Because most philosophies that frown on reproduction don't survive.

Monday, October 31, 2005

Why I took my girls trick-or-treating

Ok, I said I wasn't going to, but they were so sad to see the big bowl of candy sitting out that we pulled out their ballet outfits, fished out some stockings, put up hair, and went out. Noogs had a pumpkin bucket for candy, and Babs, not wanting to share, found a beach bag. They're very small -- 3 1/2 and 2 -- so we took a big lantern with us and only covered half a block.

Here's my observations on my first trick-or-treating expedition with my own children (as opposed to my siblings):
1) Don't go to houses without the porch light on. I know this, of course, but I acted against it to stop at the house of some people we knew, and the girls were sad to find that there was no candy to be had there. Oh well.
2) If you open the door with a scary mask on, be prepared for small girls to shriek and sob. The flip side: don't allow your child to answer the door if you can't see if the person on the other side has a scary mask.
3) The leotard may be oh-so-cute but it's going to have to be under the sweater because the breeze is chill. This is one I remember from my own days of dressing as a ballerina and having to wear a thick jacket.
4) It's the best thing in the world to knock on a door to trick-or-treat and have it opened by Daddy!

Darwin fondly recalls the stegosaurus costume that his mother made him one year. This being Los Angeles, it was 100 degrees, but he wore that hot, heavy costume anyway. The youth have a resolve of steel about some things.

And true to my predictions, I'm sitting here eating Noogs' SweeTarts, snitched from her pumpkin when she wasn't looking.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't blame Babs for not wanting to share. You just have to get your own candy (and not share that either).

Our kids won't remember how much candy they had. And, unfortunately for them it all looks kind of unsafe.
At least all the chocolate does. :)

Julie D. said...

YAY! You took them trick-or-treating! Woohoo! And I bet they were so totally adorable. All the little ones at our house were.

The Opinionated Homeschooler said...

As I read this, I'm scarfing down Offspring #2's Fun! Size SweeTarts. Hey, she's already got diarrhea from Hallowe'en plus attendance at *two* birthday parties the prior weekend. Fortunately she's still at the age where the bag full o' treats last night looks a lot like the bag with six (carefully chosen) treats this morning.

I really must stop by the St. Vincent de Paul office soon and leave candy in the dish on the desk, or I'm going to be sick as a dog.

mrsdarwin said...

Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only mom with a sweet tooth -- though mass-produced candy is actually rather nasty, I find. Hershey's kisses? Ugh, cheap chocolate.

I do like the Special Dark Miniatures, which is why I ate most of the before the kids started coming. Darwin went through a number of the fun-size Snickers and Mars Bars. And I'm always a sucker for Three Musketeers, because I love the filling.

And yes, the girls were absolutely sweet in their "costumes". It was perfect because they'd wear the ballet leotards all day every day if I'd let them.

mrsdarwin said...

Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only mom with a sweet tooth -- though mass-produced candy is actually rather nasty, I find. Hershey's kisses? Ugh, cheap chocolate.

I do like the Special Dark Miniatures, which is why I ate most of the before the kids started coming. Darwin went through a number of the fun-size Snickers and Mars Bars. And I'm always a sucker for Three Musketeers, because I love the filling.

And yes, the girls were absolutely sweet in their "costumes". It was perfect because they'd wear the ballet leotards all day every day if I'd let them.

Darwin said...

What's this "a number"? Three or four at the most!