This "fad" gives me the chills. Does your GD wear contact lenses normally? There are a lot of Web sites that sell these things, and the ones that I just looked at require a prescription to get these (and prescriptions for glasses are not the same thing as a prescription for contact lenses). When people wear different-colored contacts to change their eye color, they are getting them through their doctor's prescription. Legit Web companies will not sell without a copy of a prescription, period. (I have an ophthalmologist in the family.) Check out Lens.com (just the first site I hit on) for some FAQs about these things. Contact lenses of any type need to fit the individual's eye -- there are all sorts of variations that only a trained professional can measure. And no offense to opticians -- I'll let them order my glasses, but only with a prescription from an ophthalmologist. And if I had kids, no way would I walk into an optician's at the local mall and buy this stuff, which is what it sounds like happened. If they were purchased from one of those Halloween costume stores that pop up during this season, I would be even more worried. (The fad lenses seem to cost under $30.) Mona: Do you know which mall they went to? If I were in your shoes, I'd go do a little in-person research. I'd want to know if there is SOME eye doctor on the premises and whether the specific lenses it sells are FDA-approved, and that's just for starters. But the bottom line for me is that I would never jeopardize a child's eyesight by buying her something that I have not researched thoroughly and gotten my ophthalmologist's approval for. A $30 fad for a few hours of fun is not worth the possible issues.

Steph, you ended up with a perfect costume for Grant, considering his "preferences." :-) And to have a pumpkin belly was very clever, too! Just wondering, though -- you said a few times before that the new baby's name would be Cameryn Paige, but now you've spelled it Camryn. So you've decided to change the spelling??

I think I'd have to see the costume. That being said, folks who are in the news tend to be prime candidates for halloween costumes (I remember going to a party as a trapped Chilean miner a few years back). That's just how it works. Taste is in the eye of the beholder. I was trying to think of other recent "current events" costumes that would be controversial and thought of JayZ and Beyonce's sister, or Tiger Woods accompanied by a harem of women, or -- and I'm not sure how one would properly effect these costumes -- Josh Duggar or Jared the Subway spokesman. I think the lampooning and the controversy is part of it all, at least as far as adult costumes go. I'm thinking the typical Caitlyn costume will be a flowing gown, wig, makeup, heels . . . worn by a man.

LOL, no-no-no, I'm too old for it. Did you see the one of the dragons as in "How to Train Your Dragon" animated movie? Those costumes showed a lot of talent. The father/parent had 4 kids and 3 of them with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. He said that he couldn't do anything about the disease but he certainly could help to brighten the kids Halloween. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6EiIKsSzzg (2015 costumes) Your trip sounds like a lot of fun. I used to have a friend from Louisiana. They seems to have lots of festivals that we don't have elsewhere. One such was the Rice Festival. You have a safe one Raven.