So I had this grand idea last Halloween that I should dress up as a Mummy and the girls should dress as Ghouls...get it Mummy and her Ghouls=Mommy and her girls;) It was too late last year {already had costumes planned}, so my "ghouls" reminded me this year of the idea and we decided to go with it. Well, I learned a lesson or two from this experience. First, some ideas that sound amazing in theory are a little less amazing in practice. It was really hard to figure out what to do for a ghoul costume. If you search online for ghoul, it pretty much results in ANY type of scary costume. We didn't want to be too morbid or gross and I didn't like any of the prefabbed costumes I came across. So I made these little scrappy tutus/skirts and found great ideas for doing faces and hair for the girls. Sounded good in theory. Kars decided she really wasnt fond of the idea of wearing a "cute skirt". I even made hers less fluffy and frilly and she wanted nothing to do with it, so she wore a cloak instead. All the makeup and hair ideas went out the window when we were rushing to get ready for Trick or Treating after our Mystery Dinner. Frankly, we just didn't have the time to put into it. Bay did her own hair and makeup, Kars would not have her hair big and ratty, and Mark got a little heavy handed with Emm's face makeup [I give him lots of credit for stepping in and helping so much...did I mention he had just finished wrapping the Mummy with great patience:] Although, I truly appreciated everyone's help....the finished product was not as I had envisioned or planned and it left me feeling frustrated ...initially. Which leads me to my next lesson.....sometimes I focus too much on the "idea" and need to just enjoy the moment more. I feel like I let the disappointment of having it not look "just so" get me grumpy at first. Luckily I have these amazing little ghouls who remind me what is important and my discouragement soon turned to joy as I watched and listened to them enjoy Halloween!!
Our day began with these nostalgic cereals for breakfast. My mom always bought these for us as kids, so they remind me of childhood. You can't find them year round [at least I can't], so when I see them this time of year I snatch them up.
Then it was off to school where parties were had and snacks were eaten. Emm had a more traditional party in her classroom and Karsyn's building had a combined 4-6 grade party [there are only 4 classrooms combined] They did a costume fashion show and we served them Belgium Waffles with toppings. I thought this was a great alternative to a bunch of treats...and the kids loved it. This was the first time in 7 or 8 years that we had costumes at school. At Sunset they had parties, but got away from the whole costume thing after Bay's kindergarten year, so that was different. I helped at Karsy's building, so Mark went to Emm's class for a bit (no school party for Bay): When I picked Emmrey up and asked her about her party, she said "apparently they don't even go outside for their parades, we just walked around the classrooms". Oh man did I laugh hard inside [wouldn't dare laugh out loud, since she was totally serious:] cute little thing thought this costume parade we were talking about was the real deal outside in the street...ha
Once everyone was home from school and work we had our traditional Halloween Dinner. We did a Mystery Dinner last year with Bailee's friends and the girls loved it so much I wanted to do something similar. They selected 4 items for each course (only did 2 since we were on a time crunch). The food all had spooky names so they don't know what they are getting ...unless they are so smart that they get it all figured out and know what to order when;)
This is what they got eventually...just not all at the same time.
Goblin Intestines=noodles*Bat Bites=meatballs*Ghoul Drool=sauce*Skeleton Bones=bread sticks*Dead Leaves=green salad*Monster Munch=fruit salad*Pumpkin Poop=Fizzy Pumpkin Drink
Then we hit the streets for some good old fashioned Trick or Treating. For the past 9 years we have done most of our Trick or Treating at the businesses in downtown Cody. It's a fun atmosphere and when the weather is nice it is a great way to socialize and see friends and costumes [because its still light out]. But I have realized over the past few years that it lacks the authenticity of Trick or Treating. The kids don't have to work for their candy at all. They just file by in the line of kids and the nice employee drops a treat in their pail. I really enjoyed the "old school" style this year.
We had nice weather, but it was WINDY so we didn't stay out long. I am really kinda over the "let's fill our pail as full as possible" mentality. It's really more about the experience and believe me the kids get enough candy!! There are some really neat old houses in the area we live in. Our street...not so much, but within walking distance are plenty. We picked a street that is especially cool with big historic houses that I have become quite fond of. It was a real treat!!
Of course, when we got home the pails were dumped, sorted, compared and swapped......some good math skills in use;)
So, yes this Halloween was different. Different house, different neighborhoods, different people, different (lack of) community events, different costume results than envisioned, but it was not all bad. In fact, most was really good. The girls had fun all the same, and I am learning to focus less on the small things and more on what matters most(:
Happy Halloween!!!
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