all we needed were dresses, aprons, and pearls

Well we are finally feeling better around here and I am so excited to be getting back into some kind of routine! Yes, I realize that next week with the Christmas festivities my schedule will again go down the drain, but don't burst my bubble, okay?

This morning I decided that I wanted to make vegetable soup for dinner. Shawn and I love this recipe mainly because the secret ingredient is canned tomatoes from my grandparent's garden. Yum-O! I can't even begin to explain what that jar of tomatoes does to the soup, but it is fantabulous. Seriously. Anyway, then I just throw in a bunch of veggies and browned hamburger meat and let it cook in the crock-pot all day long!

I decided that today was the day Lauren got to help me! She was absolutely adorable and I just couldn't help posting these pictures. She sat so well on the counter (don't worry, I was right there) and stirred and stirred.


She was so proud of her stirring abilities! I'm sorry - is that smile not the best? How did I get so lucky to hang out with that bundle of joy (most of the time) everyday?


I let her add the potatoes after I peeled and cut them and she loved dropping them into the soup mixture. P.S. Notice how much of the sauce is splattered all over the bowl, and the counter, and the tile, and the toaster, and the girl... Oh well, it sure was fun!

P.P.S. Yes, she washed her hands before handling the food! ;)