Unfortunately, today Tate’s Halloween fever was the first kind. It started Thursday night, but I was hopeful for a 24-hour variety. No such luck.

At 3pm, we were supposed to be arriving at Tate’s cousin’s Halloween party. Instead, my little guy was uncharacteristically quiet in my arms while we waited for the ibuprofen to kick in. While I didn’t mind the extra snuggling time, I was really sad to be missing the party. And of course wishing that my baby were well.

He did eventually rebound enough to visit Granny & Papa’s house. And Dad worked some sort of magic to get him into his lion costume – all of my efforts were met with his favorite new word, “no”.

How was your Halloween? Did you go to a party, an indoor event, neighborhood trick-or-treating, or all of the above?

Best wishes in what we all know is scarier than Halloween – adjusting to Daylight Saving Time with a young child!

Definition Courtesy Merriam-Webster

Today most people are putting the finishing touches on their costumes for trick-or-treating or a fun halloween party…

You may, however, know someone who is putting the finishing touches on growing a baby! If so, share this post with them. But go ahead and wait until they’ve brought the new baby home from the hospital…

All of our adorable halloween-themed birth announcements are available online. Here are a few of my favorites:

Or, if your baby isn’t quite due yet, you may need a last-minute costume idea for your pregnant belly – check out this post.

What’s your favorite preggers costume or baby costume?

It’s ridiculously early, I know.

Personally I’m a no-Christmas-until-the-day-after-Thanksgiving girl, so the fact that some stores are putting out Christmas stuff before Halloween drives me crazy.

At the same time, I know that some of you plan ahead and are thinking about your holiday greetings – taking family photos, mulling over ideas for your letter. Here are some helpful letter-writing hints from Mummified Times Five (Mum as in Mom, not a Halloween Mummy!).

And while you’re at it, take a sneak peak at our Christmas cards…

Now go back to eating candy corn and planning your kids’ costumes. Please!

Nice dramatic title, huh? Truth be told, I couldn’t think of anything to blog about tonight- Tate hasn’t done anything particularly hilarious or frustrating lately. I’ve been reading lots of other great blogs, hoping for inspiration. Then suddenly, there it was…

Travel back in time with me to mid-September. We were out and about early one Saturday morning, and planned to grab breakfast on the go. I assumed it would be McDonald’s or maybe our favorite neighborhood bakery. My husband had something else in mind:

Him: How about if we go outside the box a little?

Me: Sure, like what?

Him: Castillo Blanco

Me: Sure, great!

Me: Where is Castillo Blanco again? (thinking that it’s that cool new Mexican place I’ve been reading about)

Him: It’s White Castle.

Me: Nooooooo! No, no, no, no! Turn the car around.

Him: (slightly wounded) No, really, I’ve heard that they have great breakfast sandwiches.

Me: Ugh, fine, we’ll try it. But we have to go somewhere else if it’s awful.

Yep, of course, you guessed it. While known for their (in my opinion) disgusting, greasy sliders, White Castle has great breakfast sandwiches. I can’t recommend the coffee, but the egg sandwiches, especially the one with bacon on an English muffin- yum!

And to bring the story full-circle, my inspiration came from the breakfast item coupons at Mommy’s Wish List. The White Castle coupon is for the sandwich on a bun, which my husband said was good too. If I were you, though, I’d splurge and get the English muffin.

Let it never be said that I keep all the good things to myself.

You’re welcome.

Photo Courtesy:
Eddie~S

Does planning a birthday party for your child fill your heart with delight or panic?

We’ve certainly all heard stories of extravagant parties costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I guess like every area of parenting, it’s not fair to judge anyone else’s choice. But if you want to laugh at someone’s extravagance, read this hilarious article by one of my favorite writers, Dave Barry (thanks to Sonya for sending it my way!). 

At the other end of the spectrum, many families are choosing to simplify birthday celebrations. This post from Simple Mom gives some excellent suggestions for minimizing materialism, such as creating gifts for a charity in lieu of traditional party games.

Since I work for an invitation company, I can’t completely get behind her suggestion to use Evite or handmade invitations. I’m biased of course, but ours are just so cute! View the entire birthday invitation gallery online, or modify your favorite birth announcement design to be a party invite.

