Saying Goodbye to Halloween

Happy November, all! I am a very attached person. This serves in the favor of my husband and kids, whom I have loved madly since the first time I set my eyes on them. Once I find something I love, I am stuck. I suffer post-partum ____ (insert event here, e.g., Halloween, Birthdays, XC season, etc.) sadness following every end. Each October 31st, I mourn the end of another Halloween. As a kid my dad extended the night as late as possible by often letting us go out "one last time," and then one more last time until the sky was black and the neighbors' candy bowls were empty. Still not ready to finish the night, we got to stay up to hand out the final treats to late-night teenagers left wandering the streets. Halloween was something special growing up and I want it to be the same for my kids. Last night we didn't shut down the streets, but we did stay out until 6:30pm. Woohoo! Late in our book and sufficiently late enough for the kids. And on our way home we made not ONE last house stop, but 3!


Trick or Treating at "One last house."

Alice, The Rabbit and Purple Froggie making their way home.

 

And one of those last house stops included viewing of baby turtles. Cesia was in heaven and talked about them this morning. (March 5th Birthday present planned.) We finished up a fun Halloween season with skipped baths, extra Halloween bedtime books, homemade vegan pumpkin pie and my best soup to date (Kale and Bean stew from Julie Morris' Superfoods cookbook - highly recommended!). I wish I took a picture because even the presentation was beautiful, but alas Alan and I slurped down every last bite leaving no leftovers behind.

Isaac and Me at Underwood Farms this October.

 

With every end comes a new beginning and with every November 1st comes a new Holiday Season. Thank goodness for Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner! This morning after dropping the girls off at school I came straight home and pulled down the Halloween decorations. Reminders of those orange pumpkins and spooky white ghosts the girls spent hours decorating at school each morning only add salt to the burn that comes with the passing of Halloween. Tucked safely into the cupboards upstairs, we will see them again next October 1st - the day Halloween decorations are "allowed" to come out in our house. Pre-October is just a little too anxious. : )

Alan and I have been discussing our Thanksgiving plans a lot this past week. It will be our first year celebrating "alone." "We have a family now," Alan reminded me, "We are not alone." It just feels a bit alone as we won't have any extended family guests with whom to share the holiday. Before kids, we traveled to Albuqerque to celebrate with Alan's family. We spent Adara's first Thanksgiving in Sanibel Island, FL with my family when Alan had to be in Orlando on a work conference a few days prior. Last year Alan's family came to us. This year traveling with three kids over a short Thanksgiving weekend seemed daunting and Alan has to be in Boston just two days after, so we decided we would stay home this year. Both our parents already had plans in their home states. My brothers and sisters will be around the country - and world - with my brother and his wife Ali still down in Honduras doing some very challenging and incredibly meaningful volunteer work at an orphanage. They will surely bring those kids a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.

Being our first Thanksgiving as a family of five and Adara over 4 years old now, we want to begin making special holiday traditions. We discussed the option of trying to get invited to a friend's family party. This came highly recommended by a mama friend as "The Best Thanksgiving Plan" - you get yourself invited to a party, bypass the stress of cooking your own elaborate meal, prepare one little side-dish, feast on yummy food and head home by 7pm for bedtime (missing the clean-up, too!). Not a bad plan and quite tempting as we have a few friends who happen to be amazing cooks, but we have decided to do our own thing this year. Sorry, friends, we won't be inviting ourselves to your Thanksgiving family dinner.

Alan will cook some special meal - likely not a turkey as I'm not a fan and Adara won't touch it - but something special nonetheless. We will make a trip to a local Farmer's Market and prep something delicious and non-stressful. There's nothing like spoiling Thanksgiving due to overcomplicating the meal. Simply unnecessary. I want to make the day special in some other way though, something that spells family. I thought of a family bike ride, but we still don't have three bike seat-attachment options. A good friend asked us to join her for the first Downtown LA Turkey Trot. I just checked out the website and get this, strollers are allowed! A triple jogger Turkey Trot spells family, right?! Especially when Alan and I realized a few weeks back that we can push it together being the handlebar is double wide. Mom and Dad running together while simultaneously pushing their three kids in a triple jogging stroller. Cheesy? Yes, the cheesiest. Family-fun? Definitely. Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, here come the Jacobsen's!

How do you make your Thanksgiving special? What special traditions will you create this year (or every year) to teach your kids the reason for the season? In preparation for our Annual Thanksgiving Fundraiser at school, the girls helped me cut out 80 Turkey Feathers for a bulletin board display. The preschool children are asked to write one thing for which they are thankful on their feather. Adara thoughtfully chose, "Everyone around the dinner table." Cesia chose her baby turtle (who is stuffed, no real turtles here yet).

What are you thankful for this November? I feel blessed to have a long list in my head, the most important being my family of five and the chance to celebrate our first Thanksgiving together rather than "alone."

Making a "Family Sandwich!"

 

Loving these people.