Total Eclipse of the Mind

You know what hasn't had nearly enough words dedicated to it? The eclipse! Except, the opposite of that because HOOBOY HAS THERE BEEN ANYTHING ELSE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY? That said, I do love beating a dead horse, so I'm going to throw some more words at the great solar eclipse of 2017.

Mostly because I want documentation for how the girls went about their days.

Mila, Miss Mila. Miss Mila spent the eclipse not napping. To know her is to know that she really loves her afternoon nap. She's very willing to let our friends at daycare get paid for two hours for doing absolutely nothing except handing her a blanket and staying out of her way. I'm not sure what transpired that caused her to skip her favorite part of the day, but I most certainly picked up the pieces later. Did you know that a Mila that was awakened for gymnastics is a REALLY angry Mila?

So angry.

But, you know, maybe don't fall asleep on your way to your favorite place? I think that's a good philosophy.

Anyway, while it was a little darker than usual during nap time, Mila didn't nap and she has a very long list of regrets to write down before she goes to sleep today.

Alexis, on the other hand, maintained her usual sleeping habits and was wide awake (and happy about it!) for the eclipse. She was also ridiculously equipped for viewing the eclipse because sometimes being the parent rules. It definitely rules when you send your 11-year old a link and say, "Make one." 

There was some fighting about that assignment. Mostly Alexis was annoyed I demanded she do something useful, but she was also annoyed that I asked her to do something useful on the last day of summer break. Apparently she thought she would spend the entire day eating bon-bons and dreaming about Shawn Mendes. Instead, she spent it making her own solar eclipse glasses and a projector and I don't even know what else. She went from whining endlessly that I wanted her to participate in educational tasks to searching every website everywhere for more educational tasks.

I'm not writing this out so I can remind her that I owe her an "I told you so." I'm writing it out so I can say I TOLD YOU SO, ALEXIS.

Since whining endlessly that "eclipses are dumb anyway" and "I'm not doing any of that," Alexis had a change of heart. There has been video watching, a giant pile of science projects, and endless talk about the eclipse.

Because it's cool. Didn't you know that? "Eclipses are the coolest, mom."

So there you have it.

Mini Caramel Pecan Monkey Breads

School is on the verge of starting, which HOW? How did the summer fly by so quickly? I'm trying very hard to maintain an attitude of denial about the whole thing because I swear it's still spring. On the rare occasions that I acknowledge that the leaves are about to fall, I do crazy things.

Crazy things like tell Alexis to invite a bunch of friends over for a sleepover.

That's the short version of how it came to be that there were four sixth graders at our house this weekend. Did you know that four sixth graders can be very loud? Like, WOW. So loud.

They used some of their loud to talk me into making Monkey Bread, which wasn't terribly hard since I almost always want to eat Monkey Bread. It's even more fun when I can make a couple of variations because one of them wants the caramel type and the other one doesn't and EVERYBODY IS HAPPY! Hooray!

Mini Caramel Pecan Monkey Breads

1 large package biscuits (the ones in the whack-a-can)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. You're making 9 little monkey breads because muffin-sized ones are convenient and stuff.

2. Cut the biscuits into small chunks. Go for about 8 chunks per biscuit.

3. Toss the sugar and cinnamon into a large Ziplic bag. Drop the biscuit chunks into the bag then shake to cover the biscuits completely.

4. Drop about 1 teaspoon of pecans into each cupcake liner. 

5. Top with sugar-coated biscuits. Fill those suckers up until they are heaped over the top.

6. Melt the butter in the microwave in a mug or large measuring cup. Stir in the brown sugar.

7. Spoon the "caramel" over each little Monkey Bread.

8. Bake at 375 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes or until lightly browned.

9. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. I suggest taking what you want before showing any kids what you have because otherwise you won't get any. Trust me.

Still. I Still Have an Endless Supply of Beach Photos.