Category Archives: Halloween

October 31, 2012 · 10:54 am

H-A-double-L-O-W-double-E-N Spells Halloween!

Not surprisingly, Dylan’s been asking me to spell Halloween a lot lately.  I can’t help but respond by singing, “H-A-double-L-O-W-double-E-N spells Halloween!”  Then he looks at me like I’m the crazy one.  Geesh.  Do you remember this song?  Halloween old skool.  (And I feel old.)

Moving on…This status has been floating around Facebook for the past few days:

With Halloween upon us, please keep in mind a lot of little people will be visiting your home. Be accepting. The child who is grabbing more than one piece of candy may have poor fine motor skills. The child who takes forever to pick out one piece of candy may have motor planning issues. The child who does not say “trick or treat” or “thank you” may be non-verbal. The child who looks disappointed when they see your bowl, might have an allergy. The child who isn’t wearing a costume at all might have a sensory issue (SPD) or autism. Be nice. Be patient. It’s everyone’s Halloween.

I don’t know who started it.  I just know that I like it (and I “liked” it on Facebook, too).  It’s an excellent description of how Halloween played out in my house for a few (long) years.  Sensory processing disorder made Halloween (and many other occasions) a challenging time for us filled with stress, anxiety, and if I’m being honest, sadness.

You wouldn’t have guessed it from last year’s Halloween celebration…

Finn McMissile & Lightning McQueen

Or this year’s…

Optimus Prime!

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Long sleeves.  Long pants.  100% polyester.  A robe.  A belt.  A hood!  A mask!

(I swear those are my kids.)

To any parents out there in the trenches of a tough Halloween with their sensory (or developmentally delayed or sensitive or picky or grumpy) kids, just know that it gets better.  That is, until your young daughter wants to wear a sexy nurse, sexy jailbird, or sexy bumblebee costume.  Then, I imagine, it gets worse.

Now my biggest problem is the candy.  So. Much. Candy.  Thankfully, my kids are still excited about the Candy Fairy.  After eating and saving a few of their favorites, the rest will be left by their beds and exchanged for a toy while they sleep.

If your kids laugh in your face after you explain the whole Candy Fairy thing, you can always check out the Halloween Candy Buy Back or Operation Gratitude.  Or, you can send your extra candy to my husband.  He’d be thrilled.  Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are his favorite.  In fact, just a few nights ago he looked at me accusingly and said, “What happened to my candy?”  It was really rude of him to blame me for tossing his secret stash of candy, except for the fact that I’d just thrown it all out.  (Doesn’t that stuff get stale?  And beside, he needs to watch his cholesterol.)  Anyhow, message me on Facebook for a shipping address.  (Ha! That was a joke…the part about shipping candy to my husband.  The part about visiting my Facebook page, however, wasn’t.  Have you “Liked” my Runaway Mama page?)

p.s. Harry the Bee!

Buzz…

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Filed under Halloween, Harry, sensory processing disorder, spelling, Uncategorized

May 21, 2012 · 10:08 am

Crackalackin (And a Giveaway!)

Guess what?  I’m doing my first-ever Runaway Mama giveaway!  As Lightning McQueen would say, “Ka-Chow!”  Except this post is about “Madagascar,” so as Marty would say, “That’s off the chizain!”

Before I explain the promotion, let me tell you a story.

A few years ago, Mike and I received a frantic call from our babysitter.  After she put Dylan to bed, she heard him through the baby monitor saying, “I can’t breathe, can’t breathe, darkness creeping in.  Can’t breathe, walls closing in around me.  So alone, so alone.”  After we stopped laughing, we explained to her that Dylan wasn’t hallucinating; rather, he was performing a monologue from his favorite movie, “Madagascar.”  It was from the scene where Alex, the lion, is stuck in a crate en route to Madagascar.

And so began our wild ride with Dylan and “Madagascar.”  That Halloween, Dylan refused to wear a costume.  In fact, he opted out of Halloween altogether, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t try like hell to make him a costume he would love (Crafty and Crazy Mama!).  Behold:

A flat screen television and remote control showing the movie!  I was particularly proud of this costume (check out the craftsmanship on the remote control!), and when Dylan refused to wear it (and after I finished weeping from his disapproval), I wore it myself.

For Dylan’s third birthday, he had a “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” cake:

This was one of his favorite birthday presents:

(Who doesn’t belong in this picture?)

Shortly after Dylan’s birthday, we visited the Miami Zoo and saw Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman in the flesh!

Notice Dylan’s t-shirt.  In our family, we go hard or we go home.

That spring, Dylan’s preschool teachers told me the story of how each child in the class was asked to name their favorite animal during circle time.  When it was Dylan’s turn to answer, he said (after a long, pensive, and concerning silence), “Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman.”

These days, “Madagascar” and “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” play on a continuous loop (between “Cars 2” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”) on our DVD player.  Riley is catching up nicely, which is a good thing, because “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” will be in theaters in June.

And here’s where I tell you about my super-exciting, first-ever Runaway Mama giveaway!  Yah!  Here are the details:

Ten lucky SOUTH FLORIDA readers have the chance to win passes to an advanced screening of “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” on Saturday, June 2nd at 10:30 a.m. at either the AMC Sunset Place in South Miami or the Cinemark Paradise in Davie.  

Now that’s CRACKALACKIN!  (Long distance readers, hang in there.  Eventually, I’ll go national.)

If you’d like to enter (each winner can invite three guests), leave a comment here telling me why you love “Madagascar” and/or who your favorite character is. (In case you’re wondering, my favorite character is Melman.  For obvious reasons, I can relate to his anxiety and hypochondriacal tendