LEMONADE!

C6 and I have made a few batches of lemonade over the past couple of weeks. YUM!!!

C6's first job is to remove all the stickers from the lemons. He really enjoys the task! I wash the lemons and cut them in half, and then we squeeze'em. We use a little plastic juicer, neither fancy nor shmancy. C6 was more interested in sampling the lemons the first batch, but he got into using the juicer on the second batch - he really put his back into it!

The recipe we used for the first batch...

combine:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of water

heat this over the stove to dissolve the sugar. Let this cool, then add:

• 1 cup lemon juice
• 4 cups of cold water

stir, then add:

• ice
• sliced lemons

We didn't use 1 cup of sugar - it was more like 2/3 cup, and it was plennnnnty sweet. The next batch we made, we used 1/2 cup of sugar and it was GREAT.

We decided to use Max and Ruby's Grandma's secret ingredient - a mint leaf! Grandma uses merely one leaf, but we put in a WHOLE LOT. The mint is a great addition - but if you keep a bunch of mint leaves steeping in the lemonade for too long, they get all soggy, translucent, and ugly. (Still tastes great though!!!).

Man, does it taste good!!!!

(Especially on the screenporch!)

!!!!PORCH FLASHBACK!!!!
!!!!PORCH FLASHBACK!!!!
!!!!PORCH FLASHBACK!!!!
!!!!PORCH FLASHBACK!!!!

Poop on Mankind.

C6 just said something that sounded exactly like "Poop On Mankind". Kid, I hear ya!!!

Grandpa sings!

When my siblings and I were little, Dad would sing to us a lot. He still sings to us! He liked to sing Irish tunes, stuff we'd hear on the "John Latchford Show" on the radio. Dad would sing to my brother and I while rocking us on the screenporch rocker, on a summer's night, Plum Island. This is one of my favorite Dadsongs - it is called "Pigs Can't Swim". The Irish Rovers did a version of it. My favorite line was, and still is: "...and I had pork chops with my tea!" C6 likes Grandpa's songs, too. Heeeeeeere's Grandpa!


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..and here is a silly song Dad charms all the kiddos with, personalizing it for each kid. I don't know where this one came from!!!


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Barbapapa!

Boy did I love those crazy blobby things, the Barbapapas! Especially "Barba Beau", the shaggy black artist one. Barbapapa was another weird cartoon from the '70s. Do you remember them? They can change their shape and sizes, very easily!!! And they had an awesome house! It is so strange revisiting the cartoons from my early days. They're all WACKED!!! Seriously. I probably would have LIKED Boobah as a kid. Ew!

"Here is the star, he's Barbapapa, doodoo do dooooo..."

Baby Pranks!

Jon Benjamin, from Dr. Katz and Home Movies fame, in "Baby Pranks". I found this through another fave read, Baby Roadies.

Born Learning PSAs

Have you seen any of the commercials for Born Learning? They're quite good. Here's my favorite:

This is the way I shopped even BEFORE C6 came along. HAhrHRH!!!

This is freakin' sweet!

Peter Griffin 'sings' the Axel F. song...HAhHAHHHA!!!!!

(PS: This has been stuck in my head for a week...I find myself singing it aloud...all the time!)

Wot's Up? Wot's Up?

Have you been watching Liam Lynch's Lynchland podcasts? If not, what the heck are you waiting for? This is some funnyass stuff!!! (You can watch through iTunes - search for Lynchland.) Liam's podcast is like a variety show, with different clips, songs, and animations. You know - - - VARIETY! Here is a clip from the most recent podcast. When I first watched this episode, I kept watching this part over and over because I love it so much. (Especially the truck/duck/butt lyrics.)

Gustafer Yellowgold

We missed the Gustafer Yellowgold show in January and won't be able to make it to Western MA for the June show. Until then, I'll watch some videoclips...and wait for my Gustafer Yellowgold DVD to arrive in my mailbox!





