Was it me, or did Halloween seem to go on and on and on this year? I’m all about the kids getting to wear their costumes a few times leading up to it, but why so many instances of candy collecting?! between school, church, the town, the neighborhood, and other parties, we were definitely candied out before Halloween even began. But I’m not complaining. I don’t have to participate in everything the season offers. It just seemed like a lot. But don’t get me wrong, we had a blast.
I decided a while ago I wanted the kids to be m&ms this year. The kids and I toyed with a few other ideas, and at one point Ruby was very set on Minnie Mouse. So, I did a little searching for Mickey and Donald, and I wasn’t too thrilled about what I found. And, I was afraid of the fighting over who would be who. So it was back to making m&m costumes. Once I started that process, the kids were very excited. It only took a couple hours of cutting, sewing and gluing, and that was that. Possibly the easiest sewing project ever, which is about the extent of my abilities. I am a person who LOVES a low maintenance Halloween. The kids were lucky they didn’t wear pajamas again this year (their skeletons from last year still fit great, and I was very tempted to just use those again!) I finished the costumes a couple weeks before Halloween, so the challenge at that point was not letting the kids destroy them before the big day.
Our ward party was on the 25th. The kids and I decked out our trunk with all their awesome artwork, which made them very proud. I really didn’t have anything else, so it worked out. We invited some friends, and made our way there with Chili (make this, seriously) and candy in hand for the trunk-or-treat. The place was a mad house with so many people! But it was fun all the same. We ate, played a few games the youth put together, and then went outside for the big event. Somewhere between the church and our trunk, we lost the boys. After a couple minutes of searching, some kind friends found them and brought them to us. That was not the greatest start, but we were able to keep pretty good track of everyone after that. Candy stash round one!
We almost made it through Halloween without any sugar cookies! But we had friends over one morning and fixed that right up. Wish I didn’t eat as many bites as I did, but the kids had fun. 
On Halloween day, we had a pretty low key morning, which I very much enjoyed. I wanted to start out the day with as little sugar as possible, so I let them pick a cookie cutter to used for their hole-in-the-bread. They were very excited about it, but didn’t really eat much. Still, the morning was quiet, and I got to lay around a little after a long night (not sure why I couldn't sleep). I decided to head over to Costco and I let the kids wear their costumes since they weren’t allowed at school. They had quite a few fans there, and we got lunch from the many samples being handed out. Bonus. 
I wanted them to be somewhat festive at school, so after they took off their m&ms (have I mentioned how much I LOVED the ease of taking on and off those costumes?) they put on their skeleton hats from last year (still wearing and loving them Grandma!), and the kids were happy with that. 
I went back to the preschool for the last 30 minutes for a little “Fall Party” they invited us to. (Don’t even get me started on the dumb school holiday rules.) They preformed a few adorable songs, decorated cookies, and played games. The kids loved it. They each left with a gift bag, which of course contained candy (I am partly to blame, since I brought m&ms to share (not that it mattered without their costumes).
It was a cold day, but luckily I had jackets that matched everyone’s costumes! Not that I would care if I didn’t, it was just cute. We headed straight over to Parker Main Street for some festivities there. I’m glad we got there early, cause it got crowded fast. But it was great. Besides loads of candy, there was ice cream, gift bags, hot chocolate, even a teeth cleaning kit. I found out a lot of the town with all the businesses participating, and the kids loved the hay maze, carriage ride, and bounce houses. And I loved that it was all free. But I was definitely ready to go after a while, and a little girl of mine was definitely crankier by the moment. So we went home for some down time.
I made quick pita pizzas that I told the kids looked like pumpkins to make them more excited to eat anything besides candy. It kind of worked. I think they also ate some edamame and pistachios, but I’m pretty sure that was the extent of anything with any nutritional value that day. Around 6:30 we met our neighbors outside and started in the neighborhood. We were all a little tired of the whole thing by now, but this was what we’d been waiting for, but we did a big block anyway. We live in such a beautiful neighborhood, and I loved feeling so at home as we walked around. The kids loved all the decorations, and asking other people what they costumes were. I was missing my little rookie trick-or-treaters from last year that were so new at this that they just loved the thrill of being out at night. This year they were too aware of how any door we knocked on would give then candy. They know that saying thank you if very important, and were very sweet about it, but I hope they don’t turn into the greedy kids that came to our house and assumed they could take two handfuls from our bowl. But it was fun night with out friends, and we were glad to call it a night.
I let the kids choose five candies, and after eating those, we finally got them to get in bed, and they fell fast asleep. I sorted through their buckets picking out my favorites (of course), and then put a small stash back in each bucket and the mass amount of what was left in a bowl to do who-knows-what with. The next day I let them eat what was left in their buckets to their hearts’ content, without any intervening. That was the plan. It still bugged me how little real food they ate and how much garbage they left around. The next day Alex was begging while bawling to go trick-or-treating again! Ugh. 
It was a fun season, and I truly love spending these fun holidays with my family. The kids have been watching Nightmare Before Christmas for weeks, and I love hearing them sing every song as they go about their day. They also are huge fans of Thriller, and I hear an “Ow!” here and there. Introducing them to the fun parts of life is really what makes me love being a mom. It really does make me feel young again, as they say, when I show them things that I remember loving from my childhood.
Now, maybe Ruby will quit with the tears that we can’t decorate for Christmas yet! Seriously, the many conversations we’ve had about the holidays and the order they go in are getting really old. I’m more than excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’ve invested in a few more decorations since we have a house of our own now, and I can’t wait to deck the halls! But, first things first. Time to think of some Thanksgiving crafts to gear up the kids for the big feast.
