Auntie's Volleyball Game

I always wonder
what Baby Bella is going to do
under certain circumstances
in public places.

Sometimes my concern
is higher than other times
{like eating at a fancy restaurant}

With school back in full swing
my little sister {bug}
started highschool volleyball,
season two.

I love supporting her
& going to as many games as I can
so when my Momma called to see
if I wanted to meet her there...

I immediately said "Yes".
{before thinking about how I
would be able to handle Baby
Bella on bleachers, with a crowd of people
& loud noises.}

With a little bit of fear
I headed into the gym
armed with a little book,
        a granola bar
  & my secret weapon
{her bottle}

To my surprise Baby Bella
loved watching the Volleyball
get passed back and fourth between teams.
{Thank the Lord}

She also managed to sit quietly
on my lap... for a total of ten minutes.
then decided this spectating thing
wasn't for her.

I immediately grabbed her book
{she loves to read... & maybe chew}
hoping that would destract her
for at least a couple more minutes
so I could watch my sister serve.

After a short period of time
{I'm talking like five minutes}
she got bored of reading
& decided to go for the
sweet spot
        {mommy's purse}

She pulled out my
wallet. keys. advil bottle.
pens. chapstick. sunflower seeds.
& mardi gras necklace.

{I always keep a random assortment
of things to distract Baby Bella
...you never know when you'll need them!}

Then GG {grandma} showed up.

She brought some wagon wheels
for her sweet little grandbaby
&& kindly sat with Baby Bella
while she double fisted.

By this time Bug's team
had won slayed the first match
& were halfway into the second.

I stayed as long as I could
but Baby Bella only slept
for thirty minutes at daycare
& her diaper was starting to reach capacity.

Satisfied with her behavior
& confident that I could
bring her to another game
       we exited the gym-
happy. content.
      && tuckered out.


    

Daycare: Day ONE

For the past four months
Baby Bella has been privilaged enough
to stay home when Mommy goes to work
sleep in,
    watch Nick Jr whenever
  make messes with her own toys
        eat when she feels like it,
stay in her pajamas all day
             && never get picked on by other kids.

Then on August 29th, everything in
Baby Bella's world... changed.

She now has to get up early
get dressed, brush teeth
        eat breakfast,
&& drive off to daycare.

Always getting along with other kids
I had no problem when considering daycare
especially when I finally got into
the daycare of my dreams.

{Yes I know this sounds extreme
but after being on a waitlist for
six months... You'd be excited too}

We walked into daycare day one
&& Bella had no problem
picking up a little doll
and sharing with another little girl...

{even after that little brat pushed
my baby Bella flat on her back
            five seconds previously}

She looked around curiously
at all the {new} toys
{new} friends
& {new} daytime home

She never did seem to mind
even when I was getting ready to leave
&& a couple minutes later
her little {friend} got
         a small taste of karma.
{she tripped herself}

At the end of {day one}
I picked up my little bug-a-boo
& she was just as happy as I left her.

I even got an awesome printout
of what she ate,
            diaper status
                   && nap time.
WOW this rocks.

                                              {PS.... Paers is spelled "Pears"} -- LOL

Maybe daycare won't be so bad
afterall....
   With no stranger anxiety
napping for two and a half hours
&& playing outside with other children
         I think it's something she likes.
Maybe even loves.

I can't predict the future
or control what's going to happen
while I'm at work,
but I'm definitely confident
I made the right decision
&& so thankful I waited six long months
 for acceptance into the -perfect- daycare.

         Bring on day { two }


  

A Little Make-up Magnet

If you have ever nannied a little girl
or maybe you even have
your own little princess... 
You know eventually
they're going to have an interest
in the stuff Mommy puts on her face.

I've seen plenty of horrid
makeup disaster photographs
   little girls with lipstick all over
            walls. carpet & themselves.

That poor {expensive} makeup item
get's pulverized
            destroyed
&& leaves its remains everywhere.

Well this little girl didn't get into the lipstick
{I don't wear it}

or mascara
{she can't unscrew yet}

or even eyeliner
{LUCKILY}

this time...
she chose to crunch mommy's eyeshadow
{dark purple eyeshadow}
             onto the tile floor
while Mommy was in the shower.

She attempted to clean up her mess
with a couple sheets of toilet paper
her leg & even her hands...
but it was such a disaster
she finally waved her white flag
& decided it was best to be silent.

Number one:
My child is NEVER silent. Ever.
So obviously I was wondering what
she was up to when I was rinsing my hair....
Hmm... what a surprise.