You can see more Gustafer videoclips right here. Boy, do I dig that Mint Bee. MINT BEE!!!

S. Britt and The Sneeze

So I first came across the magnificent S. Britt while reading The Sneeze, a nutsy-kookoo and terribly addictive site indeed. Mr. S. Britt did a bit of artwork for The Sneeze and I am in luuuuv with his illustration style. 'Tis snazzy!

I dig reading The Sneeze. And you will too. I'm especially fond of the "Steve, Don't Eat It" section, where Steve eats some things he probably ought not. Also, I'm partial to Global Schoolyard Rhymes, described by Steve thusly: We all grew up reciting irritating rhymes. Some of us grew up primarily on the receiving end of them... good times. It occurred to me that these funny little bits of kid comedy must exist in every language all around the world, so I decided they must be collected. Welcome to The Global Schoolyard Rhyme Project. A gathering of international obnoxia. Check out Jokes from the Booster Seat as well, for jokes written by Steve's 4-year old son. Look at the S. Britt art on the Global Schoolyard Rhymes and Jokes From The Booster Seat pages.

Question: How psyched was I to find that S. Britt created "Coloring Can Be FUNNY!", a marvy coloring & activity book???

Answer: WICKED EXCITED! So I ordered it, and it arrived within a couple of days...with a little thank you note from the artist himself. YAY! C6 and I immediately delved into the book and had a lotta laffs! It is so fun. Highly recommended for EVERYONE.

Jot!

Does anyone remember the cartoon from the early '70s called "Jot"? I remember LOVING it when I was little. It is about a little dot guy named (wait for it...) JOT. Jot zoomed and bounced around, as in the "follow the bouncing ball" singalong cartoons. I TOTALLY don't remember it being religious - but I guess it was on around the same time that "Davey and Goliath", (which we also watched and enjoyed) so that makes sense. Who knew? I LOVE the design of the Jot animations - very mod! Have a look:



I especially like when Jot has a guilt trip and freaks out - things get kind of psychedelic. Did they spell "ma'am" wrong? Or is "mam" correct? Hmmm.



I tried to find a Davey and Goliath episode, but all I could find in my extensive 3-minute search were dirty versions and parodies. Oh, and the Mountain Dew commercial, which I did like:

Peanut Butter Sammich That Isn't A Peanut Butter Sammich Because C6 Doesn't Like Peanut Butter Sammiches. But It Really IS A Peanut Butter Sammich.

Here's a little scribble. I thought I'd redraw it and make it nice but WHO AM I KIDDING??? The little blurry dot things here and there on the drawing are artistic additions by my associate, C6.

So the story is: C6 says he doesn't LIKE sammiches, and that's quite the drag. I make him Peanut Butter "Burgers" (not really burgers!) by making a peanut butter sammich, and using a wide-mouth glass to cut a circle out of the middle of the complete sammich. That also presses the edges together. VOILA! We call it a Peanut Butter Burger, or a Peanut Butter Thingie. C6 digs'em! I'm gonna try this with other fillings and see if the edges will still stick together. Click on the image to enlarge it if it is too minute to read. It will become humongous. And thank you, Upside Down Show for teaching the words HUMONGOUS and MINUTE to C6!

Isn't She Lovely?

Okay, okay. Guys. Guys! 'membah how I wrote something about adding some favorite site links soon, hm? Not soon enough. Well! It seems that The Lovely Mrs. Davis beat me to the punch. NICE GOIN', LOVELY! What? Well, THE Lovely Mrs. Davis linked ME on her site and in doing so TOTALLY STOLE MY THUNDER! Cuz I was gonna link to HER. Dang - now I look like a copy cat!

