Trick or Treat Stories!

I love Halloween. I love seeing the kids in costumes come running gleefully up to the door... but I do not like the greed that also comes with this holiday.

I do not like the kids who don't even put on a costume. I don't like the parents who do things to encourage greed and laziness. 

I love the parents who also dress up, or who come tagging along and prompting a thank you but the kids already know to say thank you. 

---The Bad---

13 year old trick or treater: "Do you have any Snickers?"
Me: "No, but I have BabyRuth"
13 year old: "But I don't like Baby Ruth"
Me: "Well I don't like Snickers!"
13 Year old: "But I do! You should have some for me"
Me: *thinking - Since when do I shop for some kid I don't even know?*

And the next 13 year old.... Me: *holding out candy bowl* "Take one, pick your favorite!" Him: "How many can I take?" Me: One *thinking - do you even LISTEN? what do you think this is? grab and run?*

The mom DRIVING her kids from house to house. "Hey, you guys go to that one with the light on, then we get in the car and go to the next one." The poor little girl was so big she had rolls of fat  popping out of her costume. She must have been 8, maybe 9.... Sad.... I almost cried on that one.

Little boy, after I said Take One: Can I have two? Or three?  *grabs one* Oh gosh, I wish I had gotten that other one, can I have it too?

Me: Take one! Pick your favorite!
Kid: *Grabs for a handful*
Me: ONE I said! 

Kid: How many is "take one"? 
Me: One.
Kid: oh.....  

Maybe I shouldn't let the kids pick out the candy, but I want them to get the one they want. I always was peeved as a kid when the door person handed me a snickers and I wanted the milky way that was also in the bowl. I never said anything because I was raised better than that, but I would swap it with my friend later on and I would say a more enthusiastic thank you to the ones who let you pick. Even if they said Pick One! Then I knew I would get one that I wanted!!!!! 


Secret: After 8:00 I say Take Two, because I know I will have fewer kiddos coming after that and don't need to make sure I have enough candy!

--- The Good ---

Cute girl all dressed up, her Dad taking her trick or treating, clearly he has a disability and is limping and having some mobility problems with his hands. But he is still out with his daughter. I made sure he got some candy too! That one was awesome!

Zombie Bride 7 year old!

Teenager who win's best in my book: Stay-Puff-Marshmallow Man!!!! 

 

I will always love Halloween. I will always feel happy seeing the little kids come up to the door in their costumes, the masked ones being led by unamused mothers who now see the folly in letting clumsy children wear things that limit their vision to two small pinholes. I will love the babies in fuzzy warm outfits, and yes, even the high schoolers in their make shift last minute "I want free candy" costumes. I will adore the smell of candle burnt pumpkins and the next morning pitching the saggy remains of those pumpkins into the trash. 

But I will always feel a pang of sadness watching the GOOD candy leave my bowl. My stash of treats. No matter that I am an adult and if I want to eat a Milky Way bar I can go get one and eat it. Somehow Halloween candy feels different. You HAVE to have it in your house for the little munchkins who come to the door. You don't normally sit there and have the crisis of "If I eat this, I am undoing three days worth of gym time" It is Fun Size! It is small, and seems like less. It is like the pitfall of the "fat free cookie" you can eat as many as you want, right? It's fat free! Its FUN SIZE! 

But I do really love Halloween! 

 

 

So Much to DO!

Maybe its the start of fall and the rainy season, maybe its how busy I have been, but I have not been doing much thinking lately.

Somewhere between shopping for food, trying to keep up with the cleaning, a toddler who is taking off in about 5 directions at once and a puppy who just hit the puppy version of the terrible twos my mind is taking a vacation and I have not been doing much blogging.

But I have been doing some fun things lately. Like puppy obedience class!

Dan and I took a trip to the beach a month or so ago and we are just finishing the tumbling of the first batch of rocks. We were able to do a whole tumbler full of just agates. The result is beautiful! We have another load of rocks that will be done in a week or so, and yet another one waiting to go in, and I have one of some shop bought rough stones that are on their first round in the tumbler.

I made a fall wreath for the door from some fake flowers and grape vines from our own grapes.

I made home made spaghetti sauce and grape juice and grape jelly and canned it all. Here are some of the grapes that we got this year. They were really nice! But wow making grape juice is a lot of work!

I have been making some chain mail jewelry and wire wrapped stones to give as gifts this year.

based on a Japanese 12 in 2 design

a Persian weave chain

My completed works so far, minus a few that were too heavy to hang up

I got some pictures of Liam printed and put them in a nice frame. It makes me happy to have pictures of him that I can hold in my hands.

And Most importantly, playing with Liam a whole lot! We have gone to the zoo, OMSI, the park, the pool and had a lot of fun. And the gym, he does great at the daycare now, no crying when I leave.

What a man!

I have to admit, there are times when I wonder if Dan is even on the same page as me, but then there are days like these last 4 when I am sick sick sick and he just pics up and takes control. Sure, the dishes don't get done, the floor doesn't get swept and there are some minor things like that, but the baby is fed, clothed and loved and I get to sleep.

I often forget to think in the big picture. I stress about clutter, food wrappers on the counter... but what matters is that Liam is getting fed and adored.

Anyways. I am still dizzy dizzy and all kinds of wonky, but I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to my husband. You are amazing and I couldn't do this alone. I love you and appreciate that you give the baby fruit and grain and protein at each meal, even if it was bananas for 5 meals in a row. He wasn't complaining! Thank you for being a good daddy and a good husband and letting me get the rest I need.