October 31st

I got to coordinate Lizzy's class Halloween party. I love that she wanted me there. I told her all of the stations each mom was taking charge of and she wanted me to do a beanbag toss.
I was sewing up beanbags 10 minutes before heading out the door only to find her teacher had some in the classroom (my Mickey Mouse Halloween ones were totally worth it though-right?). Abigail was a distraction to all of the girls.

 Liz wanted to dress up as "Red" from hoodwinked. Easy enough. (sorry you're hidden from view, Cooper!)

 Trick or treating around the neighborhood was just awesome with Joseph! He LOVED the whole concept of receiving candy from neighbors. We need to teach Daddy to be more discrete when taking KitKats from a 2 year old.

 James was Ash Ketchum -a PokeMon trainer. Unfortunately an hour of piano lessons and making dinner for a neighbor took precedence over pictures of kids in costumes... They each looked real legit prior to heading out the door.

 Liz switched to a cheerleader for the evening. She was complimented over and over again on the bag she chose. (A Redskins bag from my childhood. Random!)

 What the??? Anna couldn't find her red Ariel wig, so she decided to wear Lizzy's Red riding hood one. She also refused to wear a shirt UNDER her Ariel costume (insisting on this oh-so-mermaid-ish sweater to cover it up.)
Her Ariel trick-or-treat bag we sewed may have developed a gaping hole, loosing 2/3s of her candy...

 Despite looking at it like a dirty diaper, Joseph LOVED his Mickey Mouse trick or treat bag and dressing up as his favorite character, hanks to a friend's great bargain find!

 Since when did Halloween turn into an all-out-Christmas-type decorating holiday?  Lights? Blow up characters? Sure it's fun and all, but it sure sets the expectations high and results in extremely disappointed children when all Mom puts up is a ghost in the tree and pumpkins in the window.

 After a while James decided he had had enough candy-collecting and wanted to go home to scare unsuspecting kids.
He buried himself (with a little help) in leaves and patiently waited for visitors. (can you find his face poking through?!

 This is one of 2 candies Lizzy chose to enjoy. 3 hours later she covered her bed in throw up.
Which leads me to my next Halloween observation- 95% of my kids' candy was chocolate! Growing up, it was more like 5%, was it not? I mean, I lived it an average neighborhood in the DC area and our bags were full of smarties and random hard candies. We really treasured those few candy bars. I now find myself skipping over the Recess, Snickers and Milkyways disappointed I can't find a Butterfinger in their loot.

 Abby is tired of waiting for her own teeth to grow in and has turned to alternative teeth forms.