Boo! (On Halloween, Scary Shrubberies, and a Practically Perfect Costume)

Happy All Saints' Day! And a belated Happy Halloween, to boot!

We were supposed to go to church today, but since All Saints' fell on a Monday, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation this year. (I find that all rather confusing, to tell you the truth.) Anyway, we would have gladly gone to church today, however, the options for mass were at 6:30am and 9:00am. I hate to say it, but as a general rule, we ain't going nowhere at 6:30/9:00 in the morning. Seriously, it's practically the middle of the night, to quote Auntie Mame. Instead we cleaned the house, went to the grocery store, did laundry, Emilia wowed me by going potty in the toilet -- three times, so far, and so on.

What I've been doing is giving her a small piece of Halloween candy every time she goes potty. You know, either a candy corn or one of those little pumpkins thingys. We've got them in a big apothecary jar in the living room. However, after trick-or-treating last night, she thinks the stakes have risen, and is now reaching for suckers/taffy/candy bars. Not a chance in hell is she going to get one of those every time she goes. Does she think I'm crazy?

Anyway, on to trick-or-treating. Yesterday, after a near throw-down in order to get her down for a nap, we all hopped in the car and went over to Aunt Kari's house. (Well, except Governor. We thought it best to leave the sorry bugger home.) Kari made these scrumptious beef and Stilton pasties, with roasted root vegetables. (Absolutely divine, by the by.) While those were in the oven, Michael went on the new zip-line they've just installed in their backyard. The thing is over twenty feet off the ground and a hundred feet long. Complete lunatics,they are.  (Although, I was sorely tempted after Dale offered me ten bucks to do it...) Anyway, Emilia opted for the more civilized trampoline with her cousins, and it was so funny watching her littlest cousin run all willy-nilly across it.

And so, after dinner, everyone ran lightening speed for their costumes -- and off we went. Emilia in her Mary Poppins costume; Gedde as Spock (seriously, even though he is eighteen-months, the resemblance was uncanny); Vigo as a skeleton (with a major wedgy, on account of the fact that his suit was on a bit on the short side); Caelen as some scary thing with glowing red eyes; little Michael as a grim reaper of sorts; Elsa a witch; Connor a KGB person (apparently he won best 'super-hero costume' at some party, because the girls all thought he was dreamy and couldn't help but vote for him); and Ethan as a horrifying shrubbery. Seriously, Aunt Kari yelled at him after Emilia started to cry. I almost cried, too, truth be told. Who knew shrubberies could be so scary? (He was actually supposed to be some sort of army guy. After that he spent the rest of the evening lurking in bushes and jumping out to scare the pants off of random trick-or-treaters. I tried to get a decent picture, however, the camera seemed to be on the fritz.) Oh, and Grace could not be bothered with the likes of any of us, pleading she was 'too old' to go. Lame.

It was great fun, though. We walked through a rather fancy neighborhood -- half the kids were driving golf carts from house to house, chatting on their cell phones, and wearing entirely inappropriate (i.e. trampy) attire.  While we, on the other hand, picked out which house we would like to live in for part of the year -- the other half of the year would be in Barbados, naturally.  Michael was ready to move into the house that was turned into a horror-house of sorts. It had a big sign saying 'Enter if you Dare' on the outside, while inside it was filled with scary skeletons of a piratical nature. But that isn't why he wanted to change addresses. It was because they had a huge table filled with bottle after bottle of wine, all for the taking. Well, you weren't meant to take a bottle of wine, you were meant to pour a glass and sit a spell, but who has time for that when all the best candy is being doled out to the other vigilant trick-or-treaters? (Michael, the answer to this is: 'Not I!')

Emilia was quite pleased with her loot, though. I carried it part of the way (it got quite heavy, you know), while she either ran alongside Vigo and Gedde, or was being pushed in the stroller by her dad. Intermittently she would raise up her parrot umbrella, just to impress all the bystanders who kept calling her Madeline. Hmpf! I mean, really. Since when does Madeline carry a parrot umbrella and wear a pork pie hat covered with daisies and cherries? Hmmm?... can you answer me that!? Meanwhile, the jacket is actually the spitting image of Madeline -- totally crafted by moi, thank you very much. And so was the skirt, thank you very much.  And so was the hat, thank you very much. (Although, I had a great deal of technical support from both my mom and Michael, but that is just nit-picking, if you ask me.) The girl did make one beeeauty-ful Mary Poppins, though, and she looked practically perfect in every way. Michael kept saying to her, 'Mary Poppins, I'd know that sill-you-wet anywhere! (That'd be silhouette, if you can't understand his cockney impersonation.)

All in all, it was a lovely evening. And even though the costume took me a million and a half years to make, I'm glad I did it. Because first of all, now I know I can. And second of all, she has been playing with nothing but that for going on a week now.  She is likely going to take one of us out walking around this house with that blasted (yet seriously cute) umbrella. And yes, I am slightly envious of the thing. And yes, I kind-of wish I got my own. Alas, maybe next year. Although next year she will probably be moving on to greater things -- you know, like horrifying shrubberies and what not.**

Oh, and a quick note on the pumpkins ... they are named Slim and Hilda. Quite dashing, wouldn't you say?

**Although, I challenge you to find anyone greater than Mary Poppins.  Alright, alright, Mary the Mother of God, Jesus, and all the Saints, maybe.  But after that it is Mary Poppins.  In fact, wasn't she recently beatified?  If not, then she should be.  The woman performed miracle after miracle, and totally made George Banks come correct and be a better dad.  Sounds downright saintly to me, don't you think?