Let the Wild Rumpus Roar - Halloween 2012

I find Halloween to be such a funny holiday.  This might be because of the range of memories I have floating through my mind today of all the different ways this day has been celebrated throughout my life...

-the Halloween parties at school, dressing up as a ladybug in my homemade costume for the sixth year in a row because "it was just so cute," when what I secretly wanted to be was a princess with a giant sparkly dress and crown like every other girl in the school.

-hitting every single house in my small town with my older brother and dad.  Tradition was that Mom stayed home to pass out candy, and Dad took us trick-or-treating.  I always loved having Dad around because he made it fun, but secretly despised it when someone stuck a beer in my pumpkin and told me it was 'for your dad.'  No wonder my dad preferred to take us around town...

-stopping at Edy's Southside Grocery, this little run-down general store in the middle of town, owned by these very old, very grumpy sisters --- Edy and Louise.  I was convinced they rode broom sticks to work and hid hundreds of dollars (among other things) in tin cans in their yard.  Dad usually got conned into fixing a leaky faucet, while Jordan and I tried to act gracious as we accepted a box of Valentine conversation hearts from two years before, and cautiously scanned the 'hidden' mouse traps in the four corners of the shack to make sure they hadn't scored their dinner.  

-carefully sorting, labeling, and prioritizing my candy after a full night of trick-or-treating, trading my chocolate for Skittles and suckers, and winning Dad over with those gross orange and black paper-wrapped candies that only surface around Halloween time.

-dressing up as a 50s poodle girl for my first middle school Halloween dance, and feeling awkward dancing with my then 'boyfriend', Dusty, in a Jason mask like every other boy in middle school.

-Halloween parties at Ryan's house in junior high --- pizza at Momma Mia's, scary movies in the basement, a black cat at the doorstop, and another failed attempt at a game of spin-the-bottle (or even worse, sitting in the bathroom with Zack W. after we had been chosen as partners in a game of 'Seven Minutes in Heaven.' After a failed attempt to climb out the bathroom window, we played rock-paper-scissors instead. 

-so many scary movies and urban legends to follow.  I never watch scary movies throughout the year, but love them around this time.  I remember The Blair Witch Project, my first time seeing The Shining, and watching, The Exorcist of Emily Rose in the theater with Sarah, and screaming bloody murder in the bathroom after the door jammed on us.  

-dressing up with Beau in college.  I loved my homemade flapper costume, however, it paled in comparison to Beau's roommate, Dallas' thoughtful costumes.  Although his Burger 'King' costume was my favorite, I did give him mad props when it came to working the parachute pants for his Vanilla Ice impersonination.  He even shaved tracks into his sideburns.  

-the year of haunted houses, a failed bet which put Beau's roommate, Todd, into a skin-tight Peter Pan costume, and karaoke at Mama Mariachi's on The Hill.  This night was nothing short of hilarious, and suddenly, images of my husband in a Joe Dirt mullet, standing outside Jimmy Johns, balancing six sub sandwiches and drinks at two o'clock on the morning, seem to be reappearing in my mind.  Some days are better left under the rug... ;)   

Yes, the range of memories I have of this odd little holiday make it hard for me not to love.  Unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas, which tend to be celebrated in traditional, stately ways, Halloween has an edge about it, a sense of magic that seems to come to life when little ones dress in costumes and prance through the neighborhood after dark.  It always reminds me of a children's book...

I thought I would have a hard time competing with Cruz's caterpillar costume from last year, but I think we came close.  While my little bug last year was perfectly content sitting in his wagon with his oversized hat and body-suit, this year, he put up a fight.  Yes, my little Max lived up to his stubborn and wild-spirited character from one of my all-time favorite books, Where the Wild Things Are, and threw quite the protest every time I tried to put it on him.  After a sucker, a quick trip outside, and his 'puhn-kin,' he soon forgot he was wearing the adorable little number, and had quite a ball with this whole trick-or-treating thing.  We invited the family, ordered pizza, and made our way through our little neighborhood for treats-and-greets.

My Very Hungry Caterpillar from last year...

And my literary character creation this year...

Cruz was a licensed pro at trick-or-treating.  He was a big fan of the door bells, graciously accepted the candy in his pumpkin, and usually lingered at the doorstep as if he felt he needed to converse with them a little after just scoring their food.  When I asked him the 'what do you say?' question, he usually replied with 'pweese' instead of 'trick-or-treat,' but he soon found that this cute little gesture seemed to score him more treats.  He got the hang of it pretty fast, and our little Max had quite the adventure of his own in our wild little neighborhood.

 

After our neighborhood stroll, we had cupcakes and cider, watched The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and replaced costumes with pajamas.  Although one part of me was relieved I would no longer have to con my little squirt into wearing his costume, I was sad to store it away.  The magic was over, and next year, my baby would be one year older, one year closer to not trick-or-treating in cute snuggly costumes, and one year closer to middle school dances, Halloween parties, and games of Seven Minutes in Heaven.  Heaven help me...

A slew of pictures of our Halloween week ---

The littles...

Hayes, the happy penguin...

 

  

Charly, the great pumpkin...

   

Cruz, the wild thing (da na, na na na)...

   

Simple touches of the day become little traditions for me --- a clean living room and freshly vacuumed floor, roasted pumpkin seeds, and my big wicker basket of candy - used only one time a year...   

In honor of the little man's costume --- some homemade sack puppets to tell the tale of Max's magical adventure to the land where the wild things are...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween night.  Here's to making our own magic in the month of November --- Happy Turkey Month, from one turkey to another :).