What I learned this week: Pepperoni Bird beats out Bomb Bird

My grandsons love, love, love Angry Birds.

When I visited my grandsons last April, Mac delighted in his Angry Birds crackers.

When Bubby had his birthday in June, he was thrilled to receive from Gramma and PawDad a stuffed Bomb Bird — has all-time fave Angry Bird — to play with indoors plus a Bomb Bird wind chime to listen to outdoors.

And then there's the Angry Birds tattoos I told you all about last week.

Yes, my grandsons love, love, love Angry Birds.

Bubby plays Angry Birds on Daddy's iPhone every chance he gets. Sometimes he gives Mac a turn at playing it, too. Amazingly, Mac — who just turned 2 in June — actually knows what to do.

Considering their obsession with love for the grumpy feathered friends, I knew when I saw this Angry Birds pizza on the Gombby Facebook page a while back that I just had to surprise Bubby and Mac with it during my recent visit.

Now, I don't really know a darn thing about Angry Birds, other than the black one is named Bomb Bird. I have never played the game, have seen just snippets while Bubby and Mac played. Still, I think I managed to pull off the Angry Birds look fairly well — despite using a hard-boiled egg for the eyeballs instead of the mushrooms that were supposed to be there. (Meh... mushrooms or eggs, the boys would eat neither anyway, so why waste the money on mushrooms that would be pitched before the pizza was cut?)

I told the boys the pizza was named "Pepperoni Bird." They seemed pretty pleased with the moniker as well as the overall look of their surprise pizza.

Sure, it wasn't quite as cool as a Bomb Bird pizza might have been. But I have no doubt that despite looking Angry Bird awesome, a pizza covered with black olives would have gone directly into the garbage quicker than those boiled-egg eyes did.

Bomb Bird may be a hit in the game — and as a stuffed toy and a wind chime, too — but when it comes to pizza, Pepperoni Bird always wins out.

And that is what I learned this week.

Have a lovely weekend! See ya back here Monday for the GRAND Social and more!

Today's question:

How would you rate your Angry Birds skills?

Beat-the-heat treats

The temperatures in the desert during my visit to see Bubby and Mac were, as I expected, ridiculously high. Spending time in the pool or at the water park was a great way to stay cool, but because we're not fish, other ways to chill out had to be devised.

Yesterday, the last day of my visit, Megan offered a frozen treat to the boys that I thought was quite clever — and yummy, too. The night before, she dropped gummy bears into the bottom of plastic cups, filled the cups halfway with 7 Up, then added a popsicle stick and froze the cups.

Bubby and Mac (and Megan and I, too) enjoyed licking the icy pops to free the candy bears from their frozen confines. So cool!

I'm not sure what Megan's treats are officially called — I think she found the idea on Pinterest — but the way the boys enjoyed them reminded me of snow cones of summers past. Frozen fun on a hot summer day made all the difference in surviving the heat with a smile. It still does.

With that in mind, I found the following feature — used with permission from Family Features — for a similarly syrupy sweet and frozen treat that grandparents still have time to make for the grandkids this summer.

Frozen Summer Treat is Frosty Blast from the Pastcourtesy Family Features

Cool down this summer with a rainbow of color and flavor. Just like skipping through the sprinkler when the sun is shining bright, homemade shaved ice offers sweet relief on a hot afternoon. Plus, making this frozen favorite is a fun family activity.

"Celebrate the flavors of summer with Easy Fruity Shaved Ice," said Mary Beth Harrington of the McCormick Kitchens. "The secret is in the flavorful syrups, which come together in just a few minutes with less than five ingredients, including fruit extracts and food colors."

Add raspberry, orange or strawberry extract to a simple syrup and mix in a few drops of vibrant food color to create this classic frozen treat. But don’t stop there. Bring the family together and let their imaginations run wild as they create their own personalized color and flavor combinations. Here are a few tips from the McCormick Kitchens to get you started:

Make it snow at home: If you don’t have a shaved ice maker, crush ice to a snowy texture in your blender or by wrapping a plastic bag of ice in a kitchen towel and smashing it with a rolling pin or mallet. This can be a fun project for kids so long as they have adult supervision.

Mix and match: Store syrups in small squeeze bottles and mix and match flavors in each shaved ice. Create layers of color and flavor in the ice, and then gobble them up before the creation melts. You’ll have a different summer treat every time!

