They're All Gonna to Laugh at You

                          
We continue to fill our weekends with Halloween fun. This weekend was the ghost walk. We LOVE the ghost walk. This was our 6th year going and it never disappoints. There is a ton of scarecrow displays, games, a hayride and then the walk. you are escorted to 4-5 houses in the historic district and they are decorated for Halloween and someone tells a ghost story at each house. It is so fun and the kids love it.

Our second grader had a sleepover birthday party that night so she wasn't with us, which made me a little bit sad. It just wasn't the same without her. We let our 9 year old bring a friend. We got there and the girls played some games and then we took pictures with the scarecrows. The hayride tickets were $3 each and I only had $6 in cash left on me after buying tickets so I let them go on the hayride alone together. I gave them each a ticket and they both loaded the hayride. My husband and I stood on the sidewalk and I was waving to them. They acted like they didn't see me. Rude. My husband leaned in, "Don't spoil their fun." I looked back at him, "Don't spoil MY fun." The hayride began and I watched it turn the corner. We stood there for a minute, alone on the sidewalk. What now? We got some coffee and waited for the hayride to come back. Longest 10 minutes ever. I don't know how I am going to deal with them going to college.

They came back to cups of hot chocolate and then we went on the ghost walk and were not disappointed. It was getting very chilly and we were all very cold by the time we had to go. It was perfect weather for building a fire. If it is under 50 degrees, the fire place will be used. So we decided we would light a fire and make smores and watch a scary movie. We were trying to pick a movie. My daughters friend was tellING us how she has seen The Conjuring, Nightmare on Elm Street, Chucky. I didn't believe her at first until she started giving us the plot lines. I was surprised her mom let her watch those movies. She has questionable parenting practices - that must be why I like her so much. Haha.

We decided on Carrie. It's not super-gory. There is no F-word saying. There isn't any sex - well, except for the part where John Travolta receives oral pleasure but we skipped over that part.\

So we settled in and watched Carrie with the girls. I haven't seen it in many, many years and as an adult I made some interesting observations:
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1. Carrie got her period for the first time as a fully-developed senior in high school? Is she an Olympic gymnast or something? Someone should have taken her to the endocrinologist a few years ago.

2. The gym teacher was cursing at the class, slapping students in the face, and enjoying a cigarette with the principal in his office. The 70's were super-sketch.

3. Who would not want to go to the prom with Tommy Ross? He is sooooo dreamy.


Look at his billowing, blond hair. He is like a better looking Micheal Bolton.

4. Dirty pillows? Go home, Carrie's mom - you're drunk.

5. You should never bully someone who has telekinetic powers. It won't end well.

Afterwards, the girls were like, "That was not scary." They are right - there are much scarier things. My face first thing in the morning, my kitchen right at this moment, the laundry pile.....

Halloween in the Swamp

                     
So last weekend, I decided to take the kids to Halloween in the swamp. It was going to be fun for the family - trails, jump castle, jack o' lanterns, a boat ride and a haunted trail for the adventurous. I tried to buy tickets on line and they were sold out so I called the venue and they said they only had a hundred tickets and that I should get there an hour before. So we picked up dinner and ate in the car and just went.

I got there an hour early and there were people already in line. We waited and waited. I was debating which tickets to get. There was a little girl that was about my daughters age in line and she was going to go on the spooky boat ride. The kids wanted to go on it, it was kind of expensive but whatever. We got our tickets and went in. They had a big screen up playing the Adams Family circa 1960's. There was a headless horseman walking among the crowd which creeped the kids out. They did go over and pet the horse. There was all kinds of carnival food. The line was forming for the boat ride so I asked them to get in line. We are not there but 5 minutes when my 9 year old starts complaining. "I'm itchy, my legs hurt, I have a scrape on my arm...." I told her to go jump in the jump castle or watch the Adams family. Both were in close proximity to the line and I could watch her. No, she just pouted and continued to whine.

In the line in front of us, off to the side was a boy sitting in a chair. He looked just a few years older then my daughter. Maybe, 12 or 13. He was very thin and pale and had a nasal cannula and was obviously very sick. Everytime the line would move, he would stand up and the parents would move his chair and he would sit again. While I am watching this boy, I continue to be pestered by my 9 year old. "I don't want to stand up anymore, my feet hurt." I really was irritated. I did not like her in that moment. I told her that I didn't feel bad for her and that we would leave. She folded her arms in front of her and gave me a death stare for 90% of the time we stood in that line. What did I do? I just spent $50 to go to an event to entertain you and your mad at me because you chose not to participate in the activities here? A preview of the teen years, I imagine.

