When Are Kids Too Old to Trick or Treat?

I was visiting the Mom stuff fan page on Facebook and came across this post. By Open Seven Days a Week. Closed Sundays. Original post http://networkedblogs.com/9CbmE

I thought it would be interesting to get everyone’s thoughts on this subject. When are kids too Old for trick or treating?

When I was (almost) 19 years old, I can recall one Halloween evening, some friends proposed that we dress up and go Trick-or-Treating. I had no objections to being able to use the holiday as an excuse to don a costume and score some free candy.

I also vividly remember the reactions from some of the adults around my neighborhood – “You guys are WAY TOO OLD to be Trick-or-Treating!” “You guys look RIDICULOUS!” “Just HOW OLD are you, anyway?” “Go on and get of here! Trick-or-Treating is for KIDS!”

Although some homeowners were highly annoyed with our pursuit of sugary confections, we were certainly not hurting anyone, or breaking any laws.

Nowadays, if you’re a teen and you’re caught Trick-or-Treating in some cities, you could end up in jail!

When it comes to the Halloween holiday, some cities have placed bans on how old a child can be for Trick-or-Treating. That age is 12.

Some lawmakers have decided that kids 13 and up are too old to Trick-or-Treat, and may be subject to fines up to $100 and time behind bars, if caught breaking the law.

In 2008, Mayor Mark Eckert of Belleville, Illinois decided that it would be a good idea to ban Trick-or-Treating by high school-aged teens, because it made some seniors and single women scared to open the door to find “6-foot-tall kids” looking for candy.

City officials are also banning teens from Trick-or-Treating in Meridian, Mississippi; Bishopville, South Carolina; Boonsboro, Maryland; and various cities in Virginia.

Although a big part of Halloween for teenagers in the 19th and early 20th centuries was vandalism and other acts of destruction, in today’s times, many would agree that the holiday is now all about celebrating children.

Should teenagers be banned from Trick-or-Treating?

What do you think?  What are the laws in your state?

One Lovely Blog Award

I received a blogger awards from Sara at 8 a Planty  Wow, thanks so much, Sara!  It makes me feel great that someone enjoys reading my blog!   Thank you so much Sara for thinking of me!  I certainly appreciate it!  Go check out her blog and happy reading!!



Rules to accepting the awards: 

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award  
2. Share 7 things about yourself  
3. Pass this on to 15 other great bloggers you recently discovered
4. Contact the selected bloggers and tell them about their awards.

Okay, so here are 7 things about me. I am always being told to tell more about my self so here I go.

1. I love nuts. Every nut.

2. I am addicted to Criminal Minds

3.I love to decorate.

4. I can't start my day without coffee.

5. I enjoy the beauty of nature.

6. I am afraid of birds

7. I am a workaholic.

Now, to pass on the award to 15 wonderful blogs that I know.  This was really hard, because I have so many wonderful blogs that I follow.

The Wright Hair 

Ashley's Craft Room

Solo dot mom 

Country Cooking with Janille

Lolidots

Some of This and That 

Julie Chats

Looks Good in Polkadots

Home School Resource Guide

Mama Pikes Happy Home

Beloved Mama

Classic Mommy

Mom Wife Sarah

Inspirations by D 

Freckles and Fudge 

Dandy Give Away 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Love, Love, Love these cookies. Perfect fall goodie

1 15oz can Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin
2 tsp baking soda
mix in large bowl, then add:

2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oleo, softened (we use Imperial)
when this is well blended add:

4 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
Blend all well, then add:

12 oz chocolate chips, 2 cups raisins and (optional 2 cups pecans, chopped)

Place spoon sized batter on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375* for 10 minutes or until firm on top
don’t overbake

ENJOY!!!

NEW HALLOWEEN IDEAS

Come visit and get our ideas to  make this the best Halloween yet. We have some new pages this week and more coming. Thanks to everyone who shared their great ideas.

NEW Neighbor Halloween Gifts

NEW Pumpkin Pictures Easy Enough for Kids

NEW Fun Family Halloween Games

NEW Fun Halloween Recipes-kids crafts with food

Halloween Trick or Treat Bag re purpose T shirt

Pumpkin Craft for Small Children

Spooky Spiders

Plan your Halloween party complete skeleton theme

Halloween Party Skeleton Invitations

Treasure Hunt for Your Halloween Party with skeleton clues

Skeleton Plates, Cups and Punch Bowl

What Are You Thankful For?

