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 



   

Nooo Gabba Gabba!

Baby Bella likes to watch Nick Jr. Television
quite a bit
&& I feel that she's learning
so I let her.

Of course there are some shows
I don't mind to watch with her...
Miss Spider's Sunnypatch
or Franklin.

Unfortunately,
there are also shows I
{hate} strongly dislike.
                Yo Gabba Gabba is one of them.


A little wiki-history on Yo Gabba Gabba:

 {This storyborad wasn't written by educational executives, but instead the show was developed by two Southern California fathers with no previous experience writing for television let alone children’s broadcasting. They simply shared a mutual disappointment in kids’ television. They both wanted to design a kids' show that was both educational and entertaining while featuring real artists and real performers.

The pair first started working together as teenagers, producing and directing skateboarding videos. After doing some odd jobs here and there, Jacobs and Schultz decided to try something different.

In 1999, after becoming parents themselves, the pair started playing around with ideas for children television. They later produced a pilot independently financed by small loans from friends and family. Even after producing the pilots, Yo Gabba Gabba did not get much attention until it started circulating on the internet. It happened to get viewed by Jared Hess, the director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, who then phoned Brown Johnson, the executive vice president and executive creative director of Nickelodeon Preschool and told her to check it out.

The show first aired in August of 2007. }

Well no wonder that show makes me feel
like I'm using an illegal substance.
However I must admit,
Baby Bella seems to like it...

Yesterday my father came home from
a shopping trip with my sister in a town
about two hours away.

&& guess what he brought home.
Yes. this stupid little green thing
                {Brobee}
reminded him of Baby Bella.
        What is this world coming to?!

She absolutely loves it.
Plays with it.
               && laughs with it.

My motherly instincts
cringe and my innards
scream at me to change the channel
when "Yoooo Gabba Gabba" comes on.
But somehow.
I cant.

So for now the fact remains,
my daughter,
                       {along with her Yo Gabba Gabba love}
still has my heart.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

As you may already know
{or maybe not}
I like to cook, bake or
whatever you call
'messing around in the kitchen.'

Yes that actually happened.
If you are me... {you might need one two eggs for this recipe}

I typically don't cook just for myself
because I find I don't eat it all
&& it goes in the trash. ugh.

So this leaves me
cooking for others I care about.
--which I don't mind at all.

One of my favorites
really likes toffee.
so after much research online
I found a recipe for
Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars.

C A U T I O N : {These things are deadly}

You will need:

No-Stick Cooking Spray

2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine

1 large egg, slightly beaten

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts {I left these out}

1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 (8 ounce) package toffee baking bits, divided {I used almost 2 packages}

A couple Heath bars for toppings. {I only used 1}

                              
                                 First preheat your oven to 350 degrees, &&
                          spray a 9x13'' pan with your non-stick cooking spray.

                        In a large bowl you'll need to mix
                               2 1/2 cups flour + 2/3 cups {packed} brown sugar

                                                   Cut in the 3/4 cup butter

                               Then mix the butter till it resembles coarse crumbs.

                         

                                                         Add your 1 egg & stir

                                           {I used a mixer for this step

                                                 to make sure I got everything mixed up well}

      Stir in 1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

                             & nuts {if you prefer, I didn't}

                          I added more toffee bits instead

                                      

            Now it's time to make the crust--

                     Reserve 1 1/2 cups mixture for the topping

                && press the remaining crumb coat

                                into the bottom of your pan.

                Bake the crust for 10 minutes

                                  & clean up your mess in the meantime.

                                     When your crust is done

        add the whole 8 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

                    to the top

                               Be sure to spread it around

                                               to get an even coat

            It's time to add your toffee bits

                       && reserve 1/4 cup for the topping

              {I opened my new bag of toffee bits for this part

                       I also added a few more toffee bits from the other bag}

                                        Sprinkle the rest of your
                                crumb mixture on top of the toffee

              Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips on top

                   {I didn't want it super chocolatey so I only added 1/3 cup}

                             Look at these wonderful
              sugary, fattening layers!

              It's oven time!
                    Bake your toffee bars for 25-30 minutes
                               or until golden brown.
                      && use the rest of your 1/4 cup toffee bits to the top
                         when done baking.

