It Is the Week/Holiday/Post That Never Ends...

Bellatrix and Dobby, aka: Evie and Eliza

So about 11 years ago I was preggo with a little boy who I begged to not be born on Halloween. You see at this point I only had Cooper and he was only 2 1/2 at the time and Halloween consisted of trick or treating at 6 neighbors and a hand-me-down costume. Still I knew people that had holiday birthdays and I always felt sorry for them because they always seemed to get gypped. So I begged little Zac to come before or after Halloween so that we would always be able to have a special day just for him. Wasn't I such a cute new mommy? Awww...the naivete.

Draco and Voldemort

Let's begin...it all started two weeks ago with the going away party for my sister Lora. Lora was moving to St. George and since she loved Harry Potter so much and it was just before Halloween, why not have a Harry Potter themed party? It was a few days later that my niece shows up as an owl delivering our scroll inviting us to Hogwarts for a party, costumes required. Ben takes one look at the scroll and shakes his head claiming that my sister and I share the same disease. I assume he means gift because, HELLO, a red-headed OWL, just showed up at my door with a PARCHMENT SCROLL, inviting me to a party at HOGWARTS!! That is not a disease, that is party planning at its finest. But anyway, now the work begins. This is two weeks before Halloween and I have to convince my kids that what they really want to be for Halloween is Harry Potter characters. This flies with Isaac, because he knows it's all about the candy and Draco Malfoy is just another conduit to sugar. Evie, on the other hand has been talking about Princess Tiana for months and no matter how hard I try, Bellatrix is not an equally acceptable option. But whatever, I hold the purse strings and Bellatrix it is. We round out the family with Fred Weasley (Cooper), Professor Umbridge (Me) and of course the bald guy went as Voldemort.

Food

So the party was great. I brought pumpkin pasties and licorice wands, Holli had the butter beer, cauldron cakes and jelly beans and others brought cockroach clusters, baked brie, acid pops and others I'm sure I'm forgetting. We also had pigs in a blanket, because what party is complete without those? We played games, were sorted into houses, had a tri-wizard tournament. Okay, maybe it is a disease. Plus, I want to mention that I never said we weren't the dorkiest family on earth. Don’t judge us.

Ron Weasley

So now we come to the week of Halloween. First on the agenda are school parties. These happen on Thursday because school is out for end of term on Friday. These are relatively painless, as all I have to do is send costumes to school and treats for Isaac's birthday. That night we decide to go to the trick or treating/Halloween Carnival at the assisted living center down the street. I figured this was a very sneaky way of hiding a service project: my kids get candy; we make old people happy; everybody wins. It actually was pretty fun, my kids loved the seniors and, with the exception of the one lady who had her teeth out, covered in candy, and was hitting the kids hands as they came anywhere near her bowl of stuff, the seniors seemed to enjoy my kids.



We follow that up the next night with my parents Trunk or Treat and Chili Cook-off. I was was robbed, I tell you. My chili was that is. I suppose that's what happens when you have two 19 year old boys from the Midwest judge. The winner’s tasted a lot like baked beans. I will not be bitter, but I will refine Idaho’s palate, even if it’s one mouth at a time. Anyway the kids garnered even more of the sweet stuff and we enjoyed the company of my parents and a few of my siblings. Let just put it out there that SoCal has it ALL over I.F. in the trunk or treat department. Can we say BORING? (Sorry, Mom and Dad) My kids were looking around like, "This is it? Where are the handfuls of candy? Where are the awesomely decorated cars?” The flip side was it was a gorgeous night with perfect weather.



So next. (See it really is the week that never ends). Ben was leaving for L.A. on Saturday, so instead of a birthday dinner, Isaac opted for a birthday breakfast. He wanted McDonalds, so we had McDonalds. Nothing like a week’s worth of saturated fat to start out your 11th year. Ben headed out the door shortly after and we started getting stuff ready for the rest of the day. Our ward had an afternoon party, which I wisely decided to skip, because one really can have too much fun. Later that night, the rest of my family here in town came over for pizza to celebrate Zac's birthday. The kids did their best to eat, but most of them were too hyped for trick or treating that most of them just played with their food. So, since we live in a predominately Christian area, everyone trick or treats on Saturday. I hoped, perhaps, we would only have to go to part of church and get released early to enjoy the festivities of the day like we do at Christmas, but…no go. Apparently, there are some fundamental differences in the two holidays. So…trick or treating…home for cake and presents…everyone in the shower(not together, that would be weird)…off to bed.



Good grief, are you tired just reading this, or have you all just given up, due to the novel like nature to this post?



Sadly, we are not done.

Sunday, real Halloween, we head over to my parents house for hot chocolate and my Dad's famous cinnamon rolls, and Christmas music. Just like most families on Halloween, right?

Yeah, its over. So, yep, Isaac being born the day before Halloween really helped us out. Silly young mommy.