This is Halloween!

Getting in to the Halloween spirit! 

Happy Halloween y'all!

*Jack Skellington by BrokenWindmill on Deviant Art. 

Tell Me We Are Smarter Than This

Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post from October 31, 2007.  Article referenced no longer available.  It was regarding parents who let their children eat all their Hallloween loot in one sitting. 

I read articles like this one from Reuters and I think who is the audience for this type of piece? Morons? I mean really! Moderate sugar intake on Halloween? Wowie Kazowie I would have never thought o f that! Gee, thanks doctor of the moment! Thank you for that enlightening piece of information. Before your insightful words Mr. MD I was just going to give my two year old all the candy in one sitting. She could just plop herself down on the floor in front of whatever horror movie is playing, maybe I’ll let her watch Suspiria. That has ballet in it and it’s German so there’s some culture in it right? She’ll be ok I’m sure. She could then go about the night aimlessly wandering the dark house eating Kit-Kat bars, Mike & Ike’s until she pukes. I will just clean it up later.


Seriously folks who are these types of articles aimed at? The zombie parents from Night of the Living Dead? Who doesn’t know that too much sugar and fat is bad for you? Why is America all or nothing? Why can’t we just be a little bit moderate? Is that what is truly scary about Halloween? The act of using moderation? Tell me please because I think back to my childhood and while my Mom didn’t take the candy from me I wasn’t allowed to eat it all in one night. Nor was I allowed to gorge after school the next day. I picked out what was good and what I wanted and threw the rest away. Then I could eat a bit here and there in the coming week. I had to ask permission too. While I was allowed a bit more candy than normal on that first night moderation was used in the days following Halloween.

Reading articles like this one makes me feel that we are further dumbing ourselves down in this country. Our need for thought processes is being replaced. We adults are continually looking to higher ups for advice that should already be common sense garnered from elementary school educations and our own parents. It makes me angry when I read about how parents need to be told that feeding our kids fast food multiple times a week is bad. That soda or excessive juice in a baby’s bottle will rot their teeth. Really? Why is that surprising to someone? I’m tired of seeing articles such as this one aimed at parents who no longer want to take the time to think things through.

That is the real root of my anger. The lack of thinking and parental control that some of us are just too tired to enforce has us being reminded by doctors not to let our kids eat a pound or three of candy in one sitting. We need to think ahead to the other upcoming holidays where sugary treats will abound and remember to not just rein ourselves in but our children as well. While I would love to give out play-doh or yo-yo’s to the kids on my block I don’t think the fifteen year olds trick or treating would receive them very well. I’ve thought about this in advance. One piece of candy per kid will keep egg off my house versus handing out silly putty and spending November 1st scraping egg shells from my front door.


Comments-

Linda said...



A well-written post and so true. Thank you!!!


Reply October 31, 2007 at 03:02 PM Living By Learning said...


Moderation is a bad word in a Super-Size Idiocracy. Thanks for a great post!


Reply November 01, 2007 at 07:00 AM kate sanford said...


I don't really think that anybody is stupid enough to feed their kid all of the candy in one sitting.






On the other hand, there are a lot of underemployed experts, pundits, and columnists sitting around and they have to get paid some way!






Nice post! Welcome to the cranky pants category!


Reply November 01, 2007 at 10:24 PM kate sanford said...


I don't really think that anybody is stupid enough to feed their kid all of the candy in one sitting.

On the other hand, there are a lot of underemployed experts, pundits, and columnists sitting around and they have to get paid some way!


Nice post! Welcome to the cranky pants category!

Top Five Reasons to Get Excited About Fall

Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms.  Original post August 22, 2008.

My husband asked for hot tea the other day. My first reaction was to look at him like he was the 5th horseman of the Apocalypse but instead, I just sort of sniffed the air and agreed. It felt like hot tea time. Yet, here we are in August.

Two days later a friend of mine stated that it was time to wear jeans. She was declaring summer officially over despite it being about 90 degrees outside. My inbox is loaded with back-to-school ads, requests for advice posts about the new school year and the latest fall fashions. There was even that one ominous Halloween craft story request. Already?

It's not that I hate summer. In fact, it is my favorite season of the four. It's just that about this time every year be it the media frenzy that surrounds us about purple being the latest greatest accent color and the intense heat and humidity of a DC August just seems to wear us all down. While we load up on the summer memories and cram in our last moments in beach trips, camping and chasing fireflies we are already looking ahead to fall and it's cool crispness. Our minds our beginning to see the fall foliage and smell the scent of fallen leaves. I for one am anxious to see pumpkins at road side stands and drink hot apple cider while watching my kid go crazy racing a toilet bowl race car around hay bales as my husband tries to find the perfect tiny pumpkin. I've compiled a list of other classic Fall moments I've begun to get excited about as well. They are about as American as apple pie I think.

