Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I know... it's not January 1st, but that date has always seemed like a false new year to me.

To me, the day after Labor Day - when summer unofficially ends, and people head back to school or ease back into their routines - is the real New Year.

Tomorrow is my kids' first day back at school after nine weeks of summer vacation.  The start of a new school year brings a fresh sense of potential, optimism, and the wonder of what's to come.  The beginning of fall is all about New: new grades, new beginnings, new teachers, new friendships, new clothes, new pencils....

When you're a kid, "back to school" can be the ultimate do-over.

As much as I'm excited for my kids, and looking forward to getting back into a routine, I think many parents will agree that this is a bittersweet time of the year. A new grade is a reminder that our children are a little bit closer to growing up and leaving home.  That's the whole idea of parenting, after all.

Confession: I'm the mom who got all teary when I dropped my little kids off on their first day of kindergarten.

I've never felt like crying on the January 1st New Year's holiday (well, at least, not for the same reasons as the post Labor Day new year), so this must be a special season!
 
Whether you are headed back to school, or back to routine, I wish you health and happiness for this new year!

 

Purpose Of Your Trip, Ma'am? Shopping.

My 15 year old daughter 'Audrey' has a passion for fashion and has been desperate to go shopping in the U.S..  'Purplicious' has never met a mall she didn't like and supported her big sister's pleas to do some cross-border shopping.

Eventually the girls wore us down, and we decided to spend our August long weekend shopping in Erie, Pennsylvania where the taxes are low, the selection is great and the stores are new and different.  When we weren't shopping, we were either sleeping or eating.  By noon Monday I didn't think we could carry another shopping bag or walk a step farther.  So we headed home.

Here is our van in the middle of being loaded up for our drive back to Canada...

Mostly we shopped for clothing, cosmetics and back-to-school supplies.  I bought some cute things for the house .... of course!

These are just a few of my treasures:

I saw this ruffled bowl at a store in Canada a few months ago, so wasn't I delighted to find it at a lower price and on sale! Won't it look great filled with apples or little clementines?

I seem to be subscribing to the "you can never have enough pretty plates" decorating philosophy and found these sweet plates.

This pillow practically popped off the shelf at me! You all know how much I love red and this pillow will look terrific on my bench in the foyer once fall comes ... and you know it's coming...

Even though I'm not anxious for summer to end, it's funny how a single red pillow can get a person excited about decorating for fall....


 

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I dreamed about my blog the other night, which, I think, is my subconscious telling me that it's time to write a new post. I am having the best summer and was shocked to see that it's August already.  Time flies when you're having fun!

We took our annual camping trip to the beach earlier in July.  We've been staying at the same campground resort for years, and this year Mother Nature decided to give us a week long bear hug because the weather was fabulous!

Our home away from home on these camping trips is a pop-up tent trailer tricked out with air conditioning, water and electrical service, a mini fridge and some very clever storage compartments. Some people might call our camping style "glamping" - a combination of  'camping' and 'glamorous'.  

I tend to think of our pop-up tent trailer as the grown-up version of a Barbie camper. Except that Barbie would have a much cuter camping wardrobe than me and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be caught dead wandering the streets of the closest town in search of french fries - while wearing a pair of Birkenstocks.

Fries at the beach are the best!

We store the camper in our garage during the off-season. Bringing it out when summer arrives is a test of our nerves and our twenty-one years of marriage! The trailer was bought four years ago and unfortunately, we relied on the salesperson's measuring skills before we made the sale final.

We were expecting the camper to be eight inches narrower than it actually is. Boy were we surprised when we tried to put it in the garage that first time! There is barely an inch on either side of the trailer to fit through the garage doors.

Ah well. All's well that ends well, and once we're all set up, it's extremely easy to forget all your cares.

We spend our days at the beach and our evenings around the campfire.  At night we have a dry and comfortable place to sleep.

Harry loves camping, too.  He gets pretty tuckered out from chasing seagulls.

We wake up most mornings to the sound of seagulls squawking, so when Harry gives them a hard time, I consider it a doggie form of payback.

We have all the comforts of home - even a little mirror so that I can put on some mascara and lipstick and blow dry my hair...

... because Barbie would like that!

Now, if only I could decorate the camper with pink flower decals and purple fun fur, Barbie and Ken might join us for s'mores around the campfire one evening. 

