Long Dark Night

Last night began with some fun. Dave came over and we all ate pizza and then when trick or treating. The best part, of course, is hearing the other people say how cute our kids are in their costumes. A close second is watching the kids get a little braver, and more confidently saying 'Trick or Trick!' The kids went to bed with the promise of the Great Pumpkin coming during the night.

Let me explain the Great Pumpkin thing. Our kids are too little still to eat most of the candy types (hard choking hazard candies, gum, etc..) and frankly we don't want them hyped up on sweets all the time. So... Carly's brainstorm was to introduce the pact with the Great Pumpkin. The kids collect candy from the neighbors. Then, they leave most of it outside their door Halloween night, and the great pumpkin comes and exchanges gifts for the candy. In this case, they got a video, two books and some puzzle blocks. The kids get something fun, and for now, we don't have to worry about the candy. They did get some candy, and we saved some treats for later, but the vast majority gets chucked or donated to my students and gamers.

So far so good. The Kids went to bed reasonably well, we watched Hero (on Tivo) with Dave and hung out. Then starting around 10pm the kids started crying and fussing. First one, then the other. Each time it would take 20-30 minutes to settle one down, then minutes after leaving the room, the other would start screaming. Add to this that all of us are still coughing our lungs out and sniffling and sneezing, and it made for a rough night.