We had a wonderful Halloween at Casa Di caramama! The neighborhood party had pizza and juice, and the trick-or-treating was great fun afterwards. Though we carried the epipen around, we didn't need to use it!
I even dressed up at a fairy to go with my daughter's unicorn costume and my son's dragon (/dinosaur) costume, although I put a jacket and pants on, with the wings on the outside of the jacket. It got pretty cold that night.
At first, I brought the Pookie up to the houses with the Pumpkin, but after a half dozen houses, the Pookie sat in the wagon while Londo pulled him around. He was very happy just watching all that was going on. Such is his personality. At 7:00, Londo took him home and put him to bed while I continued around with the Pumpkin.
She had a blast! She loved going up to houses and saying trick-or-treat. She loved the decorations and the costumes and talking with the kids and adults at each house. We held hands between just about every house, and I went up to every door with her.
At first, she would say, "Trick or treat!" and I would then pipe up with, "Something without peanuts, please." But I quickly realized that the people opening the doors were focused on the kids, so it took them a minute to process what I was saying. I also realized that my daughter is really fantastic about her allergy, and she could just ask them herself. So she amended what she was saying to:
"Trick or treat! No peanuts, please!"
I still smile when I think of her saying that. It was truly adorable, in addition to easing my worries and making me proud! And it really made each adult and/or kid handing out candy pay attention and think about what they had in their buckets.
There were only 2 or 3 houses that didn't have any candy without peanuts, and one of those houses gave her a juice box instead. The Pumpkin was fine even at those houses. We said, "That's okay. Thanks anyway!" And at least one said that they hadn't thought about peanut allergies and would be sure to get some peanut-free candy next year. Look at that! We educated others while having fun!
We let the Pumpkin take candy that didn't have peanuts in it, even if they were made in a facility that also has peanuts. (And yes, at this point we know where they are manufactured and how safe pretty much all of the candies are.) She isn't eating those candies, but she's trading them in for the safe candy I already bought.
She and I stayed out pretty late for her, walking all around the neighborhood. We got home just after her lights-out time, quickly got her ready for bed, let her watch 10 minutes of TV to unwind (and it's part of her normal bedtime routine), and when I took her to her bed, she fell asleep within 2 minutes! A personal best record, for her.
So Halloween was a success on many levels. The most important being that the kids were safe and had a lot of fun! I hope everyone out there had as much fun as we did!