I wonder where I can find Barbie-sized Birkenstocks...

School's Out For Summer: Meet The Kids

My thanks to Alice Cooper for help with the title ;)

Thursday was our first day of summer vacation.  I've added full time chauffeur, recreation director, camp counselor, lifeguard and police officer to my official job title of 'Stay-At-Home-Mom'. 

I think an introduction of my kids is in order, since I'll probably mention them a bit more over the next two months. My kids asked me not to use their real names or photos on my blog...

...so I gave them a little summertime homework assignment: choose a blog alias and I'll find a picture of an actor or actress whom they resemble.

Audrey (age 15)  is my oldest daughter.

Audrey is our Thinker. She's a gentle and sweet girl who is responsible and dependable. Audrey just finished her first year of high school with spectacular results. She plays piano and flute and is learning the trumpet over the summer. Audrey has her Blackberry with her at all times so she can be in constant communication with her friends to plan trips to Starbucks, the movies and malls.  Thankfully, she's very tolerant of her younger brother and sister!

Awesome Possum (age 13) is my son.

Awesome Possum is our Comedian/Inventor. His yearbook signature page was filled with comments from his friends about how funny he is and that he's always willing to help out. A.P. is bright and witty and has a very strong sense of what's fair and just. He has a section in the basement where he can modify electronics and test out his inventions. Of course, Awesome Possum loves computer games. He builds virtual cities, houses and ''stuff". I really don't understand what he does; it all seems very technical and complicated.

Purplicious (age 9) is my youngest daughter.

 *remember, they choose these monikers themselves.

 

Purplicious is our Artist. She's creative and girlie and loves art, crafts, baking, shopping and fashion. It's not uncommon for her to have three wardrobe changes in one afternoon. Her lip gloss collection numbers close to fifty.  Purplicious is extremely chatty and inquisitive.  Mr. StyleBurb once tried to count how many questions she asked in 10 minutes, but he lost count. Purplicious is very good-hearted and has a lot of empathy for people and animals.

Summers at our house are busy, loud and messy- there's never a dull moment!

May and June: The Busiest Time of the Year? Discuss

Are May and June crazy busy months for you like they are for me? There's Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, multiple birthdays, graduations, school recitals, weddings, showers, the start of soccer and baseball season, tonnes of end-of-year school stuff, gardening....

These are all exciting, fun and wonderful times, but it doesn't leave a person a whole lot of time to get her decorating projects done! Oh well, the projects will wait!

Here's a little round-up of what I've been doing lately.

I've already talked about my youngest daughter's birthday party. I finally found a picture of the girls as they enjoyed the brownie bar I set out for them.  We eat a lot of cake in May and June, so the brownie bar was a fun change!

Then, my oldest daughter celebrated her birthday the weekend after.  She invited some girl friends over for a sleepover. They watched a few classic 'chick-flicks' and laughed a lot! We decided not to venture through the clouds of perfume to take any pictures!

My son invited some guy friends over last weekend to celebrate his birthday with- you guessed it- a sleepover party as well! Mr. StyleBurb took them to a nearby driving range to hit a few buckets of golf balls first. We had a barbeque for dinner (I think my friends in the U.S. would call it 'grilling') and pancakes and bacon for breakfast the following morning.

One thing I'm learning about teenage boys is that no matter how much food you cook, it will never be enough!!

This is our basement the morning after the party- very tidy, all things considered.

In between all the partying, we spray painted some pots...

pots before getting the 'oil-rubbed' bronze treatment

... planted some containers...

 ... leveled the interlocking walkway...

 .... and sanded the back deck so that it can be restained...

Technically, Mr. StyleBurb and my son did the interlocking and deck sanding, however I stood ready to offer cold drinks and helpful hints!  Hopefully, the stain will go on this week, so I can arrange the outdoor furniture and flowers in time for the next few parties. No pressure, though!

So, that's the brief version of what's been going on here- there's still more to do. Yes- we're busier now than we are at Christmas-time!

I know you've all been really busy, too. Tell me, is this your busiest time of the year?



 

Chinese Food and Sushi Cupcakes

We celebrated my daughter's 9th birthday last week. When I say 'last week', I mean it literally; all of 'last week'!

