FamilyFocus-October_2019

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019

Family Focus

OCTOBER 2019

яБо

PAGE A1

Farm fresh quality... from our family to yours

LOCALLY OWNED. LOCALLY PRODUCED. SINCE 1938.

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 ď Ž

PAGE A2

Convenient

An Expert in HOME LOANS

Online Banking

Serving the area for over 89 years.

Farmington | Potosi | Festus | Fredericktown | Ironton Toll Free: 1-866-546-7408

www.ozarksfederal.com

Brought To You By



PAGE A3

FIRST THINGS FIRST Talk to your doctor about the type of programs you want to use and make sure you’re medically cleared to take part. This is especially true if you’ve recently had health issues, injuries or a chronic illness. Then, make sure you have the right set-up, equipment and space to do what you want.

CHOOSING AN APP Typing “fitness” into your app store is going to be overwhelming. Food trackers, run trackers, maps, on-demand workout apps, short workout apps, yoga apps, apps with music, apps without music, apps that track your music. Overwhelming.

Think about the kinds of workouts you want to do, the time and space you have, and the kind of commitments you want to make. Then read these tips and get surfing.

Do you have a hectic schedule that’s rarely routine? Look for an on-demand app. Make sure it offers the types of workouts you’d like to

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019

G

one are the days when going to an exercise class means waking up early and going to a gym. Now, with advances in technology and new smarthome devices, you can join a class from the comfort of your living room.

Virtual Training

do (HIIT? Yoga? All of it?) and the level of instruction and length of workout you want to do not only now, but in the future. Many of these are subscription based, so if you get all you can out of that app and need a new one, you’ll need to remember to cancel the subscription in the app store, not just delete the app.

Don’t have a lot of time or are you new to fitness? Look for apps that are targeted for short workouts, usually modeled on circuit training.

PCMagazine recommends 7-Minute Workout

by Wahoo Fitness and The Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout.

Want to do some good while working out?

Charity Miles is an app that donates money to the organization of your choice when you log miles running, walking or cycling. If you’re motivated by charitable causes and don’t mind a little corporate sponsorship, this free app might be for you.

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 

PAGE A4

Health screenings every woman should get

R

outine wellness exams are essential for women who want to maintain and/or improve their health.

Women may not be familiar with all of the screening options that can keep them on the right track.

Preventative health screenings can shed light on risks for certain diseases and provide insight into patient behaviors that may be harmful. Screenings also may help save a life.

• Blood pressure: Doctors will typically test blood pressure at every visit. Women whose blood pressure is below 120/80 mmHg can go every two years between blood pressure readings up until age 20, advises The American Heart Association. Adults 40 or older, or those with conditions that put them at risk for hypertension, should go annually or as advised by a doctor.

• Cervical cytology: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends routine pelvic examinations with cervical testing that includes Pap testing and HPV testing. Consult with an OB-GYN for testing frequency, which depends on age.

• Cholesterol: Cholesterol levels alone are not indicative of one’s overall health. However, a complete cholesterol test can determine a person’s risk for heart disease. If levels are consistently normal, this test may only need to be performed every five years, advises the National Institutes of Health.

• Mammogram: Mammograms screen for breast cancer. Given the risk of false positives, debate continues as to how frequently women need these screenings. The most recent guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says mammograms are recommended starting at age 50, and should occur every two years. The American Cancer Society advises starting at age 45 and having a mammogram annually through age 55.

• Blood-glucose test: The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases says women should be screened regularly for prediabetes or diabetes beginning around age 45. Women can speak with their physicians to determine how often they should receive these screenings.

• Osteoporosis screenings: Bone density can be measured starting at age 65 or earlier if a woman has a high fracture risk, states Regis College.

• Skin examination: The American Academy of Dermatology suggests speaking with a dermatologist about skin exams. Self-examinations should be routine, but dermatologists may recommend more formal tests to women who meet certain criteria.

Women should speak to their doctors about personalized screenings based on family history and other risk factors.

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 

PAGE A5

Dressing up your Pet? Safety First!

I

s there anything cuter than a dog dressed up for Halloween?

From bumblebees to ghosts, pooch costumes abound on social media this time of year. And for good reason. As long as your dog is comfortable in his costume, it’s an adorable way to get him involved in your Halloween festivities.

Pet costumes continue to gain popularity, with nearly 20% of Americans dressing their pets in costumes in 2018, according to the National Retail Federation. So this

year, don’t forget to include Fido when you go out shopping for the perfect Halloween outfits for your family.

