Served cold . . . with a little warmth

Well, I guess it's safe to say I blew the Blogtober thing all to crap. Couldn't do it even by cheating a little. Oh well, I did some writing. I did more writing than if I hadn't tried to participate. 

So I'll call it a win.

And, to be fair, I'll close out the month with a final blog. 

Happy Halloween to you all. My day started poorly, in spite of a rare, good night's sleep. I woke up to find that someone had smashed our pumpkins. And ya know, at almost any Halloween in my life up to this point, it's no big deal. It's a pumpkin.

But this year, for the first time, Sonwun gutted, designed and carved his very own pumpkin. He insisted on doing it solo. He did a good job and he was very proud of his creation.

The look on his face this morning pissed me off in a very, very, very big way. I'm trying to stay daddy-like here and avoid the potty-mouth that sometimes bursts forth in these situations. But man, I'm a tad miffed.

I'm not sure I should be handing out candy tonight. I'll be giving the evil eye to everyone who looks capable of pumpkin kicking. That's a lot of evil eye. But I just know that whoever did this lives in my neighbourhood. And he, she, or they will be at my door tonight looking for goodies. 

Sigh.

I guess at this point I have to admit I kicked a few pumpkins in my day. I soaped a few windows . . .

At that age you just don't think about the kid who proudly carved his pumpkin and how devastated he feels. You're a kid yourself, why would you think of these things?

Now, that being said, my first instinct (to catch the kid and kick him in the teeth) may have been wrong. 

But I think it's fair and reasonable to stay up all night next year, on the roof, with a garden hose. It also may not be wrong to "mine" the front yard with dog poop that night. Maybe a strategically located trip wire or two. Nobody gets hurt. Just a little poopy. That's funny right there.

We'll keep that one in the bank. I've got a whole year to plan, I've got a wicked and vengeful mind revenge is a dish best served cold. (Dog poop, on the other hand, better warm). (Which reminds me, I also have the advantage of  a level-headed wife to keep me from going over the edge).

Anyway, have written about it. Feel better now. 

Have a great Halloween!

Thompson's Not So Weird!

Well, Happy November!

There are 54 shopping days until Christmas. You may officially begin to panic.

Our first Thompson Halloween went well, in spite of the cold. I think the temperature was around -8C (17.6F), so retrofitting the costumes was mandatory. We had to abandon the Shrek outfit for Sontoo, as we simply could not get enough insulation into the equation.

A quick hunt the in basement turned up half a skunk costume, a cow costume and a monkey costume that Sonwun wore last year. We went with the monkey, as it fit over Sontoo's snowsuit and came equipped with a nice warm hat/head. Personally, I went with the top half of the kids' cow costume, just 'cause I thought it was funny.

Sontoo, the Monkey

Sonwun, the fearless Knight

As for Sonwun, we swapped out the Knight pants with snow pants, the Knight's boots with snow boots, and packed on about four sweaters beneath his tunic. The chain mail helmet sufficed for headwear.

Neomom loaded the kids up and headed out while I stayed back to hand out the loot. I was joined about 15 minutes later, when Sontoo decided he'd had enough of the whole "looking cute" thing and returned to the warmth of the house.

Sonwun, on the other hand, would have gone all night. He's at the age where he's figured out this whole Halloween thing mathematically (T+CC=L). Time plus cute costume equals loot. And he was more than willing to put in the time.

After an hour or so on the streets, Neomom and the Knight headed over to a friend's house about 5 minutes from here, where Sonwun was given what he called a virgin "jello firer." And, when they got home, Daddy received three non-virgin jello shooters. Thanks Shari and Ty!

Visitors to the front door here in Thompson were pretty much the same as anywhere else, with one notable exception. There were plenty of cute kids out early, all dressed up and under the watchful eye of mom or dad. They loved my cow costume. As the evening wore on, the teens, wearing little or no costumes whatsoever, made an appearance to collect their loot. They kinda sneered at the cow.

And finally, the notable exception. Just when we thought the night was over, we turned off the porch light. And then we got the knock on the door and opened it to find two full-grown adults, dressed as homeless alcoholics, (convincing costumes, complete with cooking sherry cologne) carrying four full shopping bags of candy each.

I gave them each a handful of candy and, at their request, supplied them with a few more grocery bags and sent them on their way. Next year, I will prepare a couple of big ol' nutritious sandwiches to supplement their Halloween diet, and keep them handy, just in case. I only hope they found a warm place to curl up last night and enjoy the loot.

So that, in a nutshell, was our first Thompson Halloween experience. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. There were no local mishaps on Devil's Night, or Gate Night. And on Halloween, we dressed for the cold, our visitors were, for the most part, polite and well-behaved. Now all that's left is a week or two of sugar-fuelled mayhem in the house.

Shrek and The Knight

Before we begin today, I feel I should put out a quick disclaimer. The Parents 'n' Tots playgroup, to which I haul Sonwun and Sontoo twice a week, is the best I've been to. Great toys, limited structure, no crappy coffee and, generally, a good time had by all.

That being said . . .

Yesterday we had the Halloween Party. The kids dressed up, one pissed off mom dressed up ("You guys suck! I thought parents were dressing up!") and it was all very cute. There were dinosaurs, Jack Sparrows, ninjas, lions, tigers and bears (oh my)! Sonwun was sporting a Knight costume and Sontoo went as Shrek. He's got the belly for it.

But I'm not feeling good about poor little Shrek. I dressed him up because I gave in to peer pressure. I dressed him up for the amusement of others. I was not amused trying to stuff his little body into that costume. He was not amused by the way it felt. I was not amused by the crying and fussing. He has no idea who Shrek is or why I want him to look like a green ogre. And he hated the little hat.