In our home, "birthdays" mean a Friend Party, a Family Party, a Special Dinner and a Cake on Your Actual Birthday, and Treats for Classmates at School. My three kids and my husband all have birthdays within one month of each other.  So, we eat a lot of cake between the middle of May and the middle of June!

This year my daughter asked me to make these adorable little sushi cupcakes to bring to school and share with the kids in her class (she had seen the idea in the Family Fun Crafts for Kids magazine).

 
These little cupcakes are so easy to make and the kids loved them!  You use a cylinder cookie cutter to make the 'sushi' shaped cakes out of pound cake.

Wrap a piece of fruit roll-up around the middle. The fruit roll-up sticks to itself- the same way it does to the grooves in your kids' molars!

Frost with white icing and top with coconut, which looks like white rice.

I diced red jujubes, Swedish fish, gumdrops, and red licorice sliced on the diagonal to resemble real sushi toppings.

A whole class set of sweet sushi cakes fits nicely into a 9x13 pan.  Apparently I have requests to make these again!

That took care of the Treats for Classmates at School portion of the birthday, next came the Friend Party.

This year, my daughter wanted to take five friends out for dinner at her favorite Chinese restaurant, and then enjoy a brownie bar and movie back at our house.  The restaurant she chose is right out of the movie, A Christmas Story (Ralphie... you'll shoot your eye out)!

The Chinese restaurant from the movie A Christmas Story.

The girls had a wonderful time! They had their own table for six, and my husband and I sat close by at our own table. Their conversations were hysterical!

I made loot bags out of Chinese food takeout cartons which I filled with all kinds of goodies for my daughter's friends.

 I stuck hair accessories shaped like chopsticks through the top...

... and then printed takeout menus and taped them to the top of the cartons with a "thanks for coming to my party" message.

Everyone had a fantastic time!

That's the brief version of my nine year old's birthday!

My oldest daughter turns fifteen next week and she's planning a sleepover party with her girlfriends. I'm not sure who's coming, how long they're staying, or how this will impact our neighborhood garage sale in the morning, but I'm sure I'll find out soon.... I hope!


I'm joining Debbie's Newbie Party this week!

Boredom Busters: How We Survived Spring Break

It was spring break at the StyleBurb house last week.  Mr. StyleBurb had to work, so the rest of the family used the week of vacation to adjust to the time change.

The only thing I like about "spring forward" is that the clock in my van is now accurate.  For six months of the year the van's clock is an hour fast.  I could correct the time myself, but that would require me to find the owner's manual, and some things are just not worth the effort.

Anyway, here's a round-up of some crafts my kids made - just to prove that we did not sleep in and lollygag around the house until noon every day watching Ellen and The View.

Not that there's anything wrong with that ;)

These creatures (miniature foam shapes that expand in water) have been growing in a dish on my counter all week.  It looks like the dinosaur is about to attack the Easter Bunny, who is smiling bravely despite impending doom!

My youngest daughter tried her hand at soap carving.  This was fun until the dog ate the soap shavings that fell on the floor.  I called the vet to make sure Ivory soap wouldn't harm him.  Harry was fine, except he drank a lot of water and then blew bubbles when he opened his mouth.

Here is the soap representation of the Easter bunny.

The kids finally got to paint the paper machéd Easter eggs to replace the ones I used in my apothecary jar.

Even though Easter is still a month away, we also made Easter bunny chocolates using plastic molds and melting chocolate wafers.

 

We also made some heart-shaped chocolate lollipops...because there's always room for love!

The bunnies were wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbons to give as gifts... if they last that long!

Of course we didn't forget about St. Patrick's Day and we made mini cupcakes to celebrate.  My youngest daughter decorated these ones all by herself!

She used the 1M tip on the Wilton Dessert Decorator Pro piping tool - it's amazing how easy it is to get professional looking results.

 

It's back to school tomorrow. Meanwhile it looks like a bomb went off in my house.  Cleaning when the house is full of children is an uphill battle, to say the least.  

Comedian Phyllis Dillar had it right when she said: "Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing."

The Seven Dwarfs sang: "Just whistle while you work".  That's one approach to housework I think I'll try.

Thankfully it's still too chilly here to leave the windows open, so no one will hear me!

I'm linking up to http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/ for her newbie party.