Benjamin Had a Halloween Party . . .

As most of you know, Benjamin loves Halloween more than any other time of year. He loves the candy, the costumes, and all the spooky stuff. This year Ben asked if he could have a Halloween party--just with Grandma and Grandpa and a few local cousins. And before I could say NO (we have a newborn baby, after all), Daddy (who also loves Halloween) said YES.

So we planned, decorated, shopped, and prepared--all in 10-minute segments while Alaina slept . . . until yesterday when I had to do all the rest of the preparations at a frantic pace while Alaina screamed in her bouncy seat, bassinet, snuggly, car seat, etc.

 

By the time the party was to begin, the house still hadn't been cleaned, the kids had all been neglected, and I was pretty frazzled.

Luckily Mom and Dad came a little early, and Mom held Alaina and got her to sleep.

 

When Ben's cousins arrived, he taught them how to play a game called "Pumpkin Patch," which he was very proud to have learned at kindergarten. Then we played "Pass the Rat," which Rebecca won, and had some snacks.

 

We finished off by doing some Halloween crafts (a few of us, anyway) and eating ghost-topped mud pie (this is becoming a Halloween tradition at our house!).

 

And by midnight I had it all washed, vacuumed, and tidied up (actually it was only 10:30, but I thought midnight sounded more Halloweenish!).

When I asked Ben what his favorite thing about the party was, he said, "It was when we got to drink POP!" (Poor little deprived guy!)

My favorite part was that Alaina was so tired from the festivities that she slept an almost 9-hour stretch in her crib during the night!

And now there's just one more week until the big day. . . .