PractiGal

Happy Halloween!

BOO!

In honor of Halloween, I took my son for a haircut last night. Figuring we'd be snapping pics left and right with him in his Pooh suit, I wanted his hair looking good.

Do you have any pictures of yourself as a kid, after your Mom took you for a haircut where they really botched it up? As in, butchered your hair?

I do.

And now, my son will have photos like that in his album too.

Because it turns out I took him to a not-so-talented Edward Scissorhands last night.

Crap.

I could take him somewhere else to have it fixed, or I could go back to the same place & ask to have it fixed. But the thing is, the bangs are REALLY short. And yes, I did say to go a little shorter on the bangs.  It's just that the really short bangs look kind of funny next to the "side-burns." Really, the only way to fix it is to give him a buzz cut. And I really don't want to do that to my little boy. Sigh.

But come to think of it, his hair is all set to be Frankenstein.  So tonight, we'll have FrankenPooh.

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Along with some usuals -- Smarties, Lemonheads, Twizzlers, and Tootsie everything -- we're giving out little surprises to the kids we know. They're awesome: Gummy body parts: fingers, teeth, ears, eyeballs, and noses. I sampled a finger, and it wasn't too bad. Just the right amount of gumminess for a finger.

What will I get trick-or-treating at your house?

Time capsule

I'm loving that I can have conversations with my little guy. More and more, we're noticing that he is a little boy and not a "baby" any more.  Am I sounding like a broken record?

Yesterday I took him swimming -- something he LOVES to do. There was much excitement in the car on the way to the gym. It was an incredibly windy day, and when we pulled into the parking lot, I mentioned that he'd need to hold my hand so he wouldn't blow away. Not realizing that my words hit home, I was surprised when he wouldn't get out of the car without being held.

"Big hug! Big hug! I don't blow away!"

Sheesh. What kind of meanie am I?

At last, we're in the water. We splash and kick and laugh. He jumps in - over and over. Just a grand old time. All the while, I comment on what a good swimmer he is -- good kicking, bubble-blowing...  Though apparently I lapsed in my words of praise, because after a while he announced "I'm doing GREAT!"

Indeed you are, my little one.

Afterward, we step into the shower and talk about what we'll make for lunch when we get home. (By the way, does Kraft sell mac-n-cheese by the pallet?) Anyway, I'm washing myself, and my son looks at me, all smiley...

"Where's your diaper, Mommy?"

I don't wear a diaper honey; I'm the Mommy, remember?

"Where's my diaper?"

And on and on...

Can I just bottle up this sweetness? I have a feeling come the teen years, the adorableness of 2 1/2 will be very appealing...

Pumpkin pancake recipe

YUM!  Here's a recipe I received in a weekly e-mail yesterday.  I can't wait to make these on the weekend!

Pumpkin Pancakes 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1 1/2 tsp. ground pumpkin pie spice 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 cup canned puréed  pumpkin 3 large eggs, separated 3/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt 1/4 cup orange juice 1 Tbsp. canola oil In large bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, egg yolks, yogurt, orange juice and oil. In third bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Mix wet ingredients into dry, just until blended.  Fold in egg whites. Coat heavy, large non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Using 1/4 cup measure, dollop batter into pan, spreading with rubber spatula to make 4-inch pancakes. When small bubbles appear, about 3 minutes, turn pancakes and brown on other side. Transfer to plate and repeat, making 12 pancakes. Serve immediately, accompanied by maple syrup, if desired. Makes 6 servings, two pancakes each. Per serving: 192 calories, 5 g. fat (<1 g. saturated fat), 29 g. carbohydrate, 8 g. protein, 3 g. dietary fiber, 336 mg. sodium.

You know your little one is growing up...

...when he "reads" his books to you.

OK, so there are books we've been reading to him since he was a wee one that the little guy can recite page by page. That's not uncommon. But then this week, he really blew me away.

