Halloween: Tinkerbell & Wendy

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday next to Christmas.  I think it's because it was the holiday with the most traditions.  My mom would decorate the house, sew our costumes, and line us up by the front door to take pictures with the old polaroid.  There was the church Halloween party with the "trunk-or-treat":  trick-or-treating x 2 nights = double candy!! There was the elementary school carnival, which usually involved taking a goldfish home in a plastic baggie, and yes, more candy.  There was the family home evening of carving pumpkins, and the roasting of the seeds. One year my sweet little pumpkin got smashed on the street (I had even named it and put a bow around the stem)!  And then there was the main event:  the real trick-or-treating on Halloween night, pillowcase in hand, and of course, dumping it all out at the end to sort and trade.  The biggest prize was a full-size candy bar.  (Why are the tiny ones called "fun-size"?  They were never as "fun" as the big ones.)  Also high on the desirable list were snickers, twix, reese's, skittles, starburst, and 100 grands.  On the clearance isle were smarties, raisins and other non-candy items, and those nasty bubble gums in the yellow wrappers.  You know the ones.

This year we went with a Peter Pan theme, minus Peter Pan and the other male characters.  That left Wendy and Tinkerbell.  I suggested London be Tinkerbell, but Tim was opposed, because Eden is smaller, and "I won't have Eden living in London's shadow."  (Tim is a middle child). And there was a costume her size on Craigslist, so it was settled.  What to do for London's nightgown for Wendy?  In case you were wondering, there are no sweet little girl's nightgowns for sale at any normal retailer, except for those that are Dora-themed, which don't really count.  I looked on eBay, and there were none there either.  But there was a vintage 1940's pattern that was perfect.  Do I know how to sew?  No, but it was perfect, so I would find a way.  I asked my mom to do it for me (after all, she made all my Halloween costumes as a child), but she said no.  So I enlisted the help of a grandmotherly lady from my church.  I was making good progress when she went out of town.  I tried to finish it on my own, but got stuck.  Cardall's don't quit, remember?  So I didn't quit.  I asked my mom again, and this time she took pity on me.  I mailed it to her, she finished it for me, and had it back to me within the week!!  Thanks, Mom!  

This is the first year that London understood the whole trick-or-treating=candy=yummy relationship.  For the last 48 hours all she has wanted to consume is candy.  Is this normal?  I don't remember ever being restricted with my candy, and I turned out okay, so I've been taking a permissive approach with it.  Tim wants to enforce limits, so that's something we're going to have to figure out.  My whole philosophy with food hinges on removing good/bad labels, removing authoritative food rules, and trusting in one's internal hunger/fullness cues.  Sort of an "invisible hand" principle, right?  You should appreciate that, Tim.  The moment you feel restricted with food, the desire for that food immediately increases, and when you do have access to it you tend to overeat.  So I say, "Let them eat candy!"