Watermelon, Watermelon

Watermelons are another fun summer memory. Sitting in the backyard on a summer evening, chasing after fireflies and eating sweet,juicy watermelons with my family. I always hated spitting out those little seeds. It just never seemed very ladylike to me. I hear that some people actually enjoy trying to spit the seeds the fartherest! I can't imagine how that is fun or sanitary for that matter,but to each his own. My own kids do LOVE some watermelon! We usually get the seedless at the store but with watermelon season finally here, I think the bigger ones with the seeds will be more cost effective. I just have to teach DD how to remove those pesky seeds discreetly as a young lady should do. As for Little Man, I pray he doesn't discover the so-called joy of spitting seeds or I may be plucking seeds from Sissy's hair.
I did discover a recipe for Watermelon Popsicles. Since we love making popsicles, I thought I will try this one with the kiddos soon. Bonus: NO SEEDS!

Watermelon Popsicles
4 cups watermelon, cut into pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Mix sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice and stir. Blend melon and liquid mixture in blender. Pour into molds and freeze overnight.

Watermelon Song
(To the Tune of: Are You Sleeping?)

Watermelon, Watermelon,
(Make a circle with your arms.)
On the vine, On the vine,
(Curve hands and arms beside body.)
Sweet and red and juicy, Sweet and red and juicy,
(Rub your tummy.)
Please be mine! Please be mine!
(Palms together as though pleading.)
Watermelon, Watermelon,
(Make a circle with your arms.)
Thump, thump, thump,
Thump, thump, thump,
(Make a thumping movement with thumb and middle finger.)
I think you are ready- I think you are ready-
(Point, resting finger on your temple.)
Big and plump! Bug and plump!
(Make a circle with your arms.)

Sweet as Pie

A favorite summer activitiy is right in our backyard- water sprinklers!! I remember running throught sprinklers as a young girl. Oh, the fun games you can create with a sprinkler. Not to mention it is refreshing on a hot day. This weekend, DH took the kids outside to cool off and get out of mommy's way as she cleaned out and rearranged the kiddo's bedrooms.(Enough said about what was happening in the house.
So with kids clad in cute swimsuits and a great sprinkler spraying water with daddy watching on, my little family enjoyed one of the greatest summer activities. It was all topped off with Daddy grilling and making homemade ice cream! Oh, sweet summer.
Sweet summer memories are also made of something else. Mosquitoes! Yeah, you heard me or read me right. Mosquito bites are a big part of my summer memories and will be of my kids' memories. After being outside in the summer, our evenings ended with baths and a coating of the coolest, prettiest pink lotion ever. As my DD would say,"It's Pinkalicious!" My Nanny and mom would tell us we shouldn't be so sweet and then the mosquitoes would leave us alone. Well, if sweetness has anything to do with mosquito bites then my kids are SWEET AS PIE! My little man still has a bit of baby fat on him so he is particularly a favorite of those buzzing summer visitiors. So if you see my little ones this summer, you will see lots of pinkalicious dollops on their sweet as pie selves.

Calamine Lotion Song
Improvise a tune and use a bottle of calamine lotion and a water spray bottle as props.
Calamine Lotion
Calamine, Calamine, Calamine Lotion
(Children repeat)
Oh no no not the lotion
(children repeat)
Itchy, itchy, scratchy, scratchy on my little backy, backy
(children repeat)
Get the buggy, buggy spray before they get me anyway
(children repeat)
PSHHHHH, PSHHHHHH
(Use the spray bottle and pretend to spray)
This song can be sung using a variety of voices such as how a football player
would sing it, a baby, a teenage girl etc. The children love to sing songs in a silly way!

The Blog is the Thing

I have spent a lot of time lately trying to figure out what I need to do to simplify my life. I haven't got it all figured out but when it came to my MOPS life I easily determined that the newsletter was a time hog. It was great when I finally got it done because I FINALLY GOT IT DONE! Because the newsletter took so much time,I haven't been great at keeping up with the blog during the MOPS season. I decided not do a print newsletter but the blog is the thing! I plan to provide activites, recipes, thoughts about mothering among other things on the blog. I also thought about and even started a Mommy's Summer Survival Guide but again I decided that the blog is the thing. So excerpts from the rough draft of the Survival Guide is going to be posted on the blog. My plan is to provide some activities, recipes and staycation ideas or short trip ideas during the summer in my posts. If anyone has any ideas to share, please add a comment. That is the other great thing about the blog - everyone can share ideas or thoughts here. So the Blog is the thing! I have even started another one for my menu plans and other thoughts about life in this season. (baskingingrace.blogspot.com) This bloggy mommy wishes everyone a great summer!