Halloween party

The mommies group to which I belong had a Halloween party on Sunday afternoon - what fun! The party was held in the backyard of our cruise director's house, and the afternoon was just about perfect: warm, but not too warm, with a light breeze, and the backyard was almost completely shaded. We set up chairs, spread out blankets on the ground and proceeded to have a great time.

The children (and a few adults) were dressed in their Halloween costumes. There was a rooster, several fairies, a princess, a devil and an angel, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, a police officer, a knight, and our own super hero.

When A asked to be a super hero for Halloween this year, I gently steered him away from those licensed characters that I detest, and convinced him to create his own super hero. We already had the Captain Heartbreaker pajamas, and I added a cape and mask...tada! Instant super hero!

The children had a wonderful time running around the backyard, playing pin the nose on the pumpkin, and snacking on the fun Halloween food.

But the most popular event by far was bobbing for apples. Our hosts had filled a large tub with water and added apples; after a few of the older children had successfully procured apples, the little ones took over. They didn't bob for apples, they bobbed the apples! They picked up the apples and threw them in the water, splashing each other and anyone that was nearby. Each time they did this, they would all shriek with laughter. They were getting their costumes soaked but were having such a great time that none of their parents wanted to stop them. And each time one partucular little girl, the devil in the picture, shrieked and giggled, we all laughed with her - she has an infectious belly laugh!

Several of the mommies had prepared goodie bags so each child took home some candy, snacks and toys. It was a lovely afternoon to enjoy the pleasant weather, the good company, the yummy food and the delight of the children.

There is no joy in Mudville

First, the good news: over the next ten days, I will have more time to read, I will go to bed at a reasonable hour, I will not pace the floors and, unless I eat something that does not agree with me, my stomach will remain knot-free.

The bad news: the Cleveland Indians did not win the American League championship last night and will not be playing in the 2007 World Series.

"Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out."

And this morning, I hate baseball.