DDOL: Skipping Halloween
The Lammer did not go Trick-or-Treating this evening. He didn’t really seem to miss it. But I did, even though it was our choice not to go.
We had planned on going with Em and Heath since they were in town. Because they live so far from us, the kids never get to do stuff like this together, and we were SO excited. (Probably moreso than the kids, but that’s beside the point.) The day was going pretty well until Emalee decided not to take a nap. And by that time it was too late…the threat had been made.
Basically, the drama started around 2. Em knew that she was going to go trick-or-treating after her nap, but evidently that wasn’t a good enough reason to rest. Fortunately, Heath is totally down with the Love and Logic, and she kept it up the entire two hours that Em screamed and cried. I admire her, because Em pulled out every trick in the book and came upstairs at least five times that I can think of specifically:
“I need a band-aid. My head hurts. I need a drink of water. I have to go potty. I’m hungry.”
Each and every time she came upstairs, Heath took away one of her friends. Em is familiar with this practice, so it came as no surprise. The first time, Heath sent her down to go get Henny Penny. Em was particularly upset and sobbed as though someone was ripping her newborn child away from her breast, “NOOOOO, NOT H-h-h-henny Pennnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyy.” On subsequent trips, Heath simply asked her what she was going to have to do since she came upstairs. Em would say, in a sobbing voice, “I-I-I (breath) h-h-(breath) have to (breath) g-g-g-give you (big breath into sob) one of my FRIEEEEEEENNNNNDDDSSSS.” Then she would decide and go and get whichever friend it was, sobbing the whole way. Why Em willingly brought them to her, I’ll never know, but the casualties in addition to Henny Penny included Blue Bunny, Horse, and a few others I can’t remember…maybe Buffalo?
Really, Heath was trying everything to work it so that Em could go trick-or-treating. We ALL wanted her to go out a-haunting. She has this great pirate costume with an adult eye-patch that covers 1/4 of her face. It’s so CUTE. And Liam’s is a monkey…because he is. She even told her that if she’d just stay in her bed and rest until she went to get her, that she could still go.
A minute or two after she’d made this bargain, up came Em. She announced, “I guess I won’t go trick-or-treating since I didn’t take a nap.”
We all about died. Unfortunately, it was one of those situations where, as a parent, you have to stick with the consequences you prescribed, even though you TOTALLY. DO. NOT. WANT TO.
I could see the disappointment in Heather’s face…and she was frustrated. You know how when you get really mad at someone and you’d like to take them in the backyard and shoot them? (Only to maim, of course. I won’t say kill, because that could get me in trouble with child services, I believe.) That’s what Heather looked like. I think if steam could actually come out of people’s ears the way it comes out of Tom’s on Tom and Jerry, it would have.
So, Heath made Em call and tell her other Grammy that we wouldn’t be coming. Em just acted like it wasn’t a big deal and she didn’t seem phased when the kids started showing up at the door, but we made a big deal about how much fun they were having anyway.
However, since we’re in the town where pretty much our ENTIRE family lives, and my parents have lots of friends who also happen to be grandmas, we called in a few favors. We’ve rescheduled Halloween for tomorrow night.
I don’t think our little hearts can take Em and Liam not getting to go. And I don’t want to be responsible for postponing Halloween yet another day. If it doesn’t work tomorrow, it just doesn’t work.
