Snow Day = Chocolate Day

We have experienced a lot of snowy weather recently, and it has occasionally resulted in the kids' activities being cancelled. This was true last Tuesday, when both karate and ballet were cancelled. I have to admit I was somewhat relieved. I look forward to the days when we don't have to hurry around to various activities.

Faced with an unexpected evening of free time, the kids and I decided to make it an evening of chocolate. First, we mixed together the ingredients for the center of some chocolate truffles. Then, we made the dough for chocolate cookies. Both needed to be refrigerated for two hours before finishing them.

When the two hours were up, K and I rolled out balls of truffle filling, stuck them in the freezer for several minutes, and commenced dipping them in white chocolate. The whole process was somewhat tedious, but we were very happy with the (tasty) results.

Unfortunately, we did not have time to finish both the truffles and the cookies on the first night, so we baked and dipped the cookies the following evening. S, H, AJ, and K all helped cut the cookies out, and K helped me roll out the dough. Once they were baked, the kids took turns dipping the cookies in melted chocolate and various extras.  The kids chose mini-chocolate chips, crushed graham crackers, and crushed peppermint candy.

During the whole process, I told myself that I would never again attempt something as involved with all four children by myself. However, looking back, it was not so bad. It means so much for them all to be involved. Sometimes, the memories are more important than a perfect outcome.

Recycled Robot

My sweet H loves robots. For months, he has been requesting to save various boxes from our recycling pile so he could build his robot. The pile had been growing in his closet for a while, and he finally got around to completing this much-anticipated project.

H also loves tape, and he found three rolls of tape in his stocking for Christmas. For any other kid, this might seem strange, but he was thrilled. The rolls included Batman duct tape, Superman duct tape, and some road tape that was made to look like streets once rolled out and taped down. Now, H was armed with tape for his robot.

H came down the other evening announcing that he had finished his robot. I was interested to see what he had done, and I found he had built a well-thought-out creature. He used empty diaper boxes for the legs, a Pellegrino box for the body, and a Lego box and electric toothbrush box for the arms. The head was made from a pizza box, and, although it is not evident in the photo, there are eyes, a nose, and a mouth on the front of the pizza box for the face. He also added a couple of extra boxes for compartments. After I took this photo, he reinforced the back of the head with an egg carton so the head could stand up better. He used his Superman tape to hold it all together, and he even cut the strips in half lengthwise to make it go further.

Now his robot is in the recycling bin. He and his brothers "battled" the robot with Legos and other various toys and objects. I found holes in the boxes, and the "robot" was badly maimed. I love little boys. They really are a boatload of fun and creativity.