Creamy Hot Cocoa

For quite a few years, we would say that we wanted to do this and that Christmas activity or craft, but then the season would get away from us and then it was spring again.  A lot of things got left undone.

This year I printed calendars for November and December.  I started by filling in the special days, like holidays and birthdays.  Then I added in things like grocery shopping, orthodontist appointments, etc...  When that was finished, I gathered the kids and we brainstormed ideas to fill the Christmas part of the calendar. 

Pibb's birthday is early in December and we don't begin decorating or celebrating Christmas until afterward.  We want to keep his birthday special and separate from the rest of the holiday rush. 

So we had about two weeks of Christmas activities to come up with and I think we did admirably!  We planned things like making paper chain garlands, folded paper snowflakes and Lego ornaments.  We also planned visits to the Festival of Trains (a local model railroad group sets up huge, interactive displays) and a hot cocoa tasting week with a different homemade cocoa each day! 

This week is Hot Cocoa Tasting Week and yesterday was our first attempt at homemade cocoa.  It was a huge success!  Everyone liked it, the mix was crazy simple and it made a large batch (about 25 servings) for not a large amount of cash.  If you've got a few minutes, I recommend you throw this together immediately!

Creamy Hot Cocoa Mix

4 C nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C non-dairy creamer
2/3 C cocoa powder
4 oz instant chocolate fudge pudding

Mix all together in a large bowl or jar, stirring well to combine.

Add approximately 1/4 C mix to 8 oz boiling water and stir. 

That's it.  Seriously. 

I did find that I had to buy name brand pudding, since I couldn't find a chocolate fudge version in my local store brand, but at a whopping $ .79, I think I can handle the cost.  Especially since that one ingredient seemed to take this from okay cocoa to really good cocoa! 

Today's treat is Mocha Cocoa and if it goes well, I'll post that recipe tomorrow. 

And then there were five...

I totally slacked.  I admit it.  Last week Friday was Pibb's birthday and I completely forgot to blog him.  My apologies.

10  years ago, that little boy came into this world spinning like a bullet (not an exaggeration) and he's barely slowed down since. 

In between Scooter's birth and my becoming pregnant with Pibb we suffered two devastating miscarriages.  I'd undergone a barrage of tests to help determine the cause and when we found out I was pregnant again my midwife was there, ready to help our baby have the best chance he possibly could.  After a very scary pregnancy and more than a few panic attacks, we welcomed him into the world with tears streaming down our faces.

He's growing up to be quite amazing!  He:

• is a little bit of a perfectionist, but only when it suits him to be.
• loves food and would eat all day if we let him.
• Has a stuffed monkey named Bobo.  We were shopping one day when he was a little under two years old and he saw Bobo on the shelf; it was love at first sight!  Bobo is missing his nose thanks to an overly rambunctious puppy, but Pibb still sleeps with him every night. 
• likes to take apart small appliances and, on more than one occasion, has had to be stopped from taking apart something we actually still use.
• is into Legos in a big way.  Some days we barely see him because he's so occupied with whatever he happens to be building at the moment.
• has a bit of snarky streak and isn't afraid to let a few choice remarks slip out, usually with a sly grin and gleam of mischief in his eyes.
• has a natural inclination towards math, science and other logical pursuits. 
• enjoys reading and has spent many hours curled up under a blanket at the end of the couch, just reading the days away.
• discovered a few months ago that my big old Canon is way more fun to play with than the Kodak EasyShare the kids usually use.  I've had to pry it away from him a few times.
• is working his way through the Bread Baker's Apprentice with me and is at least as interested in the science of baking as the eating of it.

Oh yeah, he's definitely amazing!  I love that kid like crazy!