How can you NOT laugh at this photo?

Do you ever go back to your online photo albums and search for a photo? I searched and found this photo. I search in the October 2006 folder and found a true Halloween memory!

Let me tell you the back story on this beauty… The photo is from 2006. I was in a “my kids eat too much candy phase and I will not buy candy for Halloween.” Mean Moms of the World Unite! My kids were NOT happy when I told them I would hand out PlayDoh instead of candy. I purchased a huge bag of tiny Play Doh tubs to give out. Note: The tubs were a hit with young and old and were the topic of conversation for months.

Anyway back to the photo. While trick-or-treating my then 10-year-old, 8-year-old, and 3-year-old went to a house where they were given marshmallow eye balls. My husband said that the kids talked about the eye balls all the way home. 

Once home it was like a science experiment as Play Doh met eye ball to create weird eye prosthesis??? The kids had the best time placing the Play Doh on different parts of the body. My 8-year-old walked in to a wall while wearing both eye prosthesis. Ouch!  

Since the times the children were 3 to 6 months I would wipe their gums or use a tiny flexible tooth brush that I placed on the end of my finger. I hoped to instill in the children the fundamentals of good hygiene. At some point — around 18 months — the children started taking fluride drops. We have well water and the kids needed the fluoride drops for continued healthy teeth. 

My kids are good at remembering to brush. My husband is a little tyranical when one of the kids forgets. He’s been known to take money away from kids or toys. In our house it is better to brush than risk losing a dollar!

We were proud to be part of the Listerine Oral Challenge for the past couple of weeks. We tried a variety of mouth care products from Listerine and Reach: mouth wash, toothbrushes, flossers, and even a pre-bursh rinse, Agent Cool Blue. The pre-brush rinse was a hit with the 6-year-old. He felt grownup using the same type of mouthwash that Daddy uses. If you want to participate in the Challenge, go to www.listerinekids.com and sign up! 

My kids get super excited when the dentist gives them another toothbrush. Do your kids get excited? They loved using the Reach toothbrushes. The Reach Access Flossers were a new experience for my kids — we’re sued to stringed dental floss.

As part of the Listerine Oral Challenge, we were given a calendar and cute tooth stickers to make sure we stayed up-to-date on our flossing and brushing and gargling. This was awesome! Yes, I used the word awesome to describe a chart, but the chart reminded me to floss. I’ve got to admit the tooth stickers were cute, too!  

Did you know that 6- through 8-year-olds should brush, floss with parental supervision, and rinse? Whereas, kids 9 and older can manage their own oral care. I like the idea of supervising a 6- to 8-year-old as the last thing you need is cavities on the next dental visit!

Tips from Dr. Kanetta Lott, a leading pediatric dentist, including insights such as:

• Show, don’t tell. Lead by example, as kids will imitate your behavior and make oral hygiene feel less like a “kid thing.” I agree – my kids learnt to floss by watching me floss first. 
• Reward healthy behavior. Offer rewards for achieving brushing, flossing, and rinsing goals. Reward kids with a sticker for each day of great oral care. Kids love reward charts of any kind!

Have you heard about the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation — http://www.ncohf.org – an organization committed to delivering comprehensive oral healthcare to economically disadvantaged children. I’m saddened that in the U.S. we need an organization like this, but it is needed as there are children without adequate dental care.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by MomCentral on behalf of Listerine and Reach and received Listerine and Reach products for the Oral Care Challenge and a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Just in time for Halloween this coming Saturday, here’s a final spooky Halloween e-card:

Boo

There are only a few days left before the Spookiest Day of the Year — and that means a limited amount of time to pick up your Mad Monster Party –the beloved Halloween classic! The stop-motion movie comes from the team who created “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and other classic holiday specials and was a major inspiration for Tim Burton in his creation of “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

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You know that I write here about Preteens and here about raising kids int he DC Metro area. But, did you know that I occasionaly write here about just about anything. Today I’m lamenting that shopping for Halloween costumes is not easy.

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At Halloweentime my son announced that he wanted to be Darth Vader. I found this odd since he had not seen any of the Star Wars films, nor expressed much interest in Star Wars. In the weeks before Halloween he talked more and more about Darth Vader and Luke and Anakin. He still had not seen any of the films.

At Party_City he was adamant that he wanted to be Darth Vader, black flowing robe, mask, and all. I asked him several times if he was sure he wanted to wear the mask at night and in the school parade. He said “Yes” on both counts.

To be on the safe side, I rented Star Wars IV – the original Star wars movie from my childhood. I have to say that the movie has stood the test of time. As Darth Vader started doing his thing I braced myself for the inevitable scared looks from my son. I assumed that he would change his mind about being Lord Vader. No, he was more convinced than ever that this is who he wanted to be.

At the school Halloween party, I could see why he was obsessed. Among his kindergarten friends we had a Queen Amidala, a Princess Leia, an Anakin, a Luke, an Obi Wan Kenobi, and a couple of stormtroopers. Clearly this was a group that were using the Force.

I think of these costumes as more than thread and fabric, but as memories. The thought of my son in his fuzzy lion costume reminds me of how he was so desperate to stand up although he was only 6 months old. With two older sisters he was and still is frantic to get in on the action.

The Winnie the Pooh costume reminds me of watching my 2-year-old wearing the costume while squatting on a chair to “poo” in her diaper. I recall looking over at her and thinking “Oh look, Pooh is poo-ing?” Lovely…

How about my middle daughter in her purple shirt, black pants, floppy hat, and American Idol microphone. She was an American Idol contestant who was unfortunately mistaken for a purple witch. Oh well…

Or, what about my then-2nd grader who wanted to be a spy? We got her an army costume to go with her spy gear, but the army costume was glittery and covered in sequins. She did not mind when people thought she was an army girl. To her it was a spy costume.

We finished the “costume by year list” as we pulled in to the parking lot of Party City to find the perfect Halloween costume memory.