For the sake of simplicity, safety and my sanity, we didn’t drag out some of the old decorations. But one of my favorite new pieces is the bats in the lamp shade. I got this clever idea from Martha, of course.

We managed to have 7 kids in my house at one time and nothing broke and there were very few tears (not counting the tears of disappointment at having to go home). While I think everyone had a good time, I’m thinking that maybe next year it’ll be a parents’ night out kind of party.

The morning after the party, I caught Gabriel with his fingers in the cupcakes. So much for having Mike bring them to work to get rid of them.

In other Halloween related news, this was Gabriel’s real first time Trick-or-Treating. We stopped at a few of our favorite neighbors’ houses and showed off his cuteness. :) He even enjoyed some of the candy. I can’t wait to do it again next year!

I could say more, but Gabriel is up from his nap and sounding grumpy. So please enjoy the entire photo set on Flickr:

Also, we’ve invited all the kids (there are 7 of them)… which will be a challenge in itself. I’m not even sure how to logistically handle 7 kids, most of them a year old or younger! Really, the party is an excuse to get the adults together, have a few drinks, eat something yummy, and get dressed up in costume (if that’s your thing). Also, babies in costume = adorable. Any advice on activities/entertainment for the kiddies, I’m all ears.

I thought I’d share this year’s invitation design, too. Rarely do I get to illustrate anything these days, so I decided to break out the pen & ink skills on this one. I drew up this cute little owl on paper, photographed it and did all the coloring in Photoshop. Enjoy!

Image via Britta Boulevard

Halloween season is upon us! Another year has gone by and my favorite “haunt” blogs have already been preparing for weeks. I’ve started seeing decor and paraphernalia in the stores and my inbox has been littered with junk mail from “Spirit Halloween”—which reminds me, I really should unsubscribe from their crappy email list already. Mike and I keep tossing the question back and forth, “Should we have the party this year?” I keep saying that we should, but I think he would rather skip it again. Obviously, last year we were still trying to figure out our roles as Mom and Dad, but this year we’re definitely more comfortable and, in my opinion, I think we’re ready to pick up where we left off. However, to Mike’s point, our house might still be torn apart by that time — we’re planning on breaking a hole in the wall from the dining room to the kitchen. But the way I see it, our friends don’t give a crap what our house looks like… mostly.

It’s not realistic to assume that we can pull of the same kind of party that we’re used to, but I don’t think that’s my goal. A lot has happened in the past year… specifically, a bunch of our friends all now have babies! Seriously… counting Gabriel, there are 5 babies born within 6 months of each other in my Rochester circle of friends. Geeze! If I include outside Rochester, I think the number stretches into the double digits. But I digress. My point is: I want to have the party, but I don’t know if we should make it a low-obligation, family-friendly get together, OR if we should use it as an excuse for our parent friends to have a “date night” and make it more of an evening thing. Perhaps my friends who read this blog should tell me in the comments what they’d prefer. ;)

Regardless of wether or not we actually have the party, I’m not going to let another year go by without dragging out some of my favorite decorations that I missed last year. If anything, maybe I’ll participate in the “Countdown to Halloween” blog-a-thon. That’s if I can muster enough time to post something EVERY DAY in October.

Earlier in the day he wore his "I <3 My Mummy" shirt! Awww!

But I haven’t been a total slacker. I did make Gabriel a costume. It came down to the last minute, but I threw together the Martha Stewart masked owl costume. Of course, I had to make the hat from scratch because the instructions call for a pre-existing aviator cap… which we don’t have. Really, I just used the picture for reference and ignored the instructions. So the whole costume was made from stuff I had lying around my sewing room. Unfortunately, the goggles didn’t really work out, but he still looks pretty darned cute! Also, the black tights were a donation from my co-worker Jenn. We went around to a couple of neighbor’s houses to show off his costume.

Very cute! But note the goggles were a flop. Next time use stronger interfacing.

Going door-to-door in the neighborhood.

At Don & Heather's

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Tired little owl.

He’s all tuckered out from our afternoon around town. I also have a hand-me-down pumpkin costume on reserve… perhaps he’ll wear it while we give out candy. If he does, I’m sure there will be more pictures.

Happy Halloween everyone!

I imagine future Halloween parties with activities for the kids, but also with fun stuff to entertain moms and dads. This year seems to be the baby-boom among our circle of friends, so why not involve the little ones? Besides, I have to make use of all those awesome decorations I’ve collected over the years. What a shame to let them go to waste. I hope to dig up at least a couple of things to put out this year — not that anyone will see them but me. I guess there’s no time like the present to start thinking about creating an outdoor haunt to wow the trick-or-treaters.

Mike and I like to talk about what we’re going to do with Gabe when he’s old enough. I see pirates, super-heroes and monsters — oh my! I look forward to helping him make his costumes and taking him trick-or-treating. No junky store-bought costumes in this house. Half the fun of Halloween for me as a kid (and as an adult) was making the costume. I only hope he shares the same love for the day as we do! I don’t know if I’ll have the energy/time to make a costume for him this year, but I couldn’t resist this adorable little Halloween onesie when I was in the baby store. Awww!

Gotta love the skull pirate.

The Halloween party is but a memory now, and I’m not looking forward to putting away all the decorations. That’s the crummy part. You spend all that time and effort making things “just right”: setting the stage, buildng props, making treats, sewing costumes, etc. And in a blink of an eye, you’re left with a mess, lots of leftovers, a bunch of photographs, and some great memories. However, there’s Christmas to look forward to… Ugh *sarcasm! If you were following me last year, you’ll remember that the Halloween party aftermath left me with a destroyed kitchen/dining room floor. Therefore, I couldn’t put up my Christmas tree because the repair/replacement took place in mid-December. No big loss really. I was sort of glad to be free from the chore of decorating for one year.

Now I can return to business as usual with freelancing, sewing, etc. I had to postpone a number of craft projects in favor of Halloween prep, and I’m glad to get back to them. Stay tuned for what I hope will be a craftacular winter — as long as I don’t freeze my arse off in this office! :)

The infamous panna cotta brain! (See video below)

Phaedra and Lance!

32 of the 34 guests!

The prize winners!

Some Sexy Ladies!

Bella wanted to wear a costume, so Phaedra lent her an arm-band.

This year was by-far the biggest year we’ve had in terms of guests! A whopping 34 people showed up, and for our modest split-level nest that’s an accomplishment. There were so many excellent, creative costumes; it was hard to choose just one best male and best female to receive the coveted goodie bag. In the end, it was Evel Knievel (Dave), and Strawberry Shortcake (Phaedra) who took home the prizes.

The brain mold actually came out (I had my doubts), and people tried and enjoyed it. It was pretty gross looking, and next time I’ll probably use 3 gelatin packets instead of 2 because it was VERY wiggly!

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It’s a blustering cold Halloween today in Western New York, so I’m doubtful there will be many trick or treaters. Also, Mike came down with laryngitis this morning, and is spending the evening all snuggly in bed. So I’m the designated Candy Hander-Outer! Instead of the flesh-bearing Gothic Lolita costume of last night, I decided to borrow some of Mike’s costume and be a Circus Ring Leader!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween … Until next year, my pretties!