Of course makeup doesn't come off well
and leaves marks everywhere.
Little handprints all over the bath
             floor
                 && walls.

She tried rinsing it off herself
however eyeshadow is subborn
especially in mass quantities.

It took a long bubble bath
to finally get her clean
&& then what does she do while
               mommy's grabbing new clothes?!
 

Goes back for round two.
                 Stinker.

Two lessons are learned here:
      #1- Invest in cabinet locks & good cleaning supplies
                  {this is self explainatory}
      #2- Kids will be kids
                       {<3}

One Painful Accident

As parents, we all know one day
our little baby is going to get
injured, bruised, && broken
at least a couple times in their life.

It was a day like any other
went to work,
          came home for lunch,
went back to work,
                      and came home again.
{that's my little round-a-bout everyday, crazy huh?!}

I pulled into the driveway August 24th
opened the garage door,
parked my clean car.
             {Yes I said, clean.}
&& walked into my house.

Baby Bella was so upset
&& looked like she had been fussing
bad. not like normal.
Her auntie was holding her
&& trying to calm her little heart down
but nothing was working.

My Momma instincts kicked in
& I immediately took her into my arms.
... but she was still crying.
What. the. heck.

After talking with my sitter that day
& problem solving the situation quickly,
I decided I needed to get her to the doctor.

It had been a long day at work
& as I walked through those doors
of the doctors office
I knew it was going to be an
even longer day.

Obviously I had to status as a
"walk in" and accept urgent-care
waits, but this was getting ridiculous.

Thirty minutes into my wait
with little girl tearing up in my arms
I knew I had to be patient for
just a little bit longer
& stay strong for her sake.

Every bone in my body wanted to me to cry
I felt so bad for Baby Bella
tears flowing down her pretty face
but not screaming or fussing at all.
&& what was even harder...
not knowing what was even wrong.

My Mommy powers couldn't fix this one.

We finally got called back into the special room
& Baby Bella got assessed by a nurse
The nurse didn't want to hurt her
anymore than I did
... so she waited for the Doctor.

After an hour wait {total so far}
we were moved into the x-ray waiting room.
We got one x-ray out of Baby Bella
before her pain set in even worse.

She started screaming loudly
crying. squirming. the whole nine yards.
A nurse made a little sticker stick
& started playing with her.
It was a good enough distraction for
five minutes...

I got her a strong dose of baby ibuprofen
{given to me by the doctor}
& waited anxiously for that pink liquid to kick in.

A second doctor came to examine Baby Bella
{at this point it had been 90 minutes
& we still hadn't reached a conclusion}
She toyed with my baby girl's shoulder,
wrist & lastly her elbow.

With one little tweak
she felt a pop in her elbow.
Baby Bella immediately began screaming
{this was the most painful experience for me
during this whole doctors visit}
she quickly started moving her arm again.

Myself,
along with the two doctors
& three nurses
decide to take one last x-ray
to make sure she is okay

At this point
we're all thinking it was a dislocation
& hopefully the second doctor
took care of business.

Twenty minutes later
Baby Bella is asleep.
exhausted from her pain
& with the medicine setting in
she finally got relief...
along with me.

We both fell asleep in the x-ray room
her little head on my heart. 
&& at that moment
I knew I wouldn't go home till she was fixed.

She is what matters to me
my whole world.
& my reason everyday
to be a better person
work hard
&& always stay positive.

Two more x-rays were taken
{while she was sleeping}
& after a phone call to a radiologist,
another talk with a doctor, and x-rays.
I am finally given the news:

"She had a dislocated elbow"

Apparently this happens frequently
with our little babies & will heal quickly.
Thank the Lord.

Baby Bella is okay
no fracture to the growth plate,
no broken bone,
no ligament or muscle damage.
{sigh}

How did she do that?
I guess it's a good question
& is still a mystery.

Maybe a lift the wrong way,
a hand held too high,
or a twist during play.

As our children age
people forget how little they really are
because they are so
wild, rambunctious & tough.

Their bones are still fragile
bodies still small.

Please don't go through
what I did.
Be gentle. Always.
No matter if it's your child,
or someone elses.

I am not mad,
nor upset.
I understand accidents happen
even with the best intentions.

Luckily,
Baby Bella bounced right back.
An hour later she was playing
like it never happened.

Such a strong little lady
...& I admire that.
I love her so, so much 
and will...
          forever & always.