1. No longer will your DVR make you weep at its empty queue. Now it is suddenly chocked full of mouth-wateringly bad reality TV shows, never before seen CSI episodes, brand spankin' new comedies that you will watch once and realize you still do find comfort in the arms of Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer (which can only be the only reason that show is always at the top).

2. Back to school! Yes, we moms are excited to have the wee ones out of our hair and our kids are excited about all those glittery Bratz belly t-shirts, hip huggers, backpacks and notebooks they suckered us into buying at our local big box store. What's better than paying for your tiny daughter to look like a fem-bot?

3. Halloween candy on the shelves already with only a scant 70 days to stockpile your loot. Do you have your spiel ready for the moms on the block about how you were going to make your tiny tot the exact replica of Tyrone from the Backyardigans but at the last minute had such a personal family crises (i.e. you don't sew even a stitch or own a sewing machine) you just had to settle for a store bought costume. It just breaks your heart in two doesn't? Sniff... sniff.

4. Recipes for the "perfect" down-home, classically elegant, all done by your blood, sweat and tears Thanksgiving have begun clogging your inbox, mailbox and magazine rack at your local grocery store. Your smile freezes each time your local grocer hands you helpful turkey roasting hints. Why not begin to feel the pressure to make perfect napkin origami are and cornucopia centerpieces months in advance?

5. You just spent the summer organizing your attic. Really, you did. Now it's time to get that holiday stuff out that you just shoved way in the back.

I'm geared up for Fall now, aren't you?

Scenes from Halloween

Brace yourself- kid pics ahead.

Giant peacock attacks Strawberry Shortcake. News at 11.

Steven Adler carves a pumpkin. And yes, we really do call her that on a regular basis.

Peacock and Shortcake make nice for the sake of hunting candy and other miscellaneous loot.
And, no that is not a wig that TD is wearing. I really did color her hair hot pink.

Red Rum & Laments- This is Halloween

Just like the Christmas holidays and the start of the summer, there are movies that I simply love (read: MUST) to watch in order to truly feel the spirit of the season. What? You don't watch Jaws *every Memorial Day? Just me? Huh.

Parenting Advice for when your children need "correcting"? I kid. Is there anything better than 'The Shining' at Halloween?


Jack's Lament is truly one of the best songs for singing out loud in your car while cruising down a country lane. Or while stuck in traffic on I-95. Hand gestures are a must.




*like a dolls eyes...

Halloween Happenings

Feet are up. Glass of water sits beside me.

Oh, that old game again? Yes. Yes, it is.

I had my special sonogram today and we found that indeed this time my amniotic fluid is low and the placenta? The 'done' buzzer has pretty much gone off on it. Dash Two has not made great strides in the growth department this month and while she is active as all get out and her heartbeat is coming through loud, clear and strong, I'm sort of a worried wreck.

No decision has been made other than, "Come back twice a week for non-stress tests and we'll see how it goes. We are not in scary territory yet but we could be headed in that direction." Kick ass, doc. Thanks. Tears oozed out the sides of my eyes despite her telling me things were OK.

I swear Internets, I have no idea what to do. I just want this to be done because I feel like a huge emotional mess. Like some ball of yarn that started out all neat, tightly wound and tidy and is now on the fast track to unraveling and being a total mess splayed out on the floor. Sitting on my couch during TD's nap time this afternoon I've tried to take my mind off of things. I've done my nails, emailed, watched Dirty Sexy Money and Lipstick Jungle and tried really hard to just not dwell on it or let it mess with me. I just want this done with. I want her here and in my arms and to know that she is safe. I don't want all these tests. They make me feel worse even when I pass them with flying colors. I'm done with this game and all the drama. I hate drama.

At this point, even watching my favorite Halloween movie isn't going to help. I want to be that woman who sat next to me in the waiting room bitching on her cell phone about how pissed she is that her kid is breech. Healthy but breech. The only thing that will help me right now is a healthy Dash Two being placed in my arms no matter how small she is.

A Case of the What If's

Tomorrow is "the big day". No, not that day. Aside from Halloween, one of my favorite holidays (yes, I called it a holiday- there's candy! there's use of products like hair dye, crazy make-up and nail polish plus dressing up! ) it is the day we go back and check the status of this kid via sonogram.

I'm nervous about things being right but also at the prospect of them not being right. I didn't gain any weight in the last two weeks which at first had me all excited but then I realized, "Wait. Does that mean neither did Dash Two?" A whole new set of worries cropped up. Is she already not getting what she needs from me? Will there be other complications? She is moving all the time and I feel like that scene from Fringe the other night where my stomach is constantly contorting in ways it never did with TD.

All the "what if's" plague me today and I just want tomorrow's appointment to be over with. Sure, I'm happy to see her again but am I ready to have her here so quickly if all this drama really does occur. My stomach just churns thinking about it.

