Spooky Day!

We made it through Halloween - just barely!  The above picture is our family photo of our ecclectic, rag-tag bunch of costumes.  Ginger ended up being a purple butterfly, Paprika was Merida, I was a Mommy Giraffe, Violet was a Baby Giraffe, and Mr. M was a Gorilla. 

After three years of owning that gorilla costume, he got to wear it!  Too bad that when he put on the mask and hands, it freaked Baby Violet out so badly, she could not stop crying.  Poor girl!

Paprika had a full morning at school.  Mr. M had the day off work, so he went to her class to help out and take photos - since we are the classroom photographers, after all!  They had a costume parade, a little carnival, a class party  - all very exciting.  He took almost 500 photos of the day, and so it's been a little overwhelming sorting those out.  I think I might be done looking at them when Paprika goes off to college. Haha.




This year I decided to tackle Halloween with a plan.  I knew otherwise we would be sitting around all day counting down the hours until trick or treating.  Since Paprika got out of school at 11:30am, that left a lot of time before trick or treating.  So, the night before Halloween, I wrote out a schedule (down to the hour) of what we were doing. 

First up, we decorated pumpkins:



Since I wanted the girls to be able to really participate, I just let them paint the pumpkins themselves.  Much less messy than carving, and they loved making their own creations:



Anything goes when you're painting pumpkins...



The girls had a great time doing it, and it took the better part of an hour:



Then it was time to make brownies.  Mr. M did that with the big girls while I took care of Violet.  It was just a box (the Ghiradelli double chocolate chip mix)- but the girls thought it was the best thing ever.  Yum!




Here's how they turned out.  They were ALL gone by the next day - and guess who ate them?  Not the girls!  Mr. M and I both had a terrible stomach ache and swore off chocolate (for at least a little while):




This was Baby Violet's LAST "First" Holiday!  So, this was her very first Halloween - and she'll be ONE a week from today.  So, from now on, every holiday is her SECOND holiday.  She got into the Halloween spirit.  She loved checking out the pumpkins:




Here are the pumpkins post-decoration.  They are an ecclectic bunch, too!



So, after all that (plus lunch at Rubio's), you would think it would be time to go trick-or treating.  Right?!  Well, you would be wrong.  So, while we were waiting we decided to carve a pumpkin traditional style.  All we had were teeny pumpkins, but they were good enough!



The finished product:




Then we went trick or treating.We went to a neighborhood where the houses are very close together and the streets are closed to traffic.  It was packed and crazy, but very fun. The girls had a blast.

 

This was Ginger's first year trick or treating, since she slept through Halloween last year! She quickly got the hang of it!



We just trick or treated as long as the girls wanted to, but after awhile, they were done!  They said, "Let's go home and pass out candy."



They ended up getting a TON of candy (both girls had brimming buckets) - and they honestly did not even care about the candy.  They just enjoyed saying Trick or Treat (and Thank You!) and meeting people. 

In the past two days, they haven't even eaten their candy.  Guess who's eating it?  Me!  Time to send it to work with Mr. M.  I never met a peanut butter cup I didn't like - so...yea, it needs to go and NOW!  ;-)



When we got home, Mr. M sat with Paprika on the front porch and passed out candy for about two hours.  We had bought at ton of candy to pass out, and it went quickly (we get a LOT of trick or treaters in our neighborhood).  Mr. M loved scaring everyone and finally got to wear his Gorilla mask.  ;-)

Paprika's favorite part is passing out the candy and asking everyone about their costumes.  And she was SO HAPPY to get rid of the big red wig.  As much as she loved being Merida, she loved taking off that wig even more!  Haha.

 

After that, we went inside and watched The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  I bought it (Amazon Streaming) - so now we have it every year to watch commercial-free.  I think it's going to become a tradition - it's the perfect way to unwind after a long day of festivities- plus it distracts the kids so the adults can pick out the best of the candy.  Just kidding...sorta!  ;-) 

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Pumpkin Patch!