This sweet note came today in 5 Minutes for Mom Newsletter.  I did not know that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in Oct. This got me thinking how great it would be to collect notes from Moms about what they are grateful for. Are you in? I will post about this tomorrow on mom-stuff community’s blog. Add your comments or links to your post about it. I think it would be great for all of us to think about what we are grateful for and share it with each other.

Since I became a mother almost six years ago, the question “For What Are You Most Thankful?” has never required a moment’s hesitation.

I am most thankful for my daughters.

My blessings — Julia and Sophia — make me more thankful than I could ever have imagined being.

Today on another Thanksgiving (here in Canada), I cannot stop thanking God for my precious girls.

I spent a quiet and profoundly simple day with them today. We started the morning with snuggles on the couch. We walked to the park, picnicked, baked pie, made Thanksgiving dinner, read stories, and said Thanks to God while we snuggled in bed again at the end of it all.

I am so thankful for my girls and thankful for the beautiful day we had together.

5 Minutes For Mom Author (please let me know the author if you know who wrote this)

How to Scrapbook for Beginners

Scrapbooking has been around for decades. I remember my grandmother had a picture history book that was 4 or 5 inches thick.  People from all walks of life have discovered the joys of creating albums to showcase their treasured photos and keepsakes. But with all the elaborate scrapbooking techniques and myriad embellishments available, getting started can be intimidating.
The truth is, anyone that can use scissors and glue can scrapbook. And you don't have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to create attractive pages. With some basic supplies and a little imagination, you can create lovely scrapbooks that will be adored for years to come. I made my first granddaughter a scrapbook of the first year of her life. She looks through almost every time she comes to my house.
I suggest you start with just the basics to see if you enjoy scrapbooking. If you don't have the time, money or know-how to create elaborate scrapbooks, just start off simple, and learn new techniques as you go.
If you have ever wanted to try your hand at scrapbooking now is your time. There is no wrong way to do it. Just follow these steps and have fun. Click here to let the creation begin!

Redefining Beauty

The 10 Day Challenge


Today on Studio 5, I heard about an awesome beauty challenge.

The purpose of the 10 Day challenge is to offer one exercise each day that will encourage participants to address the way they view themselves and help them develop a greater love and appreciation for who they are as individuals. The exercises presented in the challenge are designed to shift our focus away from the messages of the world and into a place from within; a place where we are completely conscious of what true beauty is. As we continue to practice and develop these types of exercises that focus on discovering beauty from within, we can feel at peace with ourselves and appreciate the blessed gift that our bodies are.

“We want to emphasize outer beauty does matter,” Dr. Valentine said, “but we get way too carried away with it, at the expense of developing our inner strength and sense of worth.”

It’s a message women are connecting with.

“As an advertising major, I see images of women all the time,” said BYU Senior Carrie O’Dell. “I think it’s a great idea to focus on women the way they were meant to be seen, instead of objectifying them as the media often does.”

To help kick off this campaign, last week popular blogger Stephanie Nielson addressed the topic of, not just re-capturing beauty, but re-defining it.

Stephanie was badly burned in a plane crash two years ago.

On Thursday, she spoke to a crowd of more than three thousand women, sharing a powerful message of self-love and acceptance.

“She is burned very badly and yet she radiated beauty,” Dr. Valentine recalls. “I was thinking, ‘why is that?’ and I realized what she was radiating is courage, strength, persistence, gratitude and an amazing sense of humor. That became my definition of beauty.”

Here is the link if you want take the learn more about the challenge

As the Season Change so do Our Lifes

I found this story on Mamapedia and it expressed my feelings of the season change so well I wanted to share it with you. The picture is the color of Payson, UT last weekend.


Changing Seasons: A Lesson in Letting Go
Donna Scrima-Black of “MommyBest”

Donna Scrima-Black is an author (MommyBest: 13 Inspirational Lessons Derek & Dylan’s Mom (and maybe yours) Never Learned in School) and mom.

Although I feel excited by change, whether it’s the seasons or a different place to vacation, I often struggle with adjusting to the varying conditions that accompany it.

I still remember those “butterflies” in my stomach during the first month of school, when I was a student and after I became a teacher. Family, friends and even strangers often warned me time would be fleeting when my children were born. I never really understood why I heard this comment so much.

