The Death by Chocolate Competition

Yesterday I got an e-mail through the homeschool group.  One of the girls was entered into the Death by Chocolate competition in Salado and the whole group was invited to attend.  It was a small, free event held by the Friends of Salado Public Library.  Everyone was invited to enter a chocolate recipe as part of Salado's Chocolate and Wine Festival.  Everyone could vote, and at the end of it they gave away prizes to the winners.  It was a chance for free chocolate and time to hang out with some of the kids from the co-op, so we decided we were going to go.  Why not?  It would be fun for the kids, right?

After a little bout of being lost, thanks to the navigation on my phone pointing us to South Main Street instead of North Main Street, we arrived.  The event was admittedly smaller than I'd imagined, not surprising because Salado is kind of a small town.  Sadly, a lot of the stuff had been picked pretty clean by the time we'd gotten there, but the kids didn't seem to mind.  It wasn't long before my daughter and older son took off to play with the kids they knew from the co-op and I was left with the baby who was happily munching on a moon pie cookie on a stick.  I have to admit it was kind of nice to have the kids run off with friends instead of having to listen to them whine that they were bored and there was nothing to do.  Being held in a library, the kids all ran off to the children's section to play and look at books.

At the end of it all, the kids all went outside to play.  My daughter ran off with the girls.  I have to admit it's hard for me to watch her because she's kind of left out with that group.  The girls have known each other for years, so it must be hard for them to include someone new, but my daughter doesn't seem to mind.  I don't think she even noticed that she was kind of being left to the side a bit.  I've noticed she doesn't have that problem so much at the co-op because there's a girl she's made fast friends with there.  I think in time she'll fit in a lot better.  When you're joining a group of kids that have been friends for years it's not always easy to jump in and be a part of everything.  I've noticed the older kids are, the more time it takes to warm up to each other.  In time I'm sure they'll all be just fine.  Most importantly, it may be hard for me to watch, but it's kind of a good social lesson for her to learn.  It takes time to be included in a group and really make friends in the adult world.  The fact that it doesn't seem to bother her now probably means she'll be just fine when she gets out there in the "real world" and wants to start making friends wherever the wind may take her.

My older son, on the other hand, finally broke away from being in his sister's shadow.  For the first hour and a half we were there he wanted to stay with the girls.  He felt more comfortable there since his sister was with him.  I think that's proof that he needs more exposure to other kids.  He's spent a good deal of time playing by himself or with his sister.  He's not so sure on how to jump right in and be a part of a group.  When we went outside, however, all it took was a suggestion to go play with the friend he'd gotten so excited to see when he got there and he was off like a bolt.  His friend and his friend's cousin were sword fighting with sticks, so when he jumped in walking and growling like a monster (his new favorite thing to be), I was afraid they'd give him odd looks and leave him out as has happened so many times at the playground.  Instead they just started "attacking" him (without actually hitting him) and when one boy dropped his "sword", my older son just picked it up and joined in the play.  Next thing I know they're running up and down the side of the library playing robbers together.  He'd lost his shy nature and jumped right in.

Even my youngest was thrilled.  He kept trying to run off with the older boys, but he's so small and not so great on the running, so he kept getting left behind.  He was walking so funny!  With each step he looked about to fall over.  The grass was soft and spongy, which is pretty strange considering the drought we're having.  He was thrilled to bounce around through the grass, which provided something new to study.

On our way home, I talked about the competition with my daughter.  She's decided she might like to enter it next year.  I have a great recipe to teach her, my mother's fudge recipe.  The only problem is figuring where I'm going to find the right ingredients.  We may have to plan ahead and order some Marshmallow Fluff online in order to have some for the competition.  She may not win, but at least she'll get a great chance to both learn the recipe and do something a little bit fun.  Not many kids her age do things like the chocolate competition.  There were only four kids in the youth competition this year!  It will definitely give her something to look forward to next year.  And who knows?  Maybe she'll come up with her own recipe to enter, or an idea of her own!  We'll have to mark it on the calendar for next year.  I'm sure she'd really enjoy being a part of it next time!