Mexican Hot Cocoa

The world can wait. Here's what my afternoon was like yesterday....

It's bitter cold outside with the occasional visit from the sun. Inside we are warm. I decided to make us a treat of Mexican hot chocolate. Spicy and warm, good for the insides on a cold winter day.

It doesn't take a lot of sugar or work to make, and it has nothing artificial in it, well... except for the marshmellows, which were actually 1 marshmellow (I know, I'm so mean) that I cut into pieces and put in a side dish, from which Oliver could place one by one into the cup of cocoa.

Stir, and drink!

Here's the recipe....

Mexican Hot Cocoa

INGREDIENTS (all organic)

• 1 cup of milk
• 2 T half & half
• 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 T sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t cumin
• a sprinkle of nutmeg
• to taste: a sprinkle of white pepper, medium chili powder or whatever you have on hand

METHOD

• Warm the milk in a small saucepan
• Add sugar and cocoa powder
• Stir gently, making certain not to boil
• before serving, stir in cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg and hot spices if needed
• Serve warm in a mug with a little spoon along with marshmellows on the side, allowing the child to add to the drink.

Yum!!

Today we are cozy and warm inside, watching old movies, playing and jumping around. I lost track of time as I realized I put Oliver down for a nap one whole hour early. Quite nice — altho he woke 2 hours earlier than usual! Maybe this means he'll actually go to bed at his regular time tonight. I sat in his room with him as he began to fall into slumber when I looked up and noticed he was looking at me. He smiled and my heart melted. Time is short so I asked him if he wanted me to rock him. The answer was obvious; I cradled him and we rocked in the glider that Matt bought for me when I was pregnant. Oliver relaxed into my arms, closely wrapped up in my love. He reached up and stroked my face with his little beautiful hands, looked into my eyes, then just as quickly closed his eyes and drifted off. After I while, I put him in his bed and reluctantly slid out of his room.



Now that I may have lulled you into a nap, let me tell you a little bit about my morning. As I have recently moved Peanut into a big boy bed, it's been a little hectic around here. He's able to get up and out of his bed at any given moment. Such was the experience this morning. Therefor, in order to catch just a few extra z’s, I remained curled up in bed while Oliver had free reign of the house. My door was open and I was lightly sleeping. But I could hear everything.

It's when it got silent that worried me. Suddenly…

All was silent... all I could hear was ... nothing.

I sprang out of bed!!

Obviously, too late!

During my 15 minutes of respite, my son managed to find the sugar container that I accidentally left out yesterday, his treat container which contains his suckers, gummy bunnies and fruit leathers, a box of his cheddar crackers and my one real luxury purchase: my Chanel mascara. In addition, he gave all of his cars a real good car wash in the sink. I know this because the trail of water from the bathroom to the living room indicated such. Along with his wet sox.

Here's the result:

Yes, that's Chanel on his arms. Both of them. Not pictured: my bathroom sink, covered in mascara.

It was nothing that a little morning bath couldn't cure, but the sugar? I wasn't quite sure how to offset that.

I will say, he smells so delicious. This morning bath thing might need to be a regular occurrence.

I'll check in later with y'all. I'm reading this book that a reader told me about in one of the comments, and it's been very enlightening. Can't wait to share.