Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe!!!

Okay, okay- I need to share the wealth and many of you have wanted the recipe!  I make this every year and friends and family love it!  (Makes a great, cheap gift or a fun surprise for friends!)  A high school teacher shared this recipe with me (let’s see- about a decade ago! Geeze.). I lost the originally recipe and this is what I do-

Recipe:

First note you need something large to mix this all in unless you cut in in half!

A box of non-fat powdered dry milk (25.6 ounce)

1 pound of confectioners sugar-  Oh and honestly a good bit more doesn’t hurt anybody and will make it sweeter! ;)

I use a 14.1 ounce jar of Nesquick powdered chocolate

Last but not least, around 10 ounces of powdered creamer

Mix all together!  I fill my mug up about 1/3rd of the way full and then add boiling water- and it’s great with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream to help cool it down and marshmellows and maybe some reddi whip.  What’s the point of drinking it if you aren’t willing to go all out?  I think it doesn’t taste the same if you don’t let your water come to a boil and then add it… my husband just warms his water and it isn’t the same!

The GREAT thing about this recipe is you can totally make it your own!  A candy cane as a stir stick is great and gives it the peppermint flavor. Also, creamers come in all kinds of flavors- you could play with that.  And I know some people like to add cinnamon (just a little bit!).  My next batch I will split into 4 batches and “experiment” some!  I’ll let you all know if I come up with something amazing!

Enjoy!  And let me know how you modify to fit your family!

Happy Halloween 2011!

Lola enjoyed the Fall Festival at her school tonight for Halloween and had a great time!  Nonna and Ba came with us and Lola got candy, played games, and her favorite- jumped in a bounce house! Aubrey and Laura met us up there too which made Lola super excited. 

Here are pictures and still need to get pictures from my mom’s camera because she had some great ones!

(Just a look back- here’s Lola last year and Lola and Aubrey.  Lola was a pumpkin and Elmo!)

   

They look so much younger- I can’t get over it!

 

And THIS year! My little monkey!

   

A little family picture in action and then another picture of the baby bump, which I have yet posted.  This is me in my 18th week. 

 

Love the second picture below even though it’s blurry-

   

Lola was so good at all the games and seemed to enjoy them!  But she loved the bounce house the most by far!

Ba was really good about getting Lola involved in the games!

 

 

Then Aubrey arrived!

 

Similar faces-  But why the crazy faces girls?

Lola was quite concerned when Aubrey started crying from the scary costumes-

I told Lola she was scared and to tell Aubrey that it’s okay- So she told her- so cute. But it didn’t help.

 

Oh wait- better! (Laura, pretty please e-mail me a good one at the end!)

Thanks for going Nonna and Ba! 

Lola has a bad weekend of sleeping so was really ready for bed.  When we got home around 7 she went in super bipolar, crazy mode.  She was too tired to do anything.  She cried and cried in fear her balloon would pop and finally I got her in bed with a washed face and hands, clean pajamas, and a snack.  She ate, cried, watched Nemo, ate, cried, and watched Nemo.  Finally, passed out playing with my hair.  I pray to Jesus that balloon doesn’t pop overnight.  I felt bad for how tired she was, but glad she is sleeping soundly now.  Praying she sleeps through the night tonight.  Her sleeping has been off for some reason recently.  Not good for a tired Momma and Daddy!

Tomorrow is officially Halloween- but I am thinking tonight might have been the extent of it around here.  Halloween isn’t my favorite, y’alls?  Bring on Thanksgiving and Christmas people!  Woohoo!

Monkey-ing around!

I seriously can’t think Lola is any cuter than she is.  Just can’t.  She is hilarious and so darn cute. So the bear costume was too hard to find and Lola quickly came up with her second choice- MONKEY!  I wonder how she came up with these ideas?  So Nonna and her headed to Old Navy to pick up their cute Monkey Costume.  She looks too cute in it and got to sport it early at school since it was Costume Day.  They had a little parade and it was so adorable to see her act like such a big girl. 

My little monkey headed to school this morning!  She was seriously excited and was happy to be wearing her costume!  First time she has loved it on for longer than a minute or two! Shew.

Parents waited in the sanctuary to see the kids parade in by class.  Here comes my Lola!  She seems so big at school!

Thought this picture was kind of funny- her plopped down in the middle trying to figure out why she is sitting there and who are all those people?  She can’t see me yet!  (She kind of looks sad, but didn’t seem sad, just a bit confused!)

She finally sees me and I get a big “heyyyy momma!” and cute wave!  (Heart melts.)

I love seeing Lola at school.  She isn’t always comfortable around a lot of people and especially adults, but is so at home at her school.  She loves her peers and teachers and tells me all about school all the time.  I ask her who her friends are and she always says “Everybody my friends.”  Her teacher told me last week that Lola was sitting at the lunch table telling everyone she was going to be a big sister, that I was having a baby.  How cute is that?  So thankful school worked out again this year.  She seems to really love it.  And I love the school we choose too- it’s great being a smaller setting for Lola and I enjoy everyone there.  We are going to take Lola to their fall festival because I know she will feel right at home and enjoy it!

