do all your Amazon shopping through ProlifeShopping.com? For an explanation of how it works, go here.

A reader asks:
Do you know of any books that can be sent for a firstconfession/penance? My goddaughter is having her first confession heardnext weekend and if I can squeeze a good Catholic book in on anoccasion like this I try but this time my mind is blank. Any ideas?

We like this Baltimore Catechism for preparing our children for First Confession and Communion and Fr. Lovasik’s book on confession is a nice supplement. Any other suggestions from all you helpful resourceful people?

This week’s Carnival of Homeschool serves up tricks and treats.

A reader shares this article about a seasonal celebration in Chile.

Rod Bennett urges us not to forgo Halloween celebrations in his article at Catholic Exchange today.

Find some Halloween treats for young and old at CatholicMom.com

Reader Maria shares a cute idea for a Halloween cake using black and white icing over at her blog.

And not Halloween, but Oktoberfest recipes for those of you who asked:

Savory Beef Stew
Beer Rolls
Pumpkin Bread
Pretzels
Cheese Ball
Brown Sugar Cookie Cutouts

With election day looming and key pro-life issues at stake in many places, let’s talk politics. I’ve mentioned before that the Priests for Lifewebsite is a valuable resource for all kinds of helpful information forvoters to consider in this year’s election. Catholic Answers’ (pdf) Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics offers explanations of fundamental moral issues that all Catholics should consider when voting.

We’ve mentioned before that there are key life issues at stake inSouth Dakota and Missouri, but there are important decisions to be madein many other elections this year as well. First of all, tell me youare going to vote. Then tell me what’s at stake in your state’selections. How sick of political ads are you and have the billions ofdollars spent on them succeeded in influencing your vote? If not, howdo you decide who gets your vote?

by Raphael Bean
1. Banana bread is good. When you have access to some, youshould shove as much of it as possible into your mouth at once. Try todo this when your mother isn’t looking, though, because she’ll get allpanicky about your mouth being stuffed. Then, when she hears you grunt,she will fail to understand that you are saying, “Gimme some morebanana bread.” She’ll think you are choking and force you to spit someout. Such a waste!

2. There are these things called baby brothers. I guess theyare a big deal. I got one a few weeks ago and you should have seen thefuss everyone made over it. Now everyone I meet asks, “How do you likeyour baby brother?” and “Don’t you just love your baby brother?” Idon’t get it. I mean, it has pretty neat eyes, but everybody freaks outif I try to touch them. Mostly, it just makes funny noises and takes uproom on my mother’s lap. Not very impressive.

3. Football is fun but unpredictable. Sometimes when youwatch a game on TV and someone scores a touchdown, your whole familyjumps up and yells. You hold your arms above your head and say “TA-DA!”and everyone talks about how cute you are. Other times, though, whensomeone scores a touchdown your family gets real quiet. Your fatherlooks like he’s going to be sick and your mother tiptoes out of theroom.

4. If you dump a bowl of pudding on your head and then workit into your hair like shampoo, your mother is going to be displeased.Not all is lost, however. When she gives you that exasperated look, youcan make her smile again simply by making the sign for bath and shouting “Baf!” She will laugh and forgive you. And the bonus is, you’ll get a bath. Works every time.

5. If something is round, it must be a ball, so you shouldthrow it. Actually, even if something is just kind of round, you shouldthrow it… in case it’s a ball. Come to think of it, round or not, youshould just throw things. It’s fun.

6. There are these fascinating things called markers thatgrownups and big kids keep to themselves. They are diligent about thisselfishness. So if you should happen upon one of these markers leftunattended, you will need to work quickly. Color the table. Decoratethe chairs. Embellish the walls. And the floor. Then dress up yourarms, your shirt, and your belly . Move swiftly to the next room andcolor in a throw pillow and your sister’s buckle shoes. If you arediscovered, throw the marker across the room in order to distanceyourself from the evidence and prove that it couldn’t possibly havebeen you.

7. Life is good. Enjoy every minute of it as much as youpossibly can. Run fast. Play hard. Hold tight. Dive in. Fall down.Climb up. Roll over. Laugh lots. Drink up. Wrestle. Scream some. Eatplenty. And when you have used up every tiny last bit of energy yoursmall body can possibly hold, collapse in your bed. Sleep on your bellywith your bum in the air. Cuddle under your blanket and clutch yourstuffed tiger close. Breathe deep breaths through your partly openedmouth. Dream. And wake up fresh the next day– ready to start again.

This year’s Oktoberfest was like none other. Thanks to wild weathertwo weekends in a row, we had no guests. That’s right. No cousins. Noaunts. No uncles. No grandparents. No guests.

We had buckets full of candy corn. We had giant pots filled withstew. We had enough pies, breads, pretzels, and cookies to feed a smallcontinent. We had chips and dip galore.

But no guests.

We had a gigantic rented cotton candy machine with enough sugar tomake fifty cones. We had a crazy mother working the machine, freakingout when she couldn’t keep up with its sticky production, and thenlaughing till she cried as strings of candy swirled around the room,coated her sweater, and the children shouted with glee.

We had an eighteen month old who had never seen cotton candy beforeand thought his family had lost their minds. We had a room filled withlaughter again as he used his candy cone like a feather duster on thetable and chairs.

But no guests.

We had plain pumpkins and carved pumpkins and glowing pumpkins.

But no guests.

Tonight, though, as two exhausted parents tucked contented kidsinto their beds with plastic glow sticks still gripped tightly in theirfingers, we all had to agree: Though we missed seeing extended familythis year and we hope that next year will be different, this littlefamily had fun enough on its own.

Gabrielle: Raphael and me were playing outside.

Me: Raphael and I were playing outside.

Gabrielle: No you weren’t.

Stephen: Am I allowed to say “What in tarnation?”