Bestest Halloween Ever

It's 8:45pm, and it's been one long day of Halloween for this mama. I should be washing my face and going to bed, but instead I'm crunching away on one of the boy's tootsie roll pops and already reminiscing about the first trick-or-treat year that actually meant something to the boys. Sure they had fun last year dressed as cops and all (predetermined costumes that were literally bought for them when they were about a month old), carrying around their cheap plastic pumpkins and visiting a few special friends here and there. But for the most part, they sat on the porch with us and helped us hand out candy to all the "big kids." They probably ate an eighth of their body weight in skittles and 3 Musketeers, but they went to bed pretty much at the usual time and everything was.... normal.

Not so this year.

This year, they'd been carefully plotting what they wanted to be for months. In fact, there was much controversy in the family when Ben switched from wanting to be a football player to a racecar driver a few weeks out. I was not about to be swayed by a 3-year-old's whims, but Nana would hear nothing of it, and racecar driver he was. Jake, however, was steadfast in his decision to be a -- what else -- bowling player. Even Ben's nifty little racecar get-up didn't tempt him to change to perhaps a more obvious costume.

This year, there was the pumpkin festival to attend and blow $75 on things like $6 corndogs and a $1 per child rip-off straw bale maze. There was pumpkin buying (small, medium, and large-- two each, please). And the much-anticipated Preschool Party, complete with costumes, pumpkin-decorating, snacks, and of course, lots and lots of candy. Upon hearing that today was the much-heralded actual trick-or-treat day, Ben exclaimed with glee, "I love it so much!"

But the biggest change this year was the actual trick or treating event. I don't know how many year's I've been the one with the bowl of candy at the door, watching the little ones timidly walk up the sidewalk, encouraged (none too subtley) by the parents to walk on, say "trick or treat!" and use their manners. It was completely surreal to be on the other side of it, watching them intently and guiding them from the street as to what to do. A corny milestone, but a milestone regardless.

And the evening was not without the comments we've come to expect from the boys. Poor Jake wearing rental bowling shoes started gimping around pretty early in the evening, but he gamely carried on and insisted that "The shoes are fine. I'm okay." About two minutes from the house he finally agreed that yes, his feet did hurt and he'd like the tennis shoes we'd been carrying around for him for the past hour and a half.

At the first house where they had to actually climb stairs and go knock on a door, Mom and I made a move to go with them to help, but Ben would have nothing to do with that.

"We can do it ourselves. We don't need any help."

And really, they didn't. Ben, however, decided that there were too many big kids dressed in scary costumes at one point, crowding up his path to a house and cramping his style.

" I don't like the big kids," he let us know.

But for me, Jake took the prize when he responded to a man who jokingly asked if Jake wanted candy or just the cash.

"Just the cash," Jake replied without missing a beat. In this economy, really who can blame him?

All in all, Halloween was a hit with the boys this year. They even affirmed that Halloween was quite possibly better than Christmas when asked which was their favorite.

But the holiday season is young, friends. Stay tuned.