Yesterday, all the stars aligned and we were able to make a family trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  It wouldn't seem like October without at least one trip!  ;-)  We have been going to this Pumpkin Patch for FOUR Octobers now, so it's kind of a tradition.  I remember the first year we went, Ginger was just a teeny tiny baby.  Now she's older than Paprika was on her first trip!

This place is about an hour's drive from us...there aren't many pumpkin patches down at the beach!  ;-)  But it is worth the drive.  We are having unseasonably warm weather right now, so it was like 100 degrees yesterday at the pumpkin patch!  We pretended it was a chilly Autumn day!  The farm had lots of shade and water misters, and since it was a Wednesday, nobody was there...we had the whole place to ourselves:



The girls loved picking out pumpkins.  Ginger said that all these pumpkins were "too big for our family."  So, we ended up going home with 5 small pumpkins (one for each of us) - and then we also got three little white pumpkins for our angel babies.  :-) 

I got that idea from Devon, because she always gets two white pumpkins for Blake and Ethan.  I had never seen white ones before, and then yesterday I did!  So, maybe now that will be a new tradition for our family, too.  Thanks, Devon!




We hit up the "hay ride" - which was really a tractor ride, without any hay!  Haha! Violet was being a daredevil, and wanted to stand up on the yellow planks while we were bumping all around on the ride.  We got a pretty great tour of the farm, and got to see all sorts of crops, butterflies, birds, flowers, and even some Christmas trees!  :-)




The rest of the time, Violet mostly rode in the Ergo, but she wanted to explore on her own so badly!  She is ready to get right there in the middle of everything:

:


We got lost in the Corn Maze - seriously lost.   Here we are at the beginning, full of optimism:




But we honestly could NOT find the way out.  We were in there a LONG time before we ended up just re-tracing our steps and coming out the way we came in.  I remembered back to the olden days, when I was in college and was invited to be in Mensa...and well, how far I have fallen since then - haha!  Oh, the things motherhood does to one's mental acuity. A noble trade-off.   ;-) 

Paprika thought getting lost was the funniest thing - we came upon a sign that said: You Look Cornfused (you know, like confused?)  I think we'll be talking about being CORN-fused for the forseeable future. Ha!


  


A big highlight was petting the farm animals.  There were friendly goats, sheep (who didn't want anything to do with the girls), a bunny rabit, and some chickens:



Ginger LOVED this bunny!




The girls were so excited to go on the train!  We had to do it twice.  The first time, they sat in the engine...the second time, they sat in the caboose!  Then, the guy working the ride saw how much they both loved it, so he let them ride the third time for free.  :-)





They were so excited about such a simple, little thing...they said it was just like being at Disneyland:



The pony ride is always my favorite part.  The big girls rode the ponies twice - and the second time they went, the girl working the ride said Paprika was too tall and that she couldn't ride (although she is still twenty five pounds under the weight limit)! The injustice!

So, we measured her and she is JUST a hair under the height limit. So, this is her last year she gets to ride. Next year, it will be Violet up on the horses and Paprika cheering her little sisters on from the sidelines. Sunrise, sunset.


 
This picture in the wooden train is kind of a tradition - last year, of course, it was just Paprika and Ginger.  This year, Violet had to get in there!  :-)




And here is Paprika just by herself.  We have pictures of her in this thing all through the years, and it is pretty awesome to see how she's growing and maturing.  One day I'll have to put together a little collage for her of all her wooden train pics!



Tricycle race with Mr. M driving Ginger.  Paprika had her own trike, but Ginger is still just a little too little:



Fun climbing the hay pyramid:




And last, but not least, the girls being pulled in the wagon.  We pulled them all over the farm (we always do) - and I think that is their favorite part of all!  By next year, Paprika will probably be too big to be pulled in the wagon. This growing up thing is harder on me than it is on the kids, I think! ;-)

Anyhoo- I am grateful for a great day at the Pumpkin Patch. Things will never be this way again, so I have to keep taking snapshots in my mind. :-)


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It's Not About Me!

