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Halloween costumes
Oct. 7th, 2009 02:51 pm
We have friends who live in Auburn AL and sent us "tiger tails." Casper already had stripey orange and black Hanna pjs, and I ordered Dillo some too, since he looked really goofy with his tiger tail stuck in the butt of red and green Christmas pajamas. Both are now planning to be tigers for Halloween - and there are some really good face-painting tutorials online.
gift/burden
Oct. 29th, 2008 09:48 amI got home last night, on foot, at 10:30, to find a present on our doorstop. It is a little ghost-themed tin pail, with rice krispie treats, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, and little foam pellets that expand into monsters when you add water. It also had a little note, in rhyme, saying that I should copy the note (ghost-shaped) and make gifts for two other families, and post the ghost on my door to show I had already been gifted.
So basically, it's a Halloween gift basket chain letter. My choices are: ignore the instructions to pass it on, and feel guilty; run out to Kroger after work tonight and buy stuff for two more baskets and make them and put them on some other unsuspecting person's door. I'm not sure which I am going to do. This is one of those little gestures that seems like a nice thing, but honestly, I'd rather not have received it.
So basically, it's a Halloween gift basket chain letter. My choices are: ignore the instructions to pass it on, and feel guilty; run out to Kroger after work tonight and buy stuff for two more baskets and make them and put them on some other unsuspecting person's door. I'm not sure which I am going to do. This is one of those little gestures that seems like a nice thing, but honestly, I'd rather not have received it.
Halloween always seems an overwhelming scramble to me. I like it, but.
I left work early, picked up the Dillo and was home by 4. We carved the pumpkins, got the kids dressed - Dillo in a hand-me-down puppy suit and Casper in her witch outfit with green face paint - and crossed the street to the park for the festivities. As usual we were among the first, but got to watch them trickle in. There's a huge number new new families and new babies I don't know. I just don't spend the long hours at the park that I used to when Casper was Dillo's age. Costumes included lots of baby chicks (I recognized many outfits from Old Navy), many witches, and a variety of other things. Not a lot of superheroes this year, and reduced princesses. Top awards from me: Smokey and the Bandit; a T-Rex; an older girl (like, 10) in a Paperbag princess costume. Gabriel (also about 10, our neighbor) was a pimp, and I'm shocked his total lefty parents let him. His brother Elijah seems to be too old now for the neighborhood Halloween stuff. And Jessica and Nicole (also neighbors) were there but not in costume. People get older! Sample photos here and following: http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/1811437314/
Home, quick dinner, and the trick or treaters started coming at 6pm, when it was still broad day. We ran out of candy at 7:15 after 3 bags full, and I closed down, but there was a lot of noise of people passing well past 8pm; we could have handed out twice as much. A programmer in our neighborhood put up a web page where people can enter their addresses and candy counts, which is fascinating for those who know my 'hood. Monmouth is where it's at. http://c.oloss.us/kidcounts/ A friend who lives on Club (in another neighborhood) had the following historical tally:
2001 - 404
2002 - 536
2003 - 641
2004 - 741
2005 - 809
2006 - 867
2007 - 954
It's insane over there.
mr. flea took the Dillo and Casper out to our block, and then left Dillo home with me while he took Casper over to Monmouth and Watts. Dillo ate a bag of M & Ms doled out three at a time, and helped me distribute some candy at the door. He got a Milky Way from the bowl and walk walking around with it saying, "more!" I did not give it to him, despite his very cute bagging face. The fact that he even got M & Ms is indicative of the fact that he's the second child; Casper had to wait until she was 2 to get candy at Halloween.
Casper and mr. flea had fun, and ran into her teacher Mrs. B and her husband, who were taking Alejandro, one of her classmates, trick or treating. A nice thing to do. I like Mrs. B a lot - a friend of ours knows her from their church, and she seems to be very community-centered and a great person (her husband too). Casper was excited (mr. flea calls it "twinkletoes") between houses and then very shy at the actual doors. She went to bed fairly easily, though, and not much later than the usual time.
This morning, of course, we had the hideous whining and begging for candy. I explained our plan - one treat a day at dinnertime - and told her this was how it was when I was a kid. This helped, I think. Still expect more whining later. As I left she was sitting on the toilet trying to produce a poop in order to earn a candy reward!
I left work early, picked up the Dillo and was home by 4. We carved the pumpkins, got the kids dressed - Dillo in a hand-me-down puppy suit and Casper in her witch outfit with green face paint - and crossed the street to the park for the festivities. As usual we were among the first, but got to watch them trickle in. There's a huge number new new families and new babies I don't know. I just don't spend the long hours at the park that I used to when Casper was Dillo's age. Costumes included lots of baby chicks (I recognized many outfits from Old Navy), many witches, and a variety of other things. Not a lot of superheroes this year, and reduced princesses. Top awards from me: Smokey and the Bandit; a T-Rex; an older girl (like, 10) in a Paperbag princess costume. Gabriel (also about 10, our neighbor) was a pimp, and I'm shocked his total lefty parents let him. His brother Elijah seems to be too old now for the neighborhood Halloween stuff. And Jessica and Nicole (also neighbors) were there but not in costume. People get older! Sample photos here and following: http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/1811437314/
Home, quick dinner, and the trick or treaters started coming at 6pm, when it was still broad day. We ran out of candy at 7:15 after 3 bags full, and I closed down, but there was a lot of noise of people passing well past 8pm; we could have handed out twice as much. A programmer in our neighborhood put up a web page where people can enter their addresses and candy counts, which is fascinating for those who know my 'hood. Monmouth is where it's at. http://c.oloss.us/kidcounts/ A friend who lives on Club (in another neighborhood) had the following historical tally:
2001 - 404
2002 - 536
2003 - 641
2004 - 741
2005 - 809
2006 - 867
2007 - 954
It's insane over there.