                               Let these babies cool before cutting - I put mine in the freezer.

                  && remember try not to eat too much!

                                   They incredibly rich, sweet && yummy.

                    {I also added a mashed up heath bar

                                                        to the top for decoration}

MMMMMMM........

A Noodle Game

Tonight I made pasta for Baby Bella
she's a very picky eater
who most of the time doesn't eat enough
and drinks too many "baba's" aka bottles.

I placed the noodles on her tray
hoping she might dig in.
{normally pasta is a safe choice}
and not very messy.

Baby Bella started off well
eating them bite by bite.
her small hands
working their way towards her mouth.

                                        After a few minutes
her tastebuds could care less about noodles.

Baby Bella's hand gripped the pasta
        lead it towards the side of her tray
    && with the floor in sight
her little fingers let her pasta drop to its unexpected destination.
again.
     again.
         & again.

Untill her dinner,
was no longer dinner
                      ...but a noodle game instead.

My Lettuce Wrap

Baby Bella tends to fall asleep in the car
a lot.

Sometimes this keeps me from getting things done
because I feel bad for waking her up
But this time
I really needed to get groceries
&& I couldn't put it off any longer.

Being as careful as I could
&& thinking of every possible thing that could potenially
wake her up -
I went for it.

I wrapped her in my puffiest jacket,
{so she wouldn't know a temperature difference}

walked her to the store entrance
{so the cart wouldn't rattler her on the pavement}

pulled the cart inside first
{so it wouldn't bang on the doorstep}

layed her down gently
{so she didn't wake up after making it this far}

added extra paddng -aka my hood- under her head
{so she would be comfortable on the metal cart}

&& tucked in her sides.
{so she would think I was still holding her tight}

Being in a grocery store
I guess it's appropriate to call her
my little burrito
a taco
or maybe a lettuce wrap.

Yes...
a very healthy, happy and loved
wrap.

The Day we Conquered Big Mountain

Every morning I wake up
& start brainstorming
trying to decide
what I should put on the agenda for the day.


Some mornings I'll craft while Bella wakes up
other mornings I'm gearing her up for the day ahead.
Lake time, a hike, a shopping trip or a long stroller ride.
It doesn't matter she's ready for anything...
and on August 12th, 2011-- I was too.

For some reason I got this great idea
to hike to the summit of Big Mountain.
Yes, that's what it's really called.
I phoned a couple good friends of mine
and we all met at my house at 9am

I figured that should be plenty of time to get to the top
however they were unaware of my decision to go
to the summit.

{We'll see how things go on our way up}
type of thing.

After stopping at {two} different grocery stores
to purchase our coffee and kombucha,
we finally arrived at the Danny On trailhead.

Four miles up,
&& knowing the chairlift wasn't running...
four miles down.

During the first mile up we passed a wonderful tourist
who kindly asked to take a picture of
Baby Bella and I.
I accepted and I'm so thankful I did

                           {A big thanks to the Flemming couple
                                   for e-mailing this to me after our hike!}

That's the picture.
Perfect. I love it.

Then we kept hiking up...
about three miles up
Bella fell asleep & the gals
started asking how I was doing.

With my thirty pound backpack
and just a little breath left
I said, "Good... just don't stop!"

Like the great friends they are,
watching out for my best interest
they thought I'd like to turn back
because secretly
{they wanted to}

Nothing is gonna stop this Momma though.

The last leg of the hike is a straight climb to the top
and boy did that kick my butt.

After stopping four times to catch my breath
we made it to the top.

This is what life is living for.

Crisp, clean air
pushing yourself when you've had enough
making something you want - happen - despite your circumstances.

exploring your potential
taking advantage of the world you live in.
&& last but not least --
doing the things you love
and doing them often.

I may be a young, single Momma
who works full time
but who said that has to be an excuse?

Becoming a Mommy means
switching your priorities
taking on more responsibility
and learning how to manage time effectively.

It doesn't mean you cannot do the things you love still
you just do them differently.

&& with those precious thirty pounds on my back
we started our decent

was it easy? no.
did I want to stop? maybe a little.


was it worth the
eight blisters on my bleeding feet
sore shoulders
and swollen knee?

Of course.
&& it will be everytime.