I bought him a new book last Saturday -- The Gingerbread Man. Wednesday night he "read" it to me! Not just the refrain part -- the whole damn book!  Oh, he leaves words out here and there, sure. But I'm blown away by how much he remembers, verbatim, in this brand new book. I probably read it to him about  twice/day, so a total of 8-10 times. Unfreakingbelievable. And oh-so-adorable too, I must say.

And today? He put his breakfast plate in the dishwasher.

I'm so amazed by what's possible at 2 1/2.

Does anyone have a tissue??

What a re-leaf!

The other day I lamented about the use of my town's resources, sending the Super Duper Leaf Sucker out when barely any leaves had fallen. I wrote to the town, and today, I heard back:

Dear Ms. Marie:

Thank you for your recent comments regarding "the leaf removal services offered by our town."  You make a good point about the relatively light number of leaves that have currently fallen.  It is a judgment call, but we try to pick up as many leaves as we can as early as we can, to avoid later delays. 
 
It may not seem to be the most productive way to do things, but the professionals tell us that we are doing the right thing.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'll sure sleep better tonight, knowing that the professional leaf-sucker-uppers have been consulted. And when the piles of late-falling leaves get coated with ice and snow -- after the town has already blown its leaf-sucking budget -- and our snowbanks get even higher because of their encrusted leaf-bases, I won't be cursing anyone out. No.

Sure. The professionals know what's best.

If I were into bumper stickers...

I might need this one...

Life is hectic right now, but apparently not so hectic that I don't have time to look around here!

I like this one...

Some others made me smile too...

(The last one's for a regular reader here... you know who you are!)

Snow belt gets belted

Holy cow!  Buffalo's getting nailed. The first snow of the year -- breaking records, taking down tree limbs, knocking out power, and leaving travelers stranded. Up to 2 feet of heavy, wet snow has fallen in some areas. The New York State Thruway is closed from Rochester to Buffalo.

My husband traveled to Buffalo yesterday afternoon and called on the way home to tell me it was snowing like crazy. 60 miles to the east where we live? Sunny. There was a dusting of snow on our cars this morning;  that's it. That's lake-effect snow for you in the Great Lakes region. Lake Erie gets them. Lake Ontario gets us.

Bet this is a Friday the 13th that won't soon be forgotten in Buffalo!

And you western NY snow mobilers -- where are you? I just heard a man call in to a radio station -- he's been stuck on the Thruway for 9 hours. No one has come by.  No. One. They need food and water! And blankets! And soon, gasoline!!

Dude, the leaves are still on the trees!

Dear Town,

I like the leaf-removal services offered by our town. Once the leaves are down and raked, it’s wonderful to have the mega leaf vacuum come by and remove them from the curb.

However, the leaf vacuum is on my street right now. There are some leaves down on the street, but most of the leaves are still on the trees. I see only 2 small piles of raked leaves on the entire street so far. It rained all day yesterday, so there are new leaves that came down with the wind and rain, but it rained all day, so no one was out raking. In short, at this point hauling the mega vacuum out seems like a waste of town resources.

I don’t know how this service is scheduled, but perhaps a town employee could do a drive-by before sending the big truck out --  I imagine it’s quite expensive to operate. From living on this street for a few years, I know that the truck often comes by when we don’t yet need it, and then when we do need it, it doesn’t come by.

An observation from a resident,

Marie

Future Pumpkin Pies

Throwing the baby out with the bath water?

After more than 30 years, DDT is back.  Its widespread use was banned in 1972, despite the fact that it was "used with great effect to combat malaria, typhus, and the other insect-borne human diseases among both military and civilian populations. "  During the ban, it could not be exported from the US, and as a result, tens of millions died from malaria.

Recently, the World Health Organization lifted the ban, announcing that "DDT presents no health risk when used properly."  It's the amount of DDT used that is significant.

So, had it been used properly, tens of millions of people, mostly children, would not have died from malaria?

Will anyone take responsibility for the ban and its consequences?

Seems to me that birth control is effective only when used properly. Improper use may result in the creation of human life. Why isn't that banned?