Happy Holidays everyone! Sorry, we have been taking a Time Out from Time Out as we went through some “internal adjustments.” What that means is that there has been work done on our web site (you’ll be seeing some vast improvements in ‘08) as well as some significant staff changes. Which means I was busy doing my day job of editing the magazines as we patched things together.

Now that we are fully staffed and ready to go, I hope to continue blogging in ‘08, aided by my two associate editors, Jennifer Shaw-Hurd and Janine DeFao. Also, look for local BAP blogs to be introduced, with bloggers coming directly from your Bay Area community. Heck, maybe it’s you — let me know if you are interested.

One big question today: How are you dealing with the tragedy at the San Francisco Zoo? Are your children scared to go back? How are you explaining it to your children? Let me know!

The worst thing that happend to my family last night was that my son, 10, who was supposed to go trick-or-treating with his beloved 12-year-buddy, was told by said buddy, “Sorry, I’m going with my own friends.” It was so sad! But he trooped on with some other neighbors and my 15-year-old daughter, and managed to draw a big haul anyway.

Do you have any Halloween horror stories?

It’s never a good morning when you pull up in front of your daughter’s high school, and there are four news vans parked out front. That was the case this morning when I dropped off my daughter at 7 a.m. at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek. I raced home and put on “Mornings on 2,” and learned that a case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA — a drug- resistant staph infection — had been confirmed at the school. The patient was a football player, who is said to be fine. Still, this deadly staph infection has become this year’s bird flu, causing parental panic and media attention, especially since a student died of it earlier this month in Virginia. I hope to find out more when I pick up my daughter at 2 p.m. today…stay tuned.

In the meantime, are you worried about this infection? Will it change the way you treat your children’s minor scrapes and cuts? Read more about the infection and the “outbreak” at three Contra Costa County schools here. I’ll leave you with this sobering statistic: In 2005, an estimated 94,000 Americans became seriously ill from MRSA and nearly 19,000 died. That is compared with 17,000 who died of AIDS.

Children’s Literature was rocked Friday night when author J.K. Rowling announced at a Carnegie Hall lecture that Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Headmaster in the Harry Potter series, was gay. I do believe this is the first outing of a youth literary character in a long time…if ever. What do fans think? Will this open up a dialogue with your children about tolerance? Or did Rowlings overstep her “creative authority”? Let me know.

Is it just me, but do those ads of the new horsie Barbies freak you out? I am talking about the ones where you can “swap out” the head of one of Barbie’s pet ponies. Pull of one pink horse head, put on a white one. Where do the extra heads end up? In a bed at Malibu Stacie’s Dream home?

Five! It is now five invitations to CAbi parties I’ve received in the past two weeks! But I have done some investigating and found out: CAbi means Carol Anderson by invitation. And my neighbor just twisted my arm enough so that I said I’d “stop by” her party Thursday night. I’ll see how it goes.

What is CAbi, and why is it so popular? I think it’s a line of clothing, but I have to tell you, it seems to be the hottest fad since the Jennifer Aniston haircut back in the heyday of “Friends.” I have been invited to no less than four CAbi parties in the past two weeks.

CAbi is sold via in home sales parties, a la Pampered Chef, Discovery Toys, Party Lite Candles, etc. For a few years, my entire social life revolved around these sales parties, a sort of suburban phenomonon, like Bunco. It was a way to unwind with other moms, drink some wine and support friends who may be looking to make some extra money on the side. However, I always spent more than I should have, and wasn’t always pleased with what I brought home. Still, even I gave a few parties, just to be part of the community.

Now, I refuse to go to home sales parties, no matter what they’re peddling. If I want to see my friends, I will arrange a get-together, but I am done going to these parties and feeling guilty if I don’t buy anything, and resentful if I do.

But along comes CAbi and I am intrigued. Can anyone tell me what sort of success they’ve had with this line of clothing? Is it expensive? And do you readers attend a lot of these home sales parties? Let me know!

I do have food on the brain. In doing some more research for our November Kids n’ Food issue, I learned more about SB 12, the California Law that strengthens nutritional standards in public schools. Take a look here for the highlights. The law went into effect July 1 of this year, but it mainly pertains to what food is sold in school lunches, and at campus vending machines and snack bars.

My issue about kids’ nutrition at school is, what about the candy and other goodies that are offered as incentives by the teachers, or distributed at class parties? Should schools regulate what parents can bring into a classroom to celebrate a birthday? Should the state regulate it? What about kids with life-threatening allergies or diabetes? How should schools and parents deal with that?

If you have any experience or thoughts about that, let me know.

Meanwhile, here is a San Francisco Chronicle story that tells how many schools may be adhering to SB 12, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your kids are getting healthier food on campus.

I’ve had food on the brain lately. More specifically, kids and food. Our Novemebr issue will be dedicated to kids’ nutrition — right in time for the holidays! But this week, two Bay Area newspapers had neat stories about kids and eating — healthy lunches, from the Contra Costa Times, and fun cafes for the little ones, in the SF Chronicle.

The latter story — which mentions such East Bay faves as Pri Pri Cafe in Albany, and Tumble and Tea and Play Cafe, both in Oakland — brought back happy memories for me, as I recalled taking my own little toddlers out for playdates at cafes and restaurants. However, this was more than 10 years ago, and these places weren’t on the mommy map yet. I met with my playgroup buddies at the ball pit at the Emeryville Public Market, or the play structure at the Round Table in Hercules. Ineveitably, someone in my family would come down with the flu, since those places were less than sanitary back then, but it was worth it. I looked as forward to those Tuesday and Thursday playdates as much as anything else in my life. They were therapy, fun, and fellowship, all rolled into one. We tried to eat as healthy as we could — we even snuck in some healthy snacks. But like Pavlov’s dog, whenever I woke up on Tuesdays, I started craving Round Table pizza. We still see some of our friends from that time — dubbed our Tuesday friends — even though many of us have moved to different locales.

The other place I remember driving miles to was the Kensington Circle Pub, up at the round-about in Kensington and Albany. I had heard it was a good British brew pub, and had toys for toddlers to play with. “Kids Welcome,” a sign outside said. Well, they were welcome until about 8 p.m., when the dart games started. I’ll never forget sitting at a table there one night with my husband, enjoying a pint while my toddlers played in the corner. Suddenly, darts began to start flying just inches from their heads! No one except me seemed fazed by it, but what kind of place would allow kids to play UNDERNEATH a dart game?? Needless to say, we didn’t go back. I guess that’s what I deserved for keeping my kids up until after 8 p.m.

Okay, when I first received this press release, I thought I was being revisited by a “Saturday Night Live” skit:

“Halloween is coming…..we have a costume idea for the newest member of the family. There are the costumes, the candy, the decorations of the house, the party, etc. This year even the baby in the family can get in the Halloween spirit – with BabyToupee (www.babytoupee.com).

This year, the new member of the family can dress up as The Donald, The Bob, The Little Kim or even like Samuel L himself – all with BabyToupee. All models sell for $19.95.”

Apparently these infant hairpieces have been featured on The Late Show w/ David Letterman, The Drudge Report, the BBC, FOX News, MSNBC, CNN, AOL.com, MSN.com, Yahoo.com and more.

My favorite line in the pitch:
“Is it funny, sure. Is it scary? That depends on who you ask :)”

I think baby toupees are terrifying!