Halloween

We forgot. Ran out of time. Or ignored it. One of those. Or all of those. But there was no pumpkin in our house this year. No orange canvas for Michael to practice his mad skills. Last year he did the two-head kitty monster. Which showed the scariest thing to happen to us last year. Carving doctor bills on the pumpkin for this year might have been an interesting challenge.

And what did the girls choose for their costumes this year? Madalyn went through a long list of possibilities. Renaissance princess. Grecian princess. Egyptian princess. My mother took her to Target to pick something out. And she decided to be a skeleton. Princess? I think we should have given her a tiara.

Katie decided to make her own costume. So that she could be her absolute favorite thing. A pie. She had it all planned out. She would wear silver pants. For the pie tin. And a tan-ish shirt. Her words. So she would have the pie crust down. And then she wanted to make slits in the shirt to show the fruit in the pie. And then have a hat that looked like she was ala mode. Uh-huh. Have I mentioned that I am not creative? This was a project that firmly rested in her hands.

She knew. And I knew. That this project was a go when I found the silver leggings. The store clerk gave me an odd look when I told her the leggings were for a Halloween costume. I would like to know what occasion calls for silver leggings. Where would you wear silver leggings? The rest of the costume came rather easily. The brown hoodie was found in her sister's closet. She made the apple slices and slits for her shirt. And glued a hundred cotton balls on a hat. Refused to have a cherry on top. Because she doesn't like cherries. Marischino cherries actually. "Real" cherries are yum.So here they are. In all their independent glory.

Did you know that sometimes skeleton. Princesses? Like to snack on pies?

Do any of you remember what we found in Katie's bag last year? Someone had put in some fun dip. That was personalized. From Valentine's. Yep. Regifted candy.Shockingly. It happened again. This time to Madalyn. She got a peanut butter bunny. Yep. An Easter bunny. For Halloween. Now that is scary.

So...what about you? How did your kids dress up for Halloween? Did you dress up? What is your favorite candy to steal from your kids? What candy did you hand out?

Halloween Parade

Every year Michael and the girls carve a pumpkin. It's a craft. I don't partake. I just take the pictures. It started out as a traditional pumpkin face. And over the years, it has gotten more elaborate. We have bought the kits to carve our pumpkin...and then Michael realized that he had the mad skills to do it without the kit. One year, Katie said she did not want a scary pumpkin. At the time, she was obsessed with the PBS show, Sagwa, The Chinese, Siamese cat. And Sagwa's best friend is Fu-Fu the bat. Everytime I have mentioned this show, people look at me strangely. If your kids haven't seen it...find it. It's great. And the stories are written by Amy Tan (who wrote "The Joy Luck Club" - "The Kitchen God's Wife" - "The Bonesetter's Daughter" amongst others).

So...Katie asked for a Fu-Fu pumpkin. And Michael did it. I don't know how. But he did.

I love the detail he did for it. Fu-Fu has a notch in his glasses - and so do the glasses on the pumpkin!

And this year, in honor of our two new kittens, Michael drew (free hand no less) a two headed kitty monster. Here is the free hand - it was hard to capture - there was a reflection no matter what I did. And here it is all carved and lit up. Pretty cool, no?

I don't know about your children...but mine have been planning their Halloween costumes for months. And it takes that long to plan because they change their minds weekly.

For the past month, Madalyn was planning to be a genie. And then she discovered an old diva outfit of Katie's. And decided that it would just be easier to wear that - mostly because it would keep her warm. So...we spiced up her outfit by making her an American idol contestant.Katie has been pretty steadfast in her decision to be Edward from Twilight. I love that she was going to be Edward. And not Bella. We decided that it would be fun for her to be Edward in the sunshine - and make her all sparkly and glittery. And then someone told me that you could order Forks High School t-shirts from the Forks Chamber of Commerce - so we got her a t-shirt.

(Ya'll must check out the chamber of commerce. They have lots of different t-shirts and hoodies. And my favorite is the bumper sticker that says "Vampires love forks." With our order we got a window cling that proclaims us members of the "Forks Chamber of Commerce." AND we got a map of the town. And it has all the sites - including notations of where you can buy a Bella Burger - and other Twilight nostolgia.)

We decided to make a mask, too...just in case no one recognized her. And well, no one did recognize her. Except one mother. Obviously Lula has not gotten to the people in this neighborhood.

