Post Halloween

Cannon made his costume this year, mostly without help. He started over a month before Halloween researching how to make his costume, telling us the materials he needed. It was exhausting before he even started. But then one of the jobs Eric was doing had to get rid of their big foam mats in their exercise room, exactly the kind of foam Cannon needed, and that got him/us started. Eric coached him through how to cut the mats and then set him off on his own. Pieces of foam littered our house for a month and the glue gun was out being used or waiting to be used. Halloween day (no school) we went to Walmart to find cheap black pants for him to glue foam to and gloves that he could cut the fingers off the tips. Mission accomplished and costume complete with 4 hours to spare. It turned out great. 

Sommer was a cute leopard and got to wear her favorite pajamas. Laine was Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. Her costume evolved from the shoes up. She needed new Sunday shoes and chose this red, sparkly pair and then decided that she needed a costume to go with them. My idea to have her go as an 80s girl was not met with enthusiasm, especially when I showed her pictures of Cindi Lauper. We went to the DI to see if there was anything we could use as a Dorothy costume. I found a few mens shirts that had good color but that still meant I had to sew her a costume. Since my sewing skills aren't up to par with project runway contestants I opted to look on Amazon for something inexpensive. This dress was an excellent use of $20. Laine said that after the school costume parade she got 7 compliments on her shoes and 11 compliments on her dress which had sparkles all over the fabric. She felt pretty and happy, much more so than if I had tried to make her a costume and it saved me the stress as well. 

It was a wonderfully gorgeous Halloween day, mid-70s, light breeze, few clouds, incredible pink sunset. I needed a sweatshirt as I walked the kids from house to house but the girls were fine without extra layers. As we were out and about I mused that Halloween felt almost more neighborly and giving than Christmas. Here were all these houses full of people giving candy away to children, happy to see neighbors or strangers, happy to give. Several people were sitting outside on their driveways next to fire pits, passing out candy that way, talking to neighbors. My next door neighbor and I talked as we caught up to them about how each of us had spent $30 on candy and we were giving it away. For as much as I dislike the gore and the commercialism of this holiday, there is a happy aspect of sharing too and I felt lucky to be part of it in our neighborhood. 

Massimo had a major meltdown about 2 hours before trick-or-treat time when I made him come in to take a break from playing with the neighbor boys who are both 3.5 years older than he is. He was tired and cried and cried then fell asleep on my bed. We came back for him after an hour and a half of candy getting with Laine's friend Chandler, and he was ready to go. A few houses down the block he remarked, "I like this trick-or-treating!" Just as he was getting tired was when we caught up with our neighbor and being able to follow his friend around gave him a second wind so his candy haul was plenty. Ridge and Cannon went out with their friends. Ridge dressed up as a rice picker since he recently went to a Chinese market for culture points for his class and bought a traditional hat. 

Sorting and trading the candy is always fun. Massi wasn't interested, he was thirsty and drank lots of water and milk when we got back. Marley, the sweet black lab we are dog sitting for another week, patiently watched the girls without trying to steal any treats. She's a smart dog and just likes to be where we are sitting, happy to have company.