Here are the top-ranked pet costumes from last year from the NRF: pumpkin, 1.2%; hot dog, 7.4%; bumblebee, 4.9%; devil, 3.2%; cat, 3.1%; dog, 3.1%; lion, 2.9%; Star Wars character, 2.8%; superhero, 2.7%; and ghost, 2.5% Remember that the key to a great Halloween costume is creativity, so don’t be afraid to stray from the list above.

SAFETY FIRST

No matter what you decide to

dress Fido in this year, remember that his safety and comfort level are of the utmost importance.

Consider what the costume is made from and how it fits the pet to make sure you’re not putting them in something that will cause stress or injuries.

Here are some tips from the pet safety site Petful.com: Find a costume that fits just right — not too tight and not too loose. The dog should be able to sit, walk and use the bathroom normally without the costume getting in the way.

Make sure the costume does not impair the dog’s senses. Keep

the mouth, whiskers, eyes and ears free.

Choose scent-free. A dog’s sense of smell is very sensitive so avoid costumes that smell of chemicals, plastic or other strong odors to prevent them from becoming overwhelmed or sick.

Do not use flammable materials. Avoid chewable parts. Buttons and pins are choking hazards, so be sure to play it safe by using Velcro or other safe fasteners.

Limit how long they wear the costume, especially if it’s an unseasonably warm on Halloween day.

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 

PAGE A6

A

Decorating Your House

ccording to the Haunted House Association, Halloween is the second-most decorated holiday of the year, with Americans spending almost $7 billion a year on candy, costumes and decorations.

Whether you’re throwing a Halloween party for friends or putting together a haunted house at a school, church or community party, the association has ways to put together a funny-scary haunted house that everyone can enjoy.

CREATE A CEMETERY IN YOUR FRONT YARD Put up a gothic fence, add some gravestones, spread cobwebs through the trees and have a zombie or two coming up out of the ground to make your front yard scary. You can make your own gravestones out of

foam and come up with your own epitaphs. Build a coffin out of pine boards for the porch.

Halloween is also a good time to put off yard work; piles of dead leaves is a quick and easy way to add a spooky, abandoned feel to the yard.

corner. For windows, you can replace your regular curtains with tattered old curtains or put a TV with computer-animated graphics in front of your window, displaying ghosts, ghouls, witches, werewolves, monsters and vampires.

DECK OUT THE DOOR AND WINDOWS

ADD CREEPY MUSIC AND OTHER EFFECTS

You can break out the cobwebs and spiders to grace the corners of your doorway and put a flickering light bulb in the porch light. Add a fake black cat in the shadows of the door or hang a skeleton in the

Set up speakers and play a spooky soundtrack or eerie noises.

If you’re catering to younger children, play “Monster Mash” and other fun, not-scary Halloween music. You can rent a fog

machine, either for the door when people come trick or treating or inside if you’re having a party.

MIX UP THE INSIDE For a party, turn off all the lights, cover your windows with black fabric or tablecloth and light your house with candles and strings of colored lights. Black silk draped over the mantle or along the stairs combined with more cobwebs adds to the spooky fun.

For a more interactive party, create a haunted house in your garage or backyard.

Family Owned & Operated Serving the Area Since 2004

Your specialist for indoor air quality, heating, ventilation and air conditioning

756-1224

koppeisheatingandcooling.com

alloween retail spending was estimated at $9 billion in 2018, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey.

Americans Celebrating

Average Spending

Total Spending

2012

170 million

$79.82

$8.0 billion

2013

158 million

$75.03

$6.9 billion

2014

162 million

$77.52

$7.4 billion

2015

157 million

$74.34

$6.9 billion

2016

171 million

$82.93

$8.4 billion

2017

179 million (Record)

$86.13

$9.1 billion (record)

2018

175 million

$86.79 (Record)

$9.0 billion*

WHAT WE BUY

According the NRF, about 90% of Americans will buy candy for Halloween, spending $2.6 billion. Almost 75% will purchase Halloween decor, spending $2.7 billion.

The most expensive part of Halloween is costumes. Just under 70%

Convenient

Online Banking

An Expert in HOME LOANS

Serving the area for over 89 years.

Farmington | Potosi | Festus | Fredericktown | Ironton Toll Free: 1-866-546-7408

www.ozarksfederal.com

PAGE A7

Year



That number is down from 2017 ($9.1 billion), but with the average American spending nearly $90 on celebrating Halloween, the holiday is a true moneymaker.

