Santa Better Sleep With One Eye Open

Mila flips back and forth between waking up on her own at an appropriate time and me having to drag her out of bed three minutes before we need to leave. Right now I'm that terrible person who wakes up a 3-year old by ripping her pajamas off and tossing clothes on her before she has a chance to fully open her eyes.

It's the worst. I hate waking up a sleeping kid.

But it's also the best. Mila does funny stuff when she's loopy from a sleep hangover.

"Is that snow?" she asked this morning as she gazed out the window while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

My first 30 responses all included words I try not to say around the kid, but eventually I found my way to, "Yes." I probably growled after I said it.

"HOORAY!" Mila replied.

I would like a cookie. I didn't throw her out the window. I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, THOUGH.

"Santa is going to come tomorrow," she continued.

"No, he's not," I said.

"Yes he is! Santa comes at Christmas and there is snow so I get presents tomorrow!" she gushed. She then continued on in that nonsense-words-all-strung-together way that only preschoolers can do.

Eventually I cut in. "Mila, Santa isn't coming until next winter. We get to have Halloween and the 4th of July and a bunch of other stuff first."

At this point, Mila was fully awake. She looked me straight in the eye and said, "If there is snow, I get presents."

I think it might have been a threat.

She's Right

Mila has had a lot of great moments in her short life, but I think my new favorite might be a direct result of the fact that she forgets things. While she absolutely remembers the fact that I promised her an ice cream sandwich three days ago, somehow she forgot that there was a time in her life when she didn't have to wear leggings with her dresses.

I mean, it has been a long winter. Can you blame her for forgetting what life was like back when the weather was kinder?

Imagine her surprise when Saturday rolled around and suddenly spring showed up for duty. Alexis had the pleasure of being the one to help Mila pick out clothes for the day (we fight for the privilege because even a super-opinionated Mila is fun to dress up). It started with her recent favorite bunny dress, which I bought in Bahrain for who knows how much because I still don't understand the currency there.  Normally that dress goes with leggings, but Alexis was all, "You don't have to wear pants today! It's warm outside!"

Mila's jaw dropped. "WUUUUUUT? NO PANTS?" she asked with a level of glee normally reserved for chocolate, ice cream, and kittens. She was positively stunned and delighted. I was in the hallway listening to the exchange, but then stepped into the room because HILARIOUS.

"MOM, I DON'T HAVE TO WEAR PANTS!"

It was so perfect.

For two glorious days, Mila existed without pants and with "fippy fops" because you wear "fippy fops" when it's warm enough for your toes to see the sun. Everyone was happy.

And then came today. The cold weather returned because Mother Nature is a stupid doo-doo face. I had to break it to Mila that pants needed to make a comeback, which was met with an angry glare. And then there was the moment when I told her she had to wear a jacket.

"You have to wear a jacket today. The warm weather went away," I said.

"But whyyyyyyyyy?" Mila sobbed.

Yep. I wholeheartedly agree, Mila.

Vegetarian Meals for Tweens

Alexis is officially at the age where some of her peers are beginning to consider vegetarianism. They're experimenting and all of that, but it has led to lots of grown-up conversations about what a vegetarian tween will eat.

::shrug::

I don't know what "normal" kids eat. Alexis is generally pretty good about eating whatever I make. There are very few things she won't eat, actually ... just so long as we leave meat out of the equation. I don't think she will ever cross over. She's tried meats of all kinds from time-to-time and she never leaves the experiment thinking it was a good choice.

ANYWAY, in the midst of all of these recent discussions, the question "what are Alexis' 5 favorite vegetarian meals" came up. Here's what she answered. (If I ask her again tomorrow, she'll answer a different 5 things, but they'll mostly involve rice and pasta. The grilled cheese will always be on her list, though. Go figure.)

1. Vegetable Paella

2. Japanese Hibachi Noodles and Vegetables

3. General Tso's Tofu

4. Vegetarian Chili

5. Grilled Asparagus and Fontina Cheese