Trick or Treat!

The wonderful sugar high holiday we all used to love finally came for the little one. This is actually her third...but I don't think she was aware I was using her to get the goods the last two years...

We went on our traditional trick-or-treat through our neighborhood on Thursday. She went as a "mama" giraffe because I found the costume at the flea market for five dollars. Even though she wanted to be a monkey (that junk cost 25 dollars!!), she was adorable and had a great time anyway.

Our neighborhood was PACKED OUT. I bet close to 500 kids came to our house. I was very glad my mom joined us, because our little giraffe was almost trampled by a herd of big kids more times than I care to count. I felt like knocking a few of them out and yelling "HEY! We're walking here!" Maybe if I had made an example of just one...

And the sweet little giraffe had the best attitude about it. She was saying "excuse me" (and NOT in the same way I was saying it in my head.) to the hoodlums. She was going very carefully and saying "I have to wait my turn" while fifty middle school kids cut in front of her. While the other kids were running by so fast they could barely complete the phrase "trick-or-treat", Mama G was stopping on each old lady's porch to say "I like your pretty flowers." or (the best) "I like your pretty goose!" (You know the ones...they make clothes for them...)

My highlight of the evening (besides the massive amounts of candy scored!) was my little pumpkin reading a word. Seriously. We walked by a house that had blow up ghosts in the yard, and each ghost was holding a letter. As we walked past, she said "Mommy? Does that say 'Boo'?" After I collected myself off the sidewalk, I agreed that it did, indeed, say 'Boo'. Upon further investigation, my mom and I learned that the ghosts were holding the letter 'B' and after that came 'o,o'. Whoa. It was quite a moment. I kept waiting for something to ruin it, like a favorite comedian of mine who rejoiced over his toddler son's declaration of his wishes to be a doctor. In half a breath, the dad was crushed by the follow-up statement, "or a DINOSAUR!"

I drug my poor little accessory all over creation for the entire two hour trick-or-treat window. Five minutes prior to cut off time, we were already back in our block when I noticed a house we had missed with the light still on. I asked my sweetie if she wanted to go there before we went in and she replied:

"No mommy, that's ok. I have enough candy."

Who is raising this child? I mean, really.