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2008/09/29
 Here are 5 Halloween poems for grandparents to share with your grandchildren. The first four Halloween poems are fun and not too scarey for young grandchildren. Caution, the fifth Halloween poem should probably be saved for older grandchildren…it is a Halloween poem that could cause your grandchildren to be hesitant about going to bed on Halloween…or any other night. Don’t forget to turn on the night light!!
Happy Halloween
It’s late and we are sleepy,
The air is cold and still.
Our jack-o-lantern grins at us
Upon the windowsill.
We’re stuffed with cake and candy
And we’ve had a lot of fun,
But now it’s time to go to bed
And dream of all we’ve done.
We’ll dream of ghosts and goblins
And of witches that we’ve seen,
And we’ll dream of trick-or-treating
On this happy Halloween.
~ Author Unknown ~
Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said,
“Oh my, it’s getting late.”
The second one said,
“But we don’t care.”
The third one said,
“I see witches in the air.”
The fourth one said,
“Let’s run, and run, and run.”
The fifth one said,
“Get ready for some fun.”
Then whoosh went the wind,
And out went the lights,
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!
~ Author Unknown ~
Trick O’ Treat
Witches, ghosts, and goblins.
Stealing down the street,
Knock on every doorway,
Trick or Treat!
When your door is opened,
This is what you meet,
Scary creatures shouting,
Trick or treat!
~ Author Unknown ~
The Goblin
There’s a goblin as green as a goblin can be.
Who is sitting outside and is waiting for me.
When he knocked on my door and said softly,
“Come play!”
I answered, “No thank you, now please,go away!”
But the goblin as green as a goblin can be.
Is still sitting outside and is waiting for me.
Trick or treat, trick or treat,
Give us something good to eat.
Give us candy, give us cake,
Give us something sweet to take.
Give us cookies, fruit and gum,
Hurry up and give us some.
You had better do it quick
Or we’ll surely play a trick.
Trick or treat, trick or treat,
Give us something good to eat.
~ Author Unknown ~
Pumpkin Time
Pumpkin time is here again,
Time to play Trick or Treat.
Pumpkin time is here again,
Our spooky friends we’ll meet.
See the costumes we have on,
Monsters, ghosts, goblins too.
See the costumes we have on,
Hear us all shout “Boo!”
~ Author Unknown ~
and one for older grandchildren…
Advice on How to Sleep on Halloween Night
The thing to remember, when you go to bed
Is hang strings of garlic, high over your head,
So werewolves and vampires won’t come to call.
In fact,
You won’t get many callers at all
‘Cause garlic is smelly.
Besides,
its success with magical creatures
Who visit distress on humans who read scary stories at night,
And sleep in their bedrooms, without a night-light.
The thing to remember, when you go to bed
Is putting a cross, at your foot and your head,
‘Cause witches and vampire bats are religious
And touching a sign like a cross gives them hideous
Goosebumps and warts,
Hives, the welts and the itches,
Which nobody likes, even vampire bats and witches.
But try not to toss or to turn in your bed.
If you kick off the crosses you’re gonna wake the dead.
The thing to remember, when you go to bed
Is watch out for goblins, who’ll munch on your head.
What stops them is water, so ask for a glass,
Then pour it around, so the goblins can’t pass.
Or else make a run
for the bathroom and turn on the hot and cold faucets
and watch goblins squirm.
As a last chance,
since goblins all fear running streams,
If you don’t own a bathroom, dream water-filled dreams.
So, that’s my advice.
Now, just turn off the light.
Hope you sleep well the next Halloween Night!
~ Author Unknown ~
2008/09/25
 Did your grandchild bring an attitude with him (or her) when he moved in with you? It’s time to fine tune your parenting skills, again. Even with caregivers having the best parenting skills, most kids go through stages now and then with a bit of a “tude.” But when the attitude is too much and too often, then you need to guide your grandchild in learning how to adjust his attitude.
As a special education teacher, I’m very familiar with students with attitudes. Students with strong attitudes, often oppositional, are sometimes that way because of disturbing situations within their home environment which have prevented your grandchild from becoming the person he was meant to be.
One reason for the attitude may be because it is perhaps the only thing they believe they have control over – their behavior. When there are drastic changes within their family structure, whether caused by substance abuse, divorce, death, or other reasons, it is a lot of baggage for a young person to handle – especially because it is beyond their control. It definitely carries over to their relationships with family, friends, and school.
If you feel your grandchild needs an attitude adjustment to achieve positive behavior, try the suggestions in “Have a New Kid by Friday,” by Dr. Leman. He offers parenting advice with a sense of humor, covering the ABCs: Attitude, Behavior, and Character and the pillars of self-esteem: Acceptance, Belonging, and Competence. You’ll also get to see what the top 100 parenting tips are for today’s kids.
If you feel you can’t help your grandchild become the person he was meant to be, speak to your grandchild’s school psychologist. Remember, it isn’t a sign of weakness to ask for help, but a sign of strength. If you feel you can’t handle it by yourself…your grandchild certainly can’t either.
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Have a New Kid by FridayBy Dr. Kevin Leman / RevellFamily out of control? Thinking of calling Nanny 911? Try Dr. Leman’s action plans instead! His straightforward advice offers doable day-by-day strategies to change your child’s attitude, behavior, and character and help you become the parent you’ve always wanted to be. Includes indexed section on how to handle everything from rolling eyes to punching walls! Hardcover. |
2008/09/22
When you’re cooking in the kitchen,
You’re learning all the while –
To pour and measure, mix and stir
And sift flour into a pile.