Crayon Art: A Tutorial

So as you may or may not know
I do a lot of internet
browsing.
stumbling.
&& pinning.

One day I came across a picture of this project
   on Pinterest 
        {my new favorite site}
&& decided I needed to re-create it.

This project was so fun to do
because I {love} creating art
especially when its not super messy
and looks rad when it's done.

Who knew melting crayons on canvas
could be so awesome.

Here is the tutorial for all of you curious ones
have fun & send me a pic when you finish.
I'd love to see your results!

MATERIALS:
* 1 wrap around canvas- I used 22x28'' {I wanted lots of color}

* 1 box crayons- I got the "Jumbo" 120 ct. {didn't use them all but loved the selection}

* hot glue gun -with a couple spare glue sticks

* hair dryer

First unwrap your canvas and crack open your crayons.

then lay them out in the order you want.

{I layed them on my canvas to make sure I had the right amount}

Next glue each one individually onto your canvas

with the name of the color side up

{don't look at how gross my glue gun is...it's been loved}

After you're finished gluing them all on the top of your canvas

Prep your area for some splatter.

{I used plastic garbage bags}

&& plug in your hair dryer

Next take your hairdryer and start melting the wax.

keep the heat on high and the speed on low

so you don't splatter everywhere.

{Like me}

After some trial and error:

I found it best if I put the hairdryer on the paper part

of the crayon and let the wax melt inside

Mold the wax how you want it to look

with the direction of heat

&& let it cool down to finish.

I used my fingers to get the spots that wax wouldn't cover

then melted new wax over my finger spots

{don't worry the wax comes off }

Sweet huh?!

Baby Bella likes Mommy's new painting too

{she's trying to touch it}

Melt Away :)

Three Thirty a.m.

Being a Mommy
sometimes requires a set schedule.
getting up around 8 o'clock every morning
and going to bed just after
Baby Bella shuts her pretty little eyes.
sometimes at a reasonable time {9 o'clock}
other times {11 o'clock} wayy later than expected

Tonight she went down just fine
-- we have had a long week--
             but for some reason
my Mommy brain just doesn't want to
       call it quits.

Do you ever have those nights where
your so amped about life that you can't sleep?

           Or those times when you had so much
            happen today && your mind won't stop running?

It's like Christmas Eve when you were a child
           or the night before you went to Disney World.
     {Those were the good ol' days}

I'm not sure if it's a combination between
                   my eyes not burning
                                && my brain on full throttle
or my overly tired body
       && the amount of sugar flowing in my bloodstream.

But unfortunately
For some strange reason
          {tonight}
the sandman missed my pillow
       or I didn't count enough sheep
because
      I can't seem to close the curtains
              or even adjust the blinds.

So I'm willingly here
             on my computer
writing this blog post to all of you
    who just got a decent nights rest
             or maybe even logged a full nine and a half hours.

Despite my sleep loss,
I always try to be thankful for something
      && tonight
   I'm thankful for concealer
              because I'm really gonna need it today.

I guess it would be inappropriate to say
                               good night,
since most of you are sleeping right now.
         So how about I wish you all a good morning,
 because after all...
             it's three thirty am
                       && gonna be another beautiful day!

Baby Bella's First Huckleberry

Being from Montana
I love huckleberries
&& just about anything with
huckleberry flavor--

    milkshakes. froyo. taffy.
           jam. fudge. pie. mousse.
    jelly beans. syrup. && wine.

Of course all of those ^^
are made in MT ...or close to.

I know I passed huckleberry season already
but one of my good friends
            {Shannon}
said she went hiking && found some!

Ripe. Plump. && Juicy Hucleberries.

At that moment I realized I needed
to get some
                     ASAP.

The next day I decided to take
Baby Bella huckleberry picking
for the first time.

I hiked a quarter of the way up a mountain
&& decided
they all had been picked
...or died.

But I wasn't giving up quite yet.

The next area we tried was
our secret money spot.
My sweet Momma and I
had picked huckleberries there before
so I knew they were there...
&& gave it a shot.

Whaddya know.
HUCKLEBERRIES!

Of course some had
fallen off, died or got eaten by
a bear... but there were some left!

MMM...look at my huck hands! :)

We picked for about 20 minutes
before Baby Bella got tired of picking
she was hungry and it was now close
to 8:45 pm. {Yes we went late}

Once we got home
                     I put some in a small bowl
                                           --Baby Bella size-- 

                                                          && she tore them up!

                              Absolutely loved them,
                                                  {just like her Momma} <3