Here they are!

Here are the kidlets out getting their trick or treating on...

This is the dude that watched over the bowl of candy we left out front while I joined the ToT tour of our street.

Part of our Halloween display

This is our Halloween decor.... it included Halloween music (think generic Monster Mash, Purple People Eater, Thriller, etc... ) and a fog machine. This picture doesn't do it justice looks like Christmas on crack... in the dark with the fog... it's really kind of cool looking.

Our little witch (notice - no Elmo, Abby cadabby or Zoe Monster???)

Our Sleeping Beauty. She wouldn't hold still for a picture, but her hair was really sleeping beauty-esque. She started out with a giant round bang and the big pretty curls... considering I don't have any hair spray - I was surprised it lasted as long as it did.

This is the kid I was most proud of. She was super helpful getting everyone ready - but really, in the end she chose to be BUNNICULA! From the James Howe series. The majority of her friends were dressing up as HSM characters, Hannah Montana or the like - but she chose to go her own way. She was so proud of her costume - including the WHITE CARROT her Dad bought her...

Trunk or Treat

Halloween starts early around the Dough house...

Here are some pictures of the girls in their "practice" costumes. Not one of them wants to wear these costumes on Halloween - but for the party they went to today they worked out fine.

Happy Halloween Month!

Seriously I so love October. I love May... and Fall... and the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas... but I really enjoy October.

Oh yeah - and Happy Birthday month to my Mom!

We are thinking of having a Halloween Open House this year. We don't have room to have a party - but we really like doing something for Halloween. So I was thinking of having an Open House type of get together from 4-6p or 430-530p before Trick or Treating. We have amassed quite a collection of Halloween decorations over the years and it's easy to go dramatic on decorating the front of our townhouse.

So - we were thinking of just having a couple of tables set out front with my semi-famous snake sandwiches, veggies and dip, some other snacks and drinks. Nothing too crazy but something for the kids to do before it's trick or treating time. Maybe some unattended games that the kids can do. I'm guessing they'll be able to occupy an hour...

What do you think? Is that time too crazy for parents on Halloween? It's a Friday this year so I'm hoping it might be a good time.

Trick or Treat!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Skanky

It took me hours of online searching to find a NON-slutty Halloween costume for Julia. She originally wanted to be Hannah Montana - but was easily talked into being the BoPeep for Emma's Sheep.

I found some, but they were almost $50 and/or still waaaaaaaaaaaaay too slutty for my sweet 6 year old.

I made one instead. As in... SEWED!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and other than some serious miscalculations in my attempts to construct bloomers without a pattern, it went without a hitch.

I think it turned out precious. I even made a matching trick or treat bag from the purple gingham and the lace edging. She'll be the cutest (non-slutty) Bo Peep out there.

I will die from her cuteness...

I looooooooove me this costume. She loved playing with her little dangling eyes. I still giggle every time I see this picture!

Anna showed us all how to Trick or Treat. She was hilarious yelling to me from each doorstep as she held up her loot to show me... "yook momma, CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNYYYYYYYYY" When we got home Anna was recapping, "momma, we went to a house, and said, 'I want canny' an den, we got some, den we go and said 'I want canny' and we get some more" It was hilarious. She lucked out too, she decided at the last minute she wanted to dress as a spider, and when we unpacked her costume it was a spider witch costume! She was appeased with all the spider webs and spiders on her little dress.

And then there is our veteran Trick or Treater. Julia could not wait to get out and get that candy. She was so sweet, she'd tell each person "thank you, Have a Happy Halloween" as she got her loot and walked away. She did a great job in showing Anna the ropes. She had a great time, but was ready for bed as soon as we got home.

All in all we had a great night. Our favorite stop was this beautiful home with a long winding driveway. They had gone all out decorating the driveway with fog machines, sound effects, and decor. At the house they had a little area for the kids to get their treats, and for the adults, a tiki bar complete with a bartender for adult trick or treating. Straight from the bottle you could pick your poison. Dan and I shared a nice Halloween Ale as we walked down the tree lined streets in the balmy high 50 degree weather. The kids were comfortable in their double layers of long sleeved t's and leggings instead of the coats and snowpants people taunted us with. The witches didn't fight with each other, Em was charming and all was well in our little corner of New England.

Happy Halloweiner!

My mom used to send out these cards for holidays, birthday's etc... that weren't funny - but PUNNY. Like "If you are happy and you know it" on the outside and then on the inside of the card "clamp your hams" (and a picture of a ham with a clamp on it.

Punny, right?

Well - the classic was the Halloween card with the Daschund dressed as a vampire on the front with the punch line... "Happy Hallo-weiner." For the better part of 10 years this card has been exchanged (new one each year- we're not organized enough to recycle the old one again and again) each Halloween.

So - to all of you today.... Happy Hallo-weiner

Pumpkins

Here are my 3 lil pumpkins.

We had a beautiful day here, windy, but beautiful.

The girls had a blast picking out their pumpkins, and we had a blast watching them.

Oh NO!

It's so dark here! I couldn't believe it when the sun was behind the houses by 4:30pm. It was completely dark and we could put out our Luminarias by 5pm. It's Luminaria night for Julia's school - they sell Luminarias as a fundraiser to the community and then have a night where they urge everyone to put them out.

It was way too windy (as in 30 mph winds) to put them outside. We tried on the porch and tried on the ground, but the wind just picked them up and threw them around. These are heavy duty Luminarias too - with the base filled with water.

So - the Luminaria's are in the windows in the house. I bought a bunch of those battery operated tea lights on clearance at Target this week - so I don't even have to worry about fire.

Kelly at Missing JT Snow has us asking our kids some questions...

Here are Julia's answers.

1. When is Halloween? On Tuesday

2. What do we do on Halloween? We go trick or treating

3. Why do we celebrate Halloween? Cause it's about Halloween and that all I have to say

4. What happens on Halloween? Every ghost, monster and pumpkin comes out and you can pick pumpkins.

5. Why do we wear costumes? Cause we just do

6. What do you get on Halloween? Candy!!