Halloween. A dirty word?

Most people don't associate Halloween with bad, evil, or satanic.  But, as a child, I was never allowed to trick or treat, carve jack-o-lanterns or visit a haunted house.  Halloween was not celebrated.  I was pulled out of class (yes, I was THAT kid) or forced to stay home.  My parents (although they had good intentions) did not like what Halloween stood for (love you mom).  It was not all bad though.  We got to go to Hallelujah Harvest at our Church and dress up, bob for apples, eat candy, and play games.  One year we even won Best Family Costume.  We dressed up as "the fruits of the Spirit."  Each one of us was a fruit (grapes, banana, apple) and we were labeled with LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, and SELF-CONTROL.  Creative huh? I think so.  It was probably my idea! :-)

These days, I have to say that Halloween has taken on a whole new meaning for me. Over the years, I have gone from Hallelujah Harvest, to a college fest drunken haze at Theta Chi's Limehouse Lurch, to clubbing downtown, to a candy eating, all about dressing up party for the KIDS!!!  As you can see, my definition of Halloween has changed dramatically over the last 34 (almost 35) years.  Today, Halloween is all about pumpkin patches, hay rides, carving pumpkins, baking the seeds, dressing up, eating candy, trick or treating, and having fun with my family.  That's Halloween.  There is nothing evil about that. :-)

One thing I do know about Halloween today is that getting ready for the holiday takes some time.  Especially with a 2 year old and an 8 month old.  Everything takes longer doesn't it? That's OK.  I'm in no hurry to speed things up.  Life moves too fast anyway.

First, we went to the pumpkin patch/Terri's Berries with the Northpoint kids.  We picked apples, berries, pumpkins, looked at the animals and took a hay ride.  That's Halloween.

Then, we painted, carved and decorated our pumpkins.  And yes, we cooked and ate the seeds.  That's Halloween.

Next, our Co-Op Preschool hosted an outstanding Harvest Festival. Since I was working the fishing booth, I could not take too many pics. Note to self: Never sign up for the fishing booth again. The prizes were less than exciting, I got whacked in the head with the fishing pole more times than I can remember and the older kids were the only ones to come back (and complain about the prizes).  Roderick was Lightening McQueen and Kiki was a Cowgirl.  That's Halloween.

Since Halloween fell on a Monday, the kids got to dress up at Preschool once again. While Roderick was Lightening McQueen at the Harvest Party, he decided to be a fireman for the bash at school.  Kennedy, although still a cowgirl, had a change of costume.  Kinda reminds me of Kim Kardashian's wedding.  Oh wait. She had like 5 costume changes.  Oh, and she's already divorced.  That's not Halloween.  BUT, singing songs at pre-school, eating spider crackers, and reading stories... That's Halloween.

Oh, and the celebration STILL does not stop here.  That's right! We kept our tradition alive by getting together with our favorite spooky friends; Carter (Aiden), Roderick (Mckenna), Sydney (Leo) and Ryan.  We sure missed London (and Roman) this year.  They had colds.  BOO.  That's Halloween.

This picture was taken in 2009.  Roderick is the dinosaur, Carter is the pumpkin, Ryan is the frog and Sydney is the monkey.  This year we had 3 new babies to add; Mckenna, Aiden and Leo (just 5 days old).  What a difference 2 years can make.  Being with friends and family... That's Halloween.

Lets not forget about trick or treating. While most mom's wanted to stay warm in the house with the babies, I wanted to trick or treat, since it was only the 2nd time I had ever done so. Our neighborhood went all out. Some houses were straight out frightening, even for me. The cowgirl and fireman were spooked but it was all in good fun.  That's Halloween.

"Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat."

Is it bad I taught that to my Fireman and he won't stop singing it? 

For some people, Halloween is all about evil.  For others, it is all about dressing up. For the kids, its all about candy. For me, its all about seeing the Snicker faced smiles on our children's faces. It's all about having fun, making memories and being with the people I love.  That's Halloween.  It is what you make it. So Happy Halloween, Happy Fall, Happy Harvest! Happy whatever you want to call it.  XO