Pumpkin Patch Day

I guess Clay and I can officially say it’s tradition for us to walk to the local pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin! We did the same thing last year. We surprised Lola and she was so excited to walk up to a patch of pumpkins!  She picked out the perfect pumpkin, twenty times.  Luckily Clay narrowed it down for her!

I managed to get the sweetest and cutest picture of all time!  How did this happen?  Both my sweethearts actually smiled and looked at the same time!  Crazy- but amazing turnout.  (Added the one from last year too!  It’s crazy seeing the growth!)

  

Lola was trying to pick up the biggest pumpkins there!

She actually was quite strong!

She finally found one Lola’s size but he wasn’t quite big enough to carve into a Jack-O-Lantern!

She started crawling all through the pumpkins…

Stopped to pose… (Added last year photo too)

(2010 Below)

Then decided to rearrange the pumpkins.  Wonder where she learned that? ;)

We got home to cut it open and show her the inside.  Quite curious to take a peak, but certainly wasn’t going to help Daddy clean out the inside!  I think we are becoming even more alike.  Clay just shakes his head in disbelief at some of the weird things we both do or won’t do.  Hahaha…

Carving a pumpkin was a lot of fun and Lola loved seeing it light up!  No final picture, but need to add one. 

Family afternoon fun!

Cooler weather has arrived and is amazing!  Hello Fall!

Random-

Not too long ago, we finally got some rain and it rained and rained all day long!! It seems like every time is has rained it’s been at night and Lola was finally so excited to see the rain!  Her favorite little cartoon right now, Caillou, plays in the rain on one of the episodes so she has just been dying to do the same.  So she quickly saw the rain (pouring actually!) and grabbed her raincoat and boots and headed outside.  And then she stopped.  Wasn’t her thing after all.  She so badly wanted to LOVE it but just couldn’t bring herself to run in the rain.  It was pretty hilarious.  The cutest part of it all was when she saw the rain she ran and got her rain boots out of the closet quickly undressed and put them on and I walked around the corner to the front door and she was standing butt naked at the door with nothing on but her rain boots ready to go outside!  Hilarious…. not for sure why she thought you play in the rain naked!  

Not going much further…

 

Well so glad cooler weather is coming- because that means hot chocolate time.  Plus, what pregnant woman doesn’t welcome cooler weather?  Not sure the feeling of cold weather and a cup of hot chocolate can be beat!  I love it!  I have to put all the ingredients in this large container then shake it up!  (Instant Dry Milk, Powdered Sugar, Creamer, and Cocoa!)  I’ll be sharing the wealth, but some winters we go through two batches between myself and family/friends

I have also been in a baking mood!  Again, I think it’s just this time of year and cookies do always sound good right now.  I am on the hunt to find the best chewy sugar recipe and chewy chocolate chip recipe.  My first attempt at both was pretty darn successful! :)

Clay and Lola are loving it too!  I guess everyone is benefiting from this but our scales! Lol-

Lola and I have big plans to make a lot of ornaments for our Christmas trees this year.  Here is one we made, but for Nonna’s tree.  It’s Lola’s hand but we made it to look like Nonna’s sugar cookies, Christmas version! I love it!  We need to start making them now for our tree so we don’t get pooped out!

Well I am fixing dinner and timer just went off.  Ready to eat and lay down for the evening. Exhausted.  Work has been on overload lately… whew.

All-day morning sickness in second trimester- you are NOT my friend! :(

Sonogram Pics and Doctor Update

 

GUESS WHAT Y’ALL?!?

I could know the sex of baby to be… but I DON’T! ;) Hehehe… doctor definitely knows and I did get to see my magical little baby on tv today.  Have FIVE new sonogram pictures thanks to my sweet doctor and couldn’t wait to show Clay and Lola.  They were so excited.  I have been on a high all day- feels like Christmas morning when I get to the doctor and he does a sonogram!  I have had one every time so far!  And will get one next time for sure! Yay! That will mark my half way point!

Two more things to celebrate- 1) My placenta (Patti as my mom calls it) has moved and is no worry anymore! Yayayayay!  2) I have only gained 2 pounds!!  16 weeks and only 2 pounds.  Really happy about that and hope at 20 weeks it isn’t tons more… trying to pace myself and keep the number lower this time.  Healthy but lower.

So here are the pictures:

This was the first sonogram picture at… oh my… 8-9 weeks.

Sonogram at 12 weeks… Baby is looking at me!

At 12 weeks again- he/she was so active!! I kept seeing little arms and legs kicking out and moving everywhere.

16 weeks: Profile

Seeing the baby move on screen is so much different that just seeing a still shot, but both are so wonderful.

16 weeks- baby is looking at me again- looks alien like so I need to fatten this baby up now!  Everything looked great in the sonogram and have my detailed one next time.

  

Busy week ahead but started on a great note!!!