Then I realized, until you experience parenting first hand, it’s hard to imagine the brevity of each magical moment. To all new moms and dads, please know baby’s first few years truly are over in what seems to be a mere blink of the eye—so enjoy them as much as you can!

Every year as the weather changes and a new season is upon us, I procrastinate the sorting and storing of my boys’ clothing. “It’s such an arduous task”—-I mumble to myself—-each time I stuff more garments into their already overloaded drawers, all filled with items from last season. Once I finally begin surveying their inventory, my practical side reassures me my children will be able to fit into these outfits for “just one more year,” even though my pragmatic side secretly knows my boys’ growth spurt has been constant, so they will most likely be unable to wear much of their previous year’s wardrobe. For the rest of the story and to leave comments

One more of the 200 pictures I took enjoying the leaves and the wonder of the changing season.



Tags: family, Letting-go, mom-stuff, MommyBest, parenting, Season-change

Easy Halloween Decoration

Last year I wanted to make some glamour pumpkins. I found some at Roberts Crafts that I loved. They had spray painted pumpkins with a silver paint and added some glitter. The affect was gorgeous. I have just finished re decorating my house so I decided to paint my pumpkins with brown and then glam them up, using the idea I had seen at Roberts. Well I spray painted the pumpkins and loved them so much I did not add anything to them. They look like chocolate covered pumpkins and they look really good with the new decorations.

Public Bathroom Tips with Children

I was traveling this weekend and had some bad experiences with public restrooms so this morning when I found this article at Mamapedia I had to share it with you. I hope you can relate and that it makes you laugh, too.  I was traveling to see the wonderful colors of the autumn leaves. I will post some pictures for you soon.

Never Underestimate the Joys of a Public Bathroom with Two Kidsby Alex Iwashyna

As an avid caffeine drinker and a mother of two young children, I spend an exorbitant amount of time in the bathroom (mostly trying to shirk my parenting duties).

So I’m sharing some public bathroom tips to at least give you the heads up to not touch me or my children post-pee.

Public Bathrooms, Children Edition

Tip #1: If someone can watch your children while you run into the bathroom, ASK. Unless your children are acting up and you tend to take a long time peeing. Then the person will think you jumped out the window. And will catch you halfway out when they come looking for you.

Tip #2: Ask the people in the bathroom if they’re waiting. They may be fixing their hair. Enjoying the free soap. Singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. AND STILL WAITING FOR A STALL. If you cut in front of them, they will hate you forever. (FOREVER you old biddy.)

Tip #3: If the stall doors do not lock, you cannot use it. I REPEAT. DO NOT USE THE BROKENSTALL. You need one hand for wiping, one hand for wrangling the children, one hand for keeping the door closed. Since you presumably only have TWO hands, you are left giving your fellow bathroom mates a full-frontal.

Tip #4: The baby seat provided will not have a working buckle and will be located as far from the toilet as possible. So let go of your germ phobias and put the baby on the ground. The whole ordeal will go much faster if you put the child down. And if they aren’t mobile, balance them on the baby bag. If they are, sing and coo from your porcelain throne. And hope that the kid doesn’t crawl into the stall next to you because this may shock the woman in the other stall. Enough for her to miss. Then you’ve got more than hands to wash.

Tip #5: Post-bathroom crawl you will have to choose whose hands to wash, yours or your babies. And you have five seconds before your oldest child leaves the bathroom with your stall buddy who peed on your kin. Choose the baby. As the adult, you are slightly less likely to put your hands in your mouth. And you can always tell yourself and the strangers around you that you will use hand sanitizer afterward. But you won’t. You’ll forget while the baby cries because her hands are wet and the other kid says: I have to pee NOW, Mama.

You’re welcome. Although after writing this I thought:WHO NEEDS TIPS ON PUBLIC BATHROOMUSE? And then I realized. The answer was me.

This post is written by Alex Iwashyna, a happily married mom with a BA in Political Philosophy and a Medical Degree and the drive to become neither. She blogs at Late Enough mostly about life, parenting, marriage, politics, culture, religion, and her inability to wake up in the morning and not hate everyone. Find her on Twitter or Facebook, too.

Original link http://www.mamapedia.com/voices/never-underestimate-the-joys-of-a-public-bathroom-with-two-kids?fbc1=1