Halloween 2010 Recap

Halloween started a bit later for us this year. Because of the move and the half-marathon, we missed the local mom's club party on the first weekend of October. We went to a Haunted House two weeks ago, but I didn't realize that I needed to take photos so I don't have any documentary evidence of H as superman. Our camera recently broke but I hadn't replaced it because I was planning to wait for Black Friday deals. As random strangers took photos of their kids and H at the Haunted House, I realized, "um, no, that was not going to work." I ordered a digital camera from Amazon.com that night.

Last Wednesday, I didn't know what to expect because H's school just told us that there would be a Halloween parade and party at the school that afternoon. I thought it would just be the kids parading past us in their costumes, but I should have known it would be more than that since H's school is one of those over-achiever preschools focused on academics, complete with its own art and music programs. (They learn about one new artist and composer a month, this past month they painted their own versions of the Mona Lisa.) Since we moved after the school year started, H ended up there because it was the only school with a good playground that had a spot open. We visited five preschools the day after we moved and the ones that didn't have a playground, I just kept on driving!

H and the other pre-K students performed seven songs for us as part of the Halloween parade. I was foiled in my attempt to get a good photo of H&R together by R refusing to wake up from his nap during the performances. He had no problem waking up when it was time to have cookies and ice cream at the party, though. I'm so glad H was able to celebrate Halloween at school. His previous preschool must be owned by Jehovah's Witnesses because they did not allow any celebrations at school. H's current school even had a carnival on Friday night, complete with its own Haunted House. I didn't take R through the Haunted House after having learned from his nonstop crying during the previous experience, even though it was the "Good Fairy" version of the tour. H went through three times, once by himself! 

Friday night I was able to get a good photo of them together. Saturday they both decided to be Army guys, but R again slept through the event we went to that day so I don't have any proof that he was wearing a costume. By Sunday, R decided he had had enough of the cowboy costume and ripped it off. Instead, I made him wear a Superman t-shirt over his clothes at the church Harvest Festival. I did so fearing the wrath of my sister who is always watching my actions like a hawk to make sure I don't treat No. 2 Son like a second-class citizen. Sorry Sis, R is the one who refused to cooperate!

As for me, I am DONE! I will NEVER go to another Mall/Shopping Center/Store Halloween Event as long as I live! We tried to trick or treat indoors at Valley Fair in Santa Clara because of the weather. It was absolute chaos, so much so we will never go back to that shopping center on the weekend. There is a 1 1/2 mile line on the freeway just to get off that exit every weekend, which I have never seen anywhere else for a shopping center other than on Black Friday. After the Valley Fair fiasco, H&R went trick or treating with Grandma, which they really enjoyed. Stewart never went trick or treating with his mom, but it's interesting to see what Grandma will do for her grandsons. All in all, a very fun Halloween for the boys and one set of tired-out parents. I think the past two years fulfill my quota of Halloween events for a lifetime. Next year, I will try very hard to be out of the country.

On an unrelated note, you may have noticed the new Give Health water donation widget on my sidebar. Very easy to donate, just enter your email address and they will send you an email to confirm your donation. They don't sell or use your email address for anything else. Just another way I'm trying to do my part to make this world a little better every day. Thank You and Good Night!

Clean Water Blogivation contest: Vote and Donate Water

Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water (Source: World Health Organization and UNICEF). That’s one in eight of us. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses. 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation. If there is anything on which all of humanity can agree I would venture to bet that it is the right of each person to water. This is an issue I've been involved with for some time now so when I came across the Clean Water Blogivation campaign (open to all female bloggers) at BlogHer last week, I knew I had to participate. If my blog receives the most votes, I will win an opportunity to join Dr. Greg Allgood on a clean water expedition to Africa and a $15,000 donation to my favorite charity tackling water issues.

Going to Africa would be the realization of a long-cherished wish, one that I've had since studying both East and West Africa as a history major in college. And a $15,000 donation to charity: water would be used 100% towards directly funding water projects. But I'm realistic, I know that my little blog doesn't have much of a chance to win, and that is not why I'm posting today. Each time you vote for my post in the Clean Water Blogivation contest (voting is once per day until August 27), Proctor and Gamble will donate a day's worth of clean drinking water (2L) to a person in need in a developing country! I would love to be able to give 1000L of water through my Random Mommy Readers. Just look at this video and see how Proctor and Gamble, in alliance with the Children’s Safe Drinking Water program, has provided clean drinking water to the people most in need by distributing PUR water purification packets—an innovation that easily turns contaminated H2O into safe, drinkable water.



The PUR packets are unique in being extremely effective in removing dirt and pollutants like arsenic while removing greater than 99.9% of parasites, 99.99% of viruses, and 99.9999% of bacteria. PUR packets are also proven to reduce diarrheal illness by up to 90% in particularly vulnerable people like those living in refugee camps. I watched a demo at BlogHer and it was amazing how they transformed a container full of dirty brown water into one that was clear and purified. Please help get this clean water to those who need it by participating in this campaign. You can vote for my post through the widget below. Every vote and every drop of water counts, so much more than you can imagine. Thank you!