Trick or Treat!

I'll admit it. I'm not really into Halloween. I'm just not. But this year, Kingston was sort of "getting" the whole idea of dressing up and Trick or Treating. All of his buddies at school had decided what they wanted to be and Mrs. Cindy quizzed them on it daily. When asked, Kingston always answered, "Choo-choo train!" Of course he did. That is pretty much his standard answer for just about anything!

So one Friday after school I promised I would help him make his costume. We settled on the tank engine, James (more because I knew I had red wrapping paper at home than for any other reason). I got out the box. The black magic marker. The rubber cement that I was sure would be dried up after all these years but wasn't. The paper plate. I mean, what's a homemade Halloween costume if there isn't a paper plate involved?!

With Kingston's "help" we concocted the most silly looking choo-choo train. He loved it. He was quite concerned, however, that James didn't have wheels at first. "Mommy. James neeeeeds wheels!" Another colored-in paper plate later, James had wheels. I'm just glad he got over the idea that James needed a coal car, too!

So after a late nap (an no lunch except for a chocolate chip cookie and some chocolate milk. . . Thanks, Pappy for a fun day!) Kingston woke up ready to Trick or Treat. We went to a little neighborhood where I know a few folks and parked at a friend's house.

And without further ado. . . James!

We went to my friend Mary's house first. It was a miracle we made it up the stairs. We hadn't really thought about the difficulty of climbing stairs, reaching for things, etc. when designing the costume! Mary and her husband, Tony, watched through the windows and laughed at us as we navigated the stairs! They waited behind the door for Kingston to do his thing. And he did!

Knock, knock!

"Trick or Treat!" He actually said it! It was perfect! Mary and Tony were so sweet to him. It was a great first time!

From there we hit about 4 more houses and then called it a night.

The good thing about the costume was that he couldn't reach to get things out of his bucket! And he couldn't eat a sucker because he couldn't reach his mouth! So we fed him a few pieces of candy and that was that!

I'll be honest. Halloween is a lot more fun with a kid involved! I will look forward to next year a little more now! Now it's just a matter of hiding the few bits of candy that he did get. He seems to think it is fair game any time. I don't know where he would get that idea. Oops, I should probably wipe the ButterFinger off of my keyboard. Drool.

Happy Halloween!

I've mentioned before that I am a member of a great local organization called Mommy and Me. Did you know that I'm actually a very important member? Did you know I am on the board? I mean, I'm co-in charge of parties with my friend, Michelle. We are almost as important as the President. Almost. Michelle and I are in charge of putting together about 5 parties a year for our members and their families. We had one very successful beach party in August and Friday we had our 2nd party, a Healthy Halloween and Hay Ride party.

Our party was a huge success, if I do say so myself! And I do. Believe me. We had a great turnout. There was a blow up slide, there was a cupcake walk, there was a hay ride, there were healthy snacks and crafts. SpongeBob Squarepants and Squidward were there. Nemo and Squirt were there. Elmo came. Scooby-Doo made an appearance. There was a doctor in the house, as well as an Indian (Native American?) and some cowboys and girls. I think my favorite guest appearance was this handsome little pirate.

He and his dad went on the hay ride and wandered around the park. We tried our hardest to keep him away from the table full of cupcakes. He ended up only eating about 3 cupcakes. So much for the Healthy Halloween party!

By the end of the party and on the ride home, Kingston consumed his 3rd cupcake and pretty much ate his beard off.

I've never really been into Halloween. I just never got into walking the neighborhood asking for candy. It always made me nervous or something. So we didn't take Kingston Trick-or-Treating on Saturday night. We dressed him up and went out to dinner with his Pappy and Miss Brandi. Here's our tough pirate, sporting a full beard this time, and a little bling.

That was enough for us. That should do it until next year. I'm not sure what I'll do if he ever really gets into it. I guess I buck up and play along. Until then, cheap homemade costumes and minimal candy seems to work for us. Maybe we can convince him that the holiday is only about hay rides and pumpkins. . .