We are in the thick of our annual Halloween costume hunt.

Halloween is Paprika's favorite holiday (well, that and Christmas)...and so, you know, we do it up a bit. Paprika always has very firm ideas about what SHE wants to be for Halloween. I would say since about age 2, she has always had a strong opinion on the topic. On the other hand, I also have MY opinions about what I want her to be! And, you guessed it, I always lose!

Ginger is Anti-Halloween. She never wants to dress up. I always buy her a costume (to be fair) and she always refuses to wear it. Well, except that first Halloween when she was 4 months old. Memories!


Last year Paprika was a mermaid, so I also got Ginger a mermaid costume. I got this one on Ebay because...c'mon...so adorable. Here is the photo from the Pottery Barn catalog. I never got a photo of Ginger in it because, well, she NEVER wore it!
 

Ginger flat-out refused to wear it, and in fact, slept through all of Halloween. She seriously went to bed (and if you know how late my kids stay up, that is a little shocking!)

This year I asked Ginger what she wanted to be and of course, she said: Nothing. But then I got out the Halloween Costume Box from the garage, and she picked out The Purple Butterfly costume that Paprika wore at age 4.
 

She declared that was now HER costume and was delighted to wear it. Who knows if she will wear it on Halloween...that is the question. But it's a good idea - and now I am off the hook for buying/making her a costume she has a 99% chance of NOT wearing.


For Paprika, I have wanted her to be a Peacock for at least two years now. Blue is Paprika's favorite color, and the Peacock cosutmes are so adorable.

Mr. M hates Peacocks (one attacked his car back when we were dating and he's held a grudge). But I think they're beautiful, and that's what matters, right?!

Anyhoo- this is the costume I was hunting last year on Ebay (it's originally from Chasing Fireflies, but I wanted it for a deep discount):


How amazing is that costume?!!!

Well, Paprika refused. She wanted nothing to do with it. So, she was a mermaid and I swallowed my pride on that one. I was nine months pregnant last Halloween and so I guess you could say I had other things on my mind!

Fast-forward to this year. I tried to convince her once again to be a peacock. Pottery Barn Kids had a Peacock a few years back that matches the Purple Butterfly -what could be more perfect than that? More catalog images:


   
Adorable, right?!  So, I searched Ebay and found one! Yay! And I even won it in an auction for a steal. And then, I even scored the matching treat bag! Over the top:



I was so excited about the costume, I was sure it would translate to HER being excited about the costume.  But, nope.  She was lukewarm (at best).  Now, I know for a fact she will go along with it and be a peacock for ME. I know she would do that because she is a sweetheart.

But, what she REALLY wants to be is Merida (the main character from the Disney movie Brave). 

Sigh.

I saw how her fact lit up when she met Merida at Disneyland, and in that moment, I knew that the Peacock costume was toast. 

So...long story short, I took Paprika to Target and I said that if they had a Brave costume left in her size, it would be a sign. And what do you know...they had ONE costume left in her size and ONE Merida wig. Just one. Like it was there just for her. And when she saw it her face lit up like she was the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.

   

So, like I said, it's not about me.  Sometimes you just have to know when to let go.  ;-) 

       

At least Violet will still let me dress her.  I have to think of something good for her costume this year, since by next year , I am sure she'll have her own opinions!  ;-)

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Our Creaky House!

Okay, so this is probably (most likely) the last Halloween post of the year! I just had to show off the little Halloween Gingerbread House that Paprika and Grandma Pat made this year.

One of my favorite traditions with the girls is making these gingerbread houses. The past few years, we have done Halloween and (multiple) Christmas gingerbread houses. For Christmas, we usually do at least one kit and then do one from scratch (well, not really from scratch...just graham crackers and our own candy!)