Mrs. Davis writes at Offsprung, another fave site. (But you already knew that!) In her column called "Huxtabled" (hahrhr!) on Offsprung, she focuses on kids television. "The Lovely Mrs. Davis Tells You What To Think" is about kids music, media, family stuff, and everything else! Now Mrs. Davis? Now she is THE expert on little kid music. SHE is at the EPICENTER of kid rock. Um...not Kid Rock the dude...rock for kids, I mean. Needless to say, I am honored to be mentioned on her site. I am blushing. BLUSHING. Thanks, Lovely. You (kid) rock.

Dang. Now that I know someone's lookin', maybe I should brush my hair, put on a little lip gloss or something. Tell me, do I have any broccoli stuck in my teeth?

(P.S. those Links are a'comin', hold yer horses!)

Like Mummio, like son...

Here's a little bit of C6 singing a mashup. He starts out with "Trot Trot to Boston" then quickly morphs to "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and then does a little freestylin' - a little bit about One Little Guy On The Vitamin Box. Then he just wings it with some doo doos and dee dees. And he winds it down nicely. This is exactly how I operate when it comes to remembering the words to songs. Which is why I mostly play bass and shut me piehole.


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ADDENDUM:
It dawned on me that "Trot, Trot to Boston" is kind of a regional nursery rhyme and you might not know what the heck I'm talking about. As I learned it, you put the kiddo on your lap and chant as you bounce the kid in a gallop:

"Trot, Trot to Boston. Trot trot to Lynn. Careful when you get there - you might fall iiiiin!" and on the word "IN" you open yer knees and hold the kid down as if he were falling in. But he doesn't actually fall, cuz you are holding ON to him, y'see.

It seems there are a few versions of the words to this - I just found:
"Trot trot to Boston, Trot trot to Lynn. Trot trot to Salem. Home again." which doesn't seem as fun - I mean, does the kid get to fall iiiiiiin?

Then: "Trot, trot to Boston. Trot, trot to Lynn. Trot, trot over the water, We all fall in." That works fine!

And: "Trot trot to Boston. Trot, trot to Lynn. Watch out (kiddo's name), Or you'll fall in." Splendid.

The key part is falling IIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!!!! Try it at home!

DeSoto Records: PLAY

DeSoto records offers a music-for-kiddos compilation called PLAY. I can't wait to hear it! (I just ordered it - I'll be sure'n report back once we receive and digest it). The CD features tracks by Supersuckers, The Cassettes, Mary Timony, and Young Fresh Fellows, to mention a few. And guess what? A version of NELLIE THE ELEPHANT is on there, too! (performed by Sgt. Major - hadn't heard of'em, but I think I might love them now.) Hurrah! (have I mentioned how much we adore that song?)

(...Cuz we wicked luv it!)

Sippy Cups and Neal Pollack on Nightline

Last week on Nightline, there was a piece on "Hipster Parenting" featuring pissacool kindierockband The Sippy Cups and author Neal Pollack (Alternadad, previously mentioned here!
Have a look-see:

Tigger and Pooh...and Kay, too.

C6 and I don't watch much on the Disney channel with the exception of DVR-ing The Wiggles. One day, just before the Wiggles episode began, I heard a familiar voice -lo and behold, it was Kay Hanley traipsing through the woodland with a merry band of children! Singing about Tigger and Pooh. HAHrh! I wish I could be more excited about the new show called "The New Adventures of Tigger and Pooh" - but it looks, um...um...painful. Give us the old Pooh THANKYOUVERYMUCH. But Kay sounds and looks great, doesn't she? Look:

Parenty Stuff

Just wanted to share a couple of Parenty-type sites I visit. Some for tips and ideas, some I visit to read about other parents' experiences in the trenches!

ParentHacks is one of my daily reads. There is so much useful info on this site! "Parent Hacks is a collaborative weblog that collects parents’ tips, recommendations, workarounds, and bits of wisdom – their hacks – in a single pot so we can all partake. Here’s the stuff that would have been left out of the instruction manual...if there were one."

Offsprung is brand new, and already I'm hooked. "Offsprung is a humor magazine! And community! About parenting! On the Internet! Offsprung is all these things, and so many more. Welcome to the perfect online antidote to a parenting culture gone barking mad."

