Besides picking out that perfect pumpkin from their pumpkin patch, kids can enjoy hayrides, a petting zoo, pony rides, a hay maze, a craft fair, games and even more rides! The festival hours are Fridays from noon until dark and Saturdays from 10:00am until dark.

DeWitt Stables is located at 2211 E. Quince in Mesa, just 1/2 mile north of the 202 Red Mountain on Gilbert Rd. For more information, call (480) 717-9540 or visit their website at www.dewittstables.com

Be sure to mark your calendars with our pumpkin graphic to help remind your little ones of the upcoming holiday fun! Halloween is almost upon us!

Kids will love this great petting zoo!

Pony rides are sure to delight those little western rustlers!

Don't forget to stop by the pumpkin patch for the perfect holiday pumpkin!

First, take your children over to the PetsWeekly Booth (Booth 116) to get their free puppy and kitten activity books. While the kids are coloring, you can view some of the best products on the market for pets – from keeping everyone (including Fido) safe on a road trip to tracking pets (or kids) with the newest TAGG GPS collar from Qualcomm. Once you’ve finished saying “hi” to the PetsWeekly crew, take the kids over to have their face painted, or for a jump on the moon bounce.  The Expo will also have clowns and lots of games for the kiddies to play. That’s a ton of good, clean fun!

There will plenty of other things for your children to see and do at the Expo, including taking part in a flash mob with Megan Blake and her dog, Smiley. If you and your kids want to learn the dance before the Expo, click here to see a video demonstration.

If that’s not enough to convince you to hop in the car and come on out to the Fairgrounds this weekend, Deb’s Dragons will be on stage with her amazing reptiles, the Splash Dogs will be showing off their dock diving skills, and the AZ Disc Dogs will be there, wowing kids and adults alike with their awesome disc tricks!

So get out of the heat this weekend at the indoor, fully air-conditioned, Wonder Pet Expo. There your children will be entertained and learn about the pet world all at once – creating memories to last a lifetime.  You won’t get from just another trip to the movie theater!

General Expo Information:

September 10-11, 2011

Sat. 10am-6pm

Sun. 11am-5pm

Held at the Arizona State Fairgrounds (the event will be indoors in the air-conditioned Expo building) at 1826 W. McDowell Rd., Phoenix, Ariz. Click here for directions.

Admission:

$6 for Adults

FREE for ages 12 and under

$7 a car for parking

I am 7 years old and was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in July 2010.  I want to help find a cure so I can live a more comfortable life.  I talked to my mom about what I could do to help.  She told me about the CCFA Take Steps walk at the Phoenix Zoo on Saturday, May 7th at 6:00 p.m.  I decided to form a team called Crohn’s Cruisers.  Please join my team and walk with me and or make a donation to help find a cure. 

Love,b

Elise Burris

If you would like more information or to donate to my team please go to my web page at  http://online.ccfa.org/site/TR/2011TakeStepsWalk/Chapter-Southwest?JServSessionIda004=8v720zw251.app307d&px=2337418&pg=personal&fr_id=2643

CCFA’s mission is to cure Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these digestive diseases.
Information Resource Center: 888.MY.GUT.PAIN (888.694.8872)
Web site: http://www.ccfa.org/

PUMPKIN AND CHILI PARTY

Schnepf Farms, 24810 Rittenhouse Road, Queen Creek. Phone: 480-987-3100. Website: www.schnepffarms.com

Description: Voted as one of the best family friendly experiences by Phoenix Magazine, this pumpkin patch festival offers something for everyone. Featured rides are a hay wagon, a mini roller coaster, carousels and trains. Try finding your way through a 4- or 10-acre cornfield maze. And check out the chili.

Times: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
 
Prices: $15, $10 military. $12 discount tickets available at Fry’s. Be aware that a lot of the farm activities are priced a la carte so discount tickets are definitely recommended. This is not a cheap experience but it is sure a lot of fun for the kids!

PUMPKIN PATCH

Mother Nature’s Farm, 1663 E. Baseline Road, Gilbert. Phone: 480-892-5874. Website: mothernaturesfarm.com

Description:  Families can purchase pumpkins and decorate them, plus take part in activities including an inflatable bounce house, hayrides, a straw bounce, animal feeding and Alexander’s Adventure Maze created with bales of hay.
 
Times: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily through Nov. 5.

Prices: $7, $3 adults. 

Wherever you decide to purchase your pumpkins this year though, keep your little ones age in mind when it comes time to decorating. Remember, pumpkins don’t necessarily need to be “carved”. Fingerpaints can be an especially popular way for the youngest of your crew to still enjoy the experience. Topping your childs painted creations with a little glow in the dark paint or fingernail polish, glitter glue or the like, available at most grocery stores, and you’re good to go!

