Not The Jimmy

I'm going to need a rewind button on life, you guys. It's not that I want to go back and change something major or anything; it's that suddenly I might just have a clue. I'd like to apply that clue retroactively, please.

Mila has called Alexis "Lala" for a very long time. The letter "x" is a tricky one, so it's not surprising that she would find a way around it. And, yes, it's super adorable.

But, here's the thing. I didn't realize until Mila suddenly figured out that her name starts with an "M" that she refers to herself in the third person. "Lila" is not "Lala" because "Lila" is "Mila" and OMG SHE HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

I figured it out when seeking dinner out one night. I asked Alexis what we should get and she was useless. She completely lacked an opinion and since I resembled that remark, I turned to Mila. "What do you want to eat, Mila?"

"Mila needs candy," she replied. She said it as clear as day and suddenly I realized that there has been a whole bunch of times when I thought we were talking about that big sister and not Little Miss Mila.

"L(M)ila go to sleep."

"L(M)ila go for a walk."

"L(M)ila need water."

I always thought we were talking about Alexis. I was wronger than wrong and then even wronger, which is probably why anything I said back was met with a fit.

Two things:

1. Is Mila actually a perfectly reasonable toddler and I've been causing her frustration because I couldn't figure out who she was talking about?

2. She is going to outgrow this thing where she talks about herself in the third person, right? RIGHT? Because I can't go through life dealing with a real life The Jimmy.

The Creepy Super Bowl

It's the most wonderful time of the year! October, AKA my Super Bowl, has flung itself at our feet and demanded that it be respected with ghosts and goblins and oh my gosh. I just love decorating for Halloween.

You know who else loves decorating for Halloween? Alexis! She has these weird rules about when it's appropriate, but I can forgive that. She wouldn't help a week ago, but with October 1st came all of her cooperation. Alexis spent her every free moment this weekend digging through boxes and asking if it was time to decorate outside yet. How about now? Can we decorate outside now? PLEASE?

She kinda sorta super likes setting up the mini graveyard. Which, so do I, but because I'm apparently an almost nice person, I let her do it. Or maybe I'm not nice because this weekend I let Alexis put up the fencing for the graveyard, but I also let Mila "help."

Wanna guess what it looks like when a toddler "helps?" If you're picturing someone ripping little pieces of fence out of the ground just as fast as someone else can put them in, you're correct. Mila decided that there needed to be "doors" on all sides, so she kept moving things to create openings. When she wasn't busy doing that, she was pulling lights off of all of the places Alexis kept putting them. In her other spare moments, Mila decided to fight the gravestones. They bounce when you punch them, you see. Bouncing gravestones are all of the fun, or so Mila says.

While Mila loved the bouncing gravestones, my favorite part of decorating for Halloween is finding all of the things I bought on clearance after the holiday the previous year. I always grab a few things while they're 70% or more off, but I rarely remember what they are. Opening Halloween boxes and digging is like Christmas, except better because it's digging for creepy things.

I BOUGHT A GIANT WITCH LAST YEAR!

Somewhere in my head I knew that, but I had filed the fact away. When I found the box this year, I held it in my hands and whispered, "You're so beautiful." Because obviously.

And then it came to be time to set up the giant witch. She is a glorious 8 foot tall inflatable monstrosity, so I figured that Alexis would love her, but Mila would be scared of her. Giant and stuff. Giant is scary.

Or not. It's hard to see in the photo, but as the witch stretched her way to the sky, Mila exploded with joy. She went from watching with joy all over her face to hugging the witch to her current state of being - every few minutes Mila runs to the window to wave and say "hi" to the witch.

Halloween is so definitely the best.

20-Minute Chicken Tortellini Soup (Vegetarian Style)

You guys! You guys! I went grocery shopping today! As in, I bought food for multiple days!

I deserve a cookie. GOOD THING I BOUGHT THE STUFF TO MAKE SOME!

Anyway, it had been entirely too long since I last did a real grocery run. I've been buying enough to get by for a day or two for a while now because 'tis the season to run around like a loon. Which, funny thing, that. There was a delightful moment while I was running through the store that a woman about my age looked at my cart, looked at me, and then said, "It must be nice to have time to make all of those vegetables."

::blink::blink::blink::blink::blink::

I didn't bother to retort because I was too busy being proud of myself for buying more than a handful of things. But! In that woman's honor, I present to you 20-Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup. Just because you need to turn dinner around fast doesn't mean you can't start with fresh vegetables.

20-Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup (Vegetarian Style)

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 carrots
4 stalks celery
1 medium yellow onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 32-oz box vegetable broth
1 package Morningstar Chik'n Strips (or real meat equivalent)
1 19-oz package frozen tortellini
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Large skillet. Olive oil. Put those things together and then quickly chop up the carrots. Toss them into the oil and turn the heat on high. Then chop the celery. Toss that in and then chop up the onion. Toss it in and then toss in the garlic. Stir the vegetables occasionally while you work on the other steps.

2. We're trying to get this show on the road in less than 20 minutes, so start heating that broth in a large stock pot using hight heat.

3. When the carrots are sufficiently soft for your liking, toss the vegetables into the broth. Keep that skillet out, though, because you're going to use it to heat the chik'n. Or chicken. Whatever. Let the veggies simmer in that broth while you keep stirring the chik'n. It's done when it's lightly browned.

4. Use a fork to shred the chik'n.

5. Toss the chik'n into the broth and add the seasonings. Toss in the tortellini and continue to heat. Everything is done when the tortellini floats.

6. TAH-DAH! Homemade soup in less than 20 minutes! Or ... you could throw everything except the tortellini into a slow cooker and let it go for 4-6 hours. Add the tortellini for the last three to four minutes and TAH-DAH! Same difference!