my little pumpkin

for a halloween hater, i sure got my fill of it this year.  and the teen wasn't even home - it was all about the bean.  she was super excited for her "pumpkin harvest party" at school, and i was equally stoked to get her dressed in the candy corn getup i'd thrown together over the weekend.

that's her contribution to the school's pumpkin patch, the one she picked out the weekend before.  she cradled it lovingly all the way to school, and handed it to me carefully as i went out back to help get set up for the festivities.

but even though i was right on time, there were plenty of other moms who'd arrived early and got it all done.  i did what i could, and then when i noticed that a bunch of us were just standing around doing nothing, i made my excuses and got the hell outta dodge.  i still had stuff to do at home, like packing up the cookies to place in the kids' cubbies:

i had just enough time to finish all 25 cookies and haul ass back to the school, where she and her class were indulging in snacktime featuring platefuls of orange food.  i snuck up to her with camera in hand, and it was funny to watch her reaction.

then it was time to clean up, grab loot bags and head outside to pick a pumpkin and play some games.

why yes, that is the very same one she brought from home.  out of the gazillion pumpkins scattered throughout the grassy area, she zeroed in on HERS and refused to consider taking any of the others.  sheesh.

game time!  my little cheater.

toddler plinko, anyone?

i watched her run and slide and jump and have a blast with her friends.

and then she shocked me by getting in line to have her face painted.  my kid is not one to queue up for this kind of thing - not even at her own party.  but for some reason, she was up for it - and i didn't argue.

when she goes for it, she goes big.  not only did she have a ghost painted on one side, she asked for a pumpkin on the other.

she made a bunch of silly faces at me.

back at home, after a lovely lunch of chicken mcnuggets and chocolate milk (yes, i am indeed mom of the year), she sat back and surveyed her loot.  the elaborate goody bags she got made my measly sugar cookie look kind of ridiculous.  oy.

all that fun, and she wasn't even in costume yet!  heh.