Thingamababy has LOTS of great ideas and product reviews, tested by this dad and his toddler daughter. A whole lot of good. "A Dad's eye view of baby and toddler stuff."

Baby Toolkit is a very useful site indeed. Love it! "Geek parents write about baby gear." It is not just about gear though - lots of "how to's", etc.

Boston Mamas has lots of stuff, some specific to the Boston area, but not all. Great finds in kids clothes, food ideas, tips - the whole lot! "Boston Mamas is a one-stop source for cool ideas and resources for families in Boston and beyond".

There'll be much more soon - and these links and many more will be added in a "daily read" section on this buhhhhlohg. Yay!

Be Happyhappyhappy!

Once in awhile C6 and I will watch Wow! Wow! Wubbzy on Noggin. We enjoy the powerpop music on the show - remember the song "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus? Kind of reminds me of that sort of thing (the vocal style), crossed with a li'l bit of Fountains of Wayne (songwriting). The characters are awfully cute. This song always make me smile - watch it when you're super duper sad!

"Pop Ed" on Boston.com

Boston.com just launched a new feature called "Pop-Ed." Every day, a new song & video by local hardcore folker Jake Brennan will be posted. Basically, in the morning, Jake finds a story or event of interest and gets a-goin', writin' and recordin'. The video is posted later in the day. I think it is a great idea - ambitious and inspiring. Go Jake! Here's the first one, about Roger Clemens turnin' Yankee.

My latest favoritest song.

Love it. It is by Peter, Bjorn & John. It is called "Young Folks". Enjoy! Haven't run it past the boy yet, we'll see if he'll dig it too. I love that one of the dudes is wearing a HULK shirt. HULK IT UP!!!

A Li'l Bit Rocknroll.

So it dawned on me that I haven't written one LICK about any of the rockstuff that has been going on here. Oops! I guess I should if I want to keep my subtitle "Rocknroll mum".

Ad Frank & The F.E.W. played a dy-no-mite show at the Lizard Lounge (ha - I just typed "the Lizard Lung" - eeeeewww!) a couple of weeks ago. Here's a short-but-sweet review. Ummmm...we did a li'l photo shoot...and we popped into The Moontower studio to record a few demo songs. Whatelsewhatelse? A couple of months ago, Ad and I played a couple of shows, just us 2, with Britband Echo Heights. The show at The Baseball Tavern was a lot of fun - very laid back. I totally forgot the words in the middle of one song and did a nervous Grover laugh. (You know...Grover from Sesame Street.) We recovered when Ad loudly stagewhispered my part to me and we picked it up. HAHHRHARH! Smoov!

We've got a show at TTs, June 23rd. Come on out-n-see!

Scurvyann, over-n-out.

Another Messy Day!

It has been awhile since I've mentioned MESSY DAY! Here's a photo of our latest venture. What's 'e doin'? Why, making a mess, of course! That's a mix of shaving cream, white glue, and food coloring. It makes a nifty fingerpaint - when it dries, it is all puffy and springy-like! C6's babysitter, "R" introduced us to the fine art of shavingcreampainting. She always has fun ideas! She and C6 made a striking painting of a goldfish, and a cheery smiley face. Today we didn't really try to make any "thing" (except a mess!) It was all about the process, I mean, prossMESS.

On another MESSY DAY, I filled a biiiiig bowl with uncooked rice and gave C6 some spoons, different sized cups and bowls, and a funnel. He loved moving the rice from container to container. He was busily working for quite awhile and then (we knew it was coming) whoooooosshhhhhhh - all the rice went onto the floor and so did C6. He started flailing his little bodkin around atop the grains. Arms and legs moving all around. He was making a "rice angel". HAHrhAHR!!!!! The next day, after our lesson on how to use a funnel, I was trying to shove some Bacos back into the jar and they were spilling all over the place. "Mummio, use funnel!" said my little smartypants.