Does your enjoy Mr. Potato Head? How about working on the work bench with their play hammer and pols? Well, Paper Magic Group from Creative Seasonal Solutions has some great pumpkin decorating kits available at your local Fry’s Marketplace. The Fright Lights kit allow your child to pound in some transparent colored pegs with a small wooden mallet which then light up when a light is placed inside the pumpkin! Great for ages four and up. You could also try the Pumpkin Push Ins for ages 3 and up that allow your child to decorate their pumpkin with eyes, ears, horns, teeth, mouth and nose in true Mr. Potato Head fashion!

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time making this years Halloween masterpiece!

Have you been gazing longingly at your neighbors brand new stroller as you push your dilapidated clunker awkwardly along the sidewalk? Do you cringe when you place your toddler in your torn, worn and stained high chair or car seat and hope that mystery stain isn’t anything to worry about? Well, fear no more! Baby’s R Us has come to the rescue of us moms of multiples who have worn our baby gear into shreds! You now have until September 19th, 2010 to get your old gear into Baby’s R Us for a 25% discount on a brand new replacement in the same category as your trade-in!

Not all manufacturers are participating but here’s a list of those that are…

• Eddie Baurer
• Evenflo
• Graco
• Britax
• Jeep
• Baby Cache
• Baby Trend
• Bertini
• Chicco
• Contours by Kolcraft
• Carter’s
• Delta
• Sorelle
• Baby Italia

This great deal stems from a desire to get old and possibly unsafe baby equipment out of circulation. Most of us bargain shoppers frequent the discount stores or utilize hand-me-downs for baby gear because of price but we don’t often get safety and warranty guarantees with that equipment that always come with new gear. Equipment gets better all the time with great improvements to comfort as well as safety. This is a great opportunity to keep our little ones a bit safer, more comfortable and not have to break the bank to do it! Check out your local Baby’s R Us store for more details. Items need to be purchased on the same day as the trade-in so come prepared to shop!

For more information, visit Baby’s R Us Official website  to read more about this offer. But don’t miss out! You only have until September 19th!

Little Sammy was one of the inspirations behind Personal Child Stories

Personal Child Stories was begun specifically to address all of theses questions. The company owner, writer and designer, Shara Lawrence-Weiss is a journalist, early childhood specialist, experienced nanny and freelance writer who is also experienced in special needs children from a firsthand perspective. She has taken this diverse background and combined her many skills along with a passion for reading into a wonderful positive learning tool for children of all ages. Her books are custom designed for each individual child with pictures, story line and theme centered around each childs particular needs.

I had to see this for myself! I recently received some samples of her product and was most impressed! Her books come in two sizes, 5×5 for smaller children and 8.5×9 for older children. Trust me when I say that these books are meant to last! Each page is laminated and the book is spiral bound for easy page turning. The result is a sturdy book that will hold up to drooling, chewing, throwing, stepping on, and just about any other rough treatment your toddler can imagine! The pages will not tear, can be written or colored on and then can be wiped clean again with a damp cloth to look brand new again!

From babies to toddlers to even older children, Personal Child Stories inspire and teach all ages!

Storylines are completely customized and used in conjunction with actual submitted photos of the child to fit each childs individual need, situation or desired learning concept. She works closely with parents to accomplish this. Her alphabet book and counting book samples were a huge hit with my little toddler! She loved flipping through the book again and again, counting the pictures and pointing out the letters of the alphabet!…of course that was after I had exhausted my patience answering numerous requests to “read it again, mommy!”. The counting book was especially neat because it not only had a cute rhyming lilt to it but it also showed the numbers in Spanish, English, and sign language!

As a graphic designer of over 12 years experience, I can attest to the life-changing impact that strong images and well written copy can have on people of all ages. Shara has combined both in her product and I would highly recommend these books to anyone looking to teach their children through the power of positive reinforcement.

If you would like to learn more about obtaining your own personalized book for your child, visit Shara at www.personalchildstories.com

The momma cat is very docile, excellent with families (kid-tested, mother-approved!) and has passed those gentle traits onto her offspring. The kittens are very calm for being so young and very gentle with kids (my two-nine year olds all attest to that!). These friendly kittens have little fear of dogs and are nearly litterbox trained. They are currently eating solid foods while still occasionally nursing from their momma and are about 7 weeks old.

We have included some pictures of these little cuties and if you or someone you know is looking for a new family companion, we hope you will contact us at info@mytimecalendars.com with the subject of “kittens”. We would love for these good-natured kitties to go to good families.

If you live in Maricopa County, visit http://recorder.maricopa.gov/pollingplace/pollingplace.aspx to find the voting location closest to you. Simply enter your address in the fields provided and they will find the closest poll to you.

If you live in a county other than Maricopa, you can visit http://www.azsos.gov/election/county.htm#Maricopa where you can click on your individual county and be directed to their polling place locators.

For more information on this proposition, visit http://www.yeson100.com/

Remember, voting is not just a right, it’s a responsibility and a privilege!