Here is an interesting chart from the NRF highlighting American spending trends over the past six years:

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019

H

Halloween Spending

meri rica icans ns sspent pentt $ 3.2 bi 3.2 bill lliion ll ion on tthem hem in hem in 2 018 01 8. A 8. ccor cc ordi ding di ng tto o th the he off A Americans $3.2 billion 2018.

According National Retail Federation, the top five costumes in 2018 for adults were a witch, vampire, zombie, pirate and Avengers character. The top five for children were princess, superhero, Batman, Star Wars character and witch.

SHOP FOR COSTUMES LOCALLY TO SAVE MONEY

Halloween is the perfect holiday for thrifty shoppers. Check out your local secondhand stores for costume ideas or party favors. You’ll be surprised at what you can find if you come into the store with a plan.

Here’s an example. Are you thinking of dressing like a scarecrow this Halloween? Check out your local thrift store to find the perfect, affordable flannel and overalls instead of purchasing a more expensive costume online. You may even be able to hunt down a great-fitting hat to give the costume it’s final touch.

Go get some tan construction paper from your local craft store and cut your makeshift straw out of paper, and affix it to the holes in your shirt and pants. A little makeup on your face and you’re all set.

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 

PAGE A8

I

Don’t Pitch that Pumpkin

t’s Nov. 2, the candy has been picked over and all the chocolate bars consumed, the costumes are packed away for next year and Halloween is officially over. But the jack-olantern, perhaps now more sad than scary, sits on the front porch.

You could throw that pumpkin away, or you could take one of Mother Nature Network’s suggestion to giving that smiling gourd a new, potentially tasty lease on life.

EAT IT! Carving pumpkins don’t have quite as much flavor as pie or sugar pumpkins, but add a little extra nutmeg and you’ll find yourself with delicious cookies, pancakes, pumpkin butter or a traditional pumpkin pie. Cut the pumpkin in half, cut off any burned or waxy parts (rinsing the pumpkin inside and out is a good idea too), then roast it in the oven until it’s tender.

Let the pumpkin cool, then peel the skin away.

You can puree it in the blender and use it in any recipe. It also goes well in risotto or pasta, or make a savory pumpkin soup.

DECORATE WITH IT Halloween may be over, but pumpkins go well with Thanksgiving too. Put vegetable oil on your pumpkin (this prevents it from getting rotten) and fill them with colorful flowers or plants, make a bird feeder or, if you’ve got a couple of jack-o-lanterns, build a “snow” man. Pull your kids in to help decorate and don’t be afraid to get a little silly.

PUT IT ON YOUR FACE Sound weird? Orange, fleshy vegetables

aren’t just good for your insides. Pumpkin has vitamin A and C and is full of antioxidants, and you can make a face mask, hair condition, pumpkin body scrub or even a pumpkin pedicure. According to How Stuff Works, you mix half a cup of pumpkin puree, a raw egg and a bit of honey, then apply that to your feet and wrap them up with plastic wrap for 15 minutes.

COMPOST IT If you leave the pumpkin outside long enough, it is going to rot. Why not use that to your advantage? If you do your own composting, or want to give it a shot, throw your pumpkin onto the pile with other plant products and wait for it to decompose into a thick, loamy soil that will be great on your garden come spring.

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 ď Ž

PAGE A9

Answer:Melissa Benoist

Answer: Monster

Answer: Tricky

Answer:Adrienne Bailon

Subscribers!

Fall in Love with God

Activate your digital account at yjj / dailyjournalonline.com/activate

Join us in worship this week.

Stay S tay cconnected onnec no matter where you are!

Sunday Services 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.

4982 Flat River Road, Farmington

(573) 327-8001 gotonewheights.com

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 яБо

PAGE A10

Home and Garden Ideas in the Lifestyles Section Every Weekend.

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku Puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column, and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it get to solve the puzzle!

ď Ž

PAGE A11 A. foliage B. colors C. chilly D. fall A. puzzle B. game C. trivia

D. enjoyment

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 ď Ž

PAGE A12

Taylor Tax & Consulting is here for YOU! The fall season has us looking back on 2019 and thinking of 2020 as it quickly approaches. We can help with Year End Tax Planning Strategies that will help you save time and money.

Give us a call for a free consultation at

(573) 701-0012

Located in beautiful downtown Farmington at 23 South Franklin Street.

PUZZLE SOLUTION

Let us put our years of experience to work for you and your business.

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019

Allergies

a drop in blood pressure that can cause a loss of consciousness and shock.

