Welcome to Debbie's Domain

Halloween is a delightful holiday for children, widely celebrated in the United States. Children dress up in colorful costumes, and go door to door chanting "trick or treat", and are usually rewarded with candy. Homes are decorated with pumpkin jack-o-lanterns, witches, skeletons, and ghosts. Nobody really knows exactly how Halloween and it's various traditions began. Some people believe that Druids from Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales used October 31st as a night to honor their gods and make sacrifices. It is a common belief that human sacrifices were made, as well as crops, and animals. The Celts of that time period did not write, so they left behind no records of their beliefs or activities. Most information about the Druids, Celts, and their traditions came from their enemies, the Romans. The Romans also wrote that Christians sacrificed their own babies. They don't seem to be a very reliable source. The Celts of England, Ireland, and northern Franc

E loves finger painting, and M gets jealous. Unfortunately, he eats everything. While non-toxic finger paint won't hurt him, it's all chemicals, so it can't be good for him, either. I read about mashed potato finger paint, and thought it was worth trying. I put paint shirts on them, got a helper, and we went out on the patio. E tried painting on paper, but it really didn't work. No problem. She used it like playdoh and had lots of fun. E liked squishing it between his fingers. And, of course, he ate it!

When the kids are little, it doesn't take much to make them happy. This summer I packed up a little picnic for the little ones. I spread a towel under in tree out front. I sat one on each end (they hate the feel of grass). They ate their picnic lunch with gusto. They loved it!

Anytime you reuse something instead of just throwing it away, it's cool. E and M thought this was a really cool way to recycle. It was one of those really hot days and no AC. We didn't have a pool, so I just did something we used to do when we were kids. We didn't know we were recycling, but it worked. That's all we cared about and that's all these little ones cared about. I put holes in the lid of an empty milk jug. I filled it with water, then hung it upside down.The kiddies cooled off and had a lot of fun!

I looked at a lot of other recipes for DIY Moonsand, but none of them were edible. I knew that M would end up eating it. Everything goes straight to his mouth. I didn't want him to eat sand or baby oil, so I made my own. I mixed 6 cups of flour, 2 cups of cornmeal (for a little bit of texture), and 1 cup of canola oil. The little ones loved it! E made sandcastles. M ate it. It kept them busy for a long time. Next time I may add food coloring.

School has started and Labor Day is past. Time to get ready for the holidays. You don't want them to sneak up on you. It's time to prepare, so you'll be ready. Fall festivals and street fairs are starting everywhere. Most of them are free. I don't know about all of them, but many have contests you and your children can enter. There are contests for canned foods, baked goods, homegrown fruits and vegetables, needlework, art, costumes, just to name a few. S is entering a pet parade with her german shepherd pup as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. A plans to enter it with his grown german shepherd as Batman and Robin. M plans to enter her zucchini, and maybe a loaf of zucchini bread. If that is not your cup of tea, some people will be entering horse pulls, tractor pulls, or demolition derbys. Some places even have kiddie tractor pulls. Some of these may be free to watch, but some may charge a fee. To keep down costs if you have children, make sure to pack