Halloween 2020

2020 has been quite a year, and I really didn't think Halloween was going to be the same. As Fall began, and social distancing guidelines were still in place, I started to brainstorm alternative ways to celebrate. I didn't have to worry too much. Trick or Treating was still on where we live, and the community came together to make it extra special for the kids!

This Halloween wasn't filled with the usual amount of activities, and hand sanitizer was a staple while Trick or Treating, but it went surprisingly well. Actually, I said I preferred the C-vid Halloween! Everyone was in their driveways, extra festive candy tables were set up, everyone was just HAPPY to be out, and it was much more efficient!

There are stressful moments every single day in a big family household, and Halloween was no exception. I was a bit bummed that Dylan went off with his best friend and his girlfriend, but they made a surprise appearance later, and it made my night! Overall, it was a great Halloween, made even better due to the fact that it was on a Saturday! Here's how we celebrated...

The Not-So-Perfect Halloween

Welcome to the least Pinteresting, most un-Instagram-worthy Halloween recap ever! Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, and it definitely didn't go as planned this year. Actually, I almost considered skipping the recap entirely, but I like to document the real life moments on my blog, so I can turn it into a book one day!

Before I recap what we DID do, let me focus on what didn't happen. We were so busy in October, that I didn't even decorate the house until 10 days before Halloween. Those decorations are still up, and probably will be until I get a few moments of free time. We didn't make it to the pumpkin patch because travel soccer and life with kids consumed our weekends, then my mom had a health scare and ended up in the hospital. Our pumpkin - yes, singular - wasn't carved until the day before Halloween. We didn't make any crafts or recipes. Poor Liam didn't even have a costume, because I wasn't spending a fortune on a costume he would refuse to wear. I forgot to buy the kids their Halloween morning treats, which has been a tradition since Dylan was 1. The unseasonably warm October weather went away for Trick or Treating, leaving us all cold and miserable. And to top it off, my original Halloween recap completely disappeared before I hit publish on Friday, and now I can't upload my pictures properly today. Yay, Halloween!

Before I move on to MUCH better holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm going to give Halloween a final shout out. I'm not going to lie. I'm happily saying goodbye to the holiday that only my kids seemed to love this year...that is, until it was too cold to actually enjoy it! Here's to the few pictures I took and the most brief Halloween recap in blog history!

Weekend Happenings

As the weekend comes to a close, I find myself wishing we had one more day off! Can we just make three days weekends a regular thing?!? We had a busy weekend, but it didn't exactly turn out as expected. 

This weekend was supposed to be full of Halloween activities, on top of all the events that were already scheduled. A family emergency on Saturday changed everything. Now we're just exhausted mentally AND physically, and we were unable to check some things off of our Halloween list. But none of that matters. All that matters is the fact that everything is okay now.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope you and yours had a fantastically fun and spooky day!

We had a wonderful Halloween! The kids woke up to their special Halloween breakfast. This year's breakfast was their favorite! We had Vampire Teeth Donuts, Cutie Pumpkins and Orange Juice. Our school mornings are so rushed that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of Dylan, Lexie and Lily before they ran out the door, but Liam had the chance to enjoy his breakfast!

Lily had her class Halloween Party this morning. She was so exhausted after the party that she napped for over 2 hours. My parents dropped off treat bags for the kids but only Liam was awake to visit with them!

After Dylan and Lexie came home from school we gathered up all the costumes then headed to Grant's mom's house for dinner. We always go Trick or Treating in Grant's hometown, and this year, Grant's mom offered to make us dinner to save us some time. SOLD!!!

The weather this year was great! It wasn't warm (of course it was really warm on Saturday and will be really warm again the next two days) but it didn't rain for the first time since 2011!!!  It's amazing what a difference nice weather makes. My kids were so excited to go Trick or Treating!

This was the year that everything changed. Dylan, who is only just over a year away from becoming a teenager, decided that he wanted to go Trick or Treating with his friends this year. It was a bummer for me but we've officially reached that phase in our lives.  I convinced him to let me take a few pictures of him in his Joker costume before we left. Dylan did the hair and makeup all by himself and he was pretty proud of his costume!

I snapped a few pictures, then we had to reluctantly let him go.

I drove Dylan to his friend's house then battled the traffic to get back to Grant's mom's house in time to have a mini photo session before Trick or Treating began.  I somehow managed and for once we were able to take our pictures outdoors!

Lexie decided to be Dorothy this year and she looked so beautiful and so grown up!

Lily ended up choosing an Ariel costume. That wig lasted, oh, about 2 minutes!

