A Pregnant Woman Walks into a Chocolate Festival. . .

. . . and spends way too much money on delicious chocolate treats. I believe I bought three cupcakes, a giant dark chocolate covered strawberry, a bunch of chocolate covered pretzels, and a turtle. Now, some of this was for my sister-in-law's birthday, but let's just say that I indulged my cravings as well. In the picture below, he was pointing to the giant candies hanging from the ceiling. The whole school was decorated for the occasion.

Nick got to try chocolate milk for the first time, because they were handing out free samples. He liked it. (Are you surprised? I wasn't.)



Note the glazed look on his face. That's probably due to all of the nice samples he got to eat. My favorite sample was a piece of dark chocolate that just melted in my mouth. It was really, really expensive, or I would have bought some. Yum. Greg and I decided that we need to take Nick to more events like this one. It truly made his weekend. (I'm not going to lie. The chocolate samples kinda made my weekend, too.)

The DuPage Children's Museum was there and they had giant tinker toys for kids to play with. Nick liked building with them for a little while, then he saw the bouncy house, and off he ran.

I'm pretty sure we'll be taking Nick to this festival again next year.





My Famous Little Chef

Yesterday, we took Nick to the Chocolate Festival in Naperville, and he had an awesome time. Honestly, we all had a fantastic time. Think about it: a man who loves chocolate, his pregnant wife who's been craving chocolate, and a two-year-old who can't get enough chocolate, all at a festival dedicated to chocolate. It was a dream come true.

One of the reasons I wanted to go was the Kids in the Kitchen classes, where kids get to do some food preparation of their own, all on a chocolate theme, of course. This festival was held in the home economics room of the Neuqua High School Freshman Center. We rushed to get seats, and Nick immediately discovered that the kitchen cabinets in this place are not child locked. He started pulling out all kinds of cool gadgets.

We sat down and got to work. Nick got to make a "Death By Chocolate" dessert. I asked the organizer if it was okay if he made one, and she said, "Sure, if an adult helps him." I laughed and said, "Of course!" This dessert was a delicious layered concoction of chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, cool whip, and toffee chips. I think Nick is going to inherit his daddy's love of cooking, because he really got into this project. He really tried to follow the steps, and one of the ladies running the event said that he did a great job for such a little guy. I think so, too.

Nick made his dessert mostly by himself, although he made quite a mess. Notice the chocolate all over my arm in the picture below. He needed a total outfit change later that day, due to all of the chocolate.

At the end of the session, the kids got to eat their creations, and everyone clapped. Nick clapped the loudest and shouted, "Yay!" A photographer from the Naperville Sun snapped his picture and asked me if it was okay to put it in the paper. I agreed, and Nick was actually in one of the photo galleries on their website today. He's famous! Here's the link. I think he's the second photo in the gallery. You know, the kid munching happily on his "Death by Chocolate."


That's my famous little chef.  :)  All he needs is one of those tall white hats.

Tapas for a Nearly Two Year Old

Yup, we went to Meson Sabika again last weekend. Here's the breakdown:

-Two sangrias and one milk
-Crayons and paper for Nick to color
-Platter of Spanish cheeses and grapes (Nick loved them!)
-Pork, beef, and seafood tapas

and. . .





































. . . one of the most delicious desserts I've ever had in my life. It was two frozen dark chocolate truffles, lightly infused with creme de menth and served with a berry compote and fresh whipped cream. We all shared it because it was so rich, but this dessert was so memorable I do believe I'll remember it for the rest of my life. Perhaps Nick will remember it as well.  :)

This was truly a memorable evening, and not just because of the dessert. Greg and I were celebrating, because he recently was promoted to supervisor at his work. Also, we've been so busy lately that it was nice to just go out as a family. I love when it's nice enough outside to sit on the patio. There was a breeze, good company, and delightful food. I'm not sure if it was the sangria, the company, or the good food, but that was the most relaxed I've been in a long time.

This is my all-time favorite restaurant, both because of the beautiful grounds, the amazing food, and the tasty sangria. Nick seems to like it, too, although he sure made a mess of his shirt.

And finally. . . the fountain was truly a wonder to Nick. He loves to point at it and say, (wait for it) "Water!" Only now, his language has developed to the point where he can say: "Water in there!" (and then, after touching the water) "Water cold!"