Happy Halloween!

Make sure if you are giving the neighborhood kids treats you have adequate lighting to your porch. Make sure sidewalk and pathway to porch is free of toys, doggy doo, fallen sticks, and wet leaves. Kids can slip on wet leaves. Remember they could be wearing costumes that might be too long or wearing heeled Cinderella shoes. If they are concentrating on their dress from dragging or keeping on a shoe they might not be looking where they are going.

For Halloween: A Spooky Breakfast

Tomorrow or Halloween morning cook up some pancakes. When ready cut pancakes into ghost shapes. You can use a knife or a pizza cutter to cut the shapes. If you have ghost and/or witch cookie cutters use them on pancakes. For the ghost use chocolate chips or raisins for eyes and a Cheerio for the mouth.

Halloween Drink

I realize my audience is expanding to other countries, but since I'm from the States this week I'm focusing on Halloween.
Dracula punch. Great for a Halloween party. Make a large bowl of red punch. Put in gummy eyeballs and gummy worms. Boys especially like this drink. Serve punch with a large ladle to make sure kids get eyeballs and worms in their plastic cup.

Don't miss My Mom's Homemade Pumpkin Pie recipe which will be posted the week before Thanksgiving. It's a recipe people really like.

Book Review- Picture Book

"The Biggest Halo," by Antonio Jocson and J.E. Christian. Illustrated by Robert Enright. One of the Muddy Tom's Wacky Adventures which is about a boy who gets himself into trouble. This time Tom and his dog Max have a weird Halloween adventure. The book starts out with Tom getting his Halloween costume with Max in tow. Then his mom tells him she has to go inside a store. However, no dog's are allowed in so she tells Tom to stay outside with Max. She makes sure she tells Tom he's not to talk to any strangers. Tom does not heed this sage advice and gets in a cool car driven by a pumpkin head man. True to Muddy Tom's Wacky Adventures Tom has a wacky adventure. In this case it's a bold step for a writer to write about an adventure which involves a child getting in car with a stranger. Our society frowns on any fun or exciting escapades which involves a child getting in a car with an unknown person. So while I think it's great these two authors wrote such a wacky book, I'm not big on Tom having any sort of interesting adventure during or after he gets in a car with a stranger. I should point out I really liked the pictures. They alone make the book. I should add, I read the book to my nephew to hear what he thought about it. He liked the book. I asked him if the book made getting in a car with a stranger more attractive. He said no, saying he knew it was dangerous. Besides, he never would get in a car with a pumpkin head driver. It would be too scary.

Movie Review for Halloween

Movie Title: GhostBusters. Rated PG. Comedy with Ghosts. (For older kids. Adult situations/possessed body/scary monster dogs) Three parapsychologists (Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Bill Murray) get fired from their jobs at an university. They open up their own ghost buster business in an old firehouse in the Big Apple. A good looking woman (Sigourney Weaver) who has paranormal activity in her frig has the ghost busters check it out. Rick Moranis plays Ms. Weaver's nerdy neighbor. The huge marshmallow man near the end is a big hit. And of course there's the catchy ghost buster song.

Parenting Article

Risky Behavior in Movies, TV and Cartoons. How Does it Affect Kids?

When I was a preteen I had a relative, under the age of eighteen, who told me a story about a child who seemed to have trouble distinguishing between real and pretend. The child she said watched a TV show about a superhero that could fly. One day he got on a roof and tried to fly with only a cape and fell to the ground. In her version the child really did think after watching the TV show he would be able to fly. I thought the child knew the danger but was PLAYING, just acting out a scene. Her story seemed like an urban legend to me because certain questions never got answered. Was it a low hanging roof or a second story house this child leaped from? Was the age of the child three, six or nine? Did he often have poor judgment or lack common sense? And why would you have to jump off a building to fly? Why not just hop off the ground to see if you could do it? Would this child have done the same thing if someone just read him a story about a flying superhero? And why was this child on the roof in the first place? How did he get up there? If my mom saw me moving a ladder to the roof she would have said, "Just what in tar nation are you doing!?"

