School daze | Hip to be Mom

Turning old magazines into a fashion accessory

May 152011

So Raine had a process analysis presentation to do for her English class. Most of the other groups in her class were demonstrating recipes but Raine chose to demonstrate a craft because well, we love doing creative projects… and paper bead-making was something they learnt from my great aunt when they were little.

This is a really fun craft you can do with your kids – keeps them occupied for hours, you don’t have to spend a cent and it’s such a great way to recycle those old magazines you have lying around the house (so who needs document management solutions, right?)

First tear out a colorful page from an old magazine and measure out long strips like these. Make the wider end about 1″ wide and taper the strip to a sharp point at the other end.

You will also need a wooden skewer. Place the wider end of your paper strip against the skewer and start rolling.

When you reach the last couple of inches of the paper strip, apply a bit of glue and continue rolling till the end sticks on tightly. Leave to dry before removing from your skewer.

Now to string the colorful beads together into whatever fashion accessory you fancy – bracelets, belts, earrings. Raine strung her into a long necklace alternating them with some loose red beads left over from one of our other projects.

Are you into crafts? What are some fun craft projects you’ve done? I’d love to try new ones and I’ll be sharing some more of what I’ve done later.

A new chapter in the Hip Book of Historical Events

Posted by Clairity 5 Responses »

Mar 282011

So we start a new chapter in the Hip Book of Historical Events. Raine, my 17-year-old princess, is officially a college freshman today.

Her Royal Highness doesn’t have a driver’s license yet so she will be riding the Royal Coach to college each morning chauffeured by the Queen herself (that would be me, ahem!).

Lucky me, college is clear across town smack in the middle of the rush-est of rush hour traffic insanity !

I’m not complaining though I can’t say sitting in traffic can be considered a favorite pastime of mine. That said, any commute with my teens is a priceless opportunity for bonding, still lovin’ it after all these years.

And here is my interview with Raine when I picked her up from her first day at college today. Her answers, in her own very words:

Me: So what do you think of college?

Raine: I think I’ll be homesick every day that I’m in college.

Me: Did you meet anyone you know?

Raine: I don’t think they recognize me which is good because I like being under the radar.

Me: What was the� most exciting thing that happened today?

Raine: The fact that I looked at my Chuck and Taylor Converse sneakers and realized that they were the nicest pair of sneakers in the room.

Me: I bet you’re pretty excited about college then, huh?

Raine: Maybe it’s too early to tell but…

19 going on 30

Posted by Clairity 4 Responses »

Mar 102011

So Steev was just talking to me about signing up for some online business degree classes and working part-time in the summer. Summer school has always been in his plans. We’ve talked about it at length and it’s something he really wants to do.

Yeah Mom, he goes, gotta get through this and get out there and starting making some serious money! You know what, it doesn’t surprise me at all, this wanting to get out there to the real world sooner. Steev’s my 19 year old going on 30 and I think that’s really cute .

The two amigos

Posted by Clairity 2 Responses »

Feb 212011

When Steev and I went apartment-hunting, my biggest concern was what kind of roommate he would end up with. But I am so glad things worked out the way they did because he and Roomie are the perfect match.

Just within a short time of Steev moving in to their 2-room apartment, the two have become fast friends sharing the cooking sometimes, going out for the occasional burger, watching movies, playing computer games, talking about girls and joking about everything under the sun.

Recently on Valentine’s Day, he and Roomie even got together and played a prank on a mutual friend by presenting the poor unsuspecting guy with a gift of a male enhancement product from an imaginary “secret admirer”! OMG, what will these 2 guys get up to next?

Missing in action

Posted by Clairity 4 Responses »

Jan 192011

This is only the third day of school this year for Skye since we just got back from Hometown last weekend. She was thrilled about getting to miss school for an entire 2 weeks while we were away. The ongoing joke was that she might return to find she’s been kicked out of school to which her reaction was always, I hope so, I really don’t mind .

As usual, we had some well-meaning family members telling us that we really shouldn’t let her miss school since this is the year of her major school exam. So what? It’s only 2 weeks and it’s not like she won’t be able to catch up, just like that!

Today she’s supposed to be staying back in school till 4pm for extracurricular activities but since she’s running some rashes due to the dehumidifier effect of the cold, dry winter, I went to pick her up early from school.

You should’ve seen the grin on her face. It was priceless!

Pulling out the food stops

Posted by Clairity 4 Responses »

Nov 292010

My kids know that come major school exam time, Mom will (usually) pull out all the stops and say yes to all of their food requests. It’s Raine’s turn to call the shots this year. The other day, she has requested for pancakes (for now). I went out the very next day and got all the ingredients to make pancakes for 2 pancake breakfasts.

This is the time I make sure we have plenty of snacks and fun food around the house. Rocking the books can really work up an enormous appetite and every now and then, someone will sneak down to the kitchen to rummage for something to eat!

My philosophy is – feed the tummy and you feed the brain. So whatever Raine wants to eat, I’ll cook it or bake it, by hook or by crook. During exams, we try to stay off outside food because I don’t trust the cleanliness and hygiene of our food here, no offense!

Digging through my pantry for food ideas, I stumbled upon a packet of orange and poppy seed muffin mix that had expired last month. No big deal!

Remember those good old days when stuff didn’t come with expiry dates and we happily ate up everything in sight without a thought for those pesky use-by dates. Well, I decided to bake the muffins and eat them anyway.