A Retail Halloween in Loudoun

Wal-mart near the Dulles Town Center
Friday, Oct. 26 4-8 p.m.
For the fourth year in a row, Wal-mart is sponsoring a Halloween trick or treating event for kids under 12. A manager told me about it as I was checking out this morning.

Dulles Town Center
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2-5 p.m.
Pick up a candy bag filled with spooky surprises and tons of treats from th Customer Service Desk, Center Court, Lower Level. Afterward check out the attractions:
Center Court:
2:00pm - 3:00pm Mad Science Show
3:00pm - 4:00pm Wizard Magic Show
4:00pm - 5:00pm Mr. Knick Knack!

Nordstrom Wing:
2:00pm - 4:00pm Face Painters
2:00pm - 4:00pm Balloon Sculpturists
For more info, click on http://www.shopdullestowncenter.com/2006/images/section_titles/events.html

Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets
Wednesday, Oct. 31: 3:30-5:30pm
Trick or Treating for kids in costume ages 12 and under - pick up a list of participating stores from the Information Center in the Food Court.
http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/sales.asp?id=14

Preschool Printables

I'm trying to prepare my 4-year-old for kindergarten next year and to supplement the workbooks I've purchased, I also download similar types of pages from the Web. That way, I can concentrate on specific skills or use worksheets that I know she's interested in or will challenge her.

Here are some of my favorite sites for printables:
http://www.nickjr.com/parenting/activity_finder/printables/index.jhtml
Nick Jr.'s Parentingpages offer worksheets featuring favorite TV characters from Dora the Explorer to Miss Spider to Backyardigans and much more.

www.tlsbooks.com
Generic, but professional-looking worksheets for PreK-5th grade students.

http://www.dltk-teach.com/
This site offers extensive activities, including crafts, for a range of ages. Under the "Custom Printables" link, you'll find a chore chart that you can customize with your kid's favorite characters, from Sponge Bob to Pokemon. The woman who created this site has other sites as well:
http://www.first-school.ws/
Activities and crafts devoted to preschoolers.
http://www.kidzone.ws/
Alphabet, numbers, science, geography worksheets for grades Pre-K to 5.

Day 3 Post Surgery

Still going strong ... I can't believe how awesome he's been doing. I mean, this is a boy who shrilly screams BEFORE the nurse puts in the needle to draw blood. I've been giving him regular Tylenol every 4 hours and tried to lower the dosage today but then he complained about his throat hurting just a little bit so I'm going back up to 2 1/2 tsp.

He started eating solids yesterday, starting with pudding and progressing to mac and cheese, which I put in the food processor to chop finely. Today it was Spaghetti O's, which I didn't even chop. He hasn't liked the taste of ice cream, though, oddly enough. Nor has he wanted popsicles or the sorbet or Italian ices I bought in bulk in preparation for a siege o' pain. Go figure.

Tonsillectomy, Adenoidectomy, Ear Tubes

Day 1

Our bovine humidifier saves the day--and night. I had purchased this Crane 1-gallon cold mist humidifier because I'm rabid about having a humidifier on at night during the fall/winter and two of our three Honeywell warm mist humidifiers conked out. I was going to buy hundred-dollar humidifiers before I saw these cute Crane ones at Target and did some research on them. All of the versions (frog, cow, penguin, pig, Hello Kitty and more, each for about $34) got great reviews, and so I got the cow one to test it out.

Glad I did, because it's really helping my 10-year-old son with his recovery from surgery this morning. Contrary to all the forums I read and my own outsized fears, he is recovering wonderfully from the three-in-one surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids, as well as have tubes placed in his ears. He has had trouble breathing since he was little (breathes through his mouth, when talking he often sounds as if he's congested, wakes up gasping sometimes at night), but we were hoping an earlier specialist's suggestion that he might grow into his enlarged tonsils and adenoids would come true. Unfortunately, it didn't and may have contributed to the fluid buildup in his ears that required him to have tubes placed at the age of 10, even though he hasn't had any ear infections since he was a toddler. The fluid buildup caused damage to the internal structure of my son's ears, and if we hadn't caught it in time, he would have undergone a five-hour surgery and would still have lost his hearing.

Thankfully, we did catch it in time and so we ended up having three surgeries in one. We had the procedures done in one day at Children's National Medical Center's ambulatory surgery center in Rockville, MD. I chose the facility over the center's main DC hospital because I knew that traffic and parking in Rockville HAD to be better than downtown. (I was right) Everyone, from the specialist to the receptionist to the anesthesiologist to the recovery room nurse, was friendly, patient and great with my son.

