Well, folks, fall is finally here, which means HALLOWEEN is right around the corner. It’s officially acceptable for my children to talk about what they want to be for Halloween. ALL YEAR LONG, every time we see any sort of costumed character, my little twins say, “I want to be that for Halloween!” I hear it in January, May, July…doesn’t matter. They want to be Yo Gabba Gabba characters. They want to be Barbie. They want to be Brian and Stewie from Family Guy. (Which would be AWESOME, I think – you just don’t see many 3-year-old little girl twins dressed like Family Guy characters.) When it comes right down to it, though, I guarantee you we’ll have matching Disney princesses of some kind. I wish they’d branch out a little!

I was just checking out some of the cute Childrens Costumes available online, and I personally love the Wednesday Addams costume. Unfortunately, my kids have no idea who Wednesday Addams is. They like the Bratz Cheerleader costume; I say I don’t THINK so, little girls. Why do preschoolers need to dress seductively, even on Halloween? Bah, I say. Bah!

There are lots of Halloween Costume Stores online nowadays. I bought my costume online last year, and everybody loved it. I’ve got about a month before I need to decide what I’m going to be this year, or even if we’re going to/hosting a party. I love Halloween! And I love shopping for this stuff online. I’ve always HATED digging around the party stores, bumping elbows with everyone else trying to find a costume. Much easier to browse around from the comfort of my desk chair, y’know?

What are your kids going to be for Halloween?

So. Did you have a Cabbage Patch Kid when you were young? I had several. In fact, I hung onto them for years and years, and it’s only recently that they seem to have gone missing – probably during our last move. I’m so bummed! Let me tell you a wee little story about my Cabbage Patch Kids…

My very first ‘Kid was a birthday present I received when I was actually far too old to be carrying around dolls, but they were so ridiculously popular, everyone had them! In this picture, you can see me lovingly cradling my ‘Kid. I’m not sure why I look so pissed off, but it probably had something to do with that haircut.

I wore braces then, and I took my Cabbage Patch Kid with me to the orthodontist one day and asked if they could put braces on my ‘Kid. They said they’d see what they could do. Later on that day, I stopped by the orthodontist office on my way home from school, and I was thrilled to see my Cabbage Patch Kid sitting on the receptionist’s counter, with shiny braces on! They somehow stuck four little metal brackets and a wire right into my CPK’s mouth, even though she really didn’t have teeth. It was darling, and all my friends thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Later that summer, we went on vacation, and here’s where the story takes a scary turn! ::cue dramatic music:: On our way back home, my mom’s car caught on fire out in the Utah desert. We managed to scramble out of it in the nick of time, and I vividly remember standing with my cousin out in the middle of the interstate on the blistering hot pavement, burning our bare feet, and watching my mom’s car completely engulfed in flames. We both lost our Cabbage Patch Kids that day! (And, all our luggage, my mom’s purse, and our yearbooks. Who takes their Cabbage Patch Kids and their yearbooks on vacation? 7th graders, that’s who.)

When we got back home, I immediately guilt-tripped my mother into buying me a new Cabbage Patch Kid. And within days, my grandparents stopped by with a new Cabbage Patch Kid for me as well, so now I owned TWO! I was so cool. And my orthodontist put braces on one of them for me, to replace the one that I lost in the fire. I had both those Cabbage Patch Kids sitting on a shelf until after I was MARRIED, people. I’m not sure what happened to them once I moved out of my ex-husband’s house. I’m sure they ended up at a thrift store, which seriously bums me out.

I just went through my old photo albums, and this is the only picture I found where you can see my Cabbage Patch Kids. It’s sort of a Where’s Waldo? thing, though. They’re just background scenery, barely noticeable. But you’re noticing my feathered bangs, aren’t ya? I knew it. See them up there on the shelf above me? Yep. There they are. The one in the pink has braces.

Well. I’m sure you’ve noticed that nostalgia is the hottest commodity these days. Everyone wants to relive their 80s youth, it would seem, and the makers of Cabbage Patch Kids are jumping on that bandwagon as well. You can now buy a 25th Anniversary replica one-of-a-kind 80s Cabbage Patch Kid, made from the same sculpts/molds and materials as the original 1983 dolls.

