A Bit of Seasonal Fun... Right on Schedule

My life has been a bit stressful and serious lately which is why Halloween came at a very convenient time this year.  It is difficult to feel gloomy when introducing a toddler to her very first jack-o-lantern.  Wouldn't you agree?

(The eerie shadow on the left was totally intentional.  I am an excellent photographer.)

And even though I am a self-proclaimed hater of crafts, and pumpkin carving is clearly crafty, gathering round the table with my family, each of us wielding sharp knives, made me feel very happy and loved.  With my husband's artistic pattern I was even able to carve this top notch Cookie Monster-o-lantern making my excited toddler even more excited...

My nine-year-old impressed us all with her super cool dragon-lantern.  She worked tirelessly (and probably a bit too late into the school night) on this fantastic design.  She is a little bit of a rock star fireball, you know.

All of this wonderfulness happened the night before Halloween, so there was still a whole other day and night of fun to look forward to.  I spent most of the day on Halloween arguing with my two-year-old, who was in rare form.  At one point, I snarled at her, "You are supposed to dress as a monster today, not act like one!!" 

She replied fiercely, "I NOT A MONSTER!!"  Later, after she kicked me in the shins and pulled my hair, I put her in "Time Out," and told her that she could just stay there until she was ready to be nice.  Moments later blood-boiling roars could be heard coming from her room.  "I READY BE NICE!!" those roars declared, but she wasn't.

Finally on the way back from dropping off a Halloween snack at my second grader's classroom, the monster fell asleep, and I felt confident that she'd be a new girl when she awoke.  Perhaps I shouldn't have been so confident.  The little girl who woke up informed me with great certainty that she, "NO like tricky treat!"  In the end, her sister Sophia convinced her to put on a costume.  At the last minute, she decided that she wanted to be a cow because a cow has a tail, and Lili is a bit obsessed about tails lately.  She will tell you all about her tail obsession (in the third person) if you ask.  She informed me at least fifteen times last night, "Mama, Lili have a tail now.  Lili a Cow!"

Thank God for big sisters!

When it actually came time for the "tricky treating" to commence, Lili changed her tune.  Neighbors and strangers stopped to compliment her on how cute she was, and she didn't mind that one bit.  She very quickly learned to greet everyone, "Happy Halloween!" and helped herself to multiple handfuls of treats at each house.  After a round of trick-or-treating with Dad and another with Mom, the older girls decided they were cold and satisfied with their loot.  We headed back home.  When we hit our driveway, Lili stopped dead in her tracks.  She pulled my arm and declared defiantly, "NO!  Let's go more tricky treat!!"  I bribed her with chocolate milk to avoid a terrifying scene and got her back into the house.

Everyone got into bed eventually.  I was exhausted in that satisfying, contented sort of way, and I got to sleep next this this guy all night...

...and of course the little cow crawled in between us at some point in the wee hours.

Happy Halloween, Friends!