Seriously though, here is the true and 100% fact-filled reason Why I Have Trouble Sleeping Every Single Night.

Me, all day, every day: I. Need. To. Work.

Inside Me: But I’m nervous about tomorrow!

Me: Get over it, it’s time to work.

Inside Me: Tomorrow, tomorrow tomorrrrrowwwwwww.

Me: Ugh, we need MONEY. Don’t you get that no money = living in a van under a bridge?? We don’t even own a van. We’ll have to live in someone else’s van!

Inside Me: *whispers* tomorrow…

Me: I KNOW, I get it, but c’mon. Let’s get motivated. Let’s get stuff going! Maybe we’ll forget about tomorrow.

Inside Me: Not likely…

Me: You’re a jerk, you know that?

Inside Me: Don’t make me start singing songs you memorized in junior high. I’ll totally go there.

Me: You wouldn’t.

Inside Me: *at the top of her lungs* All right stop, collaborate and listen! Ice is back with a brand new invention. Something grabs ahold of me tightly –

Me: STOP!!! I GIVE!!! I GIVE!!!

Inside Me: Tomorrow.

So here’s the thing. I’ve tried prescription pills. I’ve tried over-the-counter pills. I’ve counted sheep, counted ceiling tiles, counted stars, counted to a million and back…I think I might have gotten stuck on counting there. It’s the insomnia, I couldn’t help it. Thing is, for the longest time I fought it.

Seriously fought it.

Tooth and nail battle of wills every single stinkin’ night about trying to go to sleep and waking up at a decent hour to live like a normal human *takes a deep breath* aaaaand…then I stopped.

Stopped fighting. Gave in. Now when I can’t sleep at night, I get up. Read a book. Work. Take a bath. Sit outside and enjoy the sound of crickets and the cool night breeze. Watch the sunrise.

And it’s crazy. Yes, sometimes I’m more tired during the day, or sometimes I might need to take a nap, but…I’m happier now.

I’m not going to say this approach would work for everyone, I’m not you. I don’t know what your schedule is or what your family is like, or what responsibilities you have to be alert for each day. But for me? I’m not a fighter. I gave in and honestly, I couldn’t be happier.

Because I was SOOOO lazy, lots of stuff got left out of a traditional pancake recipe…But they’s still worked and tasted AWESOME (unless you like sweet pancakes, but I don’t–so put some sugar in if you want!). So, these are sugar and egg-free (assuming you use a mix that doesn’t contain sugar or egg) and can even be made dairy-free if you use coconut milk instead of cow’s milk. They cook fine either way. I like sugar-free because when you decorate your fabulous 2-ingredient pancakes, there’s little or no chance that the decoration is going to be sugar-free…so I cut where I can without sacrificing flavor. I go egg-free just because I can…

What You Need to Make 2-Ingredient Pancakes:

• 2 cups of baking mix (I use Bisquick)
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Putting Together Your 2-Ingredient Pancakes:

1. Place griddle on stove at medium-heat.
2. Combine the baking mix and milk in a large bowl and stir until smooth.
3. Pour 1/2 cup of mixture in 3 different spots on the hot griddle.
4. Allow pancakes to cook until edges look dry, then flip!
5. Allow pancakes to cook about an equal amount of time on the bottom, then plate them.

Decorating Your 2-Ingredient Pancakes of Awesomeness:

I love using creative ingredients to dress-up a pancake. Especially for a special occasion like a birthday or day-before-going-back-to-school..or, the best pancake day–International Pancake Tuesday (February 17th)! I mean, butter and syrup are great for a regular lazy-weekend breakfast, but for special days, I like to go all-out. Here’s what I use to make a splash on our special days:

• Nutella
• Sliced Strawberries and Blueberries Sprinkled with Sugar (I like fresh, but I won’t tell anyone if you cheat and use frozen)

Pro Tips for Decorating Pancakes:

• Nutella can be piped into awesome shapes and ideas, just like icing. So, using Nutella and a bit of fruit, I’ve made tic-tac-toe pancakes, stacked-like-a-scooby-snack pancakes, and even funny-face pancakes.
• Use your fruit in a creative way! It’s a tongue on a funny face…the O’s or X’s in tic-tac-toe! Or, layer it between the pancakes (this is always fun).

Nutella actually has a lot of fabulous ideas you can use to make breakfast, snacks or desserts awesomeness. They even have a whole “Spread The Happy” campaign to get people thinking about how fabulous Nutella is on pancakes! You can find out more by visiting them on their website, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.

Nutella + fruit = the perfect topping for pancakes! Pick up a jar of Nutella to celebrate International Pancake Tuesday.  The Unique taste of Nutella hazelnut spread comes from the combination of roasted hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa, plus Nutella has no artificial colors or preservatives. Visit nutellausa.tumblr.com for recipe ideas and more! 

This post was brought to you by Nutella hazelnut spread and Ferrero U.S.A., Inc. I received compensation to write this post…all opinions expressed are my own

I mean sure, there is cleaning, bootie wiping, putting to bed, and all that other stuff… but it is important to stop in the middle of all of that and remember that your kid will never be that little again, and that you will never get to do those things for them again. I mean sometimes when it is the end of the day and we have to go upstairs and do the bedroom routine, I think… man I really just want to watch Gilmore Girls, but then I stop myself and remember just how amazing it is to get to be with my daughter… they are once in a lifetime moments and we all need to remember that! Before I know it, she will be too big to sit in my lap and read Brown Bear for the umpteenth time! I am going to start being more thankful for the time that I have with her!

Man, I miss her… I just miss knowing that she is a car ride away… I know she is having fun and all that, but it was nice having her in Texas! I just hope she has a good time while she is there! I miss Noah, her son, too… hehe we only call chicken nugget Happy Meals “Chicken and Fry Fry” in honor of him…. heheh my kid won’t even know what a french fry is…

Okay I am off to my exciting evening of drunken debauchery…err… reading a book and watching The O.C.