Liam was a fox and he was anti-hood unless he was sleeping!

And Grant and I dressed up as Luke and Lorelai in honor of the upcoming Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix! Grant is pretty much Luke's doppelganger so it wasn't much of a stretch for him. 25 days, people, 25 days! I am unbelievably excited!

I'm not going to lie. It was a great night for Trick or Treating, but it just wasn't the same without Dylan. It felt like we were missing a piece of us. This growing up thing is not much fun!

Liam and the girls lasted a little over an hour. It was chilly but they did their best!

Our favorite stop of the night is at a house that goes all out and turns their yard into a cemetery. They have people in costume wondering around trying to scare the kids. Lexie refused to go over and stood on the opposite side of the street while Lily and Liam bravely went over on their own. They tried to scare the kids, but Lily stared them down and told them, "I'm not afraid of you" and Liam promptly walked over and hugged the werewolf who was chasing after him. They both got extra candy for that one! Lexie, on the other hand, traded insults with the Wicked Witch who was at that house. She shouted "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog, too" across the street and Lexie shouted back that she would have to chase her down the street! Never a dull moment with my little crew!

Liam ended up falling asleep and the girls were cold so we decided to head back to Grant's mom's house!

We visited Grant's mom until Dylan got dropped off, then attempted a group picture. Liam had other plans...

The little fox finally woke up and decided to inspect the candy stash!

Although we may not have been all together for Trick or Treating, it was a great Halloween for my entire crew!

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Pumpkins Pumpkins Everywhere

Happy Halloween!

We had a really busy weekend full of Halloween fun! Time was running out and we still had so much to do so we crammed in every pumpkin activity we possibly could. Although it was busy (and exhausting), we had so much fun!

We kicked off the Halloween festivities on Friday! Lexie had her Halloween Party at school and I organized the party and volunteered. I always love to get a glimpse of my kids at school. It's just such a big part of their lives that I'm not a part of so any insight is welcome! The party was a success and Lexie and her classmates had a great time!

As soon as the party ended, we rushed to pick up Dylan, Lily and Liam and we made the 45 minute drive to Grant's office.  The company he works for was having a Trick or Treat event for all their kids. I didn't take any pictures but somebody took one of Grant with the kids.  

It was a lot of fun! Dylan helped Grant's coworkers hand out candy while Grant and I took our other three kiddos trick or treating on all three floors of his company. By the time we left, their bags were literally overflowing with candy. I joked that after that there really is no need to go trick or treating again but that idea got shot down!

On Saturday afternoon, Lexie, Lily, Liam and I headed to the library pumpkin patch. They got to "pick" pumpkins out of the patch, paint the pumpkins, then decorate sugar cookies. 

 

 

By the time we left, they were covered in paint and icing and required a complete clothing change!

We met up with Grant and Dylan and headed to a nearby pumpkin patch for our yearly hayride, corn maze and pumpkin picking tradition!

This was the latest we have ever gone to the pumpkin patch and it turned out to be an amazing afternoon. It was a perfect 75 degrees, it was sunny and we arrived just before dinner time so we didn't have to wait in line for anything. I think we discovered a new time to go!

 

 

 

By the time we left with our perfect pumpkin, we were all covered in mud, but it was our favorite trip to the pumpkin patch to date!

Late Saturday evening, Lexie, Liam and I made the trek into Downtown Pittsburgh to meet some online friends who were in town. Shortly after Liam was born, I was connected to the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network and added to a few Rockin' Mom Facebook groups. I was unbelievably grateful for the support I received when I was still feeling lost and overwhelmed. 

The DSDN community is absolutely amazing! The DSDN has been a part of my daily life for over 3 years and I have met some incredible moms. I eventually started volunteering my time as an admin for a new Rockin' Moms group then made the switch to running their Instagram. The time I spend volunteering and interacting each day is such a positive experience and I rely on my fellow Rockin' Moms. 

When the Vice President of the DSDN told me that she and another board member would be promoting the DSDN at a medical conference in Pittsburgh this weekend I knew I had to meet them. We went into the city at 10 pm and crashed their pajama party in their hotel room! Although our visit was short, it was so awesome to finally meet them!

 

We wrapped up our weekend of Halloween fun by carving our pumpkin! We didn't have much time so Grant just did a traditional Jack O' Lantern face. Sometimes the simplest things turn out to be a hit!

We had so much fun gearing up for Halloween over the weekend! My family is excited for a day full of Halloween fun and we're wishing you and yours a happy and safe Halloween!

Let's Be Friends!

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