Halloween

Well, today was Halloween, and it was packed with fun, candy, food, candy, friends, candy, costumes, candy, trick or treating, and did I mention candy?! This morning Braden had a fall party at school, which I planned. We brought pumpkin shaped sandwiches to eat and treat bags to put in the bigger treat bags. As I was looking at Braden and Brooke today during the party, I couldn't help but think how blessed I am to get to stay at home; it has allowed me to be such an important part of their lives. We have made so many memories together, and I hope they will remember them as they get older; I hope they never doubt how much I loved them. I hope they remember their crazy mother who was willing to make 18 pumpkin shaped sandwiches and get her hands covered in ink to make jack-o-lantern treat bags, so they could have a party at school they wouldn't forget. I hope they remember how nice it was to get to eat lunch together every day when they were young, and I hope they remember how special and loved they felt as a child. I especially hope they don't forget all of the fun we had as a family. Today was a day I won't forget. It started with a great party (Brooke thought she was hot stuff going to Braden's school party), and it ended with a night of trick or treating. This year I decided that I didn't want to sit at home while Rich had all of the fun, so we put a bowl outside our door and set off as a family. The children looked absolutely adorable, and I loved getting to see all of our neighbors tonight. I guess Rich usually only takes the cuties up and down our street, but I wasn't going to have any of this one street thing; I mean, Frankie Crolley is my father after all. When I was little my dad would even bring 2 bags along with us, so if I got a lot of candy I could dump it in the bag he was holding and keep going; it would play on the sympathies of the glorious candy givers, and they would give more to help fill up your bag. We also made sure we covered every stretch of our neighborhood. Halloween was serious business in the Crolley household. Tonight as we were rounding our second street, and I was explaining to Rich my plans for what house to hit next he exclaimed, "You're hard core when it comes to Halloween." That's right baby, if you are going to do it, do it right! The only problem now is that all of that hard work means loads of candy, which means loads of headaches as I fight with the children over how many pieces of candy they are allowed to stomach everyday. Oh well, it will be worth it; we made memories tonight that I will always remember.