Celebrity parents share their Halloween plans

By Jenny Schafer, Celebritybabyscoop.com

We can’t get enough of the Halloween season! And neither can some of our favorite celebrity parents.

Celebrity Baby Scoop sat down with Mayim Bialik of “The Big Bang Theory” and heard about the fine art of “recycling (her boys’) costumes.” New dad Ian Ziering has a special day planned for baby Mia’s first Halloween, while “CSI: Miami” star Eva LaRue opened up about their expected “3,000 trick-or-treaters.” And new mom Tia Mowry said she’s “so excited” to celebrate with her lil’ pumpkin.

Continue reading about how some of our fav celeb parents — including The Guncles, Kendra Wilkinson, and Candace Cameron Bure — plan to celebrate Halloween.

Mayim...

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10 fashionable cool-weather clothes for kids

By Andrea Pyros, www.RetailMeNot.com

Rain, snow and chilly weather won’t slow down kids — especially when they’re appropriately suited up. We’ve found the cutest coats and accessories for cool days, so your brood can enjoy the outdoors during the months to come.

She’ll look dressed up but feel as comfy as can be in this Bow Pocket Knit Coat ($49.99) from Janie and Jack. Sweet touches like a polka-dot lining, bows on the pockets and a pleated back elevate this machine-washable cotton coat to beyond a basic. See more at www.janieandjack.com.

Hanna Andersson calls this stylish coat Our Warmest Reversible Down Jacket (regularly $108, on sale now for $75), and the Swiss company isn’t...

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Don’t forget the house when dressing up for Halloween

By KIM COOK, For The Associated Press

Dressing up’s the name of the game on Halloween, but it’s just as much fun to dress up the front of the house.

With some imagination and a mix of purchased and handmade embellishments, you’ll be setting a suitably spooky stage for Halloween visitors.

Dark shadows

Victorian-age Halloween decor is a trend this year — look for old-fashioned typography and paper decorations to string across the entryway, and gothic elements like wrought-iron fences, ravens and owls to create a vintage vibe along your walkway. Martha Stewart Living has some downloadable templates to make your own gravestones. Target’s got a selection of great-looking plaster gargoyles. You’ll find a...

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Wal-Mart to shift focus from trendy to basics

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK — Wal-Mart will shutter its fashion office in Manhattan less than three years after arriving as the retailer shifts its focus back to basic items like socks and jeans, and away from trendier lines of clothing seen at its stores in recent years.

There are 275 people working at the office, set to close on Feb. 1, and spokesman Dave Tovar said Wal-Mart will relocate as many of them as possible to the company headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. The company began speaking with employees in New York early Wednesday, he said.

The senior vice president of Wal-Mart’s U.S. apparel merchandising division, Lisa Rhodes, will stay on through the transition and leave in July. The company promoted executives...

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Mending your own clothes has new appeal

By SEAN O’DRISCOLL, For The Associated Press

NEW YORK — “If you can drive a car, you can drive this,’ says Maya Valladares as I press the sewing machine pedal to the floor and complete my first stitch.

After years of having holes in my pants pockets, I am finally learning to fix one.

The process is more complicated than I suspected: Carefully cutting through three layers of stiches to remove the pocket lining requires the precision and patience of a surgeon. When I finally get the lining out, Valladares puts her palm underneath it and says, “See? You can see my hand through it – cheap cotton, shredded to pieces.” But that’s no reason to buy new pants.

This is my first class with Sewing Rebellion, a group with...

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Arizona mom banned from McDonald’s

By the Associated Press

CHANDLER, Ariz. — An Arizona mother of four has received a hand-delivered letter from a lawyer prohibiting her from setting foot in eight Phoenix-area McDonald’s and threatening her with criminal trespassing charges if she did.

Chandler resident Erin Carr-Jordan has been on a national crusade to clean up fast-food play areas, claiming the pathogens she found in them threaten children’s health. She is also an Arizona State University Instructor.

Carr-Jordan tells The Arizona Republic the incident she believes led to the lawyer’s letter happened during one of her repeated visits to a Gilbert McDonald’s. Carr-Jordan alleges she discovered antibiotic-resistant Staph or MRSA, known to cause potentially...

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Families tighten belts as food prices soar

By Katy Moeller, McClatchy Newspapers

Sarah Nokleby of Boise, Idaho, used to be able to feed her family, including five kids, for $150 a week.

“These days, it’s $200 minimum,” she said last week. “I’ve been complaining to my husband about it for a while.” Nokleby said she stopped complaining so much after a trip to Utah and Colorado, where food prices were even higher. Families everywhere had to adjust their shopping and eating habits to cope with significant price increases in meat, dairy, flour and sugar prices over the past year.

Nokleby’s five kids — 15, 12, 9 and two 4-year-olds — go through at least eight boxes of cereal a week (and 6 gallons of milk), so she only buys cereal with coupons and milk at Costco.

Last...

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Jug lets you get up close to bugs

By Pete Zimowsky, McClatchy-Tribune

Looking at a yellow jacket up close without worrying about getting stung is kind of cool.

You can look right in its face and eyes and see its lance-like stinger. It’s cool to just watch the bug’s habits.

It’s the same thing with spiders and other bugs. It’s kind of creepy to watch them, but fun.

You can really learn a lot about bugs with an Uncle Milton Bug Jug Live Insect Viewer.

No kidding. I stumbled on this thing while shopping for birthday presents for my grandkids, and I got two jugs.

I wasn’t sure how they would go over in this age of technology, but the Bug Jug was really popular on a recent camping trip.

My grandson and I collected yellowjackets, black...

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Tricks and treats for a safe Halloween

By Amy Kossoff Smith, The Business of Motherhood

Apparently, Halloween has escaped the recession. According to Ad Age magazine, consumer spending is up this year ($6.9 billion), representing a $1.1 billion increase over last year. Now that’s a LOT of candy corn and ghosts and goblins!

However, as delicious and fun as this holiday can be, it could also be the perfect storm for accidents. It’s dark, sometimes raining, and herds of children are sprinting between houses.

A recent Time Magazine report, “Is Trick-or-Treating Dangerous,” discusses that while tainted candy has made the headlines at times, it’s not as prevalent as we’d think. Caution, of course, is always recommended. But as Laura Fitzpatrick reports in that article,...

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Tips for getting your child to wear their seat belt

By Priscilla J. Dunstan, McClatchy-Tribune

This week, I read a number of news articles about an old but important subject: seat belts. A recent report stated that the majority of children injured in car accidents were not wearing seat belts, and those children suffered greater injuries than those properly restrained. As all parents know, keeping the children belted in can be a challenge.

Tactile children are the wriggly ones. They hate to be constrained, so will put up a physical fight while you to strap them in. Once in, they will figure out how to undo the seat belt, and you will find yourself driving along, only to realize they’re not wearing it! Since seat belts are such a lifesaver, it’s worth purchasing an additional clip that fastens over the...

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