This same relative was also positive her brother believed in Santa Clause until he was at least ten. I kept telling her by that late in age he probably just said he believed in Santa for the gifts. I stopped believing in Santa for sure by eight. By seven I was doubtful. At six I might have believed in him, but not the part about him flying off the roof with his reindeer and sled. Call it self preservation but even if Santa said jump or no presents I would not have done it. Even if he said, "Believe" I would not have gotten in that sled with him. Unless it had a jet pack. Today as an adult I have a nephew who at age three to five liked to dress up like Peter Pan. As far as I know he never had a desire to leap off a balcony or a roof in order to fly. And as a child of eleven I could see myself at six and seven. And I could not see myself leaping off a building. Why would I think I could fly? No one I knew could fly. Then again no one I knew liked to leap off buildings. And I knew superheroes were not real. Cartoon or not. I understood the concept of pretend.

I do believe people's brains work differently. I had no desire of play acting a part and jumping off anything higher than a stool as a kid. Where my brain would give me major warning signals if I got near a cliff's edge, another kid might have not have such bold warnings signs going off in their mind. Or they choose to ignore them. They perceive situations different than me. It is no different for adults. I have no desire to ever bungee jump or leap out of an airplane with a parachute. Other people love doing this. I asked one woman why. She said she loved the thrill of it. With some people they see a situation which looks enticing. This gives them an idea. Then they do something that is not the smartness move to make. Such as jumping from a third floor balcony into a swimming pool. They ignore the danger. They fail to really consider what could happen if they miss the swimming pool. I would never make such a jump. But in college I knew a student who said he did such a thing. He stated he thought it would be a fun thing to do. The fun factor outweighed the risk factor in his mind. Some children make faulty discussions based on this too. They can not gauge dangerous situations correctly. As a parent you need to help them understand dangers and risks.

The following is a sad story so skip it if you want. When I was a nanny I went to someone's house which was architecturally beautiful. I told the owner this. She thanked me but then informed me she had her house blessed. I asked why. She said unfortunately there was a little autistic boy who lived with his alcoholic mother in the house at some point. The little boy was very agile and could climb like monkey (no offense). He could easily climb up the roof and would jump from the roof to tree limbs to the dividing fence. He also liked to sneak in the neighbor's swimming pool. One day the boy was found drown in the neighbor's pool which was close to the fence. It was thought he fell from the fence. Whether he slipped from the fence or hit his head trying to jump into the pool from the fence I do not know. The point is some children need constant supervision. Some children have a difficult time comprehending dangerous situations, whether they watch movies and cartoons or not. This is why as a parent you should keep hazardous and poisonous materials up and away from young children. They do not realize the threat they are exposing themselves to if they get into it.

I have seen two-year-olds at the park. Some do not like to go on the high play equipment. Others do. A child might leap off something if they do not understand the risk or danger, but also because they do not understand the reason for pain. If put your hand too close to the fire and got burned the physical pain that follows is a way of telling you, "Hey that hurt. Do not do that again." I had a parent tell me once her son jumped off a swing twice and both times broke his arm. She thought after the first time he would not do it again. But he did. She was not sure if her son forgot how bad the pain was the first time or did not think it would happen again. If you have a child who is unusually wild, does not think before they leap, or does not understand consequences for actions, like if I do this I could end up hurt, then keep an eye on them as best as you can. And monitor what they watch, not only on TV, but with video and computer games as well. Do not let programs give them ideas. And do not have loaded guns in the house. A two-year-old does not understand the danger. And if a six-year-old never saw a gun before he/she might not understand the risk. Plus, kids are curious. A nine-year-old might know the danger of a really interesting ancient military knife or a gun but they might want to look at it anyway. Even if they have to sneak through drawers and find the key to the gun cabinet so they can show a friend their dad's cool gun. And that is where the danger lies.

Arts and Craft: Mask.

What you need: Popsicle stick, white paper plate or stiff construction paper, yarn, glue, scissors, crayons or markers. Make face on front of plate and glue popsicle stick to back.
Using the construction paper make a circle as big as your child's head. Cut circle out. Or use a round paper plate. This is the mask. Cut holes for eyes. You can cut out a nose and mouth hole. For the mouth hole you can show emotion by cutting the hole into a smile, a frown, an angry look, etc. Or you can just draw the mouth. For a scary Halloween look, draw big pointy teeth on the mouth with a scar nearby. Draw mean bushy eyebrows or make eyebrows out of yarn. For the nose you can make a long beak out of construction paper. Glue green and orange yarn on top of mask for hair.
If your child wants to look like a cat, draw whiskers around the nose and make pointy ears out of construction paper and glue them on top of the mask. Draw pretty long eyelashes around the eyeholes. Use your imagination. When you're done glue the popsicle stick to the bottom of the mask, in the back, making it a handle to hold up the mask in front of the face.

