Hot Cocoa at Christmastime

Recently, a very sweet friend gave our family a jar of homemade hot chocolate mix with marshmallow stirring sticks (dipped in chocolate and crushed peppermint)!!!  The rich, warm, chocolatey concoction was a perfect after-school treat as we approached the Christmas break.  

As you can see, my "littles" were delighted!

This hot cocoa brings back a recent episode in our family circus that is worth retelling (it's much funnier now than at the time : ) ....

I usually have my two little girls with me when one of the older kids has an orthodontist appt. The super-cool office has a fancy Kuerig coffee maker, and my little ones just loves to make cups & cups of hot cocoa while we wait.

THREE TIMES "we" have spilled whole cups of cocoa on the office carpet (which, thankfully, is espresso colored)!  TWICE, the actual orthodontist helped us clean up the mess...embarrassing! The last time (and probably our last time to get cocoa there), my 2 year old's almost-full cup of cocoa spilled on the tile floor by the super-snazzy, electronic dental chair (as my 12 year old was being examined), and the entire tasty beverage poured right down the electrical floor outlet! UH-OH! The examination light immediately shut off (due to the CGFI being tripped) AND the computer system went haywire!  BEEP!  BEEP!  BEEP!   BEEP!  There was an incessant beeping throughout the office (when the computer went down) that drove us (the hygienist, the orthodontist, and ESPECIALLY THIS MOMMY) all completely crazy until the orthodontist had to go back and flip the braker.  Fortunately, we were able to sop up most of the cocoa (while Abigail remained in the reclined, mouth-propped-open position).  Eventually, the power was restored to the examination area, and my blood pressure decreased.  Whew!  This is where I do a plug for DR. PAUL GATES, because he truly is a GREAT orthodontist, and an extremely PATIENT and FORGIVING man!

*** On a scale from 1-10 on the EMBARRASSMENT SCALE, this event rates 8.5 ***