Trick or Treat...Smell my Feet

"Smile already, so we can get OUT of here and get our candy begging on!"

The sly fox gives in and smiles on his own...

Finally! A beautiful night for trick or treating; no umbrellas or coats required. And both kids were happy and healthy. Thank you, Great Pumpkin for bestowing your good fortune!

No matching costumes this year, but I still think they made a cute pair. Poor Nick's costume was just a tad too snug, so the hood stayed down most of the night, but whatever. We got the photos! The kiddos headed out with our backyard neighbors and had a total blast. They trick or treated for over an hour and came home with the haul to prove it. They were pretty cooperative about only eating a few pieces though. Great Pumpkin, really, you were too good to us this year!

We did have to do some coaching on the old "Trick or Treat, smell my feet song..." First, contrary to Lainey's insistence otherwise, the words are not "if you don't, I don't care, I'll go down your underwear." She wanted to know why she couldn't say that and I said it's inappropriate, which only prompted another "why" and I knew I was going to spiral down one of my incoherent, be honest without being too honest, explanations, so I just went with the tried and true, "because I said so." Second, Mark explained you shouldn't actually sing it when you're going up to a house (although Nick was so damn adorable, I think it would have gotten him more candy.)

Prior to the big night out, both kids were treated to fun parties at school. I did have a mom fail with Lainey. We got a note that kids were allowed to bring goodie bags to pass out to their friends, but Lainey's got shut down, because I had M&Ms in them--they were the plain ones, but made in the same factory as the peanut ones.* Face palm! It just never crossed my mind. But, considering she has 25 kids in her class and only came home with six goodie bags, I have a feeling I wasn't the only one to screw that one up. Then she told me parents could come to the party and asked why I didn't come. Well, I didn't know parents would come (let's just say there is room for improvement in the communication from school to home), or I probably could have made it this time. Between not being able to give out her goodie bags and having her mom stand her up for the party, I became irrationally heartbroken for her and started down a shame spiral. But, I talked to my neighbor who did go to the party, and she told me how incredible it was and I realized Lainey probably didn't really care much I wasn't there. Evidently, we have some pretty awesome room moms who created almost a carnival in the classroom with different activity stations and Pinterest-worthy treats. So, instead of feeling guilty for what I didn't do, I choose to be grateful that we're lucky enough to have these amazing women with the time, energy, and creativity to pull off an awesome Halloween party!

Later as I was putting Nick to bed he said, "Mommy, there weren't enough juice boxes." Fear seized my heart. What?! I signed up for juice boxes and, as instructed, I brought 11. I asked, "So, you didn't get a juice box?" To which he replied, "I got a juice pouch." Relief! I had sent Honest Apple Juice, which comes in pouches. I did it! I provided juice to preschoolers! Gold star for me!

So, another festive holidays in the books! Now on to my favorite holiday...Thanksgiving!

*Before you roll your eyes about the peanut-free thing, I am a huge proponent of being respectful of food allergies. They can be a matter of life and death for some kids, so I'm willing to be hit with a little inconvenience on my end to make sure these kids have a safe environment.