For this year's Halloween Gingerbread House, I let Grandma Pat and Paprika do most of the heavy lifting! Ha! :-) I helped a little with the construction, but the decoration was all done by Paprika (supervised by Grandma Pat). Ginger later added (and subtracted) some of the embellishments...which made it that much cuter!

I have to say, it was so worth the $10 at Target for this little kit. Now, I am just going to have to see if they make a Thanksgiving Gingerbread House! I don't think we can wait until Christmas! Ha!

Longest Day Of The Year!

Our Halloween day started very early. Paprika had to be at her school no later than 8am for the big Halloween costume parade. They needed parents to help out, so Mr. M and I both went. We were unsure how Paprika would fare because 1) it was an early day (anything before 11am is early for her), 2) the AM and PM classes were going to be combined- meaning Paprika would be in a classroom all morning with 34 boys and 4 girls, and 3) at the parade, there were going to be 500+ kids and a marching band on a field together. A recipe for sensory overload! ;-)



Paprika was very careful not to wake Ginger up when she got dressed in her costume. Grandma Pat stayed home while Ginger slept in...it was so nice to get to go to Paprika's school and not spend the entire time chasing Ginger down from the rafters. Thank you, Grandma Pat!

Paprika loved her mermaid costume. I know I kind of dropped the ball just putting her in an Ariel (Little Mermaid) costume...when she really wanted to be a real blue mermaid for Halloween. She spent much of her time correcting people all day telling them that 1) she was not a princess, and 2) she was a real mermaid (not Ariel!) Ha!

This is me on the way out the door...38 weeks pregnant, and although I also dropped the ball on my costume, if anyone asked, I guess I could have said I was going as a bowling ball thief for Halloween!



After school, the parents put together a picnic and park day for all the kids since we had early dismissal. I went with Paprika, and she wore herself out playing soccer for two hours (and of course not eating a thing at the picnic)!

Then we had swimming lesson...even though it was Halloween, we couldn't miss that!

After that, she came home and took a shower and had just a few seconds to get her face painted before the first trick or treaters started banging on the door!



Now, Ginger went down for her nap right before swimming (Grandma Pat stayed home with her while I took Paprika to swimming). So, we figured she'd wake up in time to get in costume and go trick or treating. But nope! She slept so long and hard that she missed trick or treating entirely! She ended up napping until 8:45pm and then (of course) did not fall asleep until after 2am that night!

It was kind of merciful that Ginger slept through Halloween, and I was just so thankful. First, she did not like her costume. She had a cute Pottery Barn Kids Mermaid costume to wear, and she would NOT put it on to save her life (we did a trial run the night before- it was a no go!) Second, we got over one thousand (yes, you read that right) trick or treaters on our block this year and it was mayhem, pure chaos, and a bunch of words I can't think of right now. It was unreal!

It was soooo loud (lots of music, and partying going on) - I really have no idea how Ginger slept through it all, especially because the biggest party was going on right outside her single-paned window! But, as I said, it was a gift to us all.

Grandma Pat took Paprika trick-or-treating for an hour or so while I passed out candy to the masses on my front porch. Then, Grandma Pat and Paprika came home and we all passed out candy. We had stocked up (because we knew from last year that everyone and their mother's dog comes to our block for Halloween)...but by 9, I was done. We had gone through most of our candy, and it was time. Three hours of passing out candy to one person per second was just about all I could take. We cut the lights and put a sign on the door saying we had run out of candy.

Of course, I had held back all of Ginger's favorites from our bags of candy and made her own little treat bag for her. When she woke up, she was so happy to have her treat bag and didn't seem to mind at all that she had slept through everything!

Here is a picture of Paprika around 6pm, just as things were starting to pick up and right before she left to trick-or-treat. I swear, Halloween really wiped me out this year...but seeing how much fun this little girl had, I would do it all over again tomorrow if I could!