There are several ways a surgeon can remove your tonsils, and I had requested the coblation technique after doing some research on the Internet. My son's specialist, Dr. Sukgi Choi, said the latest research indicated that the technique yielded results (as in recovery time and post-operative pain) equal to other techniques but was willing to do it when parents requested it. I had her do it, although I had second thoughts when she came out after the surgery and said it took longer and my son bled more because of the technique.

I don't know whether it was the technique or my son's constitution, but my son has so far had an excellent recovery. He hasn't vomited once in the 12 hours since the surgery and he hasn't complained at all about any throat pain (but that might be because of the pain medicine he's been taking, although we're still on regular Tylenol and not the one with the codeine).

Before the surgery, I stocked up on sorbets, Italian ices, Pedialite popsicles and ice cream, but so far he's only wanted apple juice. He tried vanilla ice cream and a berry slushee from Burger King this evening, but didn't like how it tasted, and so has stuck with apple juice.

More to come...

Halloween Events at Fairfax Libraries

Centreville Regional Library 703-830-2223
Tuesday, October 30, 2:00 PM
Halloween Parade. Come in costume for stories and Halloween fun. Age 2-5 with adult.

Tuesday, October 30, 7:00 PM
Custom Costumes. One evening only with Mme Dissimulo! Create a unique Halloween costume, all materials provided. Age 6-12 with interested adult.

Wednesday, October 31, 10:30 AM
Halloween Parade. Come in costume for stories and Halloween fun. Age 2-5 with adult.

Dolley Madison Library 703-356-07700
Wednesday, October 17, 10:30 AM
An Apple a Day. Stories and activities for the season. Age 2-5 with adult.

Wednesday, October 31, 10:30 AM
Happy Halloween. Come in costume for stories and activites. Age 2-5 with adult.

Fairfax City Regional Library 703-293-6227
Wednesday, October 10, 10:30 AM
Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns. Stories and activities. Age 3-5 with adult.

Thursday, October 18, 10:30 AM
Slightly Scary Stories with Training Wheels. Stories and activities. Age 3-5 with adult.

George Mason Regional Library703-256-3800
Friday, October 19, 10:30 AM
Awesome Autumn. Stories and activities. Age 18-35 months with adult.

Great Falls Library 703-757-8560
Wednesday, October 24, 10:30 AM
Octoberbest. Stories and activities about October. Age 2-3 with adult.

Wednesday, October 31, 10:30 AM
Scared Silly. Stories and activities to celebrate Halloween. Costumes welcome. Age 3-5 with adult.

Great Falls Library 703-757-8560
Saturday, October 20, 2:00 PM
Spooktacular! Mad Science is ready when you are for a ghoulishly and spook-taculary fun show. Cosponsored by the Friends of the Great Falls Library. Age 5-12.

Monday, October 22, 4:00 PM
Crafty Kids! Scare up some crafts. Age 6-12.

Wednesday, October 24, 10:30 AM
Halloween Fun! Come in costume for stories and activities. Age 2-5 with adult.

Monday, October 29, 10:30 AM
All Join In. Share stories, songs and fun. Age 1-5 with adult. No registration is required.

Herndon Fortnightly Library 703-437-8855
Wednesday, October 31, 2:30 PM
Happy Halloween! Come in costume for stories and a craft. Age 2-5 with adult.

John Marshall Library 703-971-0010
Monday, October 22, 3:00 PM
Fall Crafts. After-school activities and crafts. Age 6-12.

Tuesday, October 23, 10:30 AM
Colors of Fall. Stories, activities and a craft. Age 2-3 with adult

Kings Park Library 703-978-5600
Tuesday, October 23, 10:30 AM
Spooky Tales. Spooky stories and fun. Age 3-5 with adult.

Kingstowne Library 703-339-4610
Monday, October 15, 10:30 AM
Little Pumpkins. Stories and fall fun. Age 24-35 months with adult.

Thursday, October 25, 1:00 PM
Halloween on Parade. Seasonal stories and activities. Costumes welcome. Age 3-5 with adult.

Lorton Library 703-339-7385
Tuesday, October 2, 10:30 AM
Apples and Pumpkins. Stories, activities, and a craft. Age 2-5 with adult.

Pohick Regional Library 703-644-7333
Thursday, October 25, 10:15 AM
Time for Twos. P is for Pumpkin.Stories and activities about pumpkins and autumn. Age 24-35 months with adult.

Thursday, October 25, 11:15 AM
Time for Twos. P is for Pumpkin.Stories and activities about pumpkins and autumn. Age 24-35 months with adult.