They still come with their own adoption certificate, and hiney tattoo of Xavier Roberts’ signature. Here are my own kids, checking out our family’s newest adoptee, and hearing me tell the story of my old Cabbage Patch Kids:

These were truly the first toys that turned parents into monsters, trying to score them as Christmas presents – way before Tickle Me Elmo ever hit the scene! If you want to relive your youth, snag one of these for your own children! You can find out more about them on the Cabbage Patch Kids 25th Anniversary site.

This review was made possible by Team Mom!

My oldest child is now a big bad 8th grader, and even though it’s only the third week of school, I have a good feeling about this year. It seems like things are going well and she’s much more sure of herself than she’s been in the past. Last year, she had major anxiety about school, and it caused lots and lots of problems. I’ve got four more who need to go through it all, so I’m always interested in figuring out new approaches to school issues. I’ve been previewing a book about this very subject, and I think it’s a great resource for parents: Overcoming School Anxiety by Diane Peters Mayer.

The author developed the Overcoming School Anxiety Program after years of working with kids and parents as a psychotherapist and has successfully treated hundreds of elementary school kids who suffer from school anxiety. The book outlines easy-to-learn techniques for children, including breathing and relaxation exercises, focusing techniques, and tips for proper diet and exercise to help alleviate stress. Some of the topics covered include:

• The inability to stop worrying

• Panic attacks
• The fear of people, places, and things
• Text anxiety
• Perfectionism
• Low self-esteem
• Parental and family problems

This book is easy to read, and you don’t have to sit down and read the whole thing all at once, you can turn right to the section that applies to your child and get some advice and read about real-life examples of kids and parents figuring out how to deal with their worries.

I would have loved having this book in my hands when we first started this whole middle school thing! The chapter about Homework Anxiety would have been a huge help to us then, and it’s probably something I can still refer to now as needed.

Great book. Check it out!

I want to introduce you to my new obsession: Funky Mama. I’m her brand new stalker, and she doesn’t even know it yet. We received this CD to review a few days ago, and I’ve listened to it no less than a dozen times. I even listened to it alone in my van coming home from my twin club meeting last night. Should I admit that? Perhaps not. Seriously, though, this chick can ROCK OUT. Her voice is amazing – she’s like Susan Tedeschi meets Laurie Berkner. Her songs are funny and catchy, but if you weren’t paying attention to the words, they’d be perfect background music for shooting pool at the bar. It’s such a perfect blend of grown-up sounding music with kid-friendly lyrics. And did I mention this chick can rock out? I want to sing like her! Check out this video clip of her song Grandma’s House I found on YouTube:

Isn’t she awesome? And isn’t it crazy, hearing that gigantic, soulful voice coming out of such a cute little MOMMY? Here’s another clip from a news interview with Funky Mama Krista Eyler, where she talks about playing at the Easter Egg Roll at the White House and her former career as a television news anchor:

And finally, here’s a clip of her on the news rocking out to her song MOO JUICE, with her big ol’ pregnant belly. Don’t you love it? All pregnant, up there with her bright red guitar – you GO, girl:

Here is the track listing for Funky Mama’s brand new, just released album, MOO JUICE:

• Moo Juice
• Sippy
• Pop n’ Hop
• Potty Train
• Freeze Dance
• Down Down Baby
• Ooo, Ahh, Oww!
• The Grandparent Song
• My Dad Rocks
• No Sleep Tonight
• Let’s Drive
• Hot Time In the Old Town
• Multi-Taskin’ Mama
• Stuck Inside
• Can You Hear Me-1-2
• Sambalele
• Hush Baby, Hush Child

Check out clips of each song from her Moo Juice album right here. My personal favorites are My Dad Rocks and Multi-Taskin’ Mama, which I can completely relate to! All the songs are great, though – we are seriously loving this album, and I’m so excited to be sharing it with you!

Do you want to win a copy of your very own? Of course you do! Go to the Funky Mama website and listen to the song clips, then leave a comment here letting me know what song you like best from the Moo Juice album. One comment will be picked at random and the winner will receive the CD for free.

Here’s how to enter…

Leave a comment on this blog entry, telling me which song from this album you like best. Additional entries may be gained by posting about this contest on your own blog, and by voting for this entry on various social networking sites, such as Digg, Kirtsy, and Stumble Upon. Leave a separate comment here for every method you’ve used to share the love. This contest is subject to the contest rules posted in the menu bar above. Contest runs until the end of September, at which time I will draw the winners for all the CD giveaways featured throughout the month.