Homemade Chocolate Milk

The other day I was craving some good old-fashioned chocolate milk. I'm not a big milk person. I'm more of a water or iced tea person, but sometimes a glass of cold chocolate milk is just what you need to get through a long afternoon with a toddler and a baby and the husband isn't coming home from work for another couple hours. Or is that just me?
Chocolate milk has special powers like that. There are other beverages that help, too, but we won't go into those.

We are in the midst of trying to cut out processed food. And that means no Hershey's Syrup. "Can you make chocolate milk without the syrup or the powered stuff?" I wondered. It turns out the answer is yes and its super simple and delicious.

Here's the recipe:

2 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tbsp. honey (or sugar)
1/4 -1/2 cup of milk

Take the above ingredients and put them in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until the lumps of the chocolate disappear  (about one or two minutes). Pour into the bottom of a glass. Add 1 1/2 - 2 cups cold milk and stir. Enjoy and try not to let your toddler drink it all. Sneak some in the pantry if you have to.

Cupcakes and More

We went to a party this past weekend where, of course, the staple toddler birthday treat was present: a cupcake.

"Take the paper off?" E. asks Dave.
"Just peel it as you go," says Dave, not one to coddle.

Dave walks over to me and we look over at E. who isn't peeling the paper off. He's mostly trying to eat around it which is making the whole process go kind of slow.
"Have you ever seen someone savor their cupcake more?" Dave asks me.
"Yes, actually." I point to a kid in front of us who is only interested in the icing. He sticks his tongue out and waits for his mom to hold up the cupcake to his mouth before he takes a swipe. We watch as little dollops disappear from the top of the kid's cake.

Then we look over at E. He has finished his cupcake and the evidence of his enjoyment is all over his face. Dave goes to clean him up and notices a completely empty plate in front of him. He looks over at the girl next to E. She has a cupcake wrapper on her plate.
"Where's the paper?" Dave asks.
E. looks around bewildered.
"Did you eat it?"
"Yeah," E. says, matter-of-factly.

There are some things you think you don't have to explain. And then you turn out to be wrong.

We learned an important lesson that day: Don't underestimate your child's ability to eat just about anything.

Another lesson: If it does happen, don't fret about it. Paper digests quite easily.

'Nuff Said Friday

My New Life

So I've taken a little break from posting. In the interim I've had a baby and had another kid turn three.

And boy, has my life changed:

1. I am no longer getting 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep--or even six, for that matter.

2. I am changing diapers at three in the morning--and the sheets on my bed. I only left A. without a diaper last night for about 2 seconds, but apparently it was long enough for him to pee everywhere.

3. Speaking of cleaning up pee, today E. peed his pants and all over the floor of one of my favorite coffee shops. In the exact middle of the shop. And did I mention it is check-in day for the local college? So there were many witnesses to my humiliation. E. didn't seem to mind though. . .

4. E. no longer takes naps. He has "quiet time," which consists of him playing a little bit and also going to the bathroom a million zillion times. Seriously, it's amazing how many times the kid can go in the span of one hour. It's a talent, really. I predict he will go far in life.

5. Yesterday I went to get my hair cut and was so looking forward to an hour without any kids. I didn't mind waiting for my appointment because I got to read a book. A real book. With chapters. Then the owner of the salon asked when I was due. Six weeks ago is what I should have said.
That's it. I'm not going anywhere without A. for the next couple months.

6. One of my dogs, Pickle, a.k.a. Houdini, jumped the fence and escaped our backyard today. Fortunately he decided not to run into the street and was waiting outside the front door to be let in. Oh, who am I kidding? This is nothing new. You'd think I'd put him on a leash or build a bigger fence, but I am always optimistic he'll be a good dog and stay in the yard. Sometimes I should believe the glass is half-empty.

7. E. told me he loved me (unprompted) for the very first time.

8. A. smiled at me for the first time.

I can't say I love every minute of this new life (i.e. apologizing to the coffee shop owner for my son urinating all over his floor), but I wouldn't trade it either.