After her unsuccessful lemonade stand last week, I promised Annie that we would try again. My friend Tara and I made a plan to have a stand in her busier neighborhood, thinking Annie would be happy with more traffic/customers. After Annie and I whipped up a new batch of fresh lemonade, she, James, and I headed over to Tara’s house.
Annie is at that stage where I don’t tell her anything until right before it happens. She doesn’t understand time, so letting her know about anything more than an hour or two in advance is just asking to be driven mildly crazy (Can we go yet? Can we go yet? Can we? Can we?). I appreciate her enthusiasm, though. When we arrived at Tara’s, Annie was super-stoked to not only see Tara’s kids, but also the children of my friends, Laura and Diane.
Tara suggested the kids sell the lemonade and cookies to benefit Friends of Maddie. The kids got to work making signs and setting up the stand.
Annie is doing quality assurance.
The kids were pretty into it at first. We told them to try to wave down cars as they drove by.
None of the cars stopped (we moms were bummed about that), but the kids didn’t care…mostly because they lost interest after about five minutes.
Isabella was the only one with a sense of responsibility…and she doesn’t look happy about it.
It’s also pretty hard to wave cars over for your lemonade stand when you’re not paying even the slightest bit of attention to the cars or lemonade.
Meghan shows off her bee sting.
Poor sad, abandoned table.
Eventually, Tara’s next-door neighbor came over for some cookies and a drink. We also called the local grandmas, and they all came by. In the end, we only had five customers…which is probably a good thing, because the kids kept eating and drinking the product. The kids earned about $12 (thanks to generous tips), which will fund half of a Friends of Maddie support pack. I am going to make up the difference and put together a pack that includes a little note about the kids’ lemonade stand. Hopefully the parents that receive the pack will appreciate it.
I’m glad Annie got some friend time in, but I’m even more glad that my friends and I got some time together. It’s going to be hard come the fall, when all the kids are back in school, so I’m pleased that we’re taking advantage of the more-relaxed summer schedules. Annie is always at her happiest when she is with her friends. I can’t imagine where she gets that from.
Tandy says:
Would you share what’s in the support pack? I’m a NICU nurse and I would love to find a way to have my kids find ways to help some of the families that I work with.
You are such a fun mom!
Heather says:
Yes! A basic support pack has:
A large reusable bag
A Tri-folio with a pad of paper for note taking, and an accordion file to help keep track of paperwork
A reusable water bottle
Antibacterial Lotion
Chapstick
Tissues
Pens
Mints
A travel toothbrush with toothpaste
Snack Bar
You can find out more about support packs here, and if your NICU is interested in receiving any, please let us know!
Tandy says:
Wow, maybe I should not write messages in the middle of the night. That’s some great sentence structuring!
Jess says:
Heather, I would love to buy some virtual lemonade. I’ll go donate $24, can you add a second pack with a note about Annie’s the lemonade stand. That would have made me smile while at the hospital with my 34 week baby.
Heather says:
Absolutely, you are so sweet!
Jenn says:
I love Annie’s shirt and her hair is AMAZING!!! I also love the look of total concern on her face when she was looking at her friend’s little foot. She’s just too cute! Having a Lemonade stand in the summer is such FUN and although they didn’t make a huge amount of money, the memories they did made are simply PRICELESS!!!
Allison says:
YES, her shirt and hair are adorable! First thing I noticed!
Tia says:
I can’t believe people didn’t stop! I turn around and go back to lemonade stands every time I see one. The lemonade is usually either warm or watered down, but the smile on the kids face is why I do it. Also, I may be a former Isabella
Adria says:
I *MUST* know where you got that adorable shirt!! This whole post is too cute.
Heather says:
Old Navy! I saw it in blue there, too!
robyn says:
Who the heck doesn’t stop for a kids’ lemonade stand? Seriously! I don’t think I’ve ever NOT stopped for a kids’ lemonade stand.
So glad everyone had fun!
Mia says:
I wish I had known, I would have come over to get my cookies and lemonade!!
Maria says:
Good thinking heather! I would love to buy some virtual lemonade as well!
Also, I agree ith the other commenters.. Her outfit is the bomb! The whole look with the hair is gorgeous. Where is the shirt from?
Heather says:
Old Navy!! And you are very sweet, thank you!
Liz says:
I need Annie’s shirt in my size. Old Navy, get on that.
Lily says:
Love her hair? Did you take hair and braid it over the top of her head?
Lily says:
Not a question mark oops!! Love her hair!!!
Heather says:
It’s a “crown braid,” or an inside-out french braid (dutch braid) that goes around her head instead of down the middle. She asked for princess hair in honor of England’s new prince, haha.
Molly says:
I love Annie’s hair! A post on how you did it perhaps?
Jessica says:
So adorable, we had a lemonade stand recently too and, since we live in the middle of no where, had to call people to come over and be customers so the kids could finally get the lemonade stand experience. Mine were over it five minutes later too. And love Maddie’s hair!
mccgoods says:
1. I love the shirt
2. I love the hair
3. yes how do I buy 48 glasses of lemonade so I can donate a bag? *god I hope my math is right.
April says:
“…when all the kids are back in school…” Crazy to think that’ll also be Annie this fall! Exciting!
JustAMom says:
Who doesn’t stop for a lemonade stand?? Those kids are adorable, and LOVE that you and their parents are teaching them, at such a young age, about the importance of doing things to help others. They, and you, are beautiful!!
jill says:
Who doesn’t stop for a lemonade stand? Guys driving or walking alone won’t stop because they’re afraid of being perceived as creepy child stalkers or worse. Never mind that the vast majority of child molesters are related to their victims or are closely connected to them in some way; we somehow have become obsessed with “stranger danger” to the point that men are cautious about being around children who are not their own.It’s the way our culture is now and it’s very sad.
When my friends and I used to have lemonade stands, the kids ran the stand and the moms were inside hanging out together. They were there if we needed them but they didn’t hover over us. There was a kid world and an adult world and the lines were firmly drawn. That’s changed now, too.
Auntie_M says:
How could people NOT stop for those adorable kids???? They were so cute!!! (And, like others before me, I must comment on how cute Annie’s shirt and hair were that day!)
I love that they chose to benefit Friends of Maddie!