Halloween

happy.halloween.


   season of parties and holidays begins with a bang. with an imaginative burst of creativity and fun- costumes, friends and fun!

   parties. i love thinking through these type of details. and only these type of details. of what kind of atmosphere i want. of the decorations. and party food. 

  i wake up the morning of the party with a lightness in my step and i arrange and re-arrange the to-do checklist in my head with glee. 

  i laugh at some of my attempts. i have moments where i think- nailed it. mare, you are a noteworthy party decorator. and then other moments where i just giggle and think of what my sister would say. or debi. or whitney. how they would laugh at how extravagant i think i am being, nothing compared to their excellence. 

  and let’s be honest. i am still transitioning from moment planner....to moment planner with 2 little cuties. i think moment planner is a better term, because if you look at the parties and decorations and extravagance on pinterest...you would be completely unimpressed with what this little lady pulls off. 

  but as you all know,  i am not after that. i am after the feel. the moment. the laughter and the bonding and the thing that happens that feels completely memorable. 

    so how to hostess...hand out spoons and plates and bowls...and corral your one year old and dress them in costumes and serve dinner and take pictures and answer questions and get drinks and mediate sharing and so on and so forth. and still feel the festivity of this party. of kids loving to dress up and adults getting to be together. 

 i am realizing that some moments with kids stand still. when Sophia hears my voice and crawls down the hall laughing the whole way and crawls up on my lap and presses her adorable face on mine while i finish a story with Claire. it stands still. 

 or even laying in bed reading Claire books and giggling over the stories and getting to  hear her thoughts and reflections. 

 but than some of the bigger moments...the parties they can pull you into their swirl. of demands and giggles and laughter and coordinating. and i want to figure out how to be so very present even in the big moments of family that happen.  and not to feel like i am swept into the commotion, unable to truly experience the thing. 

  to walk away with even a few of those time-stands-still-moments. not sure how to do it, but by golly i will try. 

 for now,  this Halloween will be remembered by:

-wiping sweat off our faces...incredulous that we are so hot...

-spicy soups to defy the weather and to somehow usher in fall feelings...

-no tortilla chips to be found for our tortilla soup- so val made her own.

-Novi having to be convinced to put on her costume and then taking it off as soon as she could

-feeling like such a chef- making icing while double boiling egg whites and blending with a blender- only to have the Halloween cupcakes taste so drab. i felt like the fairies in Sleeping beauty as i read my recipes ( folding in the whipped egg whites) and was smirking to myself...expecting to taste something divine...sourly disappointed. 

-all the ingredients for hot apple cider, but we just could not do it. 

-Isaac actually took pictures with the kids, which felt like a huge victory

-drew prodding Layla and all our guests to really know the true meaning of Halloween?

-wishing parties did not have to end at 7:30pm

-yasmin being the “bobbing for apples” champ= the only one who really got it. 

- o the excitement that we have hit the phase where i can plan little activities for the kiddos and they can participate!