Monday, October 29, 7:00 PM
By the Light of the Halloween Moon. Gentle bedtime stories followed by a costume parade through the library. Age 3-6 with adult.

Sherwood Regional Library 703-765-3645
Wednesday, October 31, 10:30 AM
Pumpkin Parade. Seasonal stories and costume parade. Costume optional. Age 2-5 with adult.

Thomas Jefferson Library 703-573-1061
Wednesday, October 17, 10:30 AM
Monsters! Stories, activities and a craft. Age 2-6 with adult.

Wednesday, October 31, 10:30 AM
Halloween Party for Preschoolers. Come in costume for stories and activities. Age 2-6 with adult.

For my Google map to all Fairfax County libraries, go to http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103068702050886773885.000434e971aa6ce076df0&z=11&om=1

Printable List of Recalled Toys

Sure, I read the headlines. Recalled Toys. China. Lead paint. Bad for kids. Bad for economy.

After a while, though, it got hard to track what all the recalled toys are. Now, my friends at the Pacific Daily News, a Gannett paper on the island of Guam, have put together an awesome graphic with pictures that lists the toys--just download, print and stick on your fridge! Here's the link to the PDF document:
http://groups.google.com/group/supernovamom/files

If you'd like to see the document first, you can see it on the PDN Web site at (you'll only have a week or two to access it free of charge):
http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070923/NEWS01/709230306

Tracking Dinos

Didn't get enough of Walking with Dinosaurs, the Jurassic Park-goes-to-Vegas extravaganza that recently showed at the Verizon Center in DC? If you missed it, you can still catch it Sept. 26-30 in Norfolk. See http://www.dinosaurlive.com/ for more info.

But if your budding paleontologist wants more, more, more, here are some places we've been to that I can vouch for:
Dinosaurs Alive! 3D
Now through at least February 2008
Maryland Science Center, Baltimore, MD
Dinosaurs on an IMAX screen? Couldn't get any better! But I haven't seen the show, so I couldn't tell you how much screen time is devoted to the computer-generated dinos vs. the narrator talking about great paleontological finds. You can purchase a ticket with admission to the center ($18.50 for adults, $14 for kids) or watch it after 5 p.m. for only $8. The center, which is a destination unto itself, features full-size dinosaur replicas on the first floor and interactive exhibits on the third. Don't forget to stop in the gift shop, which has devoted an entire room to all things dinosaurific--dino shoes, dino slippers for infants to 6-year-olds, dino toys. Great place to shop for gifts for the dino lover in your family. Eat at home or pack a lunch, as the center's cafe is being renovated to change out the windows. See previous posts about parking nearby.
http://www.mdsci.org/shows/imax/dinosaurs_alive_3D.html

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Washington, DC
Interactive exhibits in the Hall of Paleobiology on the first floor. Free and open to the public daily except Christmas. Check out the Web site for info about dinos and dino research at the museum and around the world. Last time we were there, you could only get hot dogs from vendors outside or eat at the Atrium Cafe or Fossil Cafe, both of which had overpriced fast food. Street parking can be difficult on the weekends later in the day.
http://paleobiology.si.edu/dinosaurs/index.html

Dinosaurland
White Post, VA (west of Loudoun County, over the mountain as Loudouners say)
Never mind the kids, this is my favorite dinosaur attraction in the region so far. The place screams kitschy Americana but I love, love, love it! A shady forest trail winds around dozens of creatures including a giant King Kong in whose outstretched hand your kids can sit, a 20-foot king cobra, 70-foot octopus, and so much more. Be aware, though, that some younger kids can be put off by a few gory scenes of dinosaur fights and feeding off each other. Admission is something like $5 (it's been a while), but you'll probably end up spending more because the self-guided tour begins and ends in the well-stocked gift shop. No food allowed, but there's a McDonald's kitty corner from it at the intersection of Routes 277/340/522. Closed Jan. 1-Feb. 28. Easy parking.
http://www.dinosaurland.com/

The Museum of Culpeper History
Culpeper, VA
This small museum in the cool town of Culpeper offers a one-hour tour for adults or school groups about the dinosaurs that once lived in the area and left tracks nearby. Haven't taken the tour, so can't vouch for it but it would be a great little stop on a day tour of downtown Culpeper, which has great restaurants and shops. Admission is to the museum $3 for everyone over 18, kids are free. http://www.culpepermuseum.com/

Upcoming:
Virginia Museum of Natural History
Martinsville, VA
Next Jan. 12, the museum celebrates its 2nd Annual Dino Day with music, games, food and fun activities. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for kids 3-18 years. http://www.vmnh.net/index.cfm/topic/dino-day