We got closer to the boat ride. There was a spooky pirate escorting everyone to their boats. It was pitch black and we could see lanterns in the swamp. I turned to the kids, "Do you really want to do this? Are you okay?" They nodded. They were excited and nervous. We stepped onto the boat and then the guy behind us stepped in and he was a BIG guy and I thought the boat was going to capsize when he stepped in. That was probably the scariest part of the ride. A man dressed as superman was our guide. We huddled together in the boat as we slowly went into the darkness of the swamp.

There were displays set up along the way. Gravestone on platforms, a skeleton on a boat.

There were people IN the water that would pop up. The kids would jump in surprise and then let out a nervous laugh. It was the perfect level of scariness. As we went along the boat ride, we could hear screams in the distance. It was from the haunted trail. The boat dropped us off at a platform and we could hear the screams clearly now. The kids started to shake, "Mama, we don't want to go on the trail." Well, that was part of the thing. You had to do it. I didn't know that. I said, "It will be fine - people are going to jump out at us. Just hold my hands." We began to walk and they were shaking. A zombie girl jumped out and shrieked and my kids pretty much lost their poop. They both began to scream and sob uncontrollably. They planted their feet on the ground and would not move. A grim reaper came over and escorted us through the haunted trail and waved away the goblins in the perimeter. That doesn't matter. Every time the kids saw a display, they freaked. We walked past a hearse and they screamed and sobbed. Everyone looked at me like I was a horrible mother. They gave me disapproving looks. Bad Mom Award.

After we were done, we sat at a bon fire while they collected themselves. "Do you guys want to go on the pumpkin trail?" They looked at me like I was evil, "We don't like trails." We went to the pumpkin trail. They had jack o lanterns all around. It was very pretty. We came to a huge pumpkin that talked. He invited us to get a piece of candy from his bowl. "I am the great pumpkin," he declared. We got a Halloween tattoo and then headed out. It was close to 10:30. The kiddos fell asleep in the backseat on the way home. All that screaming and crying really wore them out. I carried them in and tucked them into their beds and kissed their little heads. I love these little scaredy cats.

A Crazy Time

                               
I have been so crazy busy. The days are long and they just run into each other. Friday was no different. I was running late coming home and I called my husband to let him know I would be home late and he said, "Well, you don't need to pick up anything because I made dinner." He was proud of the dinner he made, so I held off to eat his dinner. When I got home, I was exhausted. I opened the microwave and didn't see my food. So I went in the fridge (that is nearly bare). There was a plate covered in tinfoil. I opened it. There was . chicken, rice and green beans. I stuck it in the microwave and heated it up. Then I sat down to eat. The food was still half cold, but I didn't care - I was hungry. The rice was okay. The chicken was kind of dry. It wasn't great but it wasn't horrible. The kids came down and were chatting with me and telling me about their day. I was halfway done my plate when my husband came down. "STOP. That is not your dinner. That food is old." I dropped my fork., "How old?" He thought, "Well, I didn't make it this week, so at least the week before." I panicked and I blurted out the first thing that came into my head. "OH MY GOD! I'm going to die." Not a good thing to say in front of the kids. They were distressed and really thought I was going to die. My daughter was like, "Mom, I think you need to go to the hospital." My husband said, "Dude, your probably going to get botulism or something." I was very disturbed. I waited. I was sure I was going to have dysentery. That I was going to have horrible vomiting and diarrhea and die in a horrible, dehydrated state. But alas, I did not get stomach issues and I did not die. For that I am grateful.

I don't know how this happened. Our fridge is probably the cleanest it's been in a while. That's because 3 weeks ago my husband left the fridge open accidentally while he was at work and ruined EVERYTHING that was in there. The day after I spent $200 at the grocery store. Yikes. Condiments, fruit, milk, eggs, cheese...all of it had to be thrown away. Just another fun filled event at my house.

