Play Date with Brenda and the Babies

Today is the kind of day I'm working on having more often. Waking up on time, seeing another adult who BONUS has kids the same age as Emma, had some good personal playtime with my little dove, and actually had her bathed and in bed ON TIME. *Giving myself a pat on the back*. Taking pictures is something I'd really like to try and keep habit of. I'm torn though on whether or not I should. Capture the moment! Yes, of course; but that moment is being spent by me looking through a lens waiting for a great shot instead of actually looking at my child. I try to do both the best that I can, but it's hard! Right when I put the camera away gosh darnit she does something adorable that I wish I could have caught. And then I tell myself 'Remember this Holly, remember this moment' as if pure concentration is going to burn it into my long term memory. I enjoy my moments with her though. They can be so fun, so hysterical, so sweet, so calm and quiet, so nice. Mothers could agree that at times, babies can be 100% therapeutic emotionally. At least for me, Emma's cuddles recharge my battery in a second. Seeing your child's face snuggled into your chest or shoulder is priceless. Their little breathes, or squeaks, squawks, moans, laughs...though some of these we may grow tired of, I have a feeling I'll miss them as I look back years from now. I want to remember this moment-story of my life.
It's enjoyable having your first child because we can take our time with them. All of our attention is focused on them. When you have a second, or third or more, its harder to give that one on one time all the time. Did I say harder? I meant impossible. We love our children and want them all to feel equally loved, and spend time with them equally. I'm trying my hardest every day to enjoy my time with Emma while it's just her. Though I know I'll love my kids to follow just as much, I'm going to miss the chance to just have time to one and me by ourselves. Time with all of us together though, that will be fun. It will replace what we all had once with just our first child, but we'll love it just as much when we step back and think about it.
I've been more adventurous lately in the kitchen. Kirks family is amazing when it comes to planning reunions and get-togethers. Each summer there are three reunions. One up at Silver Creek Plunge in June with just his parents and siblings, one at bear lake with his moms side and one up in cascade with his dads side. Both his moms and dads side reunions have the tradition of picking huckleberries near where they stay. So this season Kirk brought home about four cups! So I made huck ice cream, huck fudge, and huck jam (required for making fudge, but had plenty left over! And holy cow it all was sooo yummy! Usually not big on huckleberries but man the ice cream especially was perfect. I've also managed to work with chicken outside of the usual fettchini alfredo, I made crock pot chipotle chicken tacos and again, yum! I'll attache the recipes to follow. Trust me, they are all worth trying, and fairly easy to make! Didn't struggle, nor do I regret being adventurous. Four new recipes in Big Red! (Big Red is what I call my cookbook)

Huckleberry Ice Cream Recipe

Huckleberry Fudge Recipe

Huckleberry Jam Recipe

Crock-Pot Chipotle Chicken Tacos Recipe