Finally, Halloween!

When Molly woke up yesterday morning, the first words out of her mouth were, “Is it finally Halloween?”

Molly really looked forward to Halloween this year. She was thrilled when we decorated the house. She was enthusiastic when we completed Halloween crafts. She squealed as we picked out Halloween candy.  But her real excitement came with her costume. And that is what made her look forward to Halloween.

When buying anything for kids, the early bird gets the worm. Those who shop on time get the leftovers. And the last minute shoppers get bupkes. Yes, you may find an occasional last minute deal but if you're lucky, but if your kid really has his or her heart set on something, you had better get it early. So that’s what I did. Bought Molly’s costume early. Like first week in September early.

Poor Molly has been patiently waiting seven weeks for Halloween. Seven weeks of staring at her costume hanging on a high hook in her room. So nice to look at but just out of reach. Seven.long.weeks. That’s an eternity to a kid.

But the day finally arrived and Molly was giddy with excitement. First off was pumpkin carving. When I told her it was time to get carving she actually squealed and jumped for joy. Not really sure why. She hates pumpkin slime so won’t clean out the pumpkins (I hate pumpkin slime too, but I have to suck it up and do it anyway). And she is not to keen on carving either.

Luckily, her father is. Why? Because he can use power tools of course. That’s right…power tools. On a pumpkin. It’s a guy thing, I guess.

Tony eagerly grabbed a sharpie and his dremel and got right to work. Within a few minutes he was covered in flecks of pumpkin rind. Undaunted by this setback, he donned his rain slicker and got right back to work.

It looked a little like a Gallagher show in our own backyard. Remember Gallagher, the guy who smashed watermelons with a sledgehammer? The audience wore slickers to avoid getting slimed. Well if it is good enough for Gallagher it’s good enough for my husband.

A nice, sunny fall day and Tony is on the deck carving pumpkins with a dremel while wearing a yellow rain slicker. Stand back ladies, he is all mine.

Look at the steely concentration and pin-point precision. Awe inspiring, isn’t it?

Our five little pumpkins. My favorite is the cute one in the middle wearing a faux leopard fleece pullover.

The anticipation built throughout the day, and at five o’clock we started to prepare for trick-or-treating. Oh the joy on Molly’s face. She was grinning ear to ear.

Molly judges the value of any dress by the degree to which the skirt pulls out. The fuller the skirt, the better the dress. She was in heaven with this dress. It even had a tulle lining to make it extra poofy.

A quick picture with Dad before trick-or-treating…

then she was off and running. Literally.

First Stop: Getting candy and a hug from our next door neighbor, Shannon.

Last Stop: More hugs and more candy from next door neighbors Tom and Trudy.

Trust me, there were plenty of other houses in between. Molly was a trick-or-treating master this year.

One last picture with Mom before heading inside. (Just noticed that her little black nose is gone…must have rubbed off somewhere along the way. Oh well!)

Molly was extra lucky this year because she got to have extended family visit for Halloween. She just loves all of the extra attention having company over.

Here is Molly with Uncle Jeff, and cousins Allison and Matthew.

And with Uncle Jack.

And with Grandmom.

Before going to bed, Molly and Grandmom sorted candy. Does she look like a happy girl, or what?

Molly made it through the entire evening without a sugar meltdown, Hurray! She even got up early, ate breakfast and went to preschool. But that’s about all she had left in the tank. This is a picture of what Molly is doing as I type this blog post. Yep. Sleeping like a baby.

All in all, Halloween 2010 was an outstanding success. And if you asked Molly, I think that she’d tell you that the seven week wait was well worth it!