Monday, October 29, 2007

Getting Antsy


Halloween . . .

It means kids losing their minds thinking about all the chocolate and sugar they are going to consume on October 31st!

It means parents losing their minds thinking about all the chocolate and sugar their kids are going to consume on October 31st!

It means plunging into a pumpkin up to my elbows to remove the "guts".

It means gathering with friends and family around a roaring fire, telling stories and sharing bowls of chili and cornbread while eerie sounds come from the bushes and ghosts hang above.

It means letting my kids stay up extra late to watch "Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown".

It means baking punpkin cake and bringing it (along with a giant tub of Cool Whip) to the annual family Halloween party.

It means taking the kids to trick-or-treat at Grammie Dori's house (where I had the lights scared out of myself all throughout childhood and now I'm passing this tradition along to my kids).

It means tucking in little faces at the end of it all, some smeared with left-over face paint, some smeared with gooey candy, some sticky with the remains of who-knows-what. Happy Halloween Baby. Knowing that when I strip their beds the next day while they are at school, I will be reminded of the magic of Halloween with each sweet smelling pillowcase that I wash.

What does it mean to you?


19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Right now, it means telling my children that I will not be dressed as Wendy this year, even though they will be Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.

Family Adventure said...

Feeling guilty that I cannot 'whip up' a costume like everyone else's mom!

I like..."It means gathering with friends and family around a roaring fire, telling stories and sharing bowls of chili and cornbread while eerie sounds come from the bushes and ghosts hang above"...better :)

That sounds lovely!

Heidi

Anonymous said...

It means I'd better not buy too much candy, because your kids & neighbor Emma are the only ones who brave the dark road down to our house!

It is one time of the year I wish we lived in a more traditional neighborhood.

Our best Halloween? The one in Anchorage when there was over a foot of snow.........

OhTheJoys said...

It means hiding the candy and hoping they forget about it.

kimi said...

it's not our year for halloween with the kiddo (she's with her momma) but I think her mom is giving us the ultimate gift of bringing her to our big halloween party at the church. I'm crossing my fingers big time, especially since I spent so long working on her costume! last year it meant watching a very excited tinkerbell show off for the whole church family, that little girl knows she's cute. watch out. ;)

Girlplustwo said...

i'm w/ Jess. we've already pre-negotiated the amount of candy pieces allowed for consumption tomorrow (4) and the amount allowed thereafter (1 piece per day)

Kellan said...

Yes - there are all those things. Cute post - I loved the last paragraph and that pretty much sums up how it will be around my house as well. See ya.

Kristin said...

In our house it means, candy hangover.

Tabba said...

OMG - that picture!!!

I'm with Jess & Jen.
Totally.

Cathy, Amy and Kristina said...

It means eating so much of the candy ahead of time, that one has to rush out and buy more at the last minute.

or maybe that's just me?

Regardless, welcome, oh extra 10 Butterfinger-induced pounds!

Kyla said...

It means that I will be eating way too much candy long after the kids forget about it. LOL.

An Ordinary Mom said...

It means ignoring the pumpkin guts calling my name and doing mess free pumpkins instead. It means me going on a sugar high while stealing the good chocolate from my kids :) !!

ditzymoi said...

Well this year it means big disappointment because everyone is sick :(

I think your evening sounds fantastic and fun! And in a totally unrelated topic ... you lived in anchorage when you were growing up? me too!!

Anonymous said...

It means flashing my hooter on the internet.

What? Just me?

You'll have to see my halloween costume for details.

Unknown said...

It means getting to wear cozy pajamas to work because my costume is "Tired Lady!" ha ha!

Awesome pic!

Lisa said...

It means, "FREE CANDY" and a boy that's so excited he hardly slept last night. :-)

Happy Halloween.

WorkingDad said...

Hey there, I am the family reporter at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and if you have a moment, I would like to talk with you about a new Census report that said parents are taking a more active role in their children's lives, cutting back television time etc...Unfortunately, I am facing a 4:30 p.m. deadline.

If you can spare five minutes, drop me an email at paulnyhan@seattlepi.com.

Thanks,

Paul Nyhan
Family Reporter
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
(206) 448-8145

Blog: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/family

Ann(ie) said...

Punkin cake and cool whip??? um, I'm gonna need to tag along next year. Just FYI.

NEED TO SEE THE CUTENESS of the costumes....please post pics.

Love,
your bossy and impatient blogger pal =)

painted maypole said...

it meaans family themed costumes and parties at school, weeding out the bad candy, and sharing the bounty with friends