DIAGNOSIS

A

SYMPTOMS Symptoms of allergies include a runny nose, sneezing, itching, redness, rashes, swelling and trouble breathing. Life threatening symptoms include anaphylaxis, a severe reaction characterized by a feeling of warmth, flushing, shortness of breath, throat tightness, vomiting or diarrhea, and

TREATMENT

PAGE A13

The American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology says about 50 million Americans suffer from some allergy.



n allergy is when your immune system attacks something that doesn’t bother some other people, such as pollen, mold, pet dander, food, insect stings or bites.

Your doctor may send you to a specialist, an allergist or immunologist. Allergies are diagnosed through skin or blood tests combined with a thorough medical history and physical exam. These tests can help you identify triggers to minimize your allergy symptoms.

Other than avoiding as much as possible the things that make you sick, there are a variety of over-the-counter and prescription medications that can alleviate your allergy symptoms. Always talk to your doctor before starting any medication and be aware that many antihistamines and other medications can make you very drowsy. Make sure to read the labels thoroughly and ask a pharmacist if you’re concerned about drug interactions.

A Friendly Reminder:

Schedule Your Annual Exam Today!

Preventive care is an important part of your continued good health, and an annual physical is a great first step. Scheduling an annual exam allows your doctor to keep track of your health history, ensure you are up to date on vaccines and screenings, and often detect potentially serious health issues before they cause major problems.

611 West Main FredericktoWn 573.783.3341 www.madisonmedicalcenter.net

PLUS Medicare and most private insurance companies cover preventive and wellness services at no extra cost share to the patient.

New Patients Welcome Contact one of our physicians or nurse practitioners at the RuRAl HEAlTH CliNiC today!

573-783-4111 Call or visit us online.

Eric Davis, D.O.

Family Practice

Angela Menz, FNP-BC Nurse Practitioner

Rosalie Benz,

APRN BC-FNP Family Nurse Practitioner

Melinda Fischer,

APRN BC-FNP Family Nurse Practitioner

Heather Cheaney,

APRN BC-FNP Family Nurse Practitioner

Corinna Lodge, Martha McGraw, Julie Buford, Humberto Olivero Nancy DeFrancesco, M.D. M.D. M.D. APRN BC-FNP APRN BC-FNP Women’s Health Family Nurse Practitioner & Family Nurse Practitioner

Family Practice

Pediatrician

Internal Medicine/Pediatrics

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 

PAGE A14

F

Halloween Wedding

or fans of all things scary, a Halloween wedding can be the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of a new — hopefully fearless — life together.

Many brides and grooms decide to tie the knot on Halloween every year. Think of the materials you could creatively infuse into your wedding celebration. From pumpkins, cobwebs to vines and other spooky touches, the options are endless.

velvet to accent your venue.

Black and plum-colored tablecloths can tie the room together, and don’t forget to MAKEUP complement the design Go bold and dramatic with scheme with your wedding your makeup for a true colors. Add a modern cocktail Halloween feel. Use a local bar or dessert table with colmakeup artist to give you dark- ors and decor that provides a er smoky eyes or a deep plum lip ATTIRE When it comes to your wed- color. Stick with ding dress, think ivory or white one or the other to avoid a look with dark embellishments.

Even if you’re not exactly the that is overdone.

Let your natural gothic type, there are ways to make your dress stand out with beauty shine with a light simple touches. Think long, dark gloves or antique jewelry makeup application that accentuto help set the Halloween mood. Get creative with a silky ates your face shape and cheek sash or black wedding veil. structure.

For your wedding party, think charcoal, burgundy, black or plum. For the guys, a mod- RECEPTION You are limitern top hat is a great way to ed only by your finish a classic black tux with own creativity pops of your wedding colors.

However you decide to dress when it comes your Halloween wedding party, to decking out don’t lose the fun and sponta- your reception hall with deconeity of the holiday by overrations. thinking it. Use a local wedThink thick ding planner to help you focus black linens or on the most important part of the day: marrying your best friend!

classic, spooky ambiance.

Photo booths are always a popular reception extra. Craft a themed booth with a dark curtain for the backdrop and add fake spiderwebs. Don’t forget props like hats and gloves to provide some extra photo fun.

I

573-756-7852

PAGE A15

I wrote a Christmas letter every year to all of our families and friends. They grew every year, at the request of others. Now mine wasn’t one of those letters you normally get from folks.

Mine was more like all the cow flops I had stepped in the past twelve months, hoping everyone would get a chuckle out of my mishap! They were always meant to entertain the recipient with all the dumb and accidental things I had done the past year. A letter to make you laugh.