Easy Fruity Shaved Ice

Prep time: 5 minutes

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

desired flavoring/color (options below)

Blue Raspberry Syrup:

2 teaspoons McCormick® Raspberry Extract

10 drops Blue McCormick® Assorted Food Colors & Egg Dye

Strawberry Cotton Candy Syrup:

2 teaspoons McCormick® Imitation Strawberry Extract

10 drops McCormick® Red Food Color

Crushed Orange Syrup:

1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Orange Extract

8 drops McCormick® Yellow Food Color

2 drops McCormick® Red Food Color

Lemon Blast Syrup:

1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract

10 drops McCormick® Yellow Food Color

Bring sugar and water to boil in small saucepan on medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. For desired flavor syrup, stir in extract and food color. Cool to room temperature. Pour into squeeze bottle for easier serving. Pour syrup over shaved ice. Makes 2 cups syrup.

For more cool summer ideas, visit www.McCormick.com, www.Facebook.com/McCormickSpice or www.Pinterest.com/mccormickspices.

Note: This is not a sponsored post.

Today's question:

What is your favorite beat-the-heat treat?

What I learned this week: Tattoos aren't as painful as I expected

I considered getting a tattoo years ago. I wanted something subtle and relatively small, and I flirted with the idea of getting a thin ankle bracelet tattoo of some sort. From what I hear, though, getting an ankle tattoo would be rather painful because there's so little fatty tissue on my ankles (well, on most days). I'm not a fan of pain, so I never got that — or any — tattoo.

Yesterday I finally got a tattoo, and it wasn't painful at all. I've no doubt that the pain-free application was because of the loving-yet-professional manner in which the tattoo artist worked. That tattoo artist being my grandson.

Bubby's tattooing technique elicited not even the slightest wince or grimace from Gramma as he applied the cheeriest of flower tattoos upon my ankle.

Tattoo work courtesy Bubby was done as a barter deal. Once he had completed my tattoo, I returned the favor by applying tattoos to him and his brother, Mac. The designs were admittedly less cheery than my smiling flower; the "Angry Birds" tatts were selected by each boy, as were the locations for their faux flair.

Despite Mac's woebegone look in the photo above, the process was as pain-free for my grandsons as it was for me. Which supported my assertion that getting a tattoo isn't as painful as I've assumed all these years. At least not when applied by my grandson — or by a grandma.

And that is what I learned this week.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. May it be as painless as the process of getting tattooed — with temporary tattoos, that is.

Today's question:

What did you learn this week? (And if you have a tattoo tale or two, please share.)

Desert oasis: Boys and their buds

Contrary to what many might believe, residents of the desert must be water worshippers of a most dedicated degree. For when temperatures hover around triple digits for days on end, staying cool in the pool with your pals is pretty much a matter of survival — yet loads of fun, too, as you can see.

Today's fill-in-the-blank:

The most enjoyable way to stay cool is ________________.

17 things I'll do this week

I'm flying to the desert today to spend a week with my grandsons. Here are...

17 things I'll do this week:
(in no particular order — except for No. 1)

1. Swelter in the desert heat.

2. Hug Bubby.

 

3. Cool down with my grandsons at the water park.

4. Hug Mac.

 

5. Jump with my grandsons at the indoor trampoline center (Kegels, don't fail me now!).

6. Hug Megan.

7. Sit with Bubby on one side and Mac on the other while enjoying Despicable Me 2 at the theater.

8. Collect more artwork from my grandsons for hanging on my refrigerator.

 

9. Take a picture or two (thousand).

10. Worry about scorpions and lizards crossing my path — or getting in my bed.

11. Watch Bubby jump from the diving board.

12. Be proud of Mac, who is reportedly potty-trained.

13. Teach Bubby how to play Froggy Boogie.

14. Think of my partner in grandparenting, who couldn't visit our grandsons with me (and find time to Facetime him with the boys).

15. Read Dr. Seuss' Bartholomew and the Oobleck and make oobleck.

16. Hug Bubby and Mac again... and again and again.

 

17. Be one heckuva happy grandma!

Today's question:

What will you do this week?

Time for a happy dance, plus GRAND Social No. 60

Yessiree, it's time for a quick little happy dance!

Why the happy dance? Because tomorrow, I'm heading to the desert to see those happy little dancers named — for bloggy purposes, anyway — Bubby and Mac! I get to spend an entire week with them, enjoying fun times such as these from the last time we were together, which was forever ago in April:

This week's visit is an extra special one as I'm visiting as a guest, not to cover child care while Mommy and Daddy leave town, thanks to my anniversary gift from Jim. I can't wait for the adventures to begin! From what I hear from Megan, Bubby and Mac can't wait either.

