In my first cop out of the NaBloPoMo month, I am posting today, photos of Halloween, the day before yesterday. I had this post ready to go yesterday, but that would have been two posts in one day and then what would I post today? I just want to do the minimum to get by, not win an award or anything.

This was the first year where I haven't been able to pick out what I wanted for The Dormouse to wear. (So you can clearly see why we were forced to have a second child. The Caterpillar doesn't object to my choices for Halloween costumes.) We went all through the costume store with The KingofHearts and I suggesting things. Among them: Scooby Doo, Cowboy on a Horse, Ghost, Lobster, Ear of Corn, Hot Dog, Bunny Rabbit and Little Bratty Girl Who Doesn't Like Mom And Dad's Costume Suggestions.

The Dormouse, however, wasn't having any of that and was only interested in two things: Slutty Pirate Wench For Four Year Olds, something I wouldn't let her wear if she were twenty-five, and this:


which she proclaimed to be "Barbie of the Island Princess." It was definitely a lesser of two evils thing. I don't even know what that is, frankly, and I'm not convinced she does either. Firstly, the wings? They do not go with the costume. But she had to have them. Also, she has them on upside down. Secondly, I hate, loathe and despise those creepy Barbie movies and we have not seen any, but she happened to catch a commercial advertising it on television and has glommed onto the idea. It's actually Barbie As The Island Princess, but she misheard it the first time and there is no correcting her now. She will insist to her last dying breath that Barbie is actually from an Island named Princess.

Throughout the night, she'd wander up to a house, yell "trick or treat" and the candy giver would say, "Oh, aren't you a beautiful princess?!"

She would become incredibly indignant and correct everyone with, "Barbie of the Island Princess."

"Huh?"

"I'm Barbie of the Island Princess."

"Huh?"

"BARBIE OF THE ISLAND PRINCESS!"

"Um... OK - whatever. Here's some candy."

She would roll her eyes and shake her head with her best "Man are you out of touch" look and then glance at me, completely incredulous that there are actually people in the world who do not concern themselves with All That Is Fascinating About Barbie and are unfortunate enough to have never had the opportunity to be taught the Gospel of Barbie. Perhaps there's a treatment of that in the Spirit World. Can you accept Barbie after death? I'm not sure.

The Caterpillar, on the other hand, was completely pliant to my costume will and I made her wear two. My favorite is this, which we actually procured weeks ago and which helped us settle on dubbing her The Caterpillar:


We had loads of fun with the picture taking possibilities:

Man that's one active caterpillar - look at all that silk.

I also made her pose in The Dormouse's costume from her first year:


Introspective Pea Pod

We didn't get around to carving pumpkins until Halloween day. In a supreme act of independence and grown-uppedness, The Dormouse insisted on carving her pumpkin by herself. I did not think she was capable, but The KoH thought he'd let her give it a shot and she completed it with only minimal help. Let's all pause to shed a tear for her lost youth. I imagine she'll be mixing her own drinks and rebuilding a carburetor by this time next year.


The big one is The Dormouse's - not bad, huh?
The small one was carved in proxy for The Caterpillar.

I had let The Dormouse stay up past bedtime the night before to watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and was inspired by Charlie Brown's ghost costume. I think other than the two people I explained this to, I am the only person who "got" it. Interestingly, no one even asked.

KoH went traditional scary and for the 360 viewing effect.


We also invited The Dormouse's beloved Uncle Matty (who incidentally, is neither her actual uncle, nor actually named "Matty") to come over again and entertain the man-child that is my husband in the Great Scarefest 2007. First, they resurrected the giant spider from last year and hung it up in the tree, to be dropped on unsuspecting teenagers and parents who waited at the end of the driveway for their children to beg candy at the door.

Then, they called forth from the grave (or rather... attic) what is legendary among the members of our congregation. The KingofHearts built this for a church Halloween party costume contest a few years ago and frightened little children far and wide. They still talk about it. (In an act of irony, the costume he spent forty hours and an engineer's degree building did not win the contest. Mine did. I wore an undergarment onto which I had ironed photos of Sigmund Freud and told everyone I was a Freudian Slip. Took me like fifteen minutes.) Uncle Matty wore the Minotaur costume and stood still in the driveway, then moved when people finally convinced themselves he was a statue. Many screams were uttered.

But not from us.