First Haircut

Blake gave Alexander his first haircut since coming home. His new 'do' turned out a bit shorter than we anticipated.

Blake attempted to diminish my panic with the following comment: "It's not THAT bad. In fact, I think it's a really cute summer cut."

I sweetly replied, "Summer cut? May I remind you that it's FEBRUARY!"

How To Diaper a Baby...

Think 'cloth diapers & diaper pins' versus today's "disposable variety" but this had us laughing! :)

"Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat.

Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound.

Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together.

Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again"

(Jimmy Piersal, 1968)

Tortellini, Spinach & Tomato Soup...

I thought I would share the recipe for this delicious, hearty and OH SO easy soup!

2 Tbsp. butter
6 garlic cloves
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
6 ounces frozen cheese tortellini
14 ounces canned diced tomatoes, with their juice
10 ounces fresh spinach
8-10 basil leaves, coarsely chopped.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute, about 2 minutes. Add broth & bring to boil. Add tortellini and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes WITH juice, reduce heat to simmer and cook just until pasta is tender. Stir in spinach and basil and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle with grated parmesan before serving.

Playing Peek-A-Boo...

Monkeys, Monkeys Everywhere...

Before we left for Ethiopia, a friend gave me a sweet gift. A warm sleeper with monkeys for Alexander and a fuzzy robe with monkeys for myself.

When showing the gift to Blake, his first comment was, "Hey! What about me? How about some boxers?!"

I relayed Blake's comments to my friend and last week she gave me THIS and the following explanation: "Tell Blake I couldn't find boxers with monkeys on them so here is a monkey with boxers!"

What a hoot!

Technical Difficulties...

I attempted to give my blog a 'new' look -- and throughout the process made a total mess of things.

Blogger's online HELP states, "Bloggers features makes it easy for anyone to customise the look of their blog with little or no technical knowledge." Oh contraire, my friends. Oh contraire!

I do believe my my former college roommate (computer science major) should write a 'Tuesdays Tips' on how to decipher HTML for those of us to whom it totally looks like jibberish.

Anyways, just a quick post to let you know I will be trying to fix things in the coming days but for now, my apologies, for the awkward layout & random "undefined" text throughout.

A Few of Our Favorite Things...

Today I thought I would share with you a couple of 'product reviews' with those of my readers who are parents and/or grandparents.

MumMums. These snacks were recommendations from a friend, Roseann, who was in our travel group in Ethiopia. You can buy a box of 24 in the baby department of WalMart for $1.88.

Xander will literally crawl over things, under things, thru things for these snacks when he hears the slightest crackle of the packaging. All the while PANTING with anticipation & giggling with glee.

We've only tried the Original flavor but I believe they're available in a couple of other flavors including Vegetable and Strawberry/Banana. At less than 10 calories a rusk, they are a fantastic mid-afternoon snack for those ready for solid foods.

During a recent lunch-time visit to Blake's workplace, one of his co-workers was sniffing/inhaling our son incessantly. You know who you are...JODI!

I had just shampoo'd his hair with Silken Child, some low-cost hair care products I discovered thru an adoption forum.

We use the following: Silken Child Shampoo, Silken Child Conditioner and Silken Child Silk Moisturizing Creme. All are available at Sally Beauty Supply stores and online at http://www.sallybeauty.com/ for around $3.99 a bottle.


Xander loves music, noise, sounds, ETC. So, the past few weeks we have been checking out a variety of children's music options from the library.

"An Elephant Never Forgets" by Owen Duggan (artist) is currently topping our charts with our favorite tracks being the songs entitled 'Farmer Joe' and 'Marvelous Toy.' The CD is filled with fun, sometimes silly, songs sung in a variety of music styles.

If you'd like to share any 'must haves' in your household, please feel free to leave a Comment.

The Sunday Paper

Along with his love of books, Xander loves 'reading' the newspaper & magazines, too.

He's become a great helper with coupon clipping -- NOT!

NOTE: Please forgive the snotty nose and drool-covered shirt; the start of a cold & continued teething -- he's all about fluid outputs!