To say I’m a proud mom right now is an understatement! The football team my son plays on won the league super bowl! Carter has made leaps and bounds to get here and I couldn’t be happier for him. It literally feels like my heart is going to burst.
I say all this because Carter has struggled with ADHD and being socially awkward for several years now. He is an A & B student so I refuse to medicate him. We tried medication for two years and he was constantly getting sick. So much that the school nurse wouldn’t call me anymore. She would just stick a note in his backpack telling me she let him lay down for an hour then send him back to class. This was happening at least 2 times a week. If anything I felt the medication was counterproductive. So after trying different types with no avail my husband and I decided to take him off of the medication. Again, he was excelling academically, Just not socially. What’s crazy is Carter is a compassionate and loving child, but for some reason he doesn’t usually interact well with kids his age. Last school year I had to meet with his teacher on several occasions due to bullying situations. It got so bad that Carter told me one day with tears rolling down his face that he didn’t want to go to school anymore. It broke my heart. It still hurts thinking about some of the events that took place.
Last year he told my husband and I that he wanted to play football, and we were elated! We were hoping that playing on a team would help him make friends and learn to play well with others, which would ultimately help his self confidence. Well, last year didn’t go so well. His team didn’t play well together and Carter’s ADHD interfered with him listening, paying attention, and ultimately not playing well with his team. Their team came in last place. Carter felt defeated and told me he really tried. I know that he really did try to make an effort at the end, but by then he had lost the respect of his fellow teammates. I remember one time him asking me why nobody liked him. It is incredibly frustrating as a parent to know your child is loving, compassionate, and cares about everything and kids still picked on him. Honestly, he is an easy target because of those traits.
When football season came around this year, he said he didn’t want to play. I begged him to give it another chance and reluctantly on the signup deadline date he said he would play.
I was worried that this year would be a repeat of last year, but I am happy to say I was wrong! Carter excelled this year! He made friends, and I could see his confidence boost. He made a lot of good tackles and helped his team win the championship and now the league’s super bowl!!!!!!!! 👈🏼 is that enough exclamation marks?!? Probably not. 😂
Again, I cannot say how proud I am of him. Look at how handsome he is! He looks so grown up and confident this year compared to last year.
After his team won I took him to Panera (his favorite place to eat) and told him I would make his favorite hot chocolate for dessert. It’s so good (and kid approved) so I want to share this yummy goodness with you.
So I use dark chocolate Swiss Miss. shocker right?!? But it’s so good and with the toppings it is even better. I mean I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel, just trying to make the wheel shinier. If you will. 😊
This yields 2 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 packets of dark Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate
- 3 cups of 2% milk
Toppings:
- Whipped cream
- Dark chocolate chunks (I use Ghirardelli)
- 3 candy canes
- Cinnamon (1/2 tsp for each cup)
Step 1: Follow the instructions provided on the packet or… In a saucepan on medium heat, pour in 3 cups of 2% milk. Allow the milk to simmer for about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Add 1 packet of Swiss Miss Dark Hot Chocolate into each cup.
Step 3: Pour the milk into the cups. Distribute evenly.
Step 4: Add 2 chunks to the hot chocolate and stir until melted.
Step 5: Smash up one of the candy canes and set aside.
Step 6: Add the whipped cream to the top, then sprinkle some of the smashed up candy cane, remaining dark chocolate chunks, and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to top it off. Use a whole candy cane as the stirrer.
Super simple and oh so yummy!
Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my life as well as my twist on hot chocolate. I don’t usually share intimate details of my personal life, but if this helps any parents that are currently going through something similar I want you to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Stay strong!
Now if he would just clean his room. 🤔
