This was the scene on the floor at the house where we attended a post-Trick-or-Treat party:
And this was the scene on our own living room floor the morning after Halloween:
And that photo, would be what remains after an evening of nonstop candy consumption.
Carsten has been giving me all his Heath bars (which for some inexplicable reason he doesn’t like and which sometimes causes me to wonder how it is that we actually share DNA) AND, we had lots of Heath bars leftover from our own trick-or-treat candy stash, which means I’ve essentially had a steady drip of toffee going into my body since Wednesday.
It’s a good thing that putting on that leotard came before the onslaught of candy, because at this point, I might as well just slather all these Heath bars right across my abs, because that is where they’re going to end up anyway. Body by Heath!
I love Halloween, but I have to admit, I sighed a bit of relief yesterday morning that it was over. Not only did we have to procure costumes for both kids —
but I actually had to dress up twice myself: once for the workout extravaganza, and another time, for a Witches Wine Dinner that I attended with some friends. Behold, my secret life of crime:
You’d be amazed at the ridiculous amount of time you can expend searching for just the right leotard, leg warmers, black and white striped shirt, and black mask – not to mention, the time spent returning one or more of said items when a “better” specimen was found a day or so later. My family has pretty much been living in squalor the entire month of October because I’ve been so preoccupied with costuming, etc. But it was all great fun, and really, a labor of love. I’m just still working up the motivation to tackle all the laundry, much less anything else. Drop by unannounced at your own risk; you may not get out.
In keeping with past years’ tradition, we also had a Halloween-themed dinner at home this week. This year’s menu: Bloody Stumps (chicken drumsticks with barbecue sauce); Roasted Brains (oven-roasted purple and green cauliflower); Garlic Toast “Stakes;” Vampire Blood (tomato soup); and Black Cat Grilled Cheese (shaped grilled cheese sandwiches on pumpernickel bread).
Way back in September, Carsten’s school had a fundraiser for the school orchestra. They were selling cookie dough, cheesecakes, chocolates, and cheese dips to raise money to buy new music for the orchestra. Of course, back in September, when Halloween seemed ages away still, and I was about 5 pounds lighter, we did what any supportive parents would and bought several packages of cookie dough, and a couple of boxes of chocolates.
In what would be considered classically bad timing, the goods from the fundraiser were delivered on November 1 – the day after Halloween. So in addition to the candy haul, we now have four pounds of cookie dough, two boxes of chocolates, a tub of cookie dough bites, AND, as an extra-special bonus, Carsten ‘won’ a 5-pound bag of gummy bears for selling over 15 items.
The candy situation is out of control around here, and I’m feeling already that Halloween is merely the gateway event to the non-stop eating extravaganza otherwise known as “the holidays.” Someone, please…help save me from myself.
Cat fur to make kitten britches 
Oh my god! Sounds like you have enough sugar and cookies to feed a small country! Love the “scary dinner” by the way, really impressive! Hope you will survive your Heath bar overdose. Keep the IV of wine close by.
Thanks! I’m rather enjoying the Heath bar overdose, unfortunately, but seriously, it’s GOT to stop. Ugh. They’re just these tiny little pieces, but you know, when you eat, like, THIRTY of them in one sitting, it’s not good.
Hysterical! My downfall are the millions of peanut butter cups my kids got. Love your table and dinner -I always want to do something like that and never seem to get it done. How fun. And your mantel is awesome!
Thanks, Allison – Yeah, the Halloween dinner thing is kind of a lot of work, and it almost didn’t get done this year. Just so much going on this October. But I’m glad we made the time for it, because the kids just love it. This was the first time I did ‘bloody stumps’ and they were still in the oven when the kids got home. Carsten was *beside* himself with curiosity about what ‘bloody stumps’ were. It was kind of funny. Anyway, I hope to keep up the tradition!
Oh my, that is one big stash of lollies! I have no idea what Heath bars are? My girls were sorely disappointed they did not get to go trick or treating. It seems be be gaining momentum here. We were out visiting my dad’s wife the eve of Halloween and there were dozens of kids out dressed up. She lives in a well built up area. We didn’t have any door knockers at our place though, but then again, we practically live in the middle of nowhere. When I was a kid, trick or treating didn’t happen, you know, ‘back-in-the-day’! As with any celebration, Halloween is out of whack with the seasons here in the Southern Hemisphere. Jacinta
Heath bars are just a toffee candy bar, but if I could only eat one kind of candy for the rest of my life, butter toffee would be the thing! I had wondered if you celebrated Halloween ‘down under,’ though with you heading into spring, I can see how it wouldn’t have quite the same feel to it as celebrating it in the fall.
It’s quite huge here, taking second place only to Christmas in terms of money/effort spent on decorating and such. I would say that the enthusiasm for it has grown tremendously since I was a kid. People go all out these days, putting lights on their homes, decorating their lawns, and even setting up spooky scenes on their porches and in their garages. One of Carsten’s friends has a haunted garage every year. They go to incredible lengths to make it just like a real haunted house, with fog machines and strobe lights, and black lights and people in costume jumping out at you along the way. It’s crazy. But my goodness, the kids sure do love it! Thanks for stopping by, Jacinta!
I’ll admit it…I take all the kids’ candy from their Halloween bags and stuff their Christmas stockings. They don’t even miss it. Nor have they ever asked me why their Christmas candy is shaped like pumpkins. Actually one year Hanna picked up a ghost-shaped candy and said it was the “ghost of Christmas past”. We must have just seen A Christmas Carol.
Seriously though…swipe those little Heaths for a batch of ice cream. Yum.
Hahaha! Brilliant, Hanna! That is too funny. One year, Carsten (whose birthday is in January) got a gift bag that contained a gift card, and a big pile of candy – all fun size bars. Totally obvious someone gave him their leftover Halloween candy…nice.