some excerpts from the book from the writer's website.

what a mess!

It started out as just putting in a new back door. The only door between the laundry room and the back yard was a busted up old screen door. So Bob took it down and attempted to put in a regular door. Well once he took it down he found out the studs were rotten. He had to tear down all the siding on this side, rebuild the wall, and then install the door. Here's the progress:

This was about 8:45 that night. Bob worked all day and finally got the wall built back up and the insulation put in. Since then he has also put in the new door and started putting up the new siding. Whew! What a job!

what IS this?

Oliver and I were going around looking at all the trees in our yard when we saw this. It's gross! It wasn't moving or anything, just sitting there, so I took this picture. The next day I went out again and it was still there in the same place. It looked like it hadn't moved at all!!

new project

I started a new crochet project. Remember the blankie I made for Oliver? Well I started another one just with different colors. I figure since it took me 3 years to finish the first one I better get started on the next one now.

vaccinations...

We've decided to further research all vaccinations before deciding whether to give them to Oliver. My preference right now is to forgo any that he hasn't already had. Did you know that the vast majority of vaccine safety studies are conducted by government health officials and drug companies selling vaccines? That means the people who are saying it's safe are the same people who make money from their continued use. Sounds like a conflict of interest to me! Here is a petition for the release of all vaccine safety information to the public. The information needs to be released for study by independent researchers.