Which warrants another round of the happy dance, wouldn't you say?

Thank you for joining me today — for the happy dance and for GRAND Social No. 60. Enjoy!

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, just be a grandparent who blogs.

• To link up a post, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue button marked with "Add your link" below and follow the directions.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

• Adding a mention such as This post linked to the GRAND Social to your linked posts is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button anywhere on your page using the following code:

<a href="/" target="_blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

• The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.

• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. Bloggers who link up would be honored to have one and all — other bloggers as well as readers — visit, read and, if so moved, comment, even if just a "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

• For another grandparent linky, visit Connie's Grandparent's Say It Saturday Link Party each Saturday.

Fourth of July jokes for kids

Time once again for some seasonal silliness to share with the (school-age) grandkids. This time it's giggles—plus a few groans—related to patriotism and our beloved Independence Day.

Why did the duck say bang?

Because he was a firequacker.

What did one flag say to the other flag?

Nothing, it just waved.

What’s the difference between a duck and George Washington?

One has a bill on his face, and the other has his face on a bill.

Do they have a Fourth of July in England?

Of course, it’s the day between the third of July and the fifth of July.

What kind of tea did the American colonists thirst for?

Liber-tea!

What is Uncle Sam’s favorite snack?

Fire-crackers.

What do you get when you cross a dinosaur with fireworks?

Dino-mite!

What ghost haunted King George III?

The spirit of ’76.

Why did Paul Revere ride his horse from Boston to Lexington?

Because the horse was too heavy to carry.

What do you call an American revolutionary who draws cartoons?

A Yankee Doodler.

What did Polly the parrot want for the 4th of July?

A fire cracker.

What was George Washington’s favorite tree?

The infantry.

What did one firecracker say to the other firecracker?

My pop's bigger than your pop.

Why does the Statue of Liberty stand in New York Harbor?

Because she can’t sit down.

Why is the Liberty Bell like a dropped Easter egg?

They’re both cracked.

What was the most popular dance in 1776?

Indepen-dance.

What did the colonists wear to the Boston Tea Party?

Tea-shirts.

What happened as a result of the Stamp Act?

The Americans licked the British.

What did a patriot put on his dry skin?

Revo-lotion.

Why does Uncle Sam wear red, white and blue suspenders?

To hold up his pants.

What was the patriots’ favorite food in the Revolutionary War?

Chicken Catch-a-Tory.

What did King George think of the American colonists?

He thought they were revolting.

Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?

On the bottom.

And a bonus giggle for the crafty grandmas:

What famous person do you get when you make a wreath out of $100 bills?

A wreath o’ Franklin.

Today's question:

What are your family's Fourth of July traditions?

Boys in a Batman pool

Bubby and Mac kicked off summer with their first swim in the Batman pool Gramma gave them last year.

Megan texted a photo of their first dip:

 

Megan also texted a video snippet of the Memorial Day fun:

Thank heavens for iPhones and a daughter who's willing to use hers quite wisely now and then to help this long-distance grandma endure the space between.

Today's question:

Where do you swim in the summer?

How to make a marshmallow shooter

Marshmallows and kids go together. Marshmallows and kids and homemade shooters for flinging the marshmallows soaring off into the stratosphere go together even better.

Here's how to make your very own marshmallow shooter to share — or not share — with the kids:

What you need:

• Disposable party cup, one per shooter, with the bottom third carefully cut off by an adult

• Balloons, one per shooter plus a few spares, just in case

• Mini marshmallows (Regular size might work, too, but I can't vouch for that)

What you do:

Carefully cut off about 1/8-inch from the rounded end of a balloon. Stretch that cut end of the balloon over the rim off the party cup (not the cut-off end), covering the entire opening of the cup and stretching to allow about 1/2-inch of the balloon to extend up the side of the cup, all the way around.

Roll up the cut edge of the balloon ever so slightly all the way around the cup, to ensure the lip of the cup will grab any edges that threaten to slip off, keeping the balloon secure in place. Then tie the opening of the balloon just as you typically would with an inflated balloon.

Your cup/shooter should look like this:

From there, the fun begins:

First, load the shooter with one marshmallow.

Ensure the marshmallow is centered over the tie...

Then pull back the tied end slightly for the marshmallow to fall into the indention.

Aim your shooter in the direction you want the marshmallow to fly.

