Trick-or-Treat
It’s that time again already. Remember kids, let Mom check out your bucket of candy before you eat anything. All chocolates with suspicious names like Dove, Godiva or Ghiradelli should be saved for Mom (and only Mom) to scrutinize. Mom will also be ready to shake you down for any Mounds or Almond Joys, which will make a semi-nutritious supplement to get her through the mornings at school. Sorry, no caramels or Starbursts, please. (We can’t afford any more loosened fillings.)

So much for theme costumes. We’ve done the Saints in other years. (Even that can go badly. Bridget was Joan of Arc for our CCD party and managed to get into a bit of a scrape with the one boy in the class who definitely should not have come dressed as St. George, complete with sword.) I suggested Greek gods this year, to go along with our study of ancient Greece. Not too many takers. Eddie is going as Hades and is OK with my failure to rig up a three-headed dog to accompany him. Hey guys, I’ll be Hestia, goddess of the hearth - i.e. I’ll stay home and answer the door.

Chuck is sticking with his plan to dress as a doctor, which allows him to walk around in the scrubs that he sleeps in, accented with the stethoscope from our science unit and a pair of rubber gloves. Martha’s attempt at Pippi Longstocking didn’t work out, so she went to school in some sort of Goth get-up that looked a lot like the daily wardrobe of some of her peers.

Oh, well. This is my 26th Halloween as a Mom and I can no longer become too emotionally invested in the costuming of my children. No more staying up all night making butterfly wings!

Tensions were running quite high at school yesterday as the children prepared for their costume parade and classroom parties. Luckily, this all took place after my sign-out time. The kids were so hypered up in the morning, I don’t think I could have stood any more. When I left, the costumed room mothers - I sure hope those were costumes - were preparing to help the pampered young kids into ornate costumes and then jazz them up with extra fancy sugared confections.

Not my favorite holiday....