P&K Insider

On Saturday, we broke out the Halloween bags and headed downtown to let the onslaught of chocolate candies begin in earnest. My son counted 26 pieces of candy once he laid them out on our living room floor and begged me to have “just ONE more piece, please!”

I can only imagine what the number to creep to come Friday night. That’s why I was thrilled to find this listing in my local paper

The Norfolk Community League will hold its 10th annual Halloween Candy Giveback event on Monday, Nov. 3, 4-5:30 p.m., in the lobby of the Freeman Centennial School, 70 Boardman Street, Norfolk.

This year, NCL is working with two organizations that send holiday care packages to the troops in Iraq. Join us and bring half of your candy to give back to the troops.

All Children who bring in candy will be entered into a raffle for prizes including toy store gift cards, Webkinz, and more. Also, Norfolk D.A.R.E. Officier Steve Plympton will be present to discuss the program with all who attend.

For more information, contact Rachael Cochran at rachaelc13@yahoo.com.

My son even liked the idea (and yes, the fact he could win toys was enticing!) Let me know if your community is doing something like this.

Why, oh, why is getting out of the house in the morning such an ordeal? There is one “morning person” in the house and that’s me. I don’t even drink coffee - I’m just naturally energetic when the sun comes up. My husband can’t even see colors before he has his morning shot (aka 3 cups) of caffine. So as much as I love him, he is no help to me in the morning.

My 5-year-old son is a chronic dwaddler. Instead of using his precious a.m. energy to get dressed, he uses it to follow me to room to room to excessively whine about the fact that he has to get dressed. I make it easy. Clothes are by his bed. It would probably take two to three actions to put it on.

Then I enter my daughter’s room. She, as always, is in DEEP sleep. The kind of sleep that you just have to pick her up to arouse her from her slumber. I’m gentle, I’m kind, my voice is sing-songy. I prepare for the ever-typical wardrobe debate before I ask:

“What color would you like to wear today?”

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Check out video from my appearance on New England Cable News this morning. Usually, I sit in the studio and have a one-on-one conversation with Karen but today the set up was different. NECN is redesigning their studios so I sat at one of the reporter’s desk with an ear piece and a prompter. I faced a screen, heard a voice and tried my best to look calm and collected. Special thanks to the NECN staffer who walked me through how it all works! And to Karen who made the whole interview feel like a phone conversation with a good friend!

Today I shared my best picks with Good Morning Live team for local haunts including a day trip to Salem - the hub of Halloween fun; the pumpkin festival at the Ecotarium in Worcester and some educational discovery at Moose Hill in Sharon.

And if you’re looking for some affordable, fun Halloween costume ideas, you can see some of my best picks from Savers. Enjoy!

Every month I have the awesome responsibility of finding the perfect image for the cover of P&K.  Today, I’m working on finding one for our December cover. (Note today’s date: Oct. 16). I’m months ahead of the rest of the world as usual. I have to be as the editor of a monthly publication.  So, I’m thinking “Christmas” “Hannukah” “Kwanzza” and “New Year’s” while the rest of the general population is considering their Halloween costume options.

My ideal image for our December cover will relay the warmth of the season. Like this one from our December 2007 issue. It was captured by Portrait Simple with studios in Natick and Chestnut Hill.

Finding a child worthy of the cover spot is NEVER the problem - there is no child unworthy. Finding a cover that conveys the conent of the current issue, finding an image that depicts the current temparature, finding a horizontal shot, finding a an available photographer and/or model, that is where it gets tricky.

I’m off to my hunt but thought I’d share some of my other favorite covers:

April 2008 - this was the cover that launched the new and improved P&K. A candid moment between cousins captured by Kate Duval of Kate Duval Photography.

This one is from our July 2007 cover. The issue was a special edition for twins and multiples. I love this one! The mom literally has her hands full! It was also captured by Portrait Simple

OK, I am fully in Halloween holiday mode now. Yesterday, my husband and I spent the morning strolling through the streets of Salem joined by the occasional witch, pirate, psychic, and vampire.

This city is the hub of Halloween with events happening daily - from pumpkin fests to ghost tours. It’s most widely known as the site of the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692, making its folklore and current witches , a reason to travel 30 miles north of Boston.

 Here are two events that the whole family can enjoy (without getting too spooked out!)

Pumpkin Festival on the Common

Weekends: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Display of pumpkins decorated by Salem and area school children, have a picture taken with a 1,000 lb pumpkin and try to find your way out of a hay bale maze.

New England Pirate Museum

Open 7 days

Features a guided tour of re-created dock-side village, cave and pirate ship and experience the adventures of New England’s sea-robbers. Save $5 per person with a Combination Ticket to Witch Dungeon Museum, Witch History Museum and Pirate Museum.

There are ton of other Halloween events for the whole fam too!

Photo: From left, Sara Eddy, 7, Caylee Post, 9, and Sara’s sister, Amanda, 9, all of Salem, react with delight as a Salem Halloween Parade float with a “ghostbusters” theme approaches on Washington Street last year.
Matt Viglianti / Staff file photo

You’ve probably seen signs for flu vaccinations in your area. The decision to get your children vaccinated is a personal one. I would never make it for you.

I wanted to share a compelling video from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Why Flu Matters: Personal Stories of Families Who Lost Children to the Flu. The six-minute film is part of an aggressive grassroots effort to educate parents on the dangers of influenza.

Tuesday night’s Sibling Workshop event was postponed.

Shortly before my sister and I were to leave to set up, we learned that our beloved grandmother had passed away. This spunky woman lived a long, happy life. She showed all of her grandchildren such adoring love. Her favorite sweatshirt read “No problem.” She was short, Italian, passionate, LOVED to feed people and until the day she died, never had one gray hair. For the record, she never colored it.

On a rational level, I can say it was time for her to go. She had just turned 91. Her health was quickly fading, leaving her in bed unable to care for herself. Her memory was deteriorating. A few weeks ago, I was at her bed side. She smiled when she saw me but I know she was trying to remember who I was. When she turned her head to look at my Dad, her eyes lit up. He lowered down to see her and she raised her frail arm to touch the gray hair on his chin. “My Anthony. You are so handsome.” A mother’s love never ends.

My Aunt has cared for Nana for the last two years in her own home and had watched her change from a energetic woman to what she had become. The two have always been close and their love grew even stronger during these intimate circumstances.

For weeks, my Dad had asked his sister to tell mom it was OK to go. My Aunt couldn’t do it. It was too hard. I would feel the same way. My Aunt finally whispered those loving, self-less words into her mom’s ear. Two hours later Nana was gone. In a final act, this mother needed to know her daughter would be OK.

What a mother, what a grandmother.