Arlo Gilbert Blog

I was feeling a little spirited this week and decided to dress up my site for Halloween. I found this pumpkin background in the Customize menu in the upper right hand of the spaces site. Click “Change the theme”, and then click “special theme” and “Occasions” to find pumpkins. Simple enough. I’ll have to check back next month to see if they’ve added turkeys to the menu! LOL.

I was checking out the Real Live Moms Halloween site at RealLiveMoms.com and looking under the shopping link for costume ideas, when I saw the cutest lobster outfit for a crawling baby. It was hilarious! Of course, Amy is past that stage where a walking lobster is cute, but I could totally see this on a crawling baby boy. I still haven’t settled on an outfit for Amy this year, but we’ll have something fun in time. I also was thinking of cooking up one of the “spooky treats” from that Web site for my playgroup friends. If you have older kids, you may want to check out the craft ideas there. If you haven’t checked out the link to Halloween ideas yet, you might want to check it out at http://www.reallivemoms.com/halloween.aspx

Every time I dig out pumpkin seeds I think “this year I’m going to figure out how to make these things taste good.” Every year I fail. So I wonder: am I roasting them wrong or eating them wrong? Sunflower seeds are fairly easy to crack open and eat, but pumpkin seeds are a “tough nut to crack” LOL. Does anyone eat these things and is there any advice you can offer? On a side note, I introduced Amy to pumpkin pie and she LOVED it!

A mom sent me an e-mail asking me about security on my site, given that I post names, photos, and hometowns. These are legitimate questions, and I recommend that everyone consider the options that are available for Windows Live Spaces pages—such as making parts of your site public and other parts visible to only select friends and family. Also, you don’t have to fill in every blank space—such as your hometown in your profile. You can post cute photos and never use names on your site. The thing that is cool about Windows Live Spaces is that it’s all up to you! RealLiveMoms.com  has links that take you to some really good information about security over the internet. I suggest all moms check out the info on RealLiveMoms safety tips for moms and Family Safety Settings. There also is a link to Windows Live OneCare.

I’ve gotten a few questions by e-mail, and my response here is slow because I don’t always stay on top of my e-mail. It is a great way to communicate, but I do get a LOT of e-mail from strangers looking to chat, and I know you moms understand that I just don’t have a lot of time for conversation. So I’m hoping moms will leave questions, comments, suggestions, and such in my guestbook, where we can share it and I’ll see it and address it in a timely fashion. I’ll pop answers to some e-mail queries in my blog today.

I received an e-mail asking how I add new photo albums to my space. When you’re signed into your space, you see links in each segment to edit content of that segment. Under the “Photos” header, you’ll see “Add album” and “Edit album.” Edit lets you add photos to an existing photo album. Click “Add album” to create a whole new album. That link takes you to a page where you can name the album and add photos to it.

I’ve received a couple questions about backgrounds and the baby birthday counter. My only insight for the special mommy features is to look at RealLiveMoms.com and, in the right-hand (green) column under “Special free offers for moms” click the link for “Baby Birthday Counter” or “Windows Live Themes” and follow those directions. If they don’t work perfectly (as one mom reported), I think you’re on the right track to troubleshoot through their help system.

I’ve been invited to join a list of friends for another mom’s space, but the invitation is lost in the hundreds of requests I have received. I don’t wish to offend, but I may not get to these requests. I have a huge list of requests to check out individually, then I need to click an answer to each (the default is accept, so I have to change every single one to decline or delay a decision) in order to accept any. Sometimes I start in, then get overwhelmed—especially given the time I allow for e-mail and web updates in my parenting schedule. Then I cancel the whole effort and I still haven’t accepted the legitimate friends. So, if you can add me on your end, please do. I’m struggling on my end.