Alternative: For children over five-years-old. Instead of your child holding mask up with a popsicle stick you can also keep mask in place with an elastic band. But YOU MUST MAKE A BIG NOSE HOLE AND MOUTH HOLE IN MASK so your child can breathe. If you decide to use elastic you might want to use a paper plate that's not incredibly stiff. You can staple the elastic on the sides. Have your child try on the mask to make sure the elastic isn't too tight around their head. You can put masking tape over the staples. This could lessen the chance of faces scratches from the staples and from them getting caught in your child's hair. If you are concerned about using staples you can make tiny holes on the sides of mask to tie the elastic band in place. Note: It can get hot under a mask. Don't wear mask in extreme heat or near fire/sparks.

Book Review- Picture Book

A Flip-The-Flap Book. "Corduroy's Halloween." Based on the Corduroy bear character by Don Freeman. Story by B.G. Hennessy. Pictures by Lisa McCue. For those of you parents who have two to five year olds this is a fun book. As a kid I always liked books where you could flip up a flap and there would be something underneath. Unlike some other books this book isn't stingy about the amount of flaps they use. The story is cute and bold colors are used throughout the pictures. The story features a little toy bear named Corduroy who wears corduroy overalls. In this book Corduroy and his stuffed animal friends celebrate Halloween. They pick pumpkins from a pumpkin patch, partake in a window-painting contest, go Trick-or-Treating, and have a Halloween party.

Movie Review

Movie Title: The Kid From Brooklyn. Family-Comedy. Danny Kaye plays Burleigh Sullivan, a mild mannered milkman. One day he drives his milk cart straight into trouble. He ends up punching out a drunken championship boxer who was flirt'n with somebody he shouldn't. The sweet Burleigh is unwillingly transformed into a boxer with funny results. The same movie plot with different actors is The Milky Way, with Harold Lloyd. This movie was made much earlier. Lloyd like Kaye was a famous comedian. Both movies are funny, but if I had to pick one over the other I'd pick the one with Danny Kaye. But it was interesting to see both actors comedic routines.

Fall Dog Tip

I decided to put this in since I've had problems with walnut shells, pine cones pieces and those small pointy balls that fall off branches. Squirrels not only like to chew on cones for seeds, but they break open walnuts. They litter sidewalks with walnut shells and pine cone pieces. My dog more than once has gotten cone pieces and walnut shells in her paws. If you walk your dog avoid them. It can really hurt if your dog gets one imbedded in his paw pad. And they can be sharp. If you see your dog suddenly walking slowly or different check ALL his or her paw pads. This brings me to those small pointy balls that fall off trees. A Vet told me to avoid these trees when they are losing their balls. They can really hurt a dog's pad. If your dog steps on one the points can get stuck in their paw pad. If so a tweezer might have to be used to get the tiny points out.

Fun Sidewalk Activity

Shadow chalk art. What you'll need: Chalk and your child's shadow. Time to do it: During the day when you can see your child's shadow on your driveway or sidewalk. Have your child pose. Now trace their shadow with chalk. Change places and have them trace your shadow.

Book Review- Chapter Book, Award winner

Chapter book for fourth to fifth graders. "Bridge to Terabithia," by Katherine Paterson. Winner of Newbery Medal. This book is about the friendship between a boy and a girl. They initially bond because they both can run fast. They build an imaginary kingdom, Terabithia, where they reign as king and queen. This book is very well written, however it has a sad ending. When I read this book as a child I didn't like that there was a death. To me this death was different than reading some fantasy book where someone dies. This death seemed more real.

Movie Review

Movie Title: The Sand Lot. Comedy. Rated PG. A new boy in the neighborhood joins the rest of the boys at the local sand lot to play baseball. A ball sails over a fence into the yard of vicious dog. What happens next is quite entertaining. This is an excellent movie for boys who like baseball.

Home Tip- For Candlestick Wax

My sister-in-law told me about this one. For wax that has melted on candlesticks. Put candlestick in the freezer for an hour or two. (Make sure you can put your candlestick in the freezer without ruining it.) When wax has frozen on the candlestick it is easy to pick off. Or you can try putting an ice cube against the candlestick wax. Let wax harden. Then flick it off carefully from candlestick. I take no responsibility if your candlestick gets ruined or breaks! Mine haven't ever gotten ruined by doing this, but you're on your own.