For tips on what’s appropriate for birthday parties at each age, read this article by Kimberly Hargis. I like her idea of having bigger celebrations for the milestone years (5, 10, etc.) and something simpler for those in-between.

How do you celebrate your kids’ birthdays? What were your own birthday parties like as a child?

This post is inspired by a love story. My friend Whitney is 35+ weeks pregnant and getting to that “I’m ready to have this baby already” stage. Her thoughful husband didn’t get her flowers or chocolates, but something much more romantic, in my opinion. Click here to read the whole story.

The moral of the story is, of course, to be creative in helping your pregnant wife/girlfriend/sister/co-worker. Here are some other practical ideas for helping out a mom-to-be who’s in the final weeks of her pregnancy:

1. Bring over a meal, even if it’s just takeout from her favorite restaurant. It will allow her to relax at the end of the day (unless she isn’t the cook in the family anyway, then keep reading! ).

2.  If she has older kids, offer to take care of them for awhile. Don’t just make an vague offer- give her a list of several days or evenings that you’re free.

3. Offer to paint the nursery, so she’s not inhaling icky paint fumes. Better yet, use a VOC-free paint - better for everyone involved!

4. Offer to put together baby gear or furniture - not so easy when your belly is huge and your ankles swell when you stand up too long!

5. Hire a maid service for a one-time house cleaning, or help out yourself if she’ll allow you. Again, the more time she can be off her feet, the better!

6. Ask her how she’s feeling, and let her vent if she wants. Don’t offer solutions unless she asks for them.

7. Talk to her about non-baby/pregnancy/mom things - she might want a break from it all.

8. If she’s overdue, do NOT say things like “you’re still at work?!” or “you haven’t had that thing yet?”! It’s already on her mind, and everyone else is saying this- avoid the temptation!!

9. Take her out for a pedicure, or offer to paint her toenails for her. She may not be able to see her toes well, but it’s nice to have them look good and she definitely can’t do it herself anymore.

10. Tell her she looks great!

What was the nicest thing someone did for you when you were pregnant?

Photo Courtesy:

Ed Yourdon

For claiming to be not into fashion, I’m on kind of a roll lately…inspired again by Jae at How Not to Dress Like a Mom. Actually it’s her guest-writer Jenna doing the inspiring this week. Pregnant with her second child, Jenna is writing about finding cute maternity clothes on a budget. Specifically, she’s focusing on pieces that help you get through the earlier months in your regular wardrobe. Look for more Maternity Monday posts in the coming weeks, and here are some old ones for now.

A few direct sources for maternity clothing:

Fertile Mind offers unique pieces such as the 6-way maternity dress and the BellyBelt (shown on the right)

Due Maternity has really cute tops for fall and good layering pieces too. Get a couple of great sweaters, and maybe you can avoid buying a maternity coat, with the extra warmth the baby provides.

Kiki’s Fashions Maternity has very affordable maternity clothing. There are especially good bargains on warm-weather pieces, great if you’re in an all-year-summer climate. Please do not buy the shirt on the left, especially if you’re going to a picnic, as I fear you may be mistaken for a tablecloth.

Finally, don’t forget the pieces that you wear every day, whether you’re dressing up or going casual- Amon Maternity specializes in underwear that supports your pregnant belly.

P.S. These are just products that appeal to me; I’m not receiving any benefits from the companies above.

Do you read Parent Hacks? My friend Whitney first introduced me to this great blog. It’s a steady stream of practical parenting tips, discovered by their team of parents/writers or submitted by their readers.

Here are some recent examples:

• We’re all using more hand sanitizer with fears of the flu. But here’s another bonus of using hand sanitizer wipes.
• I love the new little “bottles” of gum – they’re the perfect size for the cupholder in my car. Parent Hacks shares an additional use for these gum containers.
• And my very favorite, that I will be using all the time- a surefire way to remember the things you need to take home, when you’re visiting a friend.

Trust me, you’ll love Parent Hacks – add them to your reader* today.

What are your favorite sites for tips on parenting or pregnancy?

*Side note: If you follow several blogs, you’ll save lots of time by using a reader. This post on productivity from Makes & Takes links to a helpful how-to video about readers.