I Blinked and Suddenly She is 8 Years Old

I swear this photo was taken yesterday, but no. It was taken 7 years and 49 weeks ago, when Alexis was just 3 weeks old.

::blink::

Now she's 8 years old.

She started this day exactly the same as she has started so many days -- with her fingers wound tightly through my hair as she took up half of the bed. While she was good about sleeping in her crib when she was a newborn, that was a special kind of wonderful that evaporated some months later.

She still tries to crawl into bed with me almost every night. Still.

(She will stop before she heads off to college, right? Because if not, I guess she will have to give up on that dream of going to college in France. I can't move just so she can continue to play with my hair, after all.)

I stayed in bed longer than I should have this morning. That silent moment while Alexis breathed softly in her sleep needed to be memorized. The feel of her fingers wound tightly in my hair, the cadence of her soft exhales, all of it. This morning was the last morning she'll ever wake up as a newly minted 8-year old.

Happy birthday, Alexis. Let's make 8 the best year ever.

Bean Dip with Homemade Taco Seasoning

Everybody needs to have a nice stockpile of easy-to-prepare sides that can be made at the drop of a hat, right? Right.

It ain't pretty to look at, but Bean Dip is a crowd pleaser. Kids love it, grown-ups love it, and it's easy to throw together. TOTAL WINNER.

I tend to have all of the pieces and parts needed to make taco seasoning in my spice drawer, so I've stopped buying that so-called convenient pack of "taco seasoning." It's just as easy to make it from scratch, plus I get to control the heat index. That's always good news.

If you're a taco seasoning packet kind of person, that's cool. Just switch out a packet for all the spices listed in this recipe. It'll work.

Oh, and a can of sliced black olives make this better. Some people in my house disagree, so I suffer without. But I do it with much sadness.

Bean Dip with Homemade Taco Seasoning

2 cans refried beans
1 cup sour cream
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

1. Yes, I know that's a long list of ingredients. It'll be OK. Promise! All that stuff is good to have around the spice drawer all the time anyway. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine the beans, sour cream, and cream cheese until well blended. Add in the spices and mix some more. An electric mixer works well.

3. Dump in half the cheese -- meaning 1 cup of the cheddar and 1 cup of the monterey jack. Stir it all up.

4. Spread the beans in the bottom of a 9"x13" glass dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and perfect.

6. Serve with tortilla chips.

Hula Cat

Apparently asking your cat to dress like it's sunny and 90 degrees when it's definitely not is grounds for FURY. Now I know.

Bonus outtake: the moment immediately before Kiara fell off the table because she was SO MAD OMG.