No back-to-school shopping for my kids

Posted on August 29, 2012 | 1 comment

If I were like nine out of 10 moms, right now I would be elbowing to the front of the queue at The Children’s Place with a haul of kids’ clothes (fall collection) ready to pull out the plastic and charge over $250 augmenting my Grade 2 daughter’s and kindergarten-aged son’s back-to-school wardrobes.

Instead, I am spending the week before school starts in Fernie, B.C. where my kids are hiking, swimming in a lake, digging in a dirty sandbox and otherwise grinding soil into and wearing holes in what remains of their summer clothing.

Grubby clothes: a side-effect of playing outdoors.

I made the mistake of venturing into a Walmart at 2:45 on a Saturday afternoon earlier this month and was dismayed to see the mayhem that constitutes this shopping phenomenon. I’d forgotten that two years ago I wrote a cocktail column on this very subject that recommended toting along a little liquid courage: the Walmart Wallbanger.

At any rate, I just don’t get the need to rush out with all of Calgary to spend a ton of money buying new items for my children when last year’s backpack and lunch box will do. If the jeans and leggings and T-shirts still fit, we can wait until the fall sales to add more. Other bloggers are lamenting how we’re dressing our kids into bankruptcy and how it isn’t right they have newer and cuter clothes than Mom.

I confess: Last year Avery scored a new backpack and vest, but I swear she needed them!

But beyond the financial wrongness of overspending on graphic tees and cargo pants — and beyond the priority wrongness of neglecting yourself by wearing baggy sweatpants with a scraggly hairdo while your daughter looks so darn cute everyone thinks you’re the dayhome lady instead of her mom — it strikes me that we’re sending our kids the wrong message by purchasing everything new all the time. Whatever happened to hand-me-downs and wearing something out? Half the time my daughter eschews the new tunic and skirt I thought were so cute in favour of her worn-in old T-shirt and hole-y leggings.

Bennett rocked his hand-me-down shirt and re-used his stylish and durable Roots backpack.

Our kids certainly don’t need and don’t necessarily want everything new, so maybe we should just stop it and enjoy the last week of summer vacation instead of fighting the back-to-school crowds.

What do you think? Back-to-school shopping — yay or nay?

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Hello, Mr. Ice Cream!

Posted on August 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

Kid: “Do you hear that sound? It’s music … it’s an ice cream truck!”

Parent: “Awww, too bad. That’s the song the ice cream truck plays when it’s all out of ice cream.”

I have to laugh because this is what friends of mine used to tell their kid whenever those familiar strains wafted within earshot on a hot summer’s day. I’m not sure if they then dragged their child indoors so she wouldn’t see everyone else in the neighbourhood lining up for popsicles and ice cream sandwiches, but I get it. Sometimes the truck’s timing is all off. You’ve just had a snack, or you already caved in to one of your kid’s demands. One thing’s for sure though: I pity the parent with an empty wallet when Dickie Dee makes his rounds.

I love that Mr. Ice Cream (a Dickie Dee competitor, no doubt) features a bomb pop on the side of his truck.

Now that Avery and Bennett are older (read: can eat ice cream without wearing half the cone) I actually welcome visits from the truck. It reminds me of when I was a kid and we’d hear that music coming up our street. Every child in the nighbourhood would sprint from their yard for a treat. My favourite was a bomb pop popsicle, which I’m happy to see is still in rotation.

Heeding the urgent call of Mr. Ice Cream, our neighbour greets the truck in his pull-up.

So, we were delighted when a truck drove down our cul-de-sac street earlier this summer. It was a 1976 flashback, with kids, parents and adults running from all directions. We queued up, ordered, paid and then got down to sweet, drippy business.

The original “food” truck.

Awesome! Now, here’s my advice for the last week of summer vacation: When you hear those musical notes go find Dickie Dee — he still has lots of ice cream left.

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Drink of the Week: Sangria (large batch)

Posted on August 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

If you’re hosting a summer barbecue and want to serve a signature cocktail that pairs well with burgers but won’t get your friends stinking drunk, opt for sangria.

I learned my lesson after mixing up a truly lethal (however delicious) rum punch for a fundraiser last spring. I decided since I was hosting this party at my house (instead of the community hall) and I was parenting-while-entertaining, it served my interests (and those of my friends, neighbours and of course, the children) to scale back on the booze. The result: a delicious red wine sangria.

Does the dispenser look familiar? In a former life it served rum punch.

This sangria is refreshing and fruity, but not too sweet. The brandy adds oomph and the juices just the right combo of tart (cranberry and lemon) and sweet (pineapple). The great thing about sangria is you can play around with it to your liking and add fruit chunks that fit your fancy. If you’re brave you can even enjoy the fruit the following day as a sort of “hair of the dog” yukaflux fruit salad.

I am happy to report the sangria went over swimmingly. The only “sangricident” happened when a nine-year-old neighbour poured himself a nice big cup of the concoction (he thought it was punch). Thank goodness it wasn’t rum punch!

Sangria (to mix in an 11-litre dispenser or extra-large punch bowl)

  • 4 bottles (750 mL x 4) red or white wine (always use a wine that you would drink on your own — we used a Peter Lehmann Layers blend, red, 2009)
  • 1 bottle (750 mL) St. Remy VSOP brandy
  • 16 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 12 cups chopped fresh fruit, divided (see cook’s note)
  • 64 oz fruit juice: cranberry and pineapple for red sangria; pineapple and grapefruit for white sangria
  • Soda water topper

Set aside 2 cups of the chopped fresh fruit to add to cups as a garnish. Mix all remaining ingredients in the dispenser and top with soda water to add a light spritz. Pour over ice in a cup then dollop in some of the reserved chopped fruit.

Cook’s note: Use fruit that will absorb and impart flavours, such as apples, oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries and even cucumbers.

— Recipe adapted from a Vin Room Sangria recipe

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