I'm going back to thinking about Halloween goodness and letting my iPod play all the way through. Has anyone tried this lately- not skipping songs that aren't in their faves file but just letting it go all free bird like. I have had the distinct pleasure of listening to random Paul McCartney, my wedding song and House of Pain's Jump Around today. Makes me want to take a jaunt up to New England territory.

More random iPod goodness I found-

Cathy Dennis anyone? Was it just me that listened to her?

I'm Too Sexy- distinct memories of actually walking down a hallway at my friend Eloise's like I was on a catwalk with my friends.

OPP- 11th grade. Yup. That's how old I am.

And does anyone remember this? I used to race home after school each day to watch Yo! Mtv Raps. If someone can find me footage of the actual Ed Lover dance I'll be your bestest friend. 4-eva.

Scattered and Hopped Up on Sugary Treats

Today is one of those days where I question my sanity. Where I wish I had a nanny and a personal assistant to run such mundane errands such as packing my bags, picking up things at the grocery store and doing my daily workout for me. Do they charge by the hour for things like that? It might be worth looking into.

I'm scattered, my shoulders are tight and I feel like my head might explode and the sun isn't even up yet. I have no idea how I'm going to structure my day but it better have some running or high paced walking involved or any moment of zen will be impossible to find.

I'm off to pack two suitcases. One for me as I'm going to Memphis baby! and one for T.D. she's going to Nana's baby! It would figure that this weekend, the first weekend I'm called away for work, H is as well. I'm excited about traveling on my own again and mingling among other writers and meeting some great bloggers but I'm nervous and it just makes me even more prone to scatter-brained antics like making half a mix CD, eating frosting at 7 a.m., and driving on empty with the tire pressure light blaring. Fun times.

I think I hear the loot from T.D.'s successful pillaging last night calling to me. I must down some Kit-Kat encrusted gumballs with Butterfinger sides to ensure I'm functioning at maximum capacity today. Marshmallow pumpkins anyone?


New Reviews up at Mummy's Product Reviews including a PBN one about personalized kids books that are extremely high quality and make great gifts!

Pumpkins Scream in the Dead of Night

This is Halloween, everybody make a scene....

October 31st. One of my favorite days of the year. I love Halloween for so many reasons. As a kid it was the candy and costumes. As I grew older it was the candy, costumes, and spookiness of it all. Today it's all that, a viewing of 'The Shining' and 'Shadow of a Vampire' along with some seriously silly singing of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. Stay clear of my house. I'm a horrible singer. I've had some good Halloweens full of pumpkin carving, the looting of four neighborhoods in one night, being out in the rain (OK not such a good one) and being a victim of the Bates Motel. Here are some Halloween memories I'm sharing because days like this make me feel all warm, fuzzy and well sharing-like so suck it up because it won't be back until maybe Thanksgiving.

COSTUMES PAST

1. A witch multiple times (never a sexy one)
2. A pink princess (I was 10 so leave me alone I was still playing with My Little Ponies)
3. Dracula's bride
4. A Dead Bride
5. A Dead Ballerina
6. A victim from the Bates Motel complete in hotel pajamas ripped to shreds with lots of blood. I spent hours on that costumes spraying it with fake blood on the side lawn of my parents house.
7. A Dead Flapper
8. A biker chick (I was in college. I owned a skull bandanna and a leather jacket it was easy.)
9. A 70's disco dancer (again, college and I was a pledge and it was dictated to me that this is what I would be. Not that I minded as I do love me a good disco.)



I know there's more because I tricked and treated until I graduated from high school (I was short!) but you get the idea. As a kid I liked the macabre. I enjoyed Edward Gorey and had a cute little Gorey coffin on my desk with bird bones inside. Sometimes chewing gum soemtimes bones. I read Poe and painted an urn full of Wolf bane on my closet wall. I had a thing for Vampires. When I was six I tried to wear my glow in the dark fangs to school but my parents nixed the idea. They let me wear them to bed though and I thoroughly enjoyed knowing that while I slept, arms crossed Mummy-style in my bed, my fangs glowed on in the night. I wanted to be Darth Vader and not Princess Leia. I would breathe into my glass at the dinner table hoping to be mistaken for the him. Some might say I was a bit darker than your average kid but my parents didn't let on. They let me hang out in graveyards to my hearts content and I thank them for that. Free to be you and me I suppose.



This year I'll just be handing out candy. I'll listen to my old soundtrack to the Nightmare Before Christmas and maybe Dracula too. I'll indulge in a little of 'The Shining' if I have my way and take my daughter out sporting her Darth Vader costume hoping to carry on a little bit of tradition. She's a sunny little soul but she did squeal out with glee when I took the costume out of its package which made me dare to dream that she might have a little bit the of the dark side in her yet.