Our trick-or-treat contest for your little BOOOOOS closes Sunday. Share your best (or worst) Halloween memories in our album!

P.S. Anyone else take out candy taxes from their kids?…. :-)

There’s nothing wrong with the way I grew up. I rode backwards in the station wagon, we only had two TV channels and Halloween only lasted one day. We made our costumes, carved our pumpkins, and trick-o-treated all on Halloween night.

When did people make Halloween a month-long celebration? And by people, I mean me. And by a month, I mean three months.

As soon as the last fireworks light up the sky on the Fourth of July, I start thinking about Halloween. I’ve been known to come home from the fireworks display and surf eBay for costumes. Read on …

There is a long-running tradition of believing in superstition in my family. For example, my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all lived in mortal fear of El Cucuy at some point in their lives, believing he’d whisk them away in the middle of the night if they didn’t behave. For years now I’ve tried to put it behind me like that bad memory involving P.E. class and accidental flatulence. For the most part, I’ve been successful. I no longer feel it’s necessary to scotch-tape a nickel to my belly during a lunar eclipse. I don’t feel like I’m cursing a baby if I admire their cuteness and don’t follow through with gently touching their head with my hand (an absolutely real belief in some circles). Black cats, ladders, the number thirteen and spilled salt mean absolutely nothing to me.

But.

There’s the eyelash issue. For some reason, the eyelash issue is exempt from my belief system. If I drop an eyelash, my kids rush to harvest it so they could press it between our thumbs, make a wish, pull the thumbs apart and see whose lucky thumb it stuck to. I could squeeze my eyes shut and PRETEND to make a wish in an effort to stay true to my non-superstitiousness. But I don’t. I actually make a wish. I wish for all the things that mothers wish for – healthy, happy children becoming healthy, happy adults, a secure future for each of them, strong teeth well into their nineties… But it really makes no difference because I never get the eyelash. I NEVER get the eyelash. Read on …

On Friday, my daughter threw her third annual Halloween bash that included an inordinate amount of hairspray and the disturbing confirmation: Like Mother, Like Daughter. [Insert evil cackle here.]

We also played games such as Pin Pick the Nose on the Pumpkin, indulged in devilish epicurean creations including my green slime chocolate fountain, read a haunting story with Dora the Explorer who made a celebrity appearance and had a free-for-all civilized candy hunt in our backyard. Read on …

Bryan and I are tech freaks, so I am not surprised that Declan loves gadgets and gizmos already. At JUST-TURNED-FIVE.

We gave him one of our old PDA’s… and he uses it to practice his letters, do little graffiti drawings and manage the profusion of play-dates with his little friends. (Just kidding, that’s my job). OK, and he also likes to draw incredibly accurate sketches of the Palm Pilot itself, so it has its uses as a “model” too. Read on …

Growing up watching re-runs of Leave it to Beaver set me up for disappointment and self doubt later in life.

June Cleaver is my hero. Clean house, happy kids, and home-cooked meals. Ward, Wally and “The Beave” were served a hot meal and a smile every morning for breakfast. She was even polite and patient with the ornery, suck-up-of-a-neighbor kid, Eddy Haskell.

It’s hard to not feel like a failure of a modern mom compared to June. I realize that June Cleaver was a fictitious character, but she set a standard for me all the same. I grew up admiring her, but once I became a wife and mother myself, I realized how hard it was to emulate her.

Through careful analysis and contemplation I realized that June didn’t have any abilities or characteristics that I didn’t have. But, there was one very important detail I was missing. The one thing she was rarely seen without. The secret weapon that made her the mother of all TV mothers: Read on …

(Editor’s Note: We are proud to announce that our very own Mitch McDad received a very generous mention in Time magazine. Hats off to him and all the great daddy bloggers out there!)

Here are the reasons the Rockies will win.

All the pundits are picking the Red Sox except for those that are natural contrarians. When there is a strong consensus in anything, look for the opposite result.

Man-Ram (Manny Ramirez) will trip over his hair on the base paths at a critical juncture in the series.

The Rockies had no business being in the playoffs. Forget the near unprecedented run they are on, the Brewers saved the Rockies asses twice just to get to the one game playoff with San Diego and then the Rockies entered the bottom of the 13th with a two run deficit and won. The whole scenario makes for a bad movie of the week it’s so unlikely.

Matt Holiday is like a hairless pit bull. That’s got to be a good thing. Read on …