Halloween 2012

I'm not going to try and sugar coat this... Halloween 2012 was the pits, weather-wise. I just can't help but get feeling a teensy bit jealous, when all the bloggers and instagramers I follow are enjoying such a lovely fall. [Well... Maybe they're not. It just seems like they are] I wouldn't wish Tsunami warnings on anyone, and I don't ever, want to have to hunker down for a hurricane. I guess a little bit of blowing snow isn't the end of the world, but from what I saw, no one had pictures on instagram of their kids dressed for the arctic. Oh wait... I did.

This year was also was also a year of change. Mason wanted to go out trick or treating with his friends. I get it. I mean, I was 10 once too. I got to go out with friends. When I was little, there were so many kids, you had to be careful not to be pushed of the front porch. You had to line up, to get a treat. So I know how fun going with friends can be. Mason even said "Mummy, I'm running out of years to go out for Halloween, and I'd really like to go out with my friends." How could I argue?
I launched into the 'you can go with your friends, but you have to take your sister with you' spiel. He agreed [that's the kind of sweet boy he is] and I promised him that Madelyn and Daddy would follow behind him and his friends, giving them some distance. 

When I told Madelyn what the plan was, her response was "I'm not going trick or treating with a bunch of stink'in boys." [that's the kind of sassy girl she is] We needed to make alternate arrangements. It ended up being Uncle Don to the rescue. Miss Madelyn went out with Uncle Don, and Barry took Mason to meet up with his friends.

Once the kids were out of the house, all was good. But when Madelyn came downstairs, with her tights, black t-shirt, dress and butterfly wings, and proceeded to head out the front door with boots on, I had to put an immediate stop to that. I knew, the kids were going to have to wear winter jackets, toques and mittens. But to them, this came as a huge shock... Both absolutely refused to wear snow pants, which I finally relented about. But there was a storm brew'in trying to get them properly dressed out the door. Mason was somewhat motivated, by the fact that his friends were leaving a certain place, at a certain time, and if he didn't get there, he missed out. So he sulked, but put on his jacket. [He also agreed to put on a hat, after spending a few moments outside. He realized that perhaps his box head wasn't going to be as warm as he'd hoped.

The girl was another situation. She was furious with me. She was in tears, because her costume was wrecked with having to add a coat, hat and mitts... I finally got her out the door by telling her that if she didn't put on her outer wear, she might as well head up to her bedroom, change into her jammies, and she could help me hand out candy. Those were the magic words, because she her stuff on, and headed out.

Mason as Steve from Minecraft

 Madelyn was so mad, she wouldn't even look at me to get her picture taken.

And then the house was quiet... I poured a glass of wine, and settled down to hand out candy.

 Mine and Barry's pumpykins.

The kids pumpykins.

This is the first time in a long time I haven't 'spookified' our front yard. In fact, one of my favourite things is all the kids complimenting me on how awesome it looks. But this year, with the snow, my heart wasn't quite in it. 

 She came home in much better spirits. She even agreed to a few pictures. I had to take this one, showing the fog. It was such an eerie night, and the next morning the hoar frost was amazing.

Butterfly Madelyn, as snug as a bug!

 

And then, the most favourite part... Dumping out bins, seeing who got what. Dividing up candy, and tasting a few treats before bed. They also both had a mug of hot chocolate when they got in. They both lasted a lot longer than I thought they would have. We only had 25 kids come to the door... Oy... That's a lot of leftovers. I planned on having about 50 kids. 

And now... December Daily! The snow totally puts me in the Christmas mode. So excited this year! Can hardly wait. Going to start putting my book together this week.