Many folks would tell me, it wasn’t Christmas until they received my letter. So, they could laugh at all my mishaps the last twelve months.

This letter was just called my Christmas letter.

Twenty plus years ago, my little stories also became therapy for me. My husband Bill became ill with Rocky Mountain Tick Fever in the mid-nineties. This was not a disease we heard of very often in this area. It started like flu type symptoms. His fever soared to 107. I still thank God we had such a good doctor.

They say some folks die if not diagnosed in a couple weeks. But our doctor of now forty years knew the right specialist to help diagnose this horrid disease. He was given a strong antibiotic on the thirteenth day after the first sign of symptoms. He was never the same and in 1997 he was diagnosed with a rare cancer called hemangiopericytoma. He went through over a dozen surgeries in the next few years. We finally decided to stop the surgeries and hope his body could regroup on good food and care. I was told he would only live a short time. He lived another eleven years and died of staff infection from a hospital in their attempt to correct a problem from one of his surgeries. The beginning of this nightmare, I knew he had been so healthy. When he got the tick fever, he was sixty and as healthy as a thirty-year-old. He had a running track cut around our forty-four acres and ran on it every day. That might have been where the tick found him. I knew we were in for



have always written short stories about my life. I recall even the poems I wrote as a child, always told a little story.

on the radio. I guess it helped him relive some a long haul. I told him we need- of those special times we spent together. The ed to write stories first couple of years after Bill passed, it was hard to read the stories, I would sometimes get about all the emotional. But now they are such a blessing, as I good times we have had through read them and relive those special times we spent the years. He was together.

I have about sixty recorded on CD’s, with a a little reluctant total of ten hours. Each CD has about 60 minat first but did utes on them. We will have them on sale at join me in Earth Mother through Christmas. some of the remembering CD’s pictured below: Beginning: The Birthing incidents.

Now, how we acquired the name. A neighbor Place, Greening Up In The Ozarks, Holy Week & Easter, Trading Your Lawn For Food, Respect and close family friend, Alex Herman told me I the Earth, Whatever Happened to M & M’s; needed to call myself “Minnie Pearl of the Volume 1: Our Right to Vote, The Old Drinking Ozarks.” I decide to twist that dial just a little and call my stories “Many Pearls of the Ozarks” Cup, Harvesting Deer, Respect the Earth, - remembering the story of the oyster. They oys- Thanksgiving Memories, Turkey with an Earring; Volume 3: A Fieldtrip with Grandma, ter took the sand and evolved it into a pearl. I Mule Days & Coyote Encounters, Moab Utah, took the grit in our life and allowed rememberHunting Wild Hogs; Volume 8: A Trip to The ing the good times to become “Many Pearls of Cherokee Nation, Country Quilting, The Stories the Ozarks.”

Quilts Tell, The Cat & the Quilt, Those Who I have written over one hundred short stories Walked Before Me, Great Grandmothers Indian and have so many more stored in my memory bank to write. We recorded some of them on to Quilt.

Marylee Visnovske – owner Earth Mother Health Foods CD’s ourselves; so they are not professionally done, but I have folks that have purchased all of them and are pushing me to record the rest.

My stories have been on a local radio station for nine years. I am on Froggy 95.9 every Friday with the Earth Mother Story of the Week at 9am. A discEarth Mother is one of the oldest and largest health food jockey from a local stores in Southeast Missouri! We have over 4,000 square feet of organic radio station patiently foods, vitamins, supplements, books, etc. to fit your health care needs! asked me about once a CheCk out the multiple lines of health Care produCts month for a year, he we Carry for your everyday needs: kept telling me folks • Vitamins & Supplements • Spices & Herbs would like my stories.

• Books & Pure Essential Oils He also said it would be • Groceries (organic, bulk, etc.) good for Bill to hear • Pet Supplies • Cleaning Products them. Bill was bedfast • Health & Beauty Supplies • Gluten & Sugar Free most of his last year. I finally gave in and 220 E. Harrison Street, decided to get a caregiver to stay with Bill. Our Farmington caregiver said Bill would sometimes laugh out loud listening to me

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019

Many Pearls of the Ozarks – From Whence This Name Came

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 

PAGE A16

The Perfect Halloween Party W

hen the weather begins to cool, the fall party season heats up! From the food to the festivities, there are many ways to customize your Halloween shindig. Use a little creative thinking to throw your best party yet.

