I always make hot cocoa with milk. Granted, I also use the powdered stuff, and mix in a couple of generous shakes of cinnamon, but I think it's nom!

I take a packet of sugar-free hot cocoa mix, break up a square of Ghirardelli 100% cocoa solids baking chocolate into it, pour almost-boiling water over it, stir like the dickens, and if available add a splash of cream. Or brandy. Or whiskey. Depending on whether it is before work or after.

Kat, that photo of Grace is adorable. Seriously making me smile.

that whole puppies thing is killing me.

and yet I'm not clicking any of the links.

Amy, bubbles would be easy enough (plus I can label or sticker the bottles, as I am doing with the soda and water bottles). And I thought maybe a strip of Mrs. Grossman's stickers too.

For the party there is one craft project (foam cars) and one art project too.

I need an intervention.

I always make hot cocoa with milk. Granted, I also use the powdered stuff, and mix in a couple of generous shakes of cinnamon, but I think it's nom!

Mom's technique is to make it with condensed skim milk. She heats whatever chocolate (from Quik to baking chocolate) in water and when its hot enough she stirs in the can of milk. It prevents burning milk in the bottom of the pan (which was a major consideration when her children took over the job) and you can make it richer but not fatty by using less water.

It was pretty much the only thing we ever used condensed milk for. When we saw those cans come home in the fall it was pretty exciting.

that whole puppies thing is killing me.

I spent most of Saturday with this handsome gentleman and I'm 90% sure he's found a home with some pretty awesome people.

Condensed milk is/was a Jamaican staple. Don't know if it was skim, though. We used it in everything. My favourite was in Milo. Just put the Milo granules (before they reformulated to mostly powder) into a spoonful of condensed milk and spend half an hour sucking it back out. Mighty tasty.

In theory, we were to have it diluted in cereal during milk shortages, but fuck that noise.

I am watching some nonsensical SyFy movie with Juliet Landau (thank you, Amy) right now.

Kat, I love how all out you go for your kids' parties. I was just telling a friend of my sisters how nuts my mother used to get--but her thing was the cakes, and less with decorations and gifts. It's definitely a tradition that sticks with you as you grow up.

Oh, and clothes--she'd sew us our gowns for the parties. So we'd be in maxi dresses while everyone else was in jeans, T shirts, and runners.

Grace looks adorable in that picture. I'm not able to understand how these would have made much sense to me had I gotten my hands on them much younger than when I actually did. But look at them go! Hacking and cracking and Angry Birding.

My grandma and great-aunt were great cake decorators, but I remember how much trouble the head of the unicorn cake they made my sister gave them. Damn head kept falling off; they had to prop it up with toothpicks.

You want to hear little old church-going ladies lose their cool and cuss? (Mild, but STILL! Grandma! Aunt Alice! CUSSING.)

Have them try to prevent spontaneous pastry unicorn decapitation in a moving Chrysler.

I need an intervention.

I was up one night till three a.m., finishing painting the house banners for Ben's Harry Potter party. I'd made a Sorting Hat cake, and about fifty posterboard white candles, because we had a vaulted ceiling with big wood beams (we hung them with fishing wire so it looked like they were floating). I got a little nuts about it, but it was also so much fun.