GoMom

If it gets really tight, and I'm forced to shop at Wal-Mart, at least I'll have my sense of humor, my college education and my bingo card courtesy of Guanabee. Last time I was there I just needed the "dirty diaper in parking lot" or "someone with unbearable body odor" to score a BINGO!!!

We had our first Halloween party this last weekend, which forced my boy into making a decision: ghost, skeleton, or eyeball monster, who are you gonna be? He chose skeleton to my relief. After a few years of foam-buffed Batman and vinyl wrapped Skywalker costumes that gather dust on the shelves, I decided to go DIY. I took his black wind pants and a black shirt and covered them with white duct-tape "bones". We giggled the whole time and joked about rattlin' his bones and he LOVED it. I admit having been seduced over the last few years by ease and supposed cool-factor, but I am done, it's back to home-made. But at the party, my handicraft was in the minority of some pretty tricked out kids. How much is too much? How much are you spending on your kids costume this year?

This weekend I went to the mall to buy my little thespian some tap shoes. We had to park way down the lane, it was that crowded. Then, watching the various sporting events on tv, I noticed that those stadiums which hold 60,000 were chocked full. Not an empty seat in the house. So this morning as I read about the line outside of a Diesel Jeans sale and the prophetic cover of Time depicting a bread line, I have to wonder how is everyone really living? Are you actually tightening your belt or buying a new one?

Joy Unexpected: Getting the weight loss right this time

Anne Nahm: Thank god we're protecting the Wall Street bonuses

Hillbilly Mansion: No, I'm not over Hillary yet

Just wondering, what's the general opinion about kids and summer jobs? Is a 14er too young, should they be allowed to enjoy the care-free fun of summer days before becoming enslaved in the work-force like the rest of us? What about 16? If you drive, shouldn't you be paying for your own gas? I feel like I've had a job since I was 5.

How do we feel about rewarding a kid for grades? I'm curious. My son has completed his sophomore year with a 4.0 that he's kicked his ass to keep up all year long. I rather think that he deserves a lot of kudos and maybe a nice treat (especially seeing that he's about to inherit a car which his sister has worked quite hard to wreck). But we live in an area where most parents think that a specially imported Mercedes makes a nice little birthday gift. We are not those people. Yet he has longed after the iPod Touch for so long, I'm aching to get one for him. But is that too much? Should I even be dishing out the goodies for grades?