As much as I wish our problems could be solved by cutting back on government alone, we currently have a $3.2 billion structural deficit, meaning Arizona is not bringing in enough revenue to fund basic services.

There are some scary actions that are on the drawing board if Prop 100 fails. One such idea proposed by the Sheriff’s department is to begin retrofitting existing buildings like motels, hotels and even schools to house the overflow of prisoners. I wonder what this will do to property values in these areas…doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Tucson Unified School District is already looking to close nine of their neighborhood schools this fall as a direct result of the budget cuts already in place from last year. This one school district could face a $28.6 million deficit of Prop 100 fails. They have already announced layoffs of more than 60 administrators. What will happen if education gets another swipe of the budgetary ax?

Some of the cuts already in place from November of 2009 were $144 million mid-year cuts in the state’s K-12 soft capital budget which pays for books, technology and school busses. This is in addition to the $133 million cut from K-12 in January of 2009. Increased class sizes, fewer qualified and experienced teachers, non-existent teaching materials, and reduced or eliminated electives and special needs programs are just a few of the outcomes we will face if Prop 100 fails. According to the Arizona Education Network, we will face a funding crisis of a $428 million loss to K-12 alone. Traditional public schools can expect a total funding cut of $748,775,148 while public charter schools can expect a cut of $63,663,047 in total funding. Even if voters approve the 1-cent tax increase of Prop 100, the state will still face significant cuts to even come close to closing the budget gap. If you would like to see how this will directly affect your own school district, check out a report released by Governor Brewer’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting which provides district-by-district estimates of the impact of legislative budget cuts for 2011, showing effects both with and without the passage of Prop 100. If this doesn’t keep you up at night, I’m not sure what will.

Whether you choose to vote yes or no on this proposition, I would hope that you at least intend to vote. One of the saddest commentaries on our time is the low turnout when it comes to exercising our right to vote. Please take a stand and show up at the polls. As for myself, I intend to vote yes on Prop 100. As unfortunate as it is to advocate additional taxes in a recession, my passion lies with my kids education. I hate to face a future in which my children’s education will not just suffer but will seriously cripple them when it comes time to compete with other states graduates for a place in a good college or a decent job. This isn’t the best solution but as we are finding out with many things right now, it’s the only solution we have.

Please take a moment and weigh in at our forum discussion. This is one of those most difficult topics and one we will all have an opportunity to voice our opinions on come May 18th. Share your views with us so that we can view the topic from all perspectives and be educated going into the polls.

• No single food item can contain more than 200 calories, the drink cannot have more than 120 calories, and the entire meal cannot exceed 485 calories.
• No single item can contain more than 480 milligrams of salt, and the entire meal is limited to 600mg of salt.
• No more than 35% of the caolories can come from fat.
• No more than 10% of total caolries can come from added sugar.

Even meals that offer apple slices as an alternative to fries or tater tots do not currently meet these standards. If the measures receive final approval in May, restaurants will have 90 days to present alternative meals for trimming the  fat, salt, sugar and calories in their kids meals. Violators could face fines of up to $1,000.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “In Santa Clara County, one out of every four kids is either overweight or obese. Among 2- to 5-year-olds from low-income families, the rate is one in three. The county health system spends millions of dollars a year treating kids for health problems related to obesity, and the tab is growing.”

Results from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) show that childhood obesity is becoming a national epidemic among our little ones. According to the survey, among pre-school age children 2-5 years of age, obesity increased from 5 to 10.4% between 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 and from 6.5 to 19.6% among 6-11 year olds.  Among adolescents aged 12-19, obesity increased from 5 to 18.1% during the same period. Very scary statistics.

There are many out there that are loudly opposing this new fast food policy. Trying to decide how much and what we should allow our government to regulate does seem to be a very hot topic these days. How much is too much? Frankly, I would welcome a few less cheap, easily breakable toys in my house and since my kids are often relegated to a fast food dinner certain nights of the week because of time constraints on our evenings (sports activities for instance), I would definitely appreciate healthier “fast food” options. I think most parents recognize that these toys are not just benign additions to our kids meals. They are advertisers targeted efforts to attract the interest and demand of our children. As a parent, I welcome anything that will help encourage my children (and myself!) to make more nutritional food choices. I also welcome the encouragement it provides businesses to create more nutritionally sound meal options. By only allowing toys to be sold with nutritionally sound meals, we are rewarding kids and parents for wiser food choices and hopefully encouraging food establishments to offer these nutritional meals with more variety and frequency.

I wonder if more counties will fall in line with this philosophy. I am sure there will be many keeping a close eye on the Santa Clara County to measure the results of this new policy. We would love to hear your thoughts on this one as it very well could turn into a national movement. Are you in favor or against restrictions on fast food offerings? Join us in a forum discussion on the topic.