After I ate the old salmonella chicken, I took a shower and hopped into bed with my kiddos to watch a movie. My 7 year old kept putting her head under the blankets and every time I would peek under there to see what she was doing, she would scream and cry. She was being especially weird. Finally, I asked her what was wrong. She had tears rolling down her face. "Mama, I think you look like Chucky and it's scaring me." WTF? Let me remind you what Chucky looks like....
                              
I know I'm not a supermodel or anything, but Chucky? I was highly offended. I don't even know how she knows about Chucky. I've not even seen the Chucky movies. Whatever. I pulled my hair up so I would look less like Chucky.

We finally fell into a blissful sleep. The next morning I had a ton of stuff to do. My husband took a trip to Carowinds with some guys from work and so the girls and I were on our own. I cleaned out my car while the kids played outside. I unpacked a box of candle making supplies that was overflowing with packing peanuts. I left the room for just a few minutes and when I went back in my 7 year old jumped out of the box of packing peanuts and scared me. "Please get out of there." She tried to, but in the process - the entire box toppled over. Packing peanuts EVERYWHERE. I mean everywhere. My 9 year old came in to was in awe at the mess. She laid down in them in began to make "snow angels" in them. Then they threw them over their head, "It's snowing!" Dear God. I wasn't upset. I just told them they needed to clean them up when they were done.

Then the neighbors showed up and they too made it "snow" packing peanuts in my living room. I had some boxes and cleaning supplies that were mixed in the jumble and one of the kids stepped on my bottle of Goo Gone which wound up all over my floor and turned some of the packing peanuts into this green slime. I made them clean up at that time because I had enough. I decided to be nice and help. It was eventful. I got green goo all over me. My 7 year old was moving the rocking horse out of the way and dropped it firmly on my foot which now has a large bruise on it. But we got it done.

I wanted to do something fun with the kids for the evening so I decided I would take the kids to Halloween in the Swamp. That was a horrible, horrible, horrible idea. To be continued......

70 Days Until Christmas

Christmas is coming. Only 70 days to go. I am usually really good about the holidays. I do not stress. I shop early. I do most of my shopping online. We stick with our something you want, something you need, something to play with, and something to read rule. But I do not know what to do this year. Of course they will get their books and their thing that they need will probably be some clothes or shoes. But the something they want and the something to play with, I am completely stumped. I mean, last year we gave them a trip to Disney World so no matter what we get them this year will be lame compared to that.

So this weekend, I asked them what they wanted for Christmas. "A hampster." "No, hampsters." "What about a doggie?" "No live animals." What are they thinking? Like I want to give myself another thing to take care of as a gift to them for Christmas. No way. My 9 year old was like, "I want an ipod or an iphone." "That's too expensive." That's when she said, "Well, you don't have to pay for it - Santa will bring it." Of course.

As long as my kids believe in Santa, I will put up the charade. I know that Santa is controversial now-a-days and some people think that it's lying to your kids and it makes them lose trust and they will always feel betrayed by you when they find out. Blah, blah, blah. I think it's fun and magical. Kids need some fun and magic before they grow up and get beaten down by life. I don't care what they believe in - Santa is not bringing iphones and ipads. I am not spending $1,000 on Christmas. Santa is on a budget.

So I said, "Try again." They thought. My 7 year old said, "I don't know." My 9 year old said, "Maybe a diary." She has 10,000 diaries already. So I don't know what I'm going to do. My kids literally have everything they could possibly need. They are so hard to buy for. They don't really play with barbies or dolls. They mostly like to entertain themselves with things that belong to me. My sewing kit, makeup, dressing up in my clothes. They do art, they play outside. They'll get something small maybe. Loom bands probably. I don't know. I need to figure it out soon. I only have 70 days left but it's really only 60 days because I only shop online and need to account for shipping time. I don't know where these year went. I think I say that every year....

All Apologies

   

My husband has had the most horrible commute ever for the past 6 years. His office is about 18 miles from the house but in order to get there you need to drive through Satan's anus. He has to leave the house by 6:15 am to make his meetings on Monday. It takes forever for him to get home. When he has to pick the kids up they are in latchkey until the very last minute. Traffic is always horrible. I don't know how he has dealt with it, truly. The company he works for is expanding and they are moving the office to a location just 13 minutes from the house. I am soooooo happy. I LITERALLY cried tears of happiness when he told me the news.

