Summer has begun.
No more school or extra curricular activities to break up the day. No more cooler temperatures to play at the park. No more leggings.
Now my kids are bored by 8:30 a.m., and by 10 a.m. I need a nap.
But in all honesty, I've kind of loved having my kids home the whole day, everyday. Yea sometimes I feel like the minutes are longer and my kids won't stop fighting, and "Oh my gosh, let's just get out of this house and do something!!"...
But I feel like without the pressure of 'time', and not having to run here or there to be somewhere, I've been able to sit and enjoy my kids more.
To tickle them, laugh with them, read with them, break up their fights, play barbies, and introduce them to movies from the 90's.
Like Casper. Or Mary-Kate and Ashley Movies.
We have also drank our weight in lemonade.
My girls LOVE lemonade, and enjoy making it. We have fun coming up with new and different flavors, all though peanut butter and chocolate lemonade might not work. Or maybe...
We came up with the idea of blackberry lemonade since we had an abundance in our fridge. And in our house, an abundance of berries isn't a good thing. My kids would overdose on berries if I let them.
- 2 cups fresh lemon juice
- 12 oz blackberries
- 1/2 cup honey*
- 4 cups water
- *Depending on how tart your blackberries are, 1/2 c. might not be sweet enough. You can adjust and add more honey if you want. Be careful though, the more honey you add, the lemonade will have a 'honey' taste to it. To avoid this and to keep it naturally sweetened, I'll sometimes add a sprinkle of stevia to sweeten it up!
- In a pitcher, add your lemon juice and water.
- In a saucepan, add your berries and honey. Turn heat on medium/low and toss the berries around the pan. Then begin to mash the berries with a potato masher, or fork.
- Once all of the berries have been mashed, allow the mixture to come to a boil, and then remove from heat.
- Strain the mixture, and allow the juices to strain into a bowl. Save the mashed blackberries for homemade bread or toss!
- Once the blackberry juice has cooled, add it to the lemon and water mixture.
- Stir and if needed, add a little stevia to sweeten.
- Serve cold over ice, and enjoy!
This drink kind of reminds me of Hot Dog on A Stick. Have you ever been there? I don't do corn dogs, but hand me a gallon size of that strawberry lemonade they serve and IM GOOOOOD!
Happy Summer Friends!
I would love if you would share with me some of your summer plans or things you do with your kids to keep them entertained! This mama needs some help ;).