A Wonka Halloween

Behold! Many pictures! It's the least I can do since I've been M.I.A. for the past 3 weeks. And a helluva 3 weeks its been!

 I had a girls night out and Eugene thought it would be cool to go camping with the kids in the family room. By the way, the coolness lasted about 2 hrs. 

We took the kids to their very first concert, The Fresh Beat Band and it was SO awesome.

 Check it ya'll, it was at the famous Chicago Theatre!

Which meant a fancy trip to the CITY!!!

For the first half the girls were a little reserved. Probably in shock that Kiki, Marina, Twist and Shout were in the same room as them. But sure enough, after intermission we were able to sneak down to meet up with our cousins and that's when they all let loose!

I can't even tell you how much fun it was. I loved every second of it and sang my heart out the entire time. Damn, those songs are catchy. 

Here's proof:

We finished the night at Ed Debevic's with cheeseburgers, french fries and strawberry shakes!! 

A week later we hired a babysitter (our second one ever that wasn't family) so that Eugene and I could head back to the city to see Joshua Radin in concert. We stumbled on this guy about 5 years ago and I've adored him ever since. Seriously, go to Pandora right now and create a Joshua Radin station. IT'S ALL YOU WILL EVER LISTEN TO!

I was SO that girl who held up the mobile device for pics and videos. And get this--I swear he and I locked eyes several times. Eugene just sat back and laughed. I was like 18 all over again.

Our date night was short lived because I came home that night frantic to finish all of our Halloween costumes on time! As you may know, we take Halloween pretty seriously over here. Especially with the family themes. Our first family costume two years ago was Toy Story:

Our second was Dr. Seuss:

This year, we were the Wonka Family!

I had this in mind since last Halloween and I got the kids prepped about 2 months ago when we started watching the movie, the original, duh!   Then we got the book from the library and read a chapter a night. Then.. we got the music from itunes and before I knew it--they were head over heels for this story!

Mia started making outrageous demands the moment her costume was on. It's like she was possessed! She accidentally evoked the spirit of Veruca and it was SO annoying hilarious.

What a fun Halloween it was!

Most of the costumes were put together with my glue gun, although my mom did sew up the arms on my Violet Beauregarde shirt. Everything else was jimmy rigged! The real shout out goes to my sister Gabrielle, who year after year tirelessly does our Halloween hair and make-up. On multiple occasions, because really, there's like an average of 3 different Halloween parties, right?! 

Thank you Gabrielle, you're talent is evident. Just look at Bella. She's like a REAL oompa loompa!! Her hair and skin is DEAD ON! And I got airbrushed like an Avatar! Bonus!

As for the family theme, I'll continue to do it as long as my kids will let me. Eugene learned early on that he doesn't really have a say in the matter! 

These years go way too fast, why not make the most of it, right?

Here's a picture of Bella and I as we walked hand in hand throughout her school for the Halloween parade. Her and I held hands the entire time and we loved every second of it. I'm not naive, I know one of these years things will change and she'll rather walk with her friends than with me. She'll rather have me on the sidelines than be a part of it. And that's okay. Totally okay. But until that time, I'll cherish these sweeping moments for ALL that they're worth. Cuz for me, they're worth their weight in gold. 

"There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination" --Willy Wonka

Happy Halloween 2012