Science Day

When we've tasted a particular food and then SEE it again we know what to expect taste wise. But what if we CAN'T see the food before we taste it? Can we still discern what it is? Experiment: See if blindfolded your child can figure out what you give them to eat.
What you'll need: Different foods, a spoon, and a blindfold. The blindfold can be a handkerchief, or make one by cutting up an old cotton shirt.
Blind fold your child. Make sure it does not cover their nose or mouth. Place a piece of food on their tongue using the spoon. Use only foods your child has had before and you know for sure they aren't allergic to. Try blah foods first: Carrot or celery cubes or lettuce… Try a small slice of onion, pickle, or a dab of mild mustard. Then try cheese, yogurt, chocolate, mashed potatoes or mashed grapes or strawberries. Have fun. When your child has had enough, they can try this experiment on you if you're game.

Picture Book Review

"My Food Pyramid," by Alisha Niehaus. Illustrations by Dave Williams.
It's important to teach children to make the right eating choices. This book not only gives the USDA food pyramid, but it tells children how many serving they should have of the six food groups. Grains. Vegetables. Fruits. Milk. Meat and Beans. Oils. It gives little interesting facts like, though beans are a vegetable they have lots of protein, therefore they count as a meat. It's not an exciting book, but do remember since it's a book about grains and vegetables you should cut it some slack. It does its main job well. To inform kids on what to eat and how much.

Movie Review

Movie Title: Stuart Little. Children's movie. Rated PG (But to me it should be a mild PG). Based on the children's book by E.B. White. Two parents Mr. and Mrs. Little adopt a brother for their son so he won't be so lonely. They name the new family member Stuart. But Stuart isn't a regular son. He's a mouse. However he's the sweetest mouse any family could want. Stuart lives like a human, wearing clothes and eating at the dinner table. There's one problem though, the family's cat doesn't like Stuart. He would like to eat poor Stuart. Many fun adventures occur. It's a cute movie. Michael J. Fox does a fine job as the voice of Stuart Little.

Parenting Article- Finding a parenting blog

1) Pick a parenting blog that has information relating to your child's age group. If you find a blog for parents of teens and you have a five-year-old, this parenting blog is not currently going to help you. Unless of course you have both a teen and a five-old-year.

2) Find a parenting blog that meets your needs. On the top of the blog it should say what the blog is about or what kind of information it shares. If you find a blog that says it gives bi-weekly tips and articles on raising girls, and you have a boy, you might want to pass on this blog. Unless it also has something else of value for you. Maybe on Fridays it gives nutrition tips, or posts simple dinner recipes. If this appeals to you, then just read Friday posts.

3) If you have a child with behavioral issues do not read a blog that is basically a parent bragging about how great their kid is. This could be frustrating for you. You should Google many blogs which share pertinent information on helping parents deal with childhood behavioral issues. Pick at least a couple of blogs relating directly to your child's issue. I.e, ADD or ADHD. Read a few to see what the parenting advice is like. Pick ones that fit your style of parenting. Or ones that give advice you actually might follow through with. You can always keep reading more than one blog. Compare advice. If you desire a blog where parents leave comments on what has worked for them, check for this at the bottom of the article or post. Also, look at past parenting articles. This is a gem mine for information!

4) Do not dismiss parenting blogs that might give you little nuggets of great information. Let us say while looking for a blog that posts family movie reviews you stumble upon a blog that has articles about environmental issues which can impact kids. If you suddenly decide, hey I like that, but you do not want to read this blog every week then check out it once a month. Click on only the posts relating to this issue.

5) Find a blog whose writer has values or outlooks similar to yours. If you are an atheist or lesbian hippie you might not want to read a blog written by a conservative Christian mom who believes in having all her P and Q's in place. Unless you find you like her decorating tips or the arts and craft projects she posts. But do not get peeved if you read her parenting advice which might relate in someway to the Bible. It's her blog. If you don't like it, move on. When choosing a blog ask yourself, do you like the blog master's followers? This is an interesting point to consider. I know someone who liked a particular blog but stopped reading it because a follower kept making what she thought were stupid comments. With so many blogs out there it is easy enough to stop reading one and to find another. Do not let blog posts or comments rain on your day.