And That's That

When last we peered into life with Mila, I was locked in the house and NEVER LEAVING.

It didn't last long.

Nothing really changed from Day One of Potty Training and Day I'm Out of Here of Potty Training. I just got ... cagey. Let's go with that. A random moment of insanity led me to deciding I was going to the Pirates game Friday night. I was supposed to go without any children, but then Alexis was at a birthday party and Mila was sitting there being all cute. I thought about how I was about to miss a few days of her toddlerness because I'm travelling for work this week and BAM. I took the Professional Pottier with me.

I made it exactly 12 minutes down the road before I regretted it. No joke. 12 minutes. At the 12-minute mark, Mila said she needed to go. I'm well-trained, so I found a place to pull off the road and ran her into the restroom.

12 minutes.

The good news is that by the time we made it downtown, a whopping 12 minutes later, it turned out that there were some traffic challenges. When she AGAIN said she needed to go, I at least knew it wasn't a dire emergency. We found our way to a parking garage eventually and then dealt with Mila's need to visit EVERY restroom and things were good.

Eventually, wemade it to the game. We got to our seats, settled in, and ... she started asking to go to the restroom again.

Which, ugh.

But the thing is, when she asked and I didn't instantly jump up, I noticed that it seemed to bother a few people who were sitting near us. It wasn't the awesome person we were with who was bothered, so I kind of enjoyed it. I maybe sort of enjoy when people are being nosey and end up being uncomfortable because of it. So ... I didn't take Mila.

I mean, I did eventually, but not right away.

And then when I did take her and we made it back to our seats and she asked to go AGAIN without sitting all the way down, I was done. I was ready to go to war with a stubborn little kid. As a bonus, that time it DEFINITELY bothered a few of the neighboring people that I didn't rush to take her.

So I didn't take her at all.

And she eventually stopped asking.

And since then, she's been mostly a normal member of society.

No accidents. I've taken her to the mall shopping. We've ran errands all over town. She even went to a little kid football game. The entire time she has acted totally reasonable.

Therefore, I heretoforth highly recommend waiting to potty train your kid until they are about six months past ready because while it may be painful for a few days, it will totally be fine after a few days. I'm so good at this potty training thing. Ahem.

Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread

Alexis' love for all things pumpkin spice knows no limits. She is basically asking me to "pumpkin up" everything I make these days.

Which, well, okay.

Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread. She asked for it, and then carefully described what it meant to her. There was a "pumpkin pie like filling" requirement which became he critical part and really. The kid has good ideas. It's a fact.

Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread

4 small cans refrigerated biscuits
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup butter
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pie mix, just pumpkin)
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (yes, again)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray nonstick spray inside a fluted pan.

3. Cut the biscuits into quarters.

4. In a gallon storage bag, combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Then toss the biscuit pieces in a few at a time and shake the bag to coat the biscuits with sugar.

5. Toss the sugar-coated biscuits into the fluted pan.

6. In a small bowl, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice then stir until well combined.

7. Pour over the biscuits and smooth out.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. It's done when the top is lightly browned.

9. Allow to cool and then invert on a plate. You'll end up with pumpkin pie at the bottom and monkey bread on top and happy everywhere between.

Shoe-Free Cindy