Monster Mashing for Halloween

Here's a little video to gear up for a big night of Trick or Treating. It's old Mickey Mouse clips set to the "Monster Mash" - enjoy! - LT

ANOTHER reason to go organic!

QUICK FACTS OF THE WEEK:
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT E.COLI AND ORGANICS

* Despite a number of inaccurate media reports, the recent spinach E.Coli
outbreak has not been linked to any organic products. As expected,the
outbreak has now been directly linked to a factory farm feedlot located
adjacent to conventional spinach fields in California.
* This was the 25th E.coli outbreak in the California Salinas Valley in
11 years, demonstrating, once again, that industrial farms and feedlots and
their toxic runoff are inherently dangerous.
* Studies show that factory-farmed cattle have 300 times more pathogenic
bacteria in their digestive tracts than cattle that are allowed to openly
graze in pastures.
* If you are concerned about E.coli, organic food is the way to go. The
USDA national organic standards require organic farmers to carefully compost
their fertilizer-- made up of animal manure and plant matter--up to 160
degrees, so as to kill any harmful bacteria.
* Organic farmers can only apply this composted manure four months prior
to planting.

* Conventional farms have no regulations specifying when they can and
can't apply manure and are not required to destroy the harmful bacteria in
the manure prior to spreading. In addition, it is perfectly legal to spread
highly toxic sewage sludge on conventional farms, while this practice in
banned on organic farms.

Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_3140.cfm

Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown...a yearly tradition!

Oh I just love this cartoon. Here's a favorite scene from the show. 'It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown' airs this Friday, October 27 on ABC. Check your local listings.

It's kind of cool to note that director, Bill Melendez (who also performed the voice of Snoopy) has a little blurb on his website talking about the show. It's a two part bonus series that takes you inside all the classic Peanuts specials.

Check it out!

Dracula Poem for Halloween

Just a cute little ditty I found on the net by Kenn Nesbitt.
I THINK MY DAD IS DRACULA

I think my dad is Dracula.
I know that sounds insane,
but listen for a moment and
allow me to explain.

We don't live in a castle,
and we never sleep in caves.
But, still, there's something weird
about the way my dad behaves.

I never see him go out
in the daytime when it's light.
He sleeps all day till evening,
then he leaves the house at night.

He comes home in the morning
saying, "Man, I'm really dead!"
He kisses us goodnight, and then
by sunrise he's in bed.

My mom heard my suspicion
and she said, "You're not too swift.
Your father's not a vampire.
He just works the graveyard shift!"

Best Pumpkin Seeds!

This is such a childhood memory for me - making hot, salty pumpkin seeds with my Mom! We carved our pumpkins today and I had an entire baking sheet full of seeds.

Here's how to do it:
1 - rinse off the seeds
2 - spread on baking sheet
3 - add little butter, worchester sauce (lots) and enough salt to taste (I like them salty).
4 - bake at 350º for about 15 - 20 minutes - until they're crunchy.
And EAT! The kids love them too.

Subtly sweet and nutty with a malleable, chewy texture, the roasted seeds from inside your Halloween pumpkin are one of the most nutritious and flavorful seeds around. Pumpkin seeds are available year around, however, they are the freshest in the fall when pumpkins are in season. Oh and they're good for you too!

Click on the link for more health info!

- LT

Are YOU raising a wimp?

Nation of Wimps

"Nation of Wimps" was an article recently written in Psychology Today. In it, the author noted the following trends: the fastest rise of depression since 1990 is in children; in 1996 anxiety replaced relationships as the main source of college student angst; and only 1 out of 3 adult males reach traditional responsibility by 30 (indicated by a steady job, marriage and children.)
The culprit?
According to the article, it's parents who coddle their children too much and do not let them work through their own problems and face the consequences of their actions.
It's ironic that the more you let your children face the music, the happier and better adjusted they will be. Don't be too quick to intervene. Make your family wimp-free.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20041112-000010.html

The Price of Children

Someone recently sent this to me - it's great!

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year
* $741.38 a month, or
* $171.08 a week.
* That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of genius every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay or Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, So one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren. It's priceless!!!!!!!
- LT

After School Specials We Hope Our Kids Never See on TV

This was too good NOT to post! - LT

(courtesy of grinningplanet.com)
 

Funny for the Day...

I thought this funny especially since mamasnap is recently taking cake decorating classes... - LT

Halloween Pumpkin Muffins to snack on

So I've tried the latest Fall offering from Starbucks and i am obsessed with making my own now. It's a pumpkin muffin with a cream cheese filling. Here's a pretty good looking recipe I found for a

pumpkin muffin.

Then simply put some cream cheese in a pastry bag or even a baggie with the tip cut off. Punch a hole in the top of the muffin and squeeze a little cream cheese in the center. I use all organic ingredients and my kids love them for a quick snack or lunchbox addition. I made them in mini muffin tins for lunches...

