Update - Tricksters and Treats

I had thought about posting this last night - had I been able to stay awake long enough last night to write a post. But, the hours a certain little boy here has reverted to keeping had me pretty well worn out by around 9 p.m. last evening and I crashed early on the sofa. My sleep didn't last all that long - only till around midnight but considering the fact the same little offender decided to do a rerun last night, early this morning of the day before, that 2-3 hour nap I squeezed in there really came in handy! (He went to sleep about 2:15 this a.m. but then, decided around 3 a.m. that he should rise and howl - no shining involved - just fuss and howl and wail and scream! And no amount of rocking or walking him or trying to cajole him with more milk would entice him to being quiet, going back to sleep either. Until around 6 a.m., I think he had finally just worn himself out and he crashed then. I got to sleep then around 7 and woke around 11:30 and the little sweetheart - well he didn't wake up until 2 p.m!

As a result of his sleep pattern (which are obnoxious of late, at best), my sleep as well as my plans to do other things -some of which I HAVE to accomplish because I promised to make several things for the bazaar the ladies of our church are having this Saturday - like make at least one, possibly two batches of Swedish Limpa Rye bread, make "White Christmas Fudge" for the Candy Shoppe they will have there PLUS make a big pan of lasagne too for the dinner they serve on Saturday -and I really didn't have the extra time to spare to try to deal with his issues plus scrounge a bit of sleep for myself and still manage to make my reading rounds today of my favorites blogs.

But, I did manage to read a couple of blogs that are on my favorites list. One of these - Second Effort - I really had to make sure to read and find out how he and his family made out last night with the trick or treaters and if they "egged" his house again this year. If you want to know what happened, you'll have to click in and read it for yourself.

However, reading his post, one of Curmudgeon's comments in a dialogue he had with a couple of kids who came begging for candy reminded me about something that happened to me here last night too.

One group of kids who came in last night - there were ten in this gang -gathered around my dining room table as I was getting the candy out to drop in their bags. I'm digging into the container and as I was doing that, I see this one girl standing opposite me -probably about ten, maybe eleven years old I'd guess, as she reaches out and dips her hand into the one container of candy I had sitting there. Now, that action really riled me. I was very strict with my kids when they were growing up as to how to act in other people's homes - acceptable vs unacceptable behavior, etc., and maybe I am very old school about these things, but even though Halloween is all about begging for candy and treats and such, it is not about grabbing things on your own in someone else's home.

When I saw her hand there, I looked up at her - shot her a look my kids are well familiar with - the "if looks could kill, you would be falling on the floor right now!" and I said "EXCUSE ME!" She immediately dropped the candy back into the container and withdrew her hand as I continued to tell her -and the others too - "We DO observe manners in THIS house!"

A little later, I had a group of about six boys -probably in the 12-14 age range, all dressed as skateboarders. Right on their tail came a little girl, probably about ten, dressed as a cute little witch with her face all painted green and such. I rather think she was kind of with the boys but not really being permitted by them to beg directly with them. There was a woman standing by my front steps along the road who appeared to be trying to keep tabs on the group of boys along with this lone girl. So, as I opened the door for her, I asked her if she was perhaps the "lone ranger" and her response to me was "No, I'm a witch." I repeated myself and tried to get it across to her that I realized she was a witch but also that she was alone - therefore, "the lone ranger" but I think my brand of humor there apparently isn't comprehended by the younger set of today. I told her mother she maybe needed to explain further what I meant.

Mandy took the two little ones out last night along with four little boys, the sons of two sisters who are good friends of Mandy's. They managed to stop at three houses up the street from ours before Mandy decided she couldn't handle Kurtis any longer and she brought him home to me! He apparently decided trick or treating just wasn't what it was cracked up to be - at least not in HIS mind and by the third house, all he wanted to do was cry. Maya, on the other hand, loved the whole thing! This was the first time she's ever been able to go trick or treating - two years ago, because I was in the hospital in Pittsburgh, having just had surgery that morning and her mother and my older daughter were both down in Pittsburgh with me, there was no one able to take Maya out and last year, I'd just come home from Pittsburgh two days before Halloween, having had more surgery the week before so I wasn't able to be left alone at that time with the baby - wasn't allowed to pick him or Maya up at that time. So, she missed out on this big occasion not just once, but twice. However, judging by the bag of candy she returned home carrying, I'd definitely say it was a successful venture for her last evening!

And tonight, when Mandy came home from work, she had a little present for me - given to her by one of her customers this evening. Seems this lady had this neat pin on her lapel which Mandy admired and told her that boy, her Mom, she just knew, would love to have a pin like that. She figured maybe the lady would tell her where she got it and she could then get me one like it for Christmas or something. Instead, the lady removed it from her lapel and gave it to her, telling her to take it home and give it to me. What was this pin that Mandy was so excited to bring me? Well, it was a gold "Nittany Lion's head" - just the ticket and what any or every self-respecting Penn State Alum would want to wear! How sweet was that anyway? One of the nicest gestures I've seen in a good while, for sure!

Well, I got three loaves of my rye bread baked, made the fudge too in the middle of the night last night while Kurtis was pitching his noisy fit so tomorrow, I just have to make the lasagne and hopefully, manage to bake another batch of the bread too. Gonna dig out some of the boa scarves I have knitted along with a couple of the terry towel baby bibs I make from time to time to put them out on the crafts gifts table at the bazaar too. Then, come Saturday morning, Mandy, Maya, maybe Kurtis too, and I can go out to check out all the other goodies others from our church have made and donated, have a nice lunch there and enjoy seeing lots and lots of others from the local area as well as folks from "over the mountain" who often come up for this bazaar too. (NOTE: For anyone reading this who might be in driving range - our church is Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lanse, PA -and the bazaar starts at 10 a.m. So come join us and get lots of goodies while you're there!)

Time for me to move along now and hope little boy decides to bite the dust a bit earlier this evening!