Halloween Hello

I'm finally getting around to posting our Halloween pictures. There have been so many things going on lately at work and with the girls that I feel I rarely have time to blog these days. I must make more time for this...it's therapy, truly. Much cheaper than a therapist!! LOL

So we have Madison as our convict (Miss Behaved was the name on her costume), Samantha as Diamond Castle Barbie and Alison as the lovely bride. She is actually wearing my veil from our wedding that she found months ago in a closet.

Halloween night was honestly the most beautiful night I can ever remember for October 31st. What a treat to be able to walk around with the girls trick-or-treating without a rain slicker or wrapped up head-to-toe with scarf and mittens!! You just never know what Michigan is going to throw your way in late October, but we were thankful for the beautiful weather for so many reasons. Sammi has been fighting allergies for weeks and Alison had a cold. Having nice weather on Halloween perked them both up enough to chase wildly after the neighbor kids. Nice weather brings out ALL the kids in our neighborhood and it is always fun to see them dressed up.

This year my mother-in-law came over to pass out candy at our house so Scott and I could both take the girls out that night. With the kids not feeling 100%, it was a guess at best as to how long they would last. To our surprise, they made it all the way around our neighborhood circle. I think their poor little arms gave out carrying those heavy bags of candy before their legs were actually tired. We headed home for fresh apple cider and donuts from VanderMills in Spring Lake and the girls dumped their candy-haul on the kitchen table for inspection. It never ceases to amaze me how little time it takes to accumulate so much candy!!

Luckily for us, my brilliant mother and mother-in-law had already laid the ground work with the girls to 'sell' their Halloween candy to a local dentist for cash. Brilliant, I tell you! All three girls picked about twenty pieces 'of the good stuff' to keep for treats and they put the rest of their candy in a big bag. They headed out Saturday morning with Scott to cash in on their candy harvest. Madison weighed the bags on Friday night and told us it was about ten pounds, but the official weigh-in brought seven dollars to the girls - all in gold dollar coins. The girls were ecstatic and I was thrilled not to have to deal with sugar-high kids for the next two months.

While I absolutely love Halloween and it was a great night, it was kind of a bitter-sweet experience. It was so much fun walking hand-in-hand with my hubby on such a warm October night, watching our girls behave so very well. The 'pleases' and 'thank yous' were out in great force and that made both of us so very proud of them. But I was forced to realize something horrifying as we walked along the streets:

This won't last forever.

I am desperately trying to slow life down enough to really savor the every day moments we have with our kids, but this thought took my breathe away. It always does. Maybe because we are at such a good place in life right now. Maybe because the girls are such a great age and we are enjoying their little personalities so very much. Maybe because it makes me sad to know that we are getting older and that our babies are getting bigger every day and that day when they THINK they don't need us anymore is soon approaching.

Madison is already seeking her independence from her Mom and Dad. She wants to be with her friends doing what eight-year-old girls do...giggle, talk...giggle...put on lip gloss...oh, yeah, giggle some more. At football games she makes excuses just to get away from us so she can spread her wings. I have to believe that Samantha is not far behind and well, Alison has been proclaiming her independence since birth. And while my heart tells me to grab onto them tightly and keep them protected under my wing, my head knows that just isn't possible to do forever.

What I struggle with is how do you know how much independence to give them? Where is the fine line between not watching their every move and keeping a watchful eye so they don't stray? I fear my questions far outweigh any answers I have at this point. I fear that this is only the beginning of a long journey through the push and pull of mother / daughter relationships, puberity and, oh God help me, boys.

I have a feeling life is only going to get more interesting from here:)