mr. flea took the Dillo and Casper out to our block, and then left Dillo home with me while he took Casper over to Monmouth and Watts. Dillo ate a bag of M & Ms doled out three at a time, and helped me distribute some candy at the door. He got a Milky Way from the bowl and walk walking around with it saying, "more!" I did not give it to him, despite his very cute bagging face. The fact that he even got M & Ms is indicative of the fact that he's the second child; Casper had to wait until she was 2 to get candy at Halloween.
Casper and mr. flea had fun, and ran into her teacher Mrs. B and her husband, who were taking Alejandro, one of her classmates, trick or treating. A nice thing to do. I like Mrs. B a lot - a friend of ours knows her from their church, and she seems to be very community-centered and a great person (her husband too). Casper was excited (mr. flea calls it "twinkletoes") between houses and then very shy at the actual doors. She went to bed fairly easily, though, and not much later than the usual time.
This morning, of course, we had the hideous whining and begging for candy. I explained our plan - one treat a day at dinnertime - and told her this was how it was when I was a kid. This helped, I think. Still expect more whining later. As I left she was sitting on the toilet trying to produce a poop in order to earn a candy reward!
Halloween, and other things
Nov. 1st, 2006 07:59 amHair notes: mine is coming out like wow. So annoying, especially in the shower. I cut Casper's on Monday night, a little shorter than I meant to, and it surely needs some cleanup. It's a long bob again now; I didn't touch the front. I haven't really had a chance to see my handiwork yet since she's been in a bunny hood and/or had bedhead ever since the cut.
Casper was an angel on Halloween: no fussing, no whining, no crying, no arguing. They did stuff at school, and parents came in for the after-nap party. There were 3 bunnies, 2 lions, Tinkerbell, Cinderella, Dora, assorted other princesses, a fireman, and a mean witch.
Then we hustled home, got the Dillo into his caterpillar suit (he kept trying to eat the edges of the hood and losing his face inside it.) Off to the park for the annual scary story and parade. All the neighborhood kids are getting so big! Except for the new ones I don't know yet. Best costumes - a zebra with great face paint, an emperor penguin with a plastic egg taped to her foot, beautiful fairies, biker chick 18 month old, a daddy in a big 'fro.
Then we hustled home again, and I forced Casper and mr. flea to eat dinner before heading out. I couldn't tell who was more excited as they set up the pumpkins with candles and started their glow sticks. They were gone a long time - the did our block, the short block of the biug cross street, and the next block, which had some very good pumpkins. Casper was unable to carry her (small plastic pumpkin) candy bag after a while, and netted 54 pieces of candy. mr. flea reported that in a darkish stretch between houses (which, note, we live in a dense urban neighborhood, with 50 foot wide lots) she said, "We are lost in the middle of the darkness" and sat down on a dark house's front steps. She was very good about sharing candy when she came home, and ate 2 lollipops and half a tiny bag of m and ms, then moved on to popcorn. Then went to bed with me and was chatty chatty chatty, so excited and happy. (Woke up crying for candy this morning, but that's another story...)
Casper was an angel on Halloween: no fussing, no whining, no crying, no arguing. They did stuff at school, and parents came in for the after-nap party. There were 3 bunnies, 2 lions, Tinkerbell, Cinderella, Dora, assorted other princesses, a fireman, and a mean witch.
Then we hustled home, got the Dillo into his caterpillar suit (he kept trying to eat the edges of the hood and losing his face inside it.) Off to the park for the annual scary story and parade. All the neighborhood kids are getting so big! Except for the new ones I don't know yet. Best costumes - a zebra with great face paint, an emperor penguin with a plastic egg taped to her foot, beautiful fairies, biker chick 18 month old, a daddy in a big 'fro.
Then we hustled home again, and I forced Casper and mr. flea to eat dinner before heading out. I couldn't tell who was more excited as they set up the pumpkins with candles and started their glow sticks. They were gone a long time - the did our block, the short block of the biug cross street, and the next block, which had some very good pumpkins. Casper was unable to carry her (small plastic pumpkin) candy bag after a while, and netted 54 pieces of candy. mr. flea reported that in a darkish stretch between houses (which, note, we live in a dense urban neighborhood, with 50 foot wide lots) she said, "We are lost in the middle of the darkness" and sat down on a dark house's front steps. She was very good about sharing candy when she came home, and ate 2 lollipops and half a tiny bag of m and ms, then moved on to popcorn. Then went to bed with me and was chatty chatty chatty, so excited and happy. (Woke up crying for candy this morning, but that's another story...)
