Halloween 2007

Why, oh why do I do this to myself every single year??? I take WAY too long dressing four (at times ungrateful) children in costumes that they will either freeze to death in (which doesn't happen often in TX) or that they will burn up in. Rick had to work this year, so I loaded up the kids to take them over to my parents house to trick-or-treat. As we get in the car, the complaining begins...."my costume itches," "I'm too hot,""I'm too cold."... why did I not turn the car around immediately, take the costumes off, and declare Halloween officially over? Because I'm a mom, that's why. We got to Grandpa and Grandma's house and it begins again...."I'm hungry,""I have to go potty,""Let's go trick-or-treating,""My costume still itches,""I'm going to get more candy than you." Again, why did I not turn the car around? Well, we finally get out of the house...on our way to another halloween adventure. After 3 houses, Corbin declares he's finished trick-or-treating. He doesn't like candy--so what's the joy of filling a pumpkin full of it? Now if they were handing out chips, popcorn, pretzels, etc. he'd have been all over the trick-or-treating thing. After much sweet talking, I finally got Corbin to join back in on the "fun." From there on out, that child kicked every tree, in every yard, on every street, in the whole neighborhood. No amount of scolding did any good....because of course he wanted to be told that he had to go sit in the car, and of course it made no difference to him if I took all of his candy away....so, like any mother-of-the-year would do I let him kick the small trees, the prickly trees, the enormous oak trees. If he wanted to bruise those precious, superman toes, I was going to let him.

I stood back near the street yelling "remember to say thank-you" while the children would run up to the doors. I finally made it up to one of the doors with the kids. I made it just in time to see Hudson throwing a bag of chocolate covered raisins back into a treat bowl telling the sweet, sweet woman, "don't you know those things are bad for your teeth?" As if the Snickers, Skittles, and Reeces Pieces were great for your teeth, Hudson??

Rick showed up 3/4 of the way through the experience and that was my biggest treat of the night. So...will I trick-or-treat again next year? Of course! Who wants to miss out on a night of itchy costumes, bad attitudes, sugar rushes, and tree kickin' fun?

Oh, and by the way, thanks 10 million times over mom and dad for biting your tounges and pretending to have fun. I couldn't have done it without you.