When Amanda gave McKenna her birthday blanket and Reagan a Little Mermaid dress, we went to JoAnn Fabrics and picked out material to make a blanket for Hunter and baby Reeve. I was so inspired by Amanda and loved looking at the fabric that I talked myself into making the girls mermaid costumes for Halloween. When I had all the fabric picked out and went to the counter to have it cut, it hit me that I didn’t really have a clue and I might have bitten off more than I could chew. I also came to the depressing realization that sometimes it is more cost effective to purchase costumes as apposed to making them.
It was so fun to have a project, I couldn’t stop after making the dresses. I had to make them shell bags and head wreaths. In the end I doubt I could have purchased all this mermaid fun for less than $21/each set so I am at fiscal peace.
My addiction continued and all but Hunter decided to participate in the Little Mermaid theme for the ward Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat. I turned myself into Ursula the Sea Witch and for under $10, I made RJ a King Triton costume. Now I am turning the girls’ room into an under the sea theme. I think the only thing that will stop me is this baby coming so until then… project on!
The primary was in charge of the Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat so I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off and thankfully one of the members asked if they could take a picture of us on their phone which they emailed to me. It’s the only picture we got that night. Hunter was at a birthday party and McKenna was playing a little witch ring toss game.
McKenna looked merrific in her school parade.
I decided that it would be fun and festival to start a tradition of enjoying a Halloween themed dinner. Reagan helped me make these cheese ball bats. I carved oranges and stuffed them with salad. The mummy wraps were a big hit. I didn’t give them their mustard eyes because the kids are prejudice against mustard. Lastly was the bloody heart salad.
RJ has been concerned with our children’s selfishness so he wanted to implement a little something that he did as a kid. He was not allowed to trick or treat as a child because his parents believed that he should not get something for nothing. Instead his family made treats and went out to certain families to treat not trick.
Reagan and I made pumpkin rice krispy treats with cream cheese frosting and the kids chose a few families to take them to. The kids squealed as they delivered the goodies. Unfortunately they were horrific as we drove from one spot to another. After asking, pleading, threatening and yelling at the kids to stop fighting or lower their voices, RJ dropped the bomb and said they could not trick or treat around the culdesac. It may not seem like much but compared to last year, their haul was substantially less. It started with me making them donate all of their trunk or treat candy to a project I called “Maple Grove Candy Bombers.” For book club, we read about the Candy Bomber (Gail Halstrom) who began dropping candy from his airplane shortly after WWII to the children of war torn West Berlin Germany. I shared his story during sharing time and invited the children to donate as much or as little as they wanted to a local shelter called Caring and Sharing Hands. Tiffany Larsen and I were able to deliver 50 lbs of candy to the shelter as well as sending a few bags worth with our Sunbeam teacher who was doing some medical volunteer work in Guatemala.
Last year, the kids went around a few neighborhoods and came back with buckets about to burst. We told them they could only go around our neighborhood this year.
Hunter was beyond upset but I was able to get two pictures of him in his too small Storm Trooper costume. I told RJ I couldn’t find any in his size and RJ came home one day with one that was on sale but on the small side.
In the end I am glad the kids didn’t have hundreds of pieces of candy. I didn’t worry about regulating it and was pleasantly surprised by how often they were willing to share with each other, RJ and I and their friends.
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