Halloween Festivities

First of all, I cannot believe that Halloween is just a few days away. Where in the world has the time gone? I get so sick of saying that, but I can't help it. It seriously flies away in an instant and I'm left shrugging my shoulders.

I guess when the realization that October is almost over hit me, I morphed into FESTIVE mode yesterday and got domestic! I spent the day in the kitchen, filling my house with the yummy smells of fall. I dipped caramel apples for the first time ever. I've always wanted to do it, but just never took the time. I went to the bakery supply store and bought a 3 lb. block of caramel and went to town. After dipping them in the caramel, I rolled some of them in nuts and drizzled them with chocolate, some had toffee and chocolate, some I just drizzled with chocolate and some were just plain ol caramel. The kids could hardly contain themselves when they came home from school and saw them. If I had let them, they 'd all be gone by now.

After I got that mess cleaned up, I made a MONSTER batch of our favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. I LOVE the smell of my house when I bake those cookies. It makes you want to eat them as they come out of the oven! But instead, I'm going to give most of them away, along with the carameled apples. They're too much of a temptation, and quite frankly, IRRESISTIBLE, if they're sitting on the counter. I guess I'll have to keep a few for the kids to keep from getting in big trouble. They would not be happy if I didn't save any for them.

By the time all of that was cleaned up, it was time to make dinner. I threw a quick spaghetti dinner together and sat down for the first time that day! It felt so good to sit for a minute.

After dinner, I looked over at the pile of dishes that had filled the sink for the third time that day and just sighed. Chris started to do them, but I told him to hold off and asked him if he'd help the kids carve their pumpkins.

Carving pumpkins is always an interesting and fun experience! This year, we decided that we'd let the kids do most of the work. Landon was so excited to be able to draw his very own face on his pumpkin and had a very specific idea in mind. As Chris helped him carve it, Landon was right there giving him very specific instruction about how to carve the mouth. It was so cute.

Todd managed on his own and did a great job. Dylan persevered and carved his whole pumpkin all by himself. I was impressed. The knife was tough for him to maneuver, but he did it! Emmy was really enjoying herself until she started gutting the pumpkin. She wasn't really enjoying the slimy, squishy feel of the seeds, but she managed until her arms started itching so bad it hurt. I had her stop and wash her hands and arms. Within about two minutes, she had HIVES everywhere her arms touched the inside of the pumpkin. I could not believe it. I've suspected for a while that she's got a mild allergy to fruit because when she eats it, her throat starts to hurt and her ears itch from the inside. Evidently, her allergy is with more than just fruit. Maybe it's with anything raw. I don't know, but we'll find out soon. We'll be making another trip to the allergist.

We had a fun night together and the cherry on top was to light the pumpkins. We sat outside for 10 minutes just watching them glow in the dark! I really love Halloween, but once it's over, I instantly switch gears and it's all about "The Holiday Season" for me!!! I say "The Holiday Season" because Thanksgiving and Christmas are all-in-one for us. I love decorating for Christmas about mid-November. I've got so many decorations that it takes me that long to do it all! But besides that, we just love the spirit of Christmas so much that we love to incorporate it into Thanksgiving....a time of family togetherness, thankfulness and giving. Some might say that decorating for Christmas so early takes away from Thanksgiving, but it's not like that at the Morgan's house! I am sooooo excited for the coming season, but can hardly believe it's already here.

There are many more domestic cooking/baking days to come, afterall, 'Tis the Season for CHOCOLATES!!!!