Enjoy! - LT

Favorite Halloween Candy is....

CHOCOLATE! Well hurrah for that. Here are some fun and unusual Halloween

chocolate recipes!

(graphic courtesy USA TODAY)

Oeuf chair is awesome

The Oeuf chair is great. Compact, light, good looking- This modern and sleekly styled baby lounger is a nursery necessity. Securely attached with the 3-point safety belt, the baby lounger is where your baby can hang out. They say it is suitable for babies up to 16 lbs and until the child can sit up unassisted but Lulu used hers until she was well in her 2's and weighed about 26 lbs. The lounger features a deeply padded (poly fill), machine washable, cotton canvas seat that is supported by its satin chrome steel frame. We nicknamed the Oeuf chair "Lulu's barkalounger". She loved to sit in it and bounce while she watched TV.

The chair has a modern appearance and pretty much goes with everything.
Color combinations available:
Chocolate Brown / Neutral white, Choco / Pink, Choco / Blue, Beige / Neutral white, Beige / Pink, Quilted Blue, Quilted Pink. We have the Choco/white combo. There's Lulu in her Oeuf chair!-------------->

A great thing to point out about this product is their customer service. I was really annoyed after the fourth time washing the cover that the seams were getting all yucky and falling apart. I think they had stitched too close to the edge of the material. I called them to complain and all I had to say was I was having a problem and they sent me out a new cover immediately. I never had to argue and it was actually pleasant talking to the lady with the strong french accent. I really appreciate this kind of service. Little things like this make the somewhat high price tag of this lounger worth it.

To find a store near you go to Oeufnyc.com!
Oeuf also carries cool, very expensive nursery furniture!

-SBH

Sorrows from Africa

I wanted to throw up after I read

Anderson Cooper's blog

(See "This is not a Fairy Tale') about a 3yr. old girl that he met who was gang raped in the Congo. My kid is 3 - how could anyone do that? Cooper has been in Africa all week profiling the horrors of Africa for all to see in gritty detail. I watched last night and I applaud CNN for supporting the airtime for this cause in the midst of more political scandals and celebrity fodder that seems to clog up the news these days. Have a read of his blog on the issues.

Cooper says 'there aren't many miracles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is not a fairy tale, some stories don't have happy endings. Here the men who rape with impunity are rarely brought to justice.' And the women are exptected to simply bear the pain.

ONE THING WE CAN DO: Well, there's an organization called

Heal Africa

in the Congo that is one of the only ones helping girls and women who were raped to heal from their injuries in the hopes they can pick up the pieces and live some sort of a life, as many rape victims are shunned from their villages. The funding for Heal Africa comes from a non-governmental organization, but their funding ends in April. It's not clear what will happen then.

- LT

Did Madonna Adopt?

So did she or didn't she? First reports are of Madonna flying to Malawi and having 12 kids lined up and she chooses one (a bit too 'Sophie's Choice' for my taste) and now reports are that Madonna just flew to Malawi for a visit and handed out one of her books and is giving them a bunch of money for orphanages and to fight AIDS there. Now the Malawi government is scrambling around after pissing off Madonna's people saying she adopted in the first place. Either way, her visit shines a light on Malawi, which I had to look up myself to see exactly where in Africa it was.

Malawi is a landlocked country in the Southeast section of the African continent. One out of every 7 adult in Malawi is living with HIV and AIDS and 16.5 % of all 15 - 49 yr. olds have AIDS. There are plenty of free AIDS drugs there, but there's a shortage of health workers to distribute them, so a lot of people die unnecessarily. Pretty dismal. Lot of orphans. Be interesting to see what Madge does with her 'celebrity' and if she can make a difference in this country. I hope so. I like celebs who give away their money.

- LT

Breast Cancer Awareness Month - October

Here are some great things you can do to donate money to Breast Cancer research this month:

• Munchkin

is offering pink ducks for the kiddies and donating the proceeds to research.

• Mamasnap loves

redenvelope.com

for gifts and they have a wonderful selection of breast awareness gifts and items. They are donating a % of the proceeds to research.

No more breast cancer! Some recommends from the American Cancer Society:

•Women age 40 and older have a screening mammogram every year.

Click here for more detailed information.

•The ACS also recommends regular breast exams for women beginning in their 20's.

Click here for step by step instructions.

For more information on

Breast Cancer Awareness Month...

- LT

Give Me a Superpower Please!

Thought this was funny from USA Today. Yes, I'm with the 28% - I would choose reading minds, but hopefully with the ability to turn it on and off (imagine how THAT would drive you crazy?!) - LT

Happy October Activities!

Damn I love October. Pumpkins, Halloween, Apple Pie, crisp weather...ok, well semi crisp weather here in Los Angeles. Ok, maybe just at night. Anyhoo - check back on mamasnap for a month of October ideas for the kids. In the meantime, here's

a little pumpkin

for the kiddies to print out and color for the fridge. Enjoy!

- LT