(The purr-fect costume??) You are looking at my daughter’s darling Halloween cat costume. The one she swears she’ll never wear again. She wore the cute and cuddly getup a couple of years ago during her All Hallows’ Eve candy collecting adventures, but don’t look for her to ever go trick-or-treating again dressed as a fluffy feline because “only little kids dress up as cats.” P.S. She’s eight. I spent the better half of last night explaining to her that she most certainly could dress-up as a cat again if she desired. We’d just tailor the outfit to make it look … Continue reading →

My 8-year-old is crazy excited for Halloween. She’s got her costume picked out, her plastic pumpkin’s ready to be filled, heck, she’s even created a list of “Most Wanted Candy,” with estimations on how long her stash of free sweets will last if she devours four/five/six pieces per day. Like mother, like daughter. Meanwhile, my neighbor’s two children are at that “in-between” stage in regards to All Hallows’ Eve. They love the idea of getting mountains of candy, but are not as enthused about going door-to-door to gather it. They’d much prefer having it delivered to them a la the … Continue reading →

And by “simplify” I mean “keep it cheap.” Fortunately, cheap doesn’t have to translate into ugly. Goodness knows my 8-year-old would just “diiiiiiiie!!” if I suggested we scale back on Halloween costumes and decor. However, like many families the world over; we live on a budget. A tight budget, that doesn’t allow us to go bat wild celebrating pagan holidays. Still, I don’t want her missing out on all of the candy-coated fun, so instead of canceling Halloween, I find frugal ways we can participate without going into debt. Here are some of the inexpensive ways we keep the holiday … Continue reading →

“Turducken,” “Festivus,” and now, “OctoNovemCember”. Let the holiday cra-zy begin. Oh, wait, it already has. In fact, seeing Target’s new Christmas commercial last night is nothing compared to seeing Santa stockings hanging next to Halloween candy in Wal-Mart on the day after the 4th of July. Okay, maybe it was July 9th. Regardless, mega-popular couponing website, RetailMeNot.com has come up with a new term for the holiday-inspired retail frenzy which seems to start earlier and earlier each year. The new trademarked catchphrase: “OctoNovemCember.” Get it? To help those who aren’t quite there yet, the company has created a matching mascot … Continue reading →

Forget about bloody fangs, hanging skeletons and cackling witches, if you want a real scare leading up to Halloween, try filling up your gas tank in California. An unprecedented spike in fuel prices has added more than 50 cents a gallon to the Golden State’s pump prices. The AAA reported that gas prices hit a record of $4.67 per gallon on Monday morning, though market analysts say that number should fall in the coming weeks. Still, for many families the damage is already done. Now, it’s a matter of cutting back in other areas in order to stop the bleeding. … Continue reading →

Who buys Halloween candy this early? Places like Wal-Mart, Target and Walgreens have had their spooktacular holiday displays up since Labor Day, but that doesn’t mean you have to succumb to their marketing ploy… Mom. Yes, my mom is a candy company’s dream customer. She is the sucker purchasing pumpkin-shaped lollipops, snack-size candy bars and other sugary sweet Halloween treats weeks in advance of the pagan holiday honoring the dead. And while my mom and others like her are responsible for keeping Willy Wonka’s smile from fading, it’s a different story with dentists. Many teeth experts are already sounding the … Continue reading →

Twas the night before Mother’s Day… are you headed to bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in your head? If you’re dreaming of waking up to a clean house, a new Dyson, hot breakfast on a tray served to you by non-bickering children and a bouquet of perky tulips, you may want to take an extra Ambien before you hit the hay tonight. Take two if you are relying on your husband to produce your Mother’s Day loot. According a recent poll conducted by PlumDistrict.com, 44 percent of dads forget to deliver a single rose on Mother’s Day. That’s … Continue reading →

Earth Day 2012 kicks off in just a few hours. How are you planning to celebrate? Contrary to popular belief, the special occasion is not only commemorated by tree huggers and granola lovers. Rather, these days, Earth Day organizers are targeting tech-obsessed kids in hopes of inspiring a new generation to go green. In some parts of the world parents are being encouraged to get their kids to give up their favorite electronic devices for the day, and instead turn their attention to preserving the earth’s natural resources such as air, water, plants and animals. This, of course, is easier … Continue reading →

Are your kids still on a sugar high from eating too much Easter candy? On Sunday, I gave my second grader fair warning: whatever candy she had not consumed by Tuesday would be given away or made into public property. Yes, mean mommy strikes again. Listen, I am just keeping it real. Whereas I truly appreciate the generosity of family and friends, who showered my daughter with sugary seasonal treats, what I don’t need is a house full of chocolate, jelly beans and bubble gum the likes of which we haven’t seen since Halloween. Forget about Easter being a spring … Continue reading →