Halloween in Illinois can be a bit suspect. It is cold here on October 31st. Many times I’ve been outside freezing so the kids can have candy and drive me crazy for the weeks that follow. Thank goodness I have an amazing husband, because without him, baby Anthony would not even have a costume until about 4. I would be the house with the lights out - don't judge me - I served at least 15 years!

What makes Halloween special is the way it highlights and brings out everyone’s creativity. The family costumes, individual costumes, and house decorations can be out of this world.

I have always wanted to take the kids to a haunted house, and I finally got the opportunity to do so yesterday. We went to Statesville Prison Haunted House - which happens to be in its last year of operation. We had a great time and it will undoubtedly become a cherished memory!  It’s moments like this that I live for as a parent.

Quote

Happiness lies in accepting everyone in our lives EXACTLY as they are.
We cause ourselves untold misery whenever we believe others to be imperfect and try to change them. This is the number one rule for a happy relationship.
Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Life

Did you know that we have more free time today than we ever did in the past? It sounds crazy, right? But it's true! Listen to this 2-minute clip to learn a simple technique to make effective use of those small windows of open availibility.

Corporate Ecology

Roz Brewer - CEO of Walgreens. And yes, she is a Black woman, which is incredibly inspiring as there are only a few Black women who have been CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. In the article below, Roz talks about her own experiences with bias in the workplace, and reminds us to continue to use our voice for change.

Walgreens’ new CEO Roz Brewer on bias in the C-suite: ‘When you’re a Black woman, you get mistaken a lot’

“Sometimes people assume you’re in the wrong place, and all I can think in the back of my head is, ‘No, you’re in the wrong place.’”

CNBCCourtney Connley

On Family

What is the most effective way to maximize potential in elementary kids? Ironically, and perhaps surprisingly, it's more recess!

Dr. Debbie Rhea traveled to Finland to explore different education systems and found that play was a major part of the curriculum there. That ethos is embedded into the Liink Project. Schools that use this program saw 40% increase in student engagement.

Read the full article below and think about you can utilize the same concept at home with your family.

Doubling Down on Recess to Achieve Academic Success

Wayne Carter is in the Classroom checking out one plan to let play time lead them to academic success.

NBC 5 Dallas-Fort WorthWayne Carter

Disconnect

I decided to clear out my phone home screen - I open my phone and see a picture of a globe, and all my other apps are on the second screen. I decided to do this because I have found that seeing the apps every time I open my phone is tempting. Sometimes I go to my phone to look at the weather, but if I see that one little number on my messages icon (for some, like my daughter, this number could be up to 250), I get immediately distracted. I’ll turn away from my original goal of checking the weather to instead check my messages. After a week, my screen time is down 18%!! The biggest impact is with my husband – he sent me a text at 10am and I didn’t see it until 2pm. (But let my husband ignore his texts for just 30 minutes and there will be problems! (Haha))

Disconnecting is a journey, and by clearing out my home screen, I feel I have taken back a bit of my power to not let my phone command my attention.

Can I Leave You with a Full Band?

Just sit back, press play, and hear a perfect combination of musical instruments and vocals come together.