Everyone needed a turn posing with Edward.

Sharing Edward.

And fighting over Edward.

After the girls got home...and took showers...and were sent to bed...I moved Katie's candy out of her bag and into a basket. And when I dumped it in, I noticed the candy that landed on the top of the basket and immediately thought - I am getting rid of that. She doesn't need straight sugar...and it will make such a mess.

And then, I looked a little closer, because there was writing on the package.

It's personalized! And not to my child.

And then, I looked even closer.It's VALENTINE candy. Someone regifted Valentine candy for Halloween! Regifted. Candy!

So...what about you? Any artistic carving skills at your house? Do you re-gift? Did your kids come home with anything strange in their candy bags? And, please tell me your approach to the candy! Do you let them have what they want till it's gone? Do you ration and still have some at Easter? What do you do? Is that too many questions??

OH...and have you entered my contest? It's a great one! Just scroll back to Saturday's post and get your name in the pot!

Theme song: B-52's - Love Shack. Why? For Valentine's. Duh.

Friday Follies: Halloween edition

Happy Halloween ya'll! Enjoy my holiday edition of the follies...and next week we are back to guest inquisitors (and the queue is still open if you would like to ask the questions!):

Trick or treat with the kids OR stay home to hand out candy?

What kind of Halloween candy are you giving out tonight? (Is it the same candy you first bought - or did you have to go back to the store and get more when it all "magically" disappeared from your house?)

What was your favorite Halloween candy when you were a kid? What candy did you always try to give away?

Do you decorate your house for Halloween?

What kind of carving is on your pumpkin?

Have you ever TP'd or egged someone's house?

Favorite scary movie?

Favorite scary book?

Favorite Disney villan?

Favorite movie villan?

Theme song: Talking Heads - Psycho Killer AND Cranberries - Zombie -- because Kid Rock has totally ruined Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London."

What's the frequency, Kenneth, Part trois

Who knew, that a month after the initial request, I'd finally finish answering your questions? And who knew that I could stretch it out into three posts of blog fodder?

Jennifer P from The Peterson’s Go Public wants to know: what was your favorite Halloween costume ever? And along those same lines, Shannon of Welcome to the Nut House asks: What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?

You know…I really don’t remember many of my costumes growing up. I know I was a gypsy one year. A ballerina. An Indian. Maybe even a cowgirl. But as far as stories go…this is my favorite costume.This was the year I decided to be the Wicked Witch of the West. Don't you love the plastic skirt? And matching cape?

Now, back in the olden days. Like when I was eight. You wore a plastic mask. (I even found pictures of me as a ballerina – but I still had a little girl mask to wear with it!)

Well, evidently, in the year of the witch, I complained to my mom that it was too hot to wear a mask. So, my mother had a brilliant idea. I would wear make-up. Instead of a mask. Brilliant, no?

Except that Mom's brilliant idea was to mix green food coloring with her foundation make up. And then paint my face with it.

Take a minute to let that "soak" in. She painted my face with green food coloring. Yep. She did that. Today she tells me that I insisted. I know I always listen to my eight year old.

The make up took about 10 days to wear off. And you know what? It all makes sense now. Now, I know why I love “Wicked.” I understand Elphaba. Because I, too. Have been green.That same year, my younger brother was Dr. Spock from Star Trek. But this was how he preferred to wear his costume.

(You don't think he'll get mad at me for posting this do you? I mean. I gave him a really big fig leaf.)

The most creative costume I have seen is one by our friend Mark. Do you remember when Roy of Siegfried and Roy was mauled by a tiger? Well…Halloween followed quickly on the heels of that event. And Mark wore a “tux” of sorts. And attached a white tiger to his arm. And had “blood” dripping from his neck all down his costume. I love topical costumes.And this is my favorite picture of my girls at Halloween. Not necessarily my favorite costume…but they look so sweet. And calm. And I captured it on film. It was a fleeting moment. So…what about you? When was the last time you went to a costume party? Do you have a favorite Halloween costume? What are your kids dressing up as tomorrow? Have you said "Happy Birthday" to my Mom today?

PS--Guess what? Starting on Saturday, I am going to have TEN WEEKS of weekend give aways! Yes. I said TEN WEEKS of give aways. And the first giveaway is one of my very favorite things...