Silence is a beautiful thing. Especially when the last half hour has been full of very plaintive "mommy, more book" cries from the nursery. It's tough to stand your ground when all he wants in the whole world is you, his comfy chair, a blanket, and Hop on Pop. Stand it I did, though, and I've been rewarded, finally, with nap.
I'm amazed he didn't fall asleep the instant he saw his bed, what with everthing he's done over the past few days. Friday was the Penzeys/Wilson Farm trip and dinner. Saturday, we got him all dressed in his cow costume and headed to the Village Shoppes down the street for trick or treating.
We started at Hilliards, where he looked at the teenaged girl behind the counter and very succinctly pronounced, "MAP!" She handed him his map and two round foil-wrapped pumpkin chocolates. We read the map details and discovered we had 10 stores to visit. At each store, Will would get candy and a stamp on his map. When we were done, the maps all went into a raffle bin at the toy store.
Will grasped the trick or treat concept pretty quickly, and we made short work of the ten stops (plus a few extras that weren't on the map but who had decided to join in the fun regardless), and Will had eaten one foil-wrapped pumpkin chocolate, one mini twix bar, one chocolate chip cookie, two lollipops, a mini hershey bar, a peanut butter kiss, part of an apple, and a juice box. As we got in the car, he smiled a big chocolate-coated smile and said, "more Halloween!"
We couldn't turn him down! We made a second trick-or-treat stop at Big Y, where the managers in each department handed out candy, balloons, and other treats to the costumed hordes.
Napping was a far stretch that afternoon!
Kirk and I snuck out while Will was still asleep and ventured out to Jordan's Furniture in Natick, where Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was playing on the Imax screen. It wasn't in 3D, but on a screen that large the effect was still dizzying. Spellbinding, if you will. Since we left, I've been trying to figure out how we can ditch the baby Thanksgiving weekend to go see Goblet of Fire on the big screen, too.
Before the movie, we shared a barbecue sampler for one at Tennessee's. THe plate for one included a good scoop of pulled pork, five pork ribs, a chicken leg and thigh, two sides of our choice (barbecued beans and macaroni and cheese, in this case), and a piece of cornbread. We were both full and happy by the time the plate was (mostly) empty.
I told Kirk as we were eating that one of the things I like about having married him is that I can 1) eat ribs without worrying that I'm making a mess, and 2) floss in the car without feeling like an idiot. Yep--these are the perks of married life, folks. Free flossing. Worth every penny.
Despite the flossing, it was a good evening out. Of course, we get out so infrequently by ourselves these days that pretty much any activity constistutes a good date. "Honey--I'm going to have my teeth scaled. Want to come along?"
Sunday, it was back into the cow suit for the Canton Rec Department's Halloween parade. Roughly seven million kids and their parents stroll down Washington Street, ending at the high school for balloons, treat bags from the police department, cookies, teeni drinks, and hoodsies.
Have I mentioned that Will loves Halloween? He's eaten nothing but sugar, sugar, and sugar for three days.
After the parade, we bundled him into the car and drove to Plymouth for a visit with my old roommates, Cronin and Erica, and their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Chloe. Despite the total lack of nap, Will behaved remarkably well and actually played with Chloe. She's quite a trip, making complete sentences and carrying on actual conversations. I asked Will if he would like to play with Chloe again. He nodded and said, "Nday," which is the rough equivalent of "okay." When I asked Chloe if she'd like to come visit us and play with our toys, she responded, "Yes. I'd like that. Thank you."
We ordered takeout from the Cabby Shack, home of the best chowder I've had in a long time, and sat and talked while the kids built Lego towers and watched Clifford. We came home relaxed and happy, if not tired.
Today, Will and I brought spinach salad over to the eatfest at my office. The salad was a welcome change from the cookiesbrowniescakescupcakesbiscottipretzelsdip that lined the table. It's important to round out your meal...
Me, I'm just thankful Halloween only comes once a year, and that this year's is almost over. I'm not sure Will's sugar level could survive another day of this!
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