Five Years.

I had to re-new my drivers license today. How has it already been five years I mused to the woman at the counter. She assured me the next five years would go even faster. She gestured to my dozing baby and said next time you re-new he will be in kindergarden....wow. The last time I was in that building was when I got my license at 16. I was so nervous. I still have the slow motion image of my tester's head bouncing off the headrest when I hit the curb attempting to parallel park (both times). I passed, but was for sure a horrible driver. City living taught me how to parallel park, trial by fire. I am positive my new photo will be very flattering given that you can't smile anymore (guaranteed to look like a criminal).

My original license photo...I guess 16 was a long time ago (and many hair styles ago).

The other highlight of the week was making chocolate syrup. It was ridiculously easy. My son, like most kids, loves chocolate milk. So do I actually. What I don't love is the amount of added sugar, the price or using store bought syrup.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whisk sugar, cocoa and salt together in a saucepan; add water and whisk to incorporate.
2. Bring sauce to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously (get into the edges too).
3. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Carefully transfer syrup to a glass bottle, mason jar or other container. Store syrup in fridge for several months. Adapted from here.

I reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe. I also doubled it when I made it as I knew it would be a hit. One cup of milk with one generous teaspoon of syrup comes in at 14 grams of sugar (12 grams from the lactose in the milk alone). For one cup of store bought milk there are 25 grams of sugar! Huge difference. I don't have a problem giving this to Hudson. I have also drizzled this syrup on frozen yogurt and strawberries, yum. I can also envision some sort of chocolate, raspberry, yogurt popsicle concoction for summer. It costs about a dollar a bottle to make...good deal.

I used a washed out red wine vinegar bottle to store mine in. Peeling off the label was extra annoying, but it looks good. If you are the crafty type you can print out one of these pretty labels.