Here are some ideas to set your party apart from mums and dahlias. Simply chop the top off the pumpkin and place a hidden vase inside. Fill the the rest. vase with water and your favorite flowers to make COSTUME TROPHIES this pretty pumpkin creation. Pink and purple What Halloween party would be complete with- flowers pop out of a white gourd vase with out a costume party? Urge your guests to dress up vibrant colors. If you’re using an orange pumpkin in their spookiest outfits. Or come up with a vase, think complementary colors to give it more theme to give your guests some direction. depth.

Pass out awards for all sorts of costume divisions, including cutest costume, scariest costume FUN GAMES or funniest costume. And instead of simply handIt’s easy to give your favorite party games a ing out bragging rights, let your guests compete Halloween makeover. Get creative when putting for actual prizes. Affix a plastic skeleton to a together your collection of activities. wood base and spray them gold for the perfect litTry pin the spider by taping up a large photo or tle spooky costume trophy. Give the kiddos candy- poster of a spiderweb. Blindfold your guests and filled gift bags for their efforts so no one goes give them small paper spiders with double-sided home empty handed. tape to stick on the photo. The person who gets their spider closest PUMPKIN to the center of the VASES web wins.

Looking for a Have your guests great way to outfit bob for apples and your home with then let them decoHalloween-focused rate their own delidecorations? Look cacy at your carano further than our mel apple bar, comfavorite fall item, plete with sprinkles, the pumpkin. chocolate fudge Transform miniaand other delicious ture pumpkins into items. perfect vases for

H

alloween costumes can be complicated and expensive, especially when you find yourself a few days out and needing ideas.

Clean Secure Convenient

Ask about our Climate Controlled units!

Rental spaces available for RV/Boat with covered spaces available Gated/24hr surveillance/security lighting

4742 Flat River Road, Farmington, MO

573-760-9437 Corralstorage.com

PAGE A17

stormy) and quilt batting to create clouds. Add a smiley face to liven up the costume.

Create a hot air balloon. Use helium balloons, or a large ball attached to a stick, and a box.

Dress your child up as Harry Potter with a pair of blackframed glasses and a red-andyellow striped scarf, along with a lightning-shaped scar made of eyeliner. You can add a wand or a robe if you want (for taller children, think about a graduation robe, or even a black sheet or tablecloth) or use different colored scarves to indicate different houses.



Fortunately, no matter how long you wait or whatever your budget, with a little creativity and a glue gun, you can deck out your kids in a fun costume for class parties and trick-or-treating.

Parenting and Country Living offer ideas for costumes you can make at home with items you have around the house or that are easy to find.

Make spaghetti and meatballs with a red and white checkered tablecloth, off-white yarn foam balls and a little paint, using a saucepan for a hat.

Become a cute pig in blanket with pig ears and nose out of pink foam and a pink headband, along with glitter glue, elastic and a blanket.

Create a Rubik’s cube with a square box. Glue green, blue, orange, yellow and red paper to the sides, and make the squares with black electrical tape.

Got a love for the Man in Black? With a black button-down shirt, black pants and a toy guitar, transform your child into Johnny Cash for the holiday.

Maybe Poison or other old-school rock is more your style. Print an image from an ‘80s rock band onto ironon printer paper and iron it onto a black T-shirt, pair it with a wig of long black hair, jeans and toy guitar and you have a little Axl Rose.

Turn your baby into a baby panda with a black onesie, a white beanie and black and white felt. Do the same with a black sweat suit for older children.

Go sunny or cloudy.

Use a large yellow sweatshirt, orange and yellow felt and pipe cleaners to create a sun and a blue or white sweatshirt (or gray if your child is feeling

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019

DIY costumes for Children

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 

Help Harry the ghost find his way to the mansion.

PAGE A18

FINISH

START

What’s taken before you get it?

A: Your picture.

Q:

Q:

Why can you never trust atoms?

A: They make up everything.

A: It was a Bar

Q:

out the Did you hear aby had for bo tle party a lit bie dolls? his sisters’ Bar

bie-Q.

1. Rat 2. Jack-O-Lantern 3. Spider Web 4. Ghost Kid 5. Bush 6. Bat 7.

Devil Kid’s Smile 8. Tombstone

PAGE A19 

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019

FIND 8 DIFFERENCES IN THESE TWO PICTURES

FAMILY FOCUS OCTOBER 2019 PAGE A20



Don’t Miss November 2019 Family Focus Full of Thanksgiving Ideas, Tip, and Recipes

This is a publication of the

To Advertise in the Family Focus Call 573-431-2010