Candyland!!!

I don't know about you, but Halloween is my favorite holiday of the entire year. There is an energy in the air that gets stronger and stronger as the day turns into night, and midnight heads our way. The charge is so strong by the end of the night, that it almost feels as though there is electricity in the air. I figure this energy comes from millions of children all across the country that are excited, happy and sugar high all at the same time.

Yes, I love Halloween. I do not like crowds when we're out trick or treating though. People shoving and pushing their way through, nobody paying attention to each other, or watching out for the little ones. Little ones running around unsupervised, dodging in front of fast moving cars, wearing dark colors.

The best part of trick or treating is when the kids are still small, so you get to go early in the evening before the sun goes down. At this time, it's just little ones and so not very crowded. All of the little ones are so tiny and cute.

Now, we all know that when they are that small, the trick or treating is more for the parents than it is for the children. Little ones tire quickly, and they don't react very well to too much stimulation. The parents enjoy it more than tiny ones do!

No, I normally am not fond of trick or treating. This year being no different, except maybe being even worse than usual. None of us could really get into it this year. It was like we were all going through the motions. We stayed out less than an hour this year.

Normally, we make it about an hour to two hours before I finally say we're done. We go just long enough for the children to have the experience of it. After all, every child should get to experience that magic.

Every year, we go for a short time, and then I hit the stores the day after to get all of those sales. I usually buy more candy during those sales than most people buy to even pass out! I get so much, it generally lasts us an entire year, and I wind up getting rid of it the next Halloween.

This year, we bought twice as much as usual. I'm having a hard time getting out of the habit of buying for Little Man. See, his body doesn't react to chocolate very well. If he has chocolate, he becomes very agitated, frustrates easily, and intentionally pushes buttons to get into trouble. So, chocolate is was a very rare treat for him. So as I was shopping, I kept picking up bags of stuff he could have as well.

We now have enough candy to feed all of Austin for an entire year. I don't know where to put all of it! The funny part is, none of us have even wanted it at all yet. We aren't big candy eaters, and yet every year, I over indulge at the store. Every year, I get them the treats that I didn't get as a kid.

I hope that everybody enjoyed their holiday and that every child got to feel that energy that flies through the skies on that one day each year.

Happy Halloween everyone. Here's to a new, and happy, new year!