That's right the snake says, "sssssssssss"

(A) and I have been playing and learning and singing for days.  This kid can moo, cluck, oink, growl, bark, whoo whoo, hiss, honk, peck, crow, caw, peep, and screech.  He loves his animal books and identifies them by sound often.  In addition to his animal noises, (A) is obsessed with vehicle noises and has a different one for each type.  His favorite is airplanes, for the moment.

In other news (A) related news, he had his 15 month checkup today.  This guy is a perfectly average 50th percentile all the way: 32" tall, 26lbs 13ozs, 42cm head circumference.  He was a trooper through the shots and finger prick and gave all the nurses high-fives.  The one not-so-awesome piece of information we got is that Turkey Feather's ticker has a twitch / (A) has a heart murmur.  This means we've got to visit a pediatric cardiologist to get it checked out.  I'm concerned of course, but not stressing.  It's fairly common in children and usually they outgrow it.  But, it can also be an indicator of heart issues so they want to take a better look than they can get with a stethoscope.  I'll keep you guys posted.

Homemade Lasagne or Opps, I jipped you on the Weekly Meal Plan this week.

1 lb ground turkey
1 cup broccoli florets
2 shredded carrots
2 finely chopped stalks celery
1/2 finely chopped bell pepper
12 oz chopped mushrooms
8 oz sliced olives (green or black or both, which ever you like)
1 chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh spinach
2 jars of marinara sauce (I like my to make my own sauce or use Prego's Chunky Garden Vegetable Sauce)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
(or use 2 tbsp Italian seasoning in place of individual herbs, I just like to be able to adjust the herb amounts depending on which are in season and fresh)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
15 oz ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
1 pkg wheat lasagne noodles

Brown ground turkey in 2 tbsp olive oil over med. heat. Mix half of each of the herbs into the browning turkey.
In a med. bowl mix ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, milk and other half of herbs and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat remainder of olive oil on med.  Add broccoli, carrots, celery, bell pepper, mushrooms, olives, onion, garlic, and spinach; cook until veggies are just softened.
In a 11"x15" pan: Layer 1 - uncooked noodles on bottom, 1/2 cooked vegetables, 1/4 sauce (or 1/2 of 1 jar), 1/4 cheese mixture; Layer 2 - uncooked noodles, browned turkey, 1/4 sauce, 1/4 cheese mixture; Layer 3 - uncooked noodles, other 1/2 cooked vegetables, 1/4 sauce, 1/4 cheese mixture; Layer 4 - last of uncooked noodles, last of sauce, rest of cheese mixture.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 1 hour.  Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

THIS MAKES A HUGE AMOUNT OF LASAGNE.  SERVES 18.

This recipe is very forgiving: use whatever vegetables you have on hand (fresh, frozen, or canned) and Italian sausage, ground beef, or even tofu could be substituted for the ground turkey or left out completely.

For Mexican Lasagne - Change the cheese mixture to 1 small pkg Velveeta cheese, 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese, 1 pkg cream cheese; use salsa or Rotel instead of marinara sauce; switch vegetable mix to bell peppers, onions, corn, tomatoes, nopales, chayotes, tomatillos, etc; use cilantro and chili powder or taco seasoning instead of Italian seasoning; use ground beef; swap the noodles for corn tortillas.