image source: Carole Newman Associates

Oh this post is a long time coming! It's been in draft mode since October 5th, and various obligations/distractions prevented me from finishing.  Now the title of the post is almost moot, as The Big Day is tomorrow!!!!! *smh*

Anyhoo, as many of you already know, Halloween is my second favorite holiday in the world (shout out to all my Xanga homies who've been hitting me up about my Halloween plans/costumes – ya'all know how I do!) *squeals* I love it so much!  I get giddy just thinking about/planning for it. My Halloween planning usually starts in the summer – around July, if I'm being honest.  Oh yes, I take it very seriously… actually, me and my best girlfriend Nichole both do. In the summer we begin to plan our costumes, our props (oh, we put it down with the props!!!), our plans, the logistics, and so on and so forth. I guess you could say I'm just a big kid when it comes to Halloween.  But really, I think it is way more fun to dress up as an adult.  When I reflect back, I don't remember Halloween being such a big deal for me as a kid.  For one, we really weren't allowed to eat candy like that… so that already detracts from a significant part of the occasion. And then my dad had concerns with the meaning of the holiday in itself…. and on top of that my parents were "frugal" when it came to buying costumes, so it would likely be something on sale or some makeshift costume from home (not to take away from that – my mom is super creative and a regular little Martha Stewart) But all in all, it was cool but not as fun or exciting to me as Christmas.  That's all changed today!

It's also a special time for me and Derek (who was never ever a Halloween-goer, but kind of got swept into it by my enthusiasm. *smile*) We met in the month of October and the fall/Halloween season will forever remind me of that romantic courtship period.

Well obviously this year is extra special because it will be Chase's first!  To celebrate I wanted to do something especially memorable and fun.  I searched and searched for the perfect Halloween event for babies/pre-walkers, but kept finding events more appropriate for toddlers and older.  I did eventually find a few suitable events at MommyPoppins.com and then narrowed it down to the perfect one!  I RSVPed to Halloween Fun Day which is a special event for babies in the Chelsea/Village area of Manhattan.  Obviously Chase at this age couldn't care either way what we do, but I enjoy Halloween so much that it was important to me that his first one be special – even if he doesn't remember it in five years.  He'll have cool pictures and we'll have fun stories and memories to share with him.

Halloween Fun Day will of course have Halloween-themed music, art/sensory activities for babies, and the kids will receive healthy goodie bags.  I already know Chase is going to have a ball with all the other babies, so I'm super excited!  Now that he's become quite the olympic crawler and can easily stand up, he definitely enjoys life in a new and exuberant way.  I've had our costumes planned out for months, and tonight (like, literally as soon as I post this blog) I'm finishing up last minute sewing revisions.  No, I didn't hand-make our costumes this year, they just needed a bit of tweaking.  And noooo, I can't tell you what we're going as…… it's a surprise!!!!! *giggles* 

But like I said, Derek and I generally go all out for Halloween.  Here are a few flicks from the last few years (well, minus last year – I was almost 8 months pregnant and decided at the last minute that I hated how my costume looked on me, and chucked it). 

Halloween 2006 – At a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre in Mahwah, NJ by The Killing Kompany. Captain Derek and Minnie Mouse

The finest captain you'll ever meet!

Halloween 2007 – In historic Salem, Mass for the Annual Hawthorne Hotel Costume Ball. Aristocrats of the Old South.

The Belle of the Ball!

 

Oh yes, Halloween is serious business in the Etheridge household.  Believe me now? LOL!!!

So what are your Halloween plans this year?