Have you ever heard of Halloween being a controversial holiday? I never really thought much of it until recent years. I never knew that some people do not participate for reasons greater than they simply do not like dressing up in costumes. It never occurred to me that some will not participate due to the original meaning of Halloween and it not coinciding with their beliefs. Until I was a mother, I never considered why someone would hesitate to traipse around to strangers’ houses, stockpiling loads of sugar their kids likely do not need.

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Now, I do realize these things and can certainly understand the reasoning in people who decide to forego Halloween. I still celebrate. Why? I enjoy allowing M to participate in Halloween parties and activities with friends. I know we will have a good time taking a stroll together as a family tonight. And she loves her duck costume!

Heck, there are plenty of people who celebrate Christmas without believing in Jesus. While I would love them to know Jesus, as I trust in the peace a relationship with him brings, I don’t hold their participation in Christmas festivities against them. We do Halloween because it’s something fun for our daughter and as a family.

The other issue, all the candy, isn’t really an issue at all for me either. Recently I read an article about how kids forced to “clean their plates” or not allowed to have certain foods display less control over their food intake when they do have more freedom. This kind of reminds me of Halloween. I fear that not allowing candy at all would only backfire in my hope for Makenzie to have a healthy relationship with food. I have no issue with her having some candy. Or treats at parties, some bites of our frozen yogurt, a hot dog, some pizza, etc. She has those options regularly enough to where she knows she enjoys them.

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But you know what? She will often eat a bit and then be done. For example, at the Halloween party on Friday, she ate about 1/4 of her cupcake and wanted no more. And on a day to day basis, she shows no issue asking for apples, cheese, broccoli, peas, oatmeal, yogurt, water, grapes, granola, smoothies (green monsters), zucchini, pasta, hummus, etc. She knows and enjoys those foods as well because we persistently expose her to healthy items. Sure, she may have one or two pieces of candy as a special treat. That does not bother me. I personally feel best that those options are actually options for her. I hope it helps her learn balance. Then, she won’t have to give a disclaimer for having a fun-sized candy treat. 😉 Did I just say that aloud? Some of you likely know what I’m referring to, so I’ll stop there.

With all that being said, we will trick or treat and collect our share of candy. Then, I will do a mix of the following:

• having it available when she asks, but not promoting it as the parent
• mixing it into healthier treats, like putting M&Ms into a trail mix snack
• saving some of the candy and using it when baking holiday treats
• freezing candy so it lasts to be eaten sparingly over a longer period
• if she understands, we can also allow her to trade in candy for other treats/goodies like a new toy (thanks Mama Pea for this idea)

Every person must make his or her own decision. I decide to enjoy a few favorite pieces guilt-free along with my daughter. Then, eat some vegetable stew. Sounds pretty dang good to me! 😉 Look for a recap post with my “costume”, trick-or-treating action, & a recipe for the veggie stew tomorrow morning. 😀

• How was your weekend?
• Do you ever think of Halloween as controversial?

…c’mon! Let’s celebrate! Doo-doo-doo-doo-doodoodoodo. We’re gonna have a good time tonight.

I don’t know what got into me. Perhaps I’m still delirious from the shock I felt earlier today. I felt my first Braxton Hicks contraction this afternoon. Actually, two. And painful ones at that. I literally had to breathe through them. Not cool, body, not cool.

Despite the discomfort, I did have a fabulous day! I actually had a relaxed morning. Makenzie & I headed to Target to pick up a birthday gift for my mom and a card for money for my sister. I think Target has some sort of mind control going on within its walls though. I can never leave without something that was not on my list. Today’s spontaneous purchase? A pair of maternity jeans. The chillier weather reminded me of my need for more than 2 pairs of long pants to get me through the rest of this pregnancy. I couldn’t say no to an actually decent looking pair of maternity pants.

We celebrated my mom’s and sister’s birthdays with a lunch out together.

My sister wanted sushi. She’s lucky it was her birthday. Otherwise I would have had to beat on her a little bit for taunting me like that. 😉 I settled on a lunch special. It included a cup of hot and sour soup, a tofu + veggies dish, and an eggroll.

Makenzie and I ate almost the entire plate together. I also may have committed a terrible, horrible, blasphemous act of pregnancy as well.

I ate one piece of the roll. I don’t know what all was in the roll since it wasn’t my order, but I do know it involved spicy tuna and tasted glorious. Sue me. Hmmm? Perhaps the Braxton Hicks were payback?

Celebrations continued later in the day. We had a Halloween party to attend with our mom’s club friends. I got little M all decked out in her costume.

Quack! I can’t get over how adorable she is either. We met up at a local dessert place called Ice Cream Social with all of our friends. The party started with some light trick-or-treating around some local stores. Then, we ended with some cupcake decorating.

Makenzie was a happy camper! And why wouldn’t she be with all that sugar facing her? Look for a post on Sunday about my Halloween thoughts and handling all the treats with kids. It will have to wait because now I must head out to meet up with a group of friends for an Atlanta blogger meet-up! Hope you all have a great Friday night.

• Are you dressing up for Halloween? If not, what was one of your favorite or most memorable costumes from years past? I still laugh at my friends & I dressing up as Spice Girls in high school. We actually trick-or-treated too! We’ll see how my plans for this year work out. 😉
• Don’t forget to ASK ME ANYTHING for the November Q + A series!