So today, he had to assist with moving into the new building. I planned to hang with the girls and take them to the movies. The movie theater is close to his new office so he told me to stop by and see the space. He left in the morning and that afternoon we headed over to the office. I parked and called my husband to escort us in. He didn't answer. Then I texted him and he didn't respond. I was getting inpatient and the kids were complaining. I was sitting there, looking at his car and then I turned to the kids, "Wanna play a prank on dad?" I decided that we were going to move his car to the side of the building so that when he left the office he would think it was stolen. I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I thought it was hilarious.

We went across the parking lot and got into his car and drove it to the other side of the building. We laughed and laughed. The kid's were like, "This is a good trick." We walked back to my car and all of a sudden my phone began to ring. It was my husband. I began to giggle. I took a deep breath and answered the phone. "Hey, are you here?" I was like, "I think so. I'm not sure this is the right building -I didn't see your car." "What do you mean? I can see the parking lot from the office." Then there was a pause and a sense of panic in his voice, "I'll be right down." Click. We were hysterical. I told the kids they needed to be calm and act like they didn't know anything.

Unfortunately, there is a side door and he saw his car. He looked very confused. "I didn't park here. I parked out front. I am freaked out right now." We couldn't keep it in. We were busting out laughing. "Mom, moved your car." He smiled, "You suck. I thought someone stole the car. I was flipping out." Best prank ever. My daughter was like, "That was so funny, that I'll probably tell my grand kids about it." That's what he gets for tickling me when he know I hate being tickled. He showed us the office and gave us hugs and kisses and off we went to the movies.

We went to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 which was really cute and funny but it made me sooo hungry. There was a cheese burger spider, taco crocodile, shrimp monkeys...it was delicious. Then I took the kids to get the car washed. They love the car wash. They are so amazed by the car wash. They shriek  with delight. It was a great day....until we went to the grocery store.

The kids are always so horrible in the grocery store. It was especially bad today. My 7 year old kept trying to crawl under the cart. I kept telling her to get off, that she was going to fall out and I was going to accidentally run over her head. Then she kept hanging on it and it almost tipped over twice. "Get off the cart, get off the cart, get off the cart." Finally I grabbed her by the arms and turned into this:
        
I got really close and in a Nicki Minaj Roman voice said, "You had BETTER not get near the cart one more time, or you will regret it later." A lady in the aisle gave me a dirty look. Whatever, Miss Yoga Pants, let her hang off your cart for a while and see how long you tolerate it.

Then they started begging me to buy things that weren't on the list. Then my youngest took her shoes off - yes in the middle of the grocery store - and my oldest put them on. Then my youngest screamed at her to take them off. "MOM- MAKE HER GIVE ME MY SHOES BACKKKKKKK." Dear God. Then I turned into this:
                       
I melted down on them in pubic. "You are too old to act like this. Behave or you will go home and sit in your room and do NOTHING the rest of the evening! GRAAAAAAA!!!!" They were silent after that. They pouted but were behaved. I was near the end of my rope. We made it though checkout uneventfully, except for the time when they wandered off to the card section while I was unloading the groceries. We finally got the groceries into the car and I sat down and took a deep breath. A sigh of relief that I survived the trip and didn't abandon the children.

I turned the key and the radio came on. Nirvana's All Apologies was playing. I really love this song, I thought in my head. Then my nine year old yelled from the back seat, "Put on some REAL music, mom." What else can I say?

Fun at the Farm

   

This weekend we took the kids to the corn maze. It's our tradition. This was our 7th visit to the pumpkin patch and corn maze. The weather looked like it was going to be bad but the weather channel said that it wasn't going to rain until the evening, so we decided to make it a go.

When we got there, it was hot. Ninety degrees in October - that's life in the south. We ate cheese fries and relaxed a bit. Then we visited the farm animals. My little one fed the goats. The girls picked out and painted pumpkins and went on a hayride. Finally, we were ready to brave the corn maze. This corn maze is bad ass.
                
There are 12 check points in the maze and you get a map and hole punch it as you complete the maze. They also have FSI which the kids LOVE. It's Farm Scene Investigation. It's kind of like Clue. The farmer has been murdered by one of this farm animals.  So you get this card and at every other check point there is a scene and you eliminate a weapon, location, and suspect from your card until the murderer is revealed. So we got our cards and were trying to guess who killed the farmer. I said that the person who guesses correctly should win something. We decided on a foot rub. I was hoping one of the kids would win because my husband and I have gross, crusty, grown-up feet.