Now I understand why parents dress kids, under the age of 2, in Halloween costumes. It's cute, or funny. But let's be honest, it's kind of like putting a little outfit on your dog. The dog is not amused, finds no pleasure in the outfit and is a little freaked out about having to wear it. Eighteen-month-olds, at least mine, feel the same way. Why did I give in?

Now as for Sonwun, he understands the costume concept. He chose his own and was quite proud to be Sir Sonwun, the knight. I, wisely I think, chose not to arm him with a sword, even though it would have completed the ensemble nicely. It just didn't make sense to send him out into a group of 40 children, already with an inflated, knightly sense of self importance, with a weapon.

Five other parents disagreed.

And, as one might expect, the morning featured a running battle between two Ninjas, a Transformer, a pirate and Winnie the Pooh who realized his hunny pot had little impact against a Ninja sword. Pooh wanted in on the action, so he picked up the pirate's discarded scabbard and used it to join in the wild swinging festival.

Now, I understand that the swords are part of the costume and the children want to play with them. But why the mothers not only allowed the swords to make the trip to playgroup, but allowed the duels to continue unabated - I just don't get it.

Maybe it had something to do with the sugar buffet along the wall. Now, I understand that some moms want to bring a special treat to the Halloween party. But, seriously, the amount of sugar and frosting on that table would have sweetened Hitler's disposition. And come on people, it's 10 a.m. Is it really a good idea to detonate this sugar bomb in a room full of toddler's and preschoolers? I just don't get it.

To be fair, I should point out that one mom actually brought in a big plate of sliced fruit for the kids to snack on. I know, not very Halloweeny, but certainly more nutritious. There was plenty left over.

All that being said, it was a good party. There were games for the kids (Sir Sonwun finished third in musical chairs) and plenty of opportunities to burn off that sugar, even without swordplay.

And tonight's the big night. But I'm not sure how we're going to handle it. Today's forecast high is -5C (that's about 23F for those of you down south) and it's expected to drop to -10 (14F) tonight. Sonwun will surely want to hit the streets, but that form-fitting Knight costume won't offer much protection from the cold and it will be impossible to stuff sufficient insulation underneath it. Must come up with new plan.

I expect Shrek will stay here with me and help hand out the loot. But I will probably dress him up as one of the kids from Peter Pan. You know, a pair of pajamas and maybe a pair of slippers. No hat. He'll be happier, I'll be happier.

Have a great, spooky Halloween everyone and I'll see you next month.

16 Days to Go

Well, 16 more shopping days until Halloween.

And 15 more days to buy tactical weapons before Devil's Night, or Gate Night, or whatever they call it here.

This will be our first Halloween in Thompson and our first one in a long time living in a "city." This particular event has been pretty quiet on the home front for the past eight years or so. Living out in the country, we didn't get many visitors in Gimli, so it was easy enough to pack up the kids, together, and head to town for trick-or-treating.

To do that here, I suspect, would be to invite an omelette of biblical proportions to the front of our home. So I guess one of us will have to stay behind to appease egg-wielding hoard.

But what about costumes? We've talked to Sonwun about it already and his first choice was a ghost. But then that changed to a police officer, and then to a ghost-police officer.

So what are the top costume suggestions for kids this year? Sadly, nothing all that creative. After browsing around the 'net for "top costumes 2009," and, looking specifically at boys' costumes I found most of the usual stuff: Spiderman, Transformers, Peter Pan, Batman, Robin, Vampire, Wolverine, Star Wars characters, Harry Potter . . . the usual. There were a few I didn't recognize, such as "Naruto, and Naruto Kakashi," "Troy" from High School Musical and "Ash Ketchum," whoever that is.

This year, Sonwun is actually very much into picking his own costume. And as I've been sitting here doing my research, he climbed onto my lap and made his choice. He would now like to be the Transformer Bumblebee, as he believes "everyone will think I'm cool."

Sontoo is a little easier to work with, as he is still at an age where he can't voice his protest over whatever we choose. If mommy's choosing, she'll look for something that makes him look adorable. If daddy gets his way, he'll look as goofy as possible. I've already got my eye on a giant peanut costume, but he may very well end up wearing the hand-me-down skunk costume his brother wore two years ago.

But as I do some further browsing through the toddler section, I see a Kung Foo Panda outfit that has me in tears and a "Lil' Disco Toddler" costume that comes compete with a '70s 'fro and a nice light blue disco suit. I think I wore that suit to Grade 8 graduation, minus the 'fro.

Last year Sonwun was a ghost (his choice) and Sontoo wore a Santa costume. We figured on getting double usage out of it as he could look adorable on both Halloween and at Christmas. He seemed okay with it.

Anyway, as I said, just over two weeks to prepare. Must talk to the neighbours, see how much junk to buy, whether to buy candy or those mini booze bottles for the trick-or-treaters. And, being the civic-minded guy that I am, I need to find out whether I'm expected to join the armed street patrol that night, or just sit in the machine gun nest on my roof and cover the ground troops. It is, after all, our first Halloween in Thompson and I want to be a good neighbour.

Oh, and did I mention that someone broke into our van a few nights ago. They didn't steal anything, just kind of rifled through the glove compartment and left the stench of alcohol breath for us in the morning. Didn't find any cigarettes or booze, so they just moved on. I'm told by the neighbours that we were not alone that night. Apparently one of the local addicts went through a number of vehicles and even tried to open a few doors on the houses.

Van was unlocked, house was locked. Lesson learned.