Bug,  domesticity,  Family Matters

when life gives you lemons…

June 30, 2008 /

grab the BIG one!

The other day Baby Bug and a friend and I walked to the Farmer’s Market and out the corner of our eyes we spotted some LEMONS! Right away, we all thought about making lemonade. Sure, you can buy the powdered kind or even frozen concentrate and maybe it tastes just as good BUT there is something special about making your own lemonade from real lemons. I think the only thing I might like better would be if I could pick lemons from my own tree… maybe someday. Until then I’ll get them at the farmer’s market or from Bethany’s new house.

making lemonade!

I’m always looking for fun little easy projects that will help us burn up the daylight hours productively. Lemonade is very easy to make. Even Baby Bug could do it!

determination

Well mostly. The lemons were a little tough for her to squeeze but that didn’t stop her from enjoying the hands-on process thoroughly.

lemonade!

The best part, of course, was the mixing. I didn’t follow a recipe. I think half the fun is figuring out the proper water/sugar/lemon ratio by tasting. It’s like a scientific experiment for very unscientific people like me.

taste test

We tasted and we tasted and we tasted and we also added a LOT of sugar. The only problem is that we had so much fun, now Baby Bug wants to repeat the whole experiment every time I pull out the pitcher for another glass.

first glass

She’s so OCD* like that. If you repeat anything fun more than once then that is the way it must be done from now on until the end of time! I might just have to make up a pitcher of straight lemon juice and make “lemonade” one glass at a time.

it's good!

Or just distract her with something else fun and repeatable, like a impromptu lemonade and chocolate cookie snack on the patio. We can definitely do that again and again. I just love the patio during summer. It’s really the best room in our house.

cheers!

Cheers to lemons and enjoying summer afternoons! May we repeat this for many moons to come!

*BB is not OCD she’s just very TWO.

17 Comments

  • sizzle

    June 30, 2008 at 8:54 am

    She looks so excited about the lemonade. That is SO cute. Just wait until she can set up her little stand and sell cups of it for 10 cents.

  • bluejaye

    June 30, 2008 at 10:15 am

    What a fun project. Lemons are so expensive in the NW that we would never make it ourselves.
    The first time I ever saw someone make lemonaide with lemons from their backyard was at Aunt Charlottes house. It was pure magic.

  • bethany actually

    June 30, 2008 at 11:24 am

    Here’s an idea…make some lemon juice ice cubes! Then you can make it one glass at a time. You might have to figure out the lemon-juice cube/water/sugar ratio each time, but that would probably make BB happy. :-)

  • Uncle George

    June 30, 2008 at 2:49 pm

    Toby and I had citrus trees in our back yard when we were little. Nothing beats fresh lemonade, orange juice, fresh kumquats or even grapefruit. That was our house in LaCanada, just down Foothill from Aunt Charlotte and Uncle George. Umpa (our dad’s dad and my namesake) grew Ponderosa lemons. Huge things, realy neat stuff. You, Toby and the Bug should take a drive up to Ventura county in the fall…Lemom groves everywhere, really beautiful. Lemonade…Yummy!

    Hey, the green flower’s gone.

  • a madhouse wife

    June 30, 2008 at 6:52 pm

    We’re so going to have to do that here! I have a very special lemonade recipe from my grandma. My boy hates all my little “projects.” He says they’re stupid. Probably too hard or complicated. But still, try, try, try! :)

  • Jennifer

    June 30, 2008 at 8:48 pm

    We have a lemon tree in the backyard and the girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE when we make lemonade. Jeremy even gets involved and is very scientific about his simple syrup. Or as the girls and I call it, the sugar water. An online friend of mine visited all the way from Nebraska a couple of times. Her and her husband love lemons and they deemed my lemons to be the best they’ve ever had. I felt so special, haha.

    If you ever want to take BB on a field trip you guys are more than welcome to pick lemons with us and make some lemonade.

    As far as OCD is concerned. We have a saying around here, “Don’t do anything around here unless you plan on doing it FOREVER AND EVER.” Emily always took that to the extreme but, as it turns out, she actually was diagnosed with OCD a year ago. Who knew? hahahaha

  • Kuky

    June 30, 2008 at 10:02 pm

    That’s so weird, I’ve been thinking about making lemonade. I’m sure it’s because we watched it on a cartoon. I’m positive. And then I come on here and you’re talking about lemonade.

    And that picture of BB stirring. She looks so proud posing for her picture. :)

  • Sarah

    July 1, 2008 at 8:25 am

    Where did you get the cute chocolate fishy cookies?!

    And you’re a fabulous mom – I had the day off yesterday to entertain our 14 month old son – it was a lot of fun but I don’t know how I could come up with so many activities if it were everyday – I am so impressed with all the different things you and baby bug do everyday! Of course you DO live in a great place; that has to help!