October 21, 2007 by Barbara.

My friendly, federal government sent me some Halloween safety tips that I wanted to share. I would have done a quick summary with a link but the email I subscribe to doesn’t refer back to a web page. Those silly civil servants! You can subscribe to the monthly safety tips newsletter if you are so inspired. Health Canada has a more extensive list of Halloween safety tips as well.

Here is what I’m taking to heart as we’re getting ready for the big day:

*  Small children should never carve pumpkins. Instead, let your child draw a face on the pumpkin. I read a parenting magazine (they run together) that suggested using Mr Potato Head pieces for the too-young-to-carve set. I think that we might try that.
*  Of course, we’ll have to carve something. What is Halloween with clawing stringy pumpkin innards out and watching while an adult attempts to render the intricate design decided upon by a child?
*  Make your house trick or treat friendly, with no dark areas or tripping hazards. We have a great big bush in front of our door that gives privacy but deters kids. I think I might camp out in the driveway.
* Keep candles, jack-o-lanterns, matches and lighters in a place that children cannot reach. I guess we need to be reminded of the boring rules at special occasions.

For the ambitious among you, head over to Make Magazine’s Halloween pages for some ideas that are more complicated than I can tackle (but I read them with an awed fascination). I would caution that the projects are likely not to be in line with the safety theme of the rest of this post.

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October 21, 2007 by Barbara.

One of Reid’s daycare teacher’s sought me out Thursday night to tell me that Reid hadn’t napped that day. I reacted with surprise - it’s almost always P. who doesn’t sleep and occasionally L. but it’s never, ever been Reid. Oh, how the mighty fall!

The teacher told me that she had been surprised, too. She had went over to tell Reid to go to sleep and Reid’s lip had wobbled. The teacher then asked if Reid wanted a hug and then gave one at Reid’s nod. She thought Reid was warm and so took Reid’s temperature. But it was normal.

The craziest thing to me was that Reid didn’t fall asleep on the way to swimming or on the way to Melissa’s for supper. We were on the off ramp before her eyes closed. I took a bit of a detour to stretch out Reid’s initial sleep. This bought me time enough to use the bathroom and get into my pajamas before Ken brought Reid up.

Reid napped well on Friday and Saturday. I’m hoping to continue the streak since I really love my Sunday naps.

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