Then pull back even farther on the balloon, making sure your hands are closer to the rim than to the cut edge of the cup (because it's sturdier on the rim end and won't crush the cup). Also be sure to r e a l l y concentrate...

Then let go and watch her fly!

Or not fly... at least not at first.

With a little practice, aiming and shooting the marshmallow long distances comes easily. Bubby and I were eventually skilled enough at it to compete with one another to see who could shoot the marshmallow all the way across the yard and over the fence (into the wash, not the neighbor's yard).

We tried shooting Cheerios and tiny craft pom-poms, too. We did the pom-poms indoors so as to not litter. The pom-poms didn't work so well. The Cheerios, though, were a smashing success — especially when we tried them indoors and they burst into pieces upon hitting the vaulted ceiling. (Don't tell Megan.)

Roxy, the family dog, had a great time gobbling up all the marshmallows and Cheerios, both inside and out. And call me a bad grandma if you must, but Mac nabbed a fair share of the misfires, as well, picking them up and popping them into his mouth as quickly as we could fire them off. Hey, it kept him busy while his big brother — and his grandma — got the hang of shooting the marshmallows and more over the fence and out of the park.

Today's question:

When did you last blow up a balloon? Or eat a marshmallow?

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Forecast calls for fun: Getting grandkids outdoors no matter the weather

Today I return home from the Lifesavers Conference. Tomorrow I leave to spend 10 days (woo-hoo!) with my grandsons.

My busy schedule of late makes it a little tough to write new content to share with you each day. Have no fear, though, as I've procured some goodies to share with you now and again during my time in the desert, with fits and spurts of some original stuff (photos of Bubby and Mac, for sure!) along the way.

Today it's this: Tips from the National Wildlife Federation for getting the grandkids outside — regardless of the erratic springtime weather.

Forecast Calls for Fun
(courtesy of Family Features)

Grandparent often keep a running list of rainy day activities, crafts and games to keep grandkids indoors when the forecast is soggy. But if your grandchildren have never dodged rain drops, built a snowman or enjoyed a lazy summer afternoon outside, they're missing out on something wonderful.

Weather was cited as the biggest barrier to getting kids outdoors by 61 percent of parents recently surveyed by the National Wildlife Federation. But the outdoor activities kids love, such as running, jumping, climbing, playing games with friends and taking nature walks, are a great strategy for keeping children healthy and happy.

“Children are safe to play outside in most kinds of weather barring the extremes,” said Lindsay Legendre, manager of the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement. “Regular outdoor play is so important to kids’ healthy development and a little rain shouldn’t stop them from being out there. Parents might enjoy puddle jumping again themselves.”

Bring on the Rain. Rain can sometimes be blamed for causing children to catch colds or flu, particularly when their hair or feet get wet. However, rain cannot make you sick. Dress children in waterproof hats, boots and raincoats to keep kids from getting too soggy. If storm conditions develop, get out of any body of water and seek shelter in a nearby building. Prepare for mud and splashes in advance by keeping a heavy mat and dry towels by the front door.

How Hot is too Hot? When temperatures climb, make sure to have plenty of water available and take precautions, such as applying sunscreen and wearing loose clothing that is light in color. Try to schedule outdoor time during the early morning and evening, which are often the coolest part of the day.

Allergies. In many areas, seasonal allergies are another challenge for parents to contend with in regard to outdoor play. Experts say, in addition to any allergy medications recommended by their pediatrician, there are steps you can take to help allergic kids enjoy the outdoors:

• Encourage kids to go outside in the early morning and evening when pollen counts are lower.
• Cool shades or sunglasses can prevent allergens from entering their eyes.
• Have them shower and wash their hair once they come back in.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Many grandparents are reluctant to send kids outside when temperatures drop. The American Academy of Pediatrics urges adults to dress kids in several thin layers to keep them dry and warm, including warm coats, boots, gloves and hats. It’s also important to set reasonable time limits on outdoor play and have children come inside periodically to warm up. And don’t forget the sunscreen, as sunlight, especially reflecting off snow, can cause burns.

“Kids should get at least 60 minutes of exercise every day, and it’s great if they can do so outside for the fresh air and more room to play,” said Dr. Jennifer Shu, a pediatrician and author of Heading Home with Your Newborn.

For more tips and advice on getting kids outside, visit www.BeOutThere.org/Weather and www.BeOutThere.org. For more National Wildlife Federation news, visit: www.nwf.org/news.

Main photo courtesy of Getty Images

Today's question:

What are your memories of outdoor springtime fun as a child?