butterflies for the boss

 a hug. a sweet text. a little note. date night with the Boss is the best. i love going on dates with him. it takes me back to a time before our home, before our pup, before I Do, before our little M. a time that we'd go have drinks and be carefree. enjoy each others company. a favorite thing we do together. ok. so i love the Boss. a lot.

enough about my butterflies for the Boss.

Mila is 9 months old! WHAT?! when did that happen? she is so so so close to walking. walking. hmmmm. no mater how many times i say or see it actually happen i can't believe it! 29 inches and 21.7 pounds. a whopper. she is eating anything and everything and is happy as a clam. pretty much all the time. she has 2 bottom teeth and 1 on the top, almost 2. she absolutely loves bubbles in her bath and giving Roo kisses through the screen. we are so blessed with this joy in our lives!!!!

maybe why she loves Roo kisses?!

My Pioneer Woman Obsession

if you haven't already heard of the pioneer woman then you need to get her cookbooks or check out her blog ASAP! i have a slight obsession with her. my dinner calendar is marked with PW at least 3 nights a week (for PW dinner...rather AWESOMENESS). i've read her books. have both cookbooks. and love her photography. oh, and i record her cooking show on food network.

a recent post of hers was a recipe for Chocolate Dipped Granola Bars. it looked so fabulous i thought i'd share.

recipe from www.thepioneerwoman.com

Chocolate Dipped Granola Bars:

6 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
4 T butter, melted
1/2 vegetable oil or canola oil
1 t salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 honey
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup molasses
3 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/4 cup chopped pecans
8 oz. chocolate, melted

• Pre-heat oven to 350
• Toss oats with melted butter, vegetable oil and salt.
• Spread on two baking sheets, bake for 15-20 minutes shaking around twice to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Reduce heat to 325
• In medium sauce pan, combine brown sugar, honey, apple juice and molasses together. Heat slowly, stir until combine. Stir in vanilla.
• Toss toasted oats, rice cereal, wheat germ and chopped nuts. Pour in sugar mixture while stirring. Toss to combine. It will be sticky!
• Press into one baking sheet that is well greased with butter or lined with foil and grease the foil. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden. 
• Use a sharp knife to cut into bars and dip the bottom side (bar will be parallel to the counter top) in chocolate. Bars will become chewy after being. I like to break up the granola into chunks :)

PLEASE make this. it is to die for. really. would be wonderful dipped in white chocolate and peppermint chunks for Christmas treats or dye the white chocolate orange for a Halloween treat! mmmm

money. $$$. moolah.

is lame. it causes me to have that gut feeling like i might barf. i really don't like money. of course, it does buy awesome things but it also pays the bills that never seem to quit arriving. and there are always awesome things to buy! anyone know where i can find a money tree? no really, we live a comfortable life thanks to The Boss but every time i open the mail box to find a bill, mark it down on the calendar, get the check book out and blah blah blah, i cringe. anyone else feel this way? i'm done.

happy friday! too bad it's only tuesday at our home. ok, i'm really done now.

if this photo doesn't make your day.... something is wrong with you!

Another Summer Come and Gone

well, another summer has come and nearly gone in the blink of an eye. how does this happen? just like they always used to tell me "the older you get, the faster time goes." and boy, were they ever right. it seems like the time goes even faster once you become a doting, worrying, loving, tired parent!

our summer has consisted of swim lessons with Mr. Ben, an annual trip to Tahoe (our 18th!), an evening lake trip, BBQ's with friends, lots of improvements to our home and a few date nights with The Boss along the way. and in all this busyness we call life, our baby girl is 9 MONTHS OLD next week! what?!

mila-you are the light in mama and daddy's life. every morning i am so lucky to open your door and see your smiling face and bouncing legs. jumping is your favorite thing to do. avocado and cottage cheese are your favorite things to eat. quack quack, more like qack qack, is your favorite thing to say. scrunching your little nose up is the only (and cutest) way to smile. you are a lover of all people and all puppies. you have taught me patience. you have given us a love like no other.

OH BABY.

Our sweet little girl, 3 months already! The last 3 months have absolutely, hands down been the best of our lives. Laughter. Smiles. Poop. Spit up. Crying. The list of everyday changes goes on for miles. And I couldn't be happier.

We had quite the health scare with Mila. Spent a week at Sierra Vista running every test your mind can imagine and getting no answers in return. It was the toughest challenge our marriage has gone through. The amount of stress that is immediately dumped on you when your baby is sick is just unimaginable. We clung to each other in moments of wonder & pushed away when the worry was just too much. At the end of this trial, we came out stronger than ever and with a new love for our little girl....Also with lessons learned: life is so fragile and can be tested and taken from us at any moment. I am so THANKFUL for my family.

Mila is so full of life! And a wonderful baby. She has been a great sleeper from day one. I have been so lucky!!! And fearful that our next will be the opposite! At 11 weeks, she is rolling from front to back, grabbing for toys and if you put her in front of a mirror she will just laugh, smile and talk to herself all day! She thinks she is the bees-knees :) She isn't a big fan of her car seat. She adores being carried around in the Ergo Baby: we water, mow the lawn, take Roo for walks, make lunch...we do everything with her strapped to my chest.

This is Mila and Mr. Ben. Cady and I were pregnant together and due just a day apart. When we picked our day for cesarean, we thought for sure Cady would be late and the babies would be at least 2-3 weeks apart. Welp, life has it's own agenda and to my astonishment, Fritch was written on the board outside my room at the hospital. I waddled down the hall and sure enough, there Cady was in the throws of labor. Ben was born 2 days after Mila, right across the hall. We go for daily walks, shopping and have lots of Mommy/wine time together when the babies are sleeping. I absolutely love Cady and I am so lucky to have her in my life. She is a wonderful friend and we know it will be so fun to have the babies grow up together!

Oh baby girl, how we love you! The clock is ticking ticking ticking away! Only 6 short weeks (4 1/2 even shorter ones if you don't flip) until we meet your sweet face!!! We are so ready! A secret little part of me hopes that you stay breech....if you do, you will get such a special birthday. December 14th is the day your great-great grandmother passed away at the age of 100. We know she is watching down on us and although she can't 'meet' you, we know she will sense your presence and arrival. She was an amazing woman. You would be her 'little Bootsie' just like mommy was.... I feel it is a sign that you happen to be hanging out head-up :) Your great-great grandfather passed away just a few weeks before your Uncle Josh was born and grandma said 'God giveth and God taketh away'. She was taken from us on that day and you will be given.

Breech.

Not a word you'd like to hear when you visit the Dr. When he said "Oh, her head is up here." I looked at the medical student like 'what the hell?!' If you know me, you know my mind is going 100 mph. Even though 'we don't need to worry for 5 more weeks' he says. And he also says she is 'big'. And the bigger the harder it will be for her to turn. So here I am, on my first day in the second quarter of my century of life, with a racing mind. Is this bad? A c-section? Turning her? Keloid scars? Recovery? Not getting to nurse right away? But at the same time: I am quite the planner. Picking her birthday. Knowing when she will arrive. Being as prepared as I can be....hmmmm this could not be so bad.

Do I want to try and mover her? Lie on my head? Tilt my pelvis? I think not. I think she is this way because in that heck of a tight space she is occupying, this is what is comfortable for her. There is a reason she has stayed head up. And I am not going to fret.

Can't wait to meet you little girl. We love you.