Best hot chocolate ever

Today we got about 5 inches of snow on top of our 3 inches of ice. The kids on the street showed up bright and early to sled down our little hill again, but first they had to shovel paths in the snow to expose the ice. How dare that snow attempt to slow them down?!

Those kids were out there for hours. Honestly. And I felt bad that I didn't have any hot chocolate mix that I could use to make them warm drinks. Enter the internet. One quick search on Swagbucks, and I had a recipe for homemade hot chocolate.

It was simple enough:

 Homemade Hot Chocolate

1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. water
1/2 gallon milk
Marshmallows (optional)

 

In a 10-quart kettle combine cocoa, sugar, and water. Stir until heated (slow boil); add milk. Heat until steaming. Add the vanilla just before serving. Top with whipping cream or marshmallows. Serves 10-12.

 

I don't own a kettle, so I just used a big pot. And I didn't have vanilla. So I went back to the computer and found that I could substitute maple syrup for the vanilla. Who knew? Also, no marshmallows or whipped cream. We've been housebound for days -- we're just about out of everything.

When I called the kids to come to the back porch for hot chocolate, they were thrilled, despite the lack of marshmallows. They all took one sip and asked for...an ice cube! I had to laugh. They were standing in snow up to their knees, covered with snow from their fuzzy hats to their stomping boots, but they wanted ice. 

They also wanted to come in from the cold, understandably. So they came in, I put coats, hats, gloves and sweatshirts in the dryer to a.) dry and b.) warm up and they sat at the kitchen table drinking my homemade hot chocolate. 

 

I knew the recipe was a winner when one of the kids said, "This is the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted. It's way better than any packet!"

Ten minutes later, the coats were out of the dryer and back on, the kids were back outside, and I was enjoying my unofficial title as "the cool mom." As it should be.

Frozen fragments

I'm sure the "Frozen Fragments" title will be about as original in this icy week as "ice, ice baby." But I've been in the house since Monday, so my creativity might be a little stifled.

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Today is the kids' 4th snow day/ice day in a row. Overall, they've held up well. One saving grace was the fact that the slope of our backyard made a terrific sledding hill -- as long as they stopped themselves before hitting the neighbors' fence. I can't believe how many hours my kids and their friends spent out there sledding, with and without sleds. Here's the gang:

The boys tried to convince me to try a little body sledding myself. The results were less than spectacular:

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Annie and I cracked under the pressure of nature-imposed house arrest yesterday afternoon. She was teenager-cranky and I was in the mood to push buttons. So I highjacked her Facebook page and posted "Waaaahhhhh! I M soooooooooooooooo bored...so I'm b'in crabby to my fam just 4 fun." I thought it looked and sounded like something a teenager would post. She didn't see the humor in it, which of course made it all the more fun for me.

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I've often thought I'd like to push the pause button on the world so I could catch up on all the stuff that I never seem to get done. Well, if there was ever a pause button to be had, this ice storm was it. And guess what? I didn't get much done. Sigh...where's a type A personality when you need one?

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We're 9 days away from Annie & Robbie's birthdays. I guess we'd better be deciding how we plan to celebrate. I suggested Annie take a friend or two to get a mani-pedi and Robbie could have the bigger party this year. She protested, saying, "I don't want a big party. I just want to invite..." then she proceeded to name 10 kids. Clearly, "big" is in the eye of the beholder.

I think the deep freeze has gone to my brain because that's all the fragments I have today. Not enough? Visit Mrs. 4444s for more Friday Fraggers.

Are you suffering from FFS?

If you live in one of the 30 states in the U.S. currently under attack by the snow and ice, you are at risk for FFS. Family Fatigue Syndrome.

FFS affects each person differently and at different levels of exposure to family togetherness. Symptoms of FFS include:

• Locking yourself in the bathroom and telling those inevitably calling to you from the other side that you have a sudden and wicked intestinal virus and you can't possibly leave the bathroom for the next two hours.
• Inability to make gentle suggestions such as "could you please unload the dishwasher." Rather, what comes out of your mouth is "You have 5 minutes to unload the dishwasher or else you will never play video games again for the rest of your life."
• Poor decision-making skills, marked by manic thoughts of slipping down your icy street in your pajamas, screaming "Please don't make me go back there!"
• Acts of borderline child neglect such as locking the doors while the kids are outside playing in the snow, then going to watch a movie with the volume turned up REALLY loud.
• Distorted interpretations of Carol Brady. Instead of baking cookies for your loving offspring, you throw a roll of slice-and-bake cookie dough on the table and tell them to fend for themselves.
• Intermittent periods of catatonia during which your family says you have a strange glazed look and a frightful smile while muttering "Hi Boss! So good to see you again."
• Displays of desperation for animal care. This might show itself in ways such as throwing open the door, running to the middle of the back yard, disrobing from the waist down, squatting and going #2 while yelling, "See dog? It IS possible to poop in the back yard during a snowstorm!"

An associated affliction to FFS is HFS -- husband fatigue syndrome. This is much more severe than FFS. If you are feeling any stir craziness or animosity toward your husband as a result of being enclosed in the same house for days on end, suggest that he go elsewhere for a little while. Like Wyoming.

If you have any of the above symptoms, please for the love of all sanity, get out of the house RIGHT NOW. Go to a childless neighbor's house. Slip and slide your way to the grocery store. Sit in the car with a bottle of wine and Facebook on your phone. Save yourself. Do it now!

Ice-pocalypse

I definitely got my wish. Indianapolis is one big ice rink. My office and the kids' school is closed for the second day in a row. Fortunately, we haven't had any trouble with our power, though others haven't been so lucky. My sister's power was off for a few hours.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday afternoon, before the really serious ice hit. I don't think I'll be heading outside to take any more today. I just let the dog out and the wind is crazy wild.

As much as I was all for staying in the house -- even canceled my root canal -- Charlie was all about going outside and enjoying the weather. He even used the sled to "snowboard" down the backyard. (He was wearing a helmet when he was doing it on the driveway.)

Sorry to make you turn  your head. I always forget that I can't turn the camera long-wise when the video recorder is rolling.

Hope you're snug and safe wherever you are today!