Welp

Sometimes you spend your time writing a looooooooong blog post.

And then you edit the post and paste in a photo.

But somehow the photo REPLACES all of your words. Then you hit UNDO! UNDO! UNDO! but something is weird and you can't recover all of your words.

So you pull a Mila and just flail on the trampoline.

Because flailing is way better than rewriting all of those words.

Interesting

My days are spent appeasing a certain Tiny Human, and I would have it no other way. Mila is most definitely a fulltime job right about now, what with the totally incapable of fending for herself and lacking in common sense things.

That lack of common sense coupled with her independent streak is keeping life ... interesting. Yes, interesting. That's a good word to describe that thing where she insists on climbing up ladders and sliding down big slides all by herself. I mean, what other words would I use to describe seeing a 15 month-old flying down a slide? Or standing on a little tiny board five feet in the air?

Interesting. Yup.

Falling firmly in the "interesting" category is Mila's newfound realization that if she refuses a particular food, a different food might show up. She's not a picky eater, but she has figured out that if she refuses to eat a cracker, she might be able to get a cookie. The unfortunate news for Mila is that I figured out that she figured it out so the "I'll offer something else because she HAS to eat" train has backed its way into the station and won't be coming out anytime soon.

That's why I realized there is another level of crazy going on. I refused to pull the "something else" train out of the station when Mila refused some cheese.

She loves cheese. It's just plain stupid to refuse to eat something you love, right? Right.

I tried to hand her the cheese once. She said, "No" and shoved my hand away.

I tried again. The result was the same.

I tried a third time because COME ON, CHILD. IT'S CHEESE.

She still refused it.

Then, just because I was so certain that she was playing games with my head, I left the cheese where Mila could reach it, but didn't hand it to her.

She instantly picked it up and ate it then asked for more. We repeated the little interaction with the same result. She wanted the cheese all right, but she wanted to feel like she had hunted and foraged for her own food, thank you very much.

She ALREADY is convinced she doesn't need me.

Which, considering she tries to run out in the street at least once per day, is a very interesting stance.

Oreo Dip

The best ideas are born of random conversations. For example, this morning Alexis and I were rambling our way through the grocery store and I asked her what we should make for a picnic we were hosting later in the day.

"Dip," she replied.

The answer to all of the questions in life is "Dip," for what it's worth. That has been established. However, it's not the most specific of answers, so I asked Alexis to continue with her train of thought. I asked if there were any certain kinds of dip that would be right.

She thought for a moment then said, "I wish there was some sort of cookies and cream dip. Like Oreo Dip I could dip Oreos in."

Challenge accepted.

Not only was this Alexis' idea, but where it went from the original thought was partly her fault as well. She's the one who demanded that there be crushed Oreos in it, for example. She also was in charge of taste testing to make sure I had the base just right. Here's the recipe for the version that she said was "just right."

Oreo Dip

1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 5-oz container vanilla Greek yogurt
1/4 cup powdered sugar
15 or so crushed Oreos

1. In a large non-stick skillet, melt the butter. Whisk in the brown sugar to make a caramel-like deliciousness. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Stir a little more.

2. Refrigerate the caramel-like deliciousness for 15-20 minutes.

3. Stir it up then toss it in a large mixing bowl. Add in the cream cheese and vanilla Greek yogurt. Mix until smooth.

4. Slowly add the powdered sugar while mixing some more.

5. Stir in the crushed Oreos with a spoon or spatula.

6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or longer) before serving. I served it with animal crackers, Nilla wafers, chocolate graham crackers, and Oreos. Not a single one of those was a bad idea.

7. Watch your kid dip an Oreo in Oreo Dip and declare herself "such a good cook." It's kind of the best.