A different Halloween

For the past few years we've celebrated Halloween by heading to a party hosted by Thatboy's friend Dr.P. It's one of those parties where we judge its success by how much of my costume I am still wearing when we walk through the door when we get home. (In the past I have left shoes, jewelry, scarves and other accessories somewhere on the path between the car and the door)

This year the party didn't sound like such a great idea - at least to me. Thatboy thought we should still go and make an appearance. Somehow I just didn't feel like bringing a baby to a party filled with really drunk people sounded like something I would be interested in.

In truth, we weren't planning on doing much of anything for Halloween. We didn't even get costumes! I told Thatboy back in August when we first discussed Halloween that I planned on going as a "mommy" and he could dress up as "daddy." However, we didn't want Thatbaby to miss out on his first Halloween pictures, so we picked up a unisex outfit for our future babe to wear. Not a true costume, but something comfy and seasonal.

But, as I've said before, this motherhood thing isn't nearly as difficult as I was prepared for it to be. Which was kind of my plan. As I told Thatboy, keep your expectations low and you'll never be disappointed. I had cleared our entire schedule for October.

Last week we got a call from one of the officers Thatboy works with inviting us to a "family Halloween party." He tried to entice us with the promise of a bounce house, beer, and soda. While I was pretty sure Thatbaby wasn't going to be able to avail himself of any of these things, I gladly acquiesced to the idea of the party. I mean, it wasn't like we had any other plans.

But of course that meant we had to figure out costumes. Since Thatbaby already had the skeleton suit, we thought maybe we should all wear skeleton costumes. We headed to Target to pick up said costume, only to not really like the costumes they had. And so we stood in the costume aisle trying to figure out what we were going to do.

Struck by inspiration, I suggested going as Labyrinth characters since Thatbaby has a red and white striped onesie.

Thatboy loved the idea and grabbed a blonde wig as we headed over to the women's section to look for poofy shirts. But on our way, Thatboy was struck with inspiration of his own.

Because Thatbaby also already has sleep & plays too. So we decided we could ALL wear sleep & plays since they had them in adult sizes. A far cry from most of the "sexy" style costumes, and far more appropriate for a family party.

We also picked up a little something for Thatdog who doesn't like to be left out.

Last night we got suited up and headed out.

I do believe this was the first year I haven't been freezing in my Halloween costume! And Thatbaby did great. He's fabulous at being held and he stayed nice and cozy and warm as well. And I have to say, it's nice to be able to have a drink at parties again! I missed that when I was pregnant.

It's a totally different experience celebrating Halloween as a grownup. And honestly, I have such mixed feelings about being an honest to goodness "adult." First, because I don't really feel like a grownup - I still feel like a kid playing house. But at the same time, I am now, without a doubt, a full fledged adult with a family I'm responsible to and for.

Thatboy must be feeling the same way, because he's starting to act a lot more grownup and responsible. Including the fact he's being REALLY good about eating his vegetables. Including those he's not too fond of. Like the other night when I made brussels sprouts. In general Thatboy doesn't like brussels sprouts. He'll humor me and have a few bites if I saute them with bacon or dijon mustard, but he certainly doesn't prefer them. With that in mind, I only made a few boiled brussels sprouts, so I could load my plate up and give him one or two little guys. Imagine my surprise when he told me he wanted more than one or two - that he actually enjoyed them! He claims these don't have the same bitterness brussels sprouts usually have. I can only assume I've either broken him down, butter fixes everything, or his tastebuds have finally caught up with his age.

Brussels Sprouts
1 lb brussels sprouts
melted butter
salt

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and trim the brussels sprouts.
2. Add the sprouts to the boiling water and boil 7 minutes. You want them to be tender, but still have a crunch to them. And they should be a beautiful bright vibrant green.
3. Toss the hot sprouts with butter and salt.