We entered the maze and my husband took the lead. He is a good navigator. I just followed him. The kids were running ahead and having a nice time. My 7 year old tripped and fell flat on her face and was covered head to toe in dirt within the first 10 minutes. We were making real progress. My youngest was eliminated first thing because the cat was not the murderer. I was next - it wasn't the llama. Along we went among the corn. My oldest daughter didn't guess correctly because she thought it was the pig. We were having a great time. Everyone was happy. It was like the perfect time. When we had entered the maze it was warm and sunny but as we were going through the the grey skies started to roll in. We made it to check point number 10 when it began to drizzle and then pour. "We need to finish!" I said. My husband agreed, "Let's do it." So he ran and we followed. The rain felt so good because it was so hot. We ran through the maze with mud up to our ankles and we all laughed and laughed. By the time we got to checkpoint 11, our cards had begun to wilt. We punched them anyway. We ran to 12 and then ran out of the maze. We were soaked to the bone. We huddled under a nearby tent and pulled out our FSI cards. It was Billy the Goat, with the corn cannon, in the outhouse. What a terrible way to die. The farmer was just going about his business, taking a dump and in comes mean old Billy and blows him away with a corn cannon. My husband was the winner. So we owe him a foot rub. Yum!

We collected our pumpkins and made our way to the car. We were all weighed down but our wet clothes. We had a good laugh and we all agreed that this was our most memorable visit to the corn maze by far.

This weekend, we'll take their painted pumpkins and wipe them down. We'll roast the seeds in sea salt, pepper, garlic and parmesan. We'll roast the rest and scoop out the pulp and make home made pumpkin pie. We'll watch a spooky movie and relax. I wish it could always be October.

Badminton Time

                                     
For my girl's birthdays, my uncle gave my girls a badminton set. We put it up that day and since then, badminton has become an obsession at our house. We play badminton every day. The kids play it with each other, they play it with our neighbor. My dad stops by to play it with my husband. It is so intense that we installed a spot light in the backyard so that badminton can be played at night. It's serious business.

Yesterday, my daughter asked me to play her. I agreed. I am not really that good at badminton. I don't get as much practice as everyone else. I am horrible at serving. So I am out there with my 7 year old and just sucking. She is ruling me at badminton. I am clumsy, I am afraid of the shuttlecock, it was sad. She was trying to encourage me, "You can do it mom. That was a good serve." I sighed. I am the most un-athletic person ever.

It has always been that way. I played softball when I was a kid, which was horrible. I literally would sit in the outfield and pick flowers, I struck out pretty much every time. I pretty much brought the entire team down. My parents wouldn't let me quit. They had this delusion that I would get better and more athletic with more practice but that did not come to pass. Instead, I continued to be at the end of the batting roster and run away from balls that flew at me. It was horrible.

My kids aren't in any sports right now, which makes me feel like a terrible mother. Whenever I am with a group of moms they are like, "We are so busy - you know, between soccer games and and dance...." "I know what you mean. As soon as softball is over, we start right into cheerleading." I just nod my head. The kids are not in any sports right now. We have done a variety of activities on the past. Gymnastics, karate, dance, cheerleading. It is exhausting. My husband has a hectic work schedule as do I and the kids now have homework every night. I decided that I wasn't doing it anymore. There was no way that we could do practices during the week. So we switched to gymnastics on Saturday but then it interfered with birthday parties and weekend trips. We were just so over scheduled. I decided for my sanity that we weren't going to do it. So am I saying that my kids don't do organized team sports because I am selfish and don't make the time for those things? Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. Bad Mom Award.

I used to feel really guilty about it. Really beat myself up, but I have let that go. We work, that's the way it is. The kids are in school all day. They run around at recess and latchkey. They exercise, they are healthy. They play with other children, everyday they are outside for HOURS playing with the neighborhood kids. They understand team work. Kids 100 years ago weren't going to soccer practice after school. They were going home to help out on the farm, they were playing baseball with a stick and a rolled up sock. I'm not buying in.

So next time I'm with a group of moms and they are going on and on about how they move heaven and earth to make sure their kids are involved in 3,000 sports, I'm going to be like, "I know. My kids are involved in a Family Badminton League and they have to practice every day."

