Happy Halloween!

I'm sitting here giggling over a halloween memory so I thought I'd share. I was a stay at home mom from the time my oldest daughter entered the world until my youngest were 2 1/2 yrs old. Finances dictated that I go back to work so we could get good healthcare again.

Halloween was always a big deal at our house. The kids would choose anything they wanted to be and I would whip up a pretty good costume. But working full time with 4 little kids around made it a little more difficult so some preplanning of costumes was needed. I don't remember what the 3 girls were going to be but my son who was 3 at the time decided he wanted to be a raccoon.

I picked up all the stuff to make him a raccoon and just had to add a couple finishing touches when I got home from work. Rush home, get food on the table, get everyone in costumes. Son is crying, "Me no want to be raccoon, me want to be a dog." Quick Diane, think, think how to turn a raccoon into a dog. Well the color is ok, ears are different some dogs have markings like a raccoon. They both walk on all 4's. This is good. This can work.

I start making some changes to the costume. Son crying again, "Me no want to be a dog, me want to be a Teenage mutant ninja turtle." WTF was I thinking letting him watch TV! For the love of all things halloween how am I going to make a raccoon/dog into a turtle? Deep breaths! Get that ying yang thing going girl.

Pajamas! He's got mutant ninja pj's. Run upstairs and grab them along with sweats to put under to keep him warm. No mask. That's ok I'll just use paint. Turtle on the pj's is purple (I don't remember the purple one's name but I'm sure I was swearing it under my breath at the time). Green paint. Good. And every other color in the world except ...... you've got to be seeing this one coming ..... no purple.

Come on Diane, don't fall apart now I'm coaching myself. Ying yang, ying yang. Blue and red make purple. Yes! Mix the paint and start painting his face. And the boy says, crying again, "me no want to be turtle, me just want to stay home." NO FRIGGIN' WAY IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN. And that's when I turned into the rational mom. "You'll be going, you'll have fun, halloween is fun, fun I tell ya."

He's all set to go, tears running down his little face and hubby takes the kids next door. Trick or treat the girls say. Candy in bags. They nudge the boy forward and he gets candy. Thank yous from all and onto the next house. Same thing. Then at the 3rd house it suddenly dawns on the little man that if I say "Fick or feet" (tr's came out like f's which made the word truck something to be avoided at our house) I get candy. After that he was leading the way from house to house.

Now he's 18 and trick or treat means staying home and passing out candy but oh how we all laugh about the halloween when he was 3.