Thirteen Pounds

Can I tell you how much I love Halloween?  It’s the one true holiday just for kids, and although we adults often try to get in there and get in on the action, kids are the reason for the season, so to speak. 

My mom wasn’t allowed to trick-or-treat.  Her dad thought it was begging, and wouldn’t allow his children to do it.  That makes me pretty sad that she missed out on the fun.  Plenty of adults around here also don’t allow their children to trick-or-treat because of the holiday’s apparent roots in evil.  Hundreds of years ago.  So these unlucky children aren’t allowed to carve pumpkins or dress up and run around and get candy.    So evil (see, there is where a sarcasm font would come in handy).

I looked through my childhood photo albums and found ONE picture of me in a costume:

I am a bear ready for some rain, posing next to the encyclopedias my parents bought to ensure a future of solid research for me.  I’m not sure why the bear is not brown and furry, but yellow and bearing the picture of a bear.  If I still had those encyclopedias, maybe I could look up the answer for you.  Too bad there is not another handy way of doing research available to me.  And awww!  I’m wearing saddle shoes!  According to the back, I am 2 -1/2 years old. 

I love to make Halloween costumes.  Before the kids were old enough to object, I sewed them into ladybugs and corn on the cobs, a homemade princess and Bob the Builder and Blues Clues.  And then one year Maddie wanted to be a Disney princess, but I really wanted to make her a mermaid costume.  I’m the adult, so I won.  Here’s the picture of her preschool class dressed up that year:

She’s in the bottom left corner.  And I didn’t win that argument.  The class was full of Disney princesses and I felt horrible that I didn’t let her be one too (she’s smiling for the picture, but I could see the longing on her face when all the girls twirled around in their dresses).  That was the year I realized it wasn’t about what I wanted, but what they wanted.  Halloween is for kids.

So I’ve only made costumes if they asked me to, and I’ve bought or pieced together whatever they wanted every year since then.

This year, Maddie was an alien, Ben was an army guy, and Jack was a muscle man.

They came home with THIRTEEN POUNDS of candy (yes, I weighed it!)


I do ration out the candy, because my children all love candy, so, so, so, so much and would devour it in a week if I let them. 

And also…. shhhhh, don’t tell the kids this, but…Dave sneaks out the Almond Joys and Reese’s PB Cups and I sneak out the Kit Kats and Twizzlers.  Shhhhhhhhh.   It’s our secret, okay?  I am counting on you to not let this one slip.

Tonight Dave and I get to dress up too for an adults-only party.  Last year we went as Octomom and her turkey-baster bearing doctor.  This year we are going as Snookie and Pauly D from Jersey Shore.  My bronzer and high hairdo and Dave’s wife-beater and high hairdo are ready to go, because sometimes, adults get to have fun on Halloween too.

I hope yours is a happy one!