Scrub your hands before you start
Then gather up the gear –
Like pots’n pans and measuring cups
That you use throughout the year.
Go over the recipe, step-by-step,
So you’ll know just what to do.
By carefully following the directions,
It won’t be hard for you.
Have a hot pad handy
And an adult standing by –
So you won’t hurt yourself
When using the stove or baking a pie.
Besides the fun and learning,
There’s always cleaning up to do,
And even though it’s quite a chore,
It’s part of cooking too.
But after all the work is done,
It will soon be time for dinner.
And when someone asks for seconds,
You’ll know you’ve cooked a winner!
~ Author Unknown ~
Interesting Facts About Culinary Arts
Culinary artists are those known today as the ones responsible for the presentation of your salad, entree, or dessert. There is one restaurant we enjoy on the Jersey Shore that serves salads that are a work of art – I feel guilty when I disturb it.
The culinary arts is one of the fields of study that is currently in at the top of the list among many young people who enjoy creating eye appealing dishes. There are many culinary schools offering training. So if you have a grandchild that you are raising or very close to, encourage them to continue with their interest in culinary arts.
Here are some interesting facts about culinary arts:
- Cooking was once considered the woman’s job. Today there are more men in the culinary profession than women.
- The Boston Cooking School was opened in 1800 as the first culinary arts school.
- The first cookbook was written in 1896 by Fannie Merrit Farmer. It included culinary art.
- The first TV cooking show began in 1946 by James Beard where he was able to demonstrate culinary art to many interested viewers.
- The first career-oriented culinary arts school was the Culinary Institute of America, now located in NYC.
College isn’t for everyone and even though the high schools would like to boast that most of their students go on to college, culinary arts schools are also considered to be post-secondary schools. Cooking classes in high school are great for those students who need to be moving around and very actively involved with hands-on learning. I know of one such student who went on to a 2-year program in culinary arts and became the owner of a very large, successful restaurant chain.
With talent, will, and determination…anything is possible in the culinary arts careers.
Have you ever experienced skunk spray up close? If you have, then you know it is the most offensive odor. And, since skunk spray is oil based, it is also the worst to get rid of.
 Last week I was upstairs in the office organizing notes for my Algebra 2 students. The night was perfect with a light cool breeze coming in through the open windows. All of a sudden I got a whiff of the neighborhood skunk. I yelled, “Where’s Buddy?” My husband yelled back, “Too late!”
Oh, no! Here we go again. Our dog (Peanut) who we had before Buddy had been sprayed also so we knew what it entailed…lots of continuous bathing with solutions of white vinegar, baking soda, dish soap, etc….and lots of deodorizing.
Only this time, Buddy got away from my husband in the den as he brought him in from the backyard. He rolled around on the carpeting in attempt to remove the pungent odor from his back and face. Luckily, we still had the furniture covered to protect it from our granddaughters’ visit earlier in the afternoon.
Needless to say, the carpeting stunk from the skunk oil. Poppy rented a carpet shampooer from our local supermarket. But to no avail, the odor just wouldn’t come out. The den was the only room where we didn’t have the carpet replaced three years ago so it’s time we replaced it anyway. The den gets a lot of use and has started to show more wear and tear lately mostly because the grandchildren are more active – and therefore, the dog is too. They love the fact that they can run in and out of the back door with Buddy following them. The den is also between the garage and kitchen which can show you just how much daily traffic the carpet gets.
With our busy schedules, it’s difficult to find time to go carpet shopping and besides, we use enough gas as it is. To save time and gas, we’ll make an appointment with Empire Today to take advantage of their in-home flooring sales and next day installation. Poppy and I rarely agree on anything when it comes to decorating, but in this case we’ve decided to choose a Berber carpet installed in the den instead of a plush because my research tells me it endures people and dog traffic which we do have coming and going from the kitchen, backyard, and garage. It will also be easier to vacuum up the dog hair.
When the real estate market picks up, we’ll try selling our house again. This time, we plan on having the bedroom wood floors replaced with laminate flooring which Empire Today also installs. Through the years, with three children of our own (and now Kaitlin and Emily) and several dogs, the wood floors have been terribly scratched. We don’t want to bother with the lengthy refinishing process. Another alternative would be to cover them up with more carpeting, but buyers are looking for attractive flooring instead. When we were looking at houses ourselves, It was really difficult to tell the difference. I had to touch the flooring to know for sure. The best part is that it will withstand scratching from our grandchildren’s toys and our Buddy’s claws when he runs around or jumps on or off the bed. That’s always a good selling point, too.
Before I decided on Empire Today, I visited their website and read what others had to say about Empire’s in-home flooring sales and installation. Follow this link to read what their customers had to say: Empire Carpet Stories.
Nana’s advice: If you suspect a skunk may be visiting…before you let your dog out at night, turn on bright lights and make loud noises…then give the skunk time to leave your yard.
Recipe for washing:
One quart 3% hydrogen peroxide*
¼ cup baking soda
one teaspoon liquid dish soap
1. Wear vinyl gloves and an apron.
2. Rinse your dog completely down to the skin with water.
3. Wash with the above solution and leave on 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Protect yourself – your pet will try to shake off the water.
5. Rinse off with water.
* White vinegar can be substituted, but it is not as effective
*Use a wash cloth for the face area and do not let it get into your pet’s eyes.
*You may have to wash several times but be careful not to cause irritation.
*The odor will still be there, but only faintly. Over time it will disappear.
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