That Time again

Saturday was an interesting day. I told my little one that she could have a friend sleepover and we would take her the the Taste of Charleston on Sunday. We picked up her little friend around noon and went to the grocery store to get goodies. The neighbors came over afterwards and we had a house full of children. There was a few extra kids then usual, but it was a typical afternoon. The neighbors across the street have 4 kids and their oldest 2 girls are close in age to my girls so they are always playing and their 4 year old little brother tags along. He always is popping up out of nowhere. He calls me Miss B. I'll be in the kitchen and he'll just walk in and ask, "Miss B, whats for dinner?"

So, there were 7 little ones running around this weekend. Playing badminton, playing the the hose, running around. We grilled out. It was really fun. In the evening, we decorated the house for Halloween. I broke my own rule. I am a holiday FREAK. I love to decorate for the holidays and I have a schedule. On Feb. 1st the Valentines decorations go up, March 1st for St. Pattys, April 1st for Easter.....you get the picture. Unfortunately, I will be out of town all week on business so I defaulted to the early date. I thought it would be fun for the kids to help. The girls helped me make a graveyard cake and we played Halloween party music to set the ambiance.

You may remember that all of my Halloween decorations were ruined by mold a few months ago so I had all new stuff. The house looks great. There are spiders hanging from light fixtures, bottles of
"posion" and "vampire blood", ghost garland, and skulls. The kids were such big helpers - all 7 of them. I was giving them jobs so they helped put a white sheet over the scarecrow to make her a ghost. I had purchased a bunch of ravens and so I gave the kids each one and told them to put them around the house. They did a good job - perched them on the bookshelves and on the window sills. One wound up sitting on the roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. I didn't clarify to put them in a practical place. They had a fun time, eating cake and decorating. Afterwards they played outside until dark. Then my girls put on their PJs and settled in to watch a movie.

My husband and I hung out downstairs and watched Revenge (my new favorite show), I fell into a deep, blissful sleep on the sofa. But as you know, all good things must come to an end. I was awoken in the middle of the night by my husband screaming my name and shouting, "Come upstairs, C just threw up." Great. We're not having fun until someone vomits.

I dragged myself up the stairs and my daughter was already in the shower. There was vomit on the blanket and carpet on one side of the room and then on the carpet and bathroom floor and door. I said to my husband, "I'll get this pile and you get the bathroom." I went to work. I picked up the blanket and scrubbed the carpet down. I went to check my husband's progress. It looked the same as when we started. He was kind of standing over it, grimacing. "I can't do it. I hate throw up." I looked at him like he was crazy, "Have you ever cleaned up the kids vomit?" He said nothing and I realized that in over 9 years of parenting, I cleaned up all the vomit. He always played the supporting role - bringing me towels and cleaning solution and pointing out the places I missed. So basically I am the Batman and he is the Robin of vomit cleaning in my house. I felt slighted in that moment. It's not fair. "Look, I will help - but you have got to help me." I got down on my hands and knees and began to clean. He started to wipe a bit. I tried to make small talk, to be humorous. "This is especially horrendous. It's like sauerkraut and spicy mustard hot dog, grapes, green beans, chocolate cake, dill pickle potato chips and orange soda all mixed together." He got up and stood over the sink for a minute and tried to compose himself. I still scrubbed away. He came back and tried to help again. I said, "Honey, can you get me a roll of toilet paper?" "Why?" "So I can scoop up these chunks and just flush them." Again he stood up to compose himself over the sink. I laughed and laughed and told him to "man up."

After we cleaned, I got my daughter out of the shower. "Mama, will you get me some ginger ale and crackers?" I told her I would in the morning when the store opened. "No, go now." "It's 3 in the morning, now rest." I felt like I closed my eyes for a second and she was nudging me. "Mama, it's 7 o'clock. Please get me ginger ale." Lord in heaven. I rolled out of bed and pulled on a cardigan and put on my slippers. Off I went to the Piggly Wiggly at 7 am. I didn't put a bra on, I didn't brush my teeth. I just decided I wouldn't talk to anyone. After a night like that, I did not care. I am not trying to impress the cashier at the Pig at 7 am on Sunday morning. Who am  kidding? I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm just trying to make it through the day. And I did, and she felt better. Next weekend, we can get back to our regularly scheduled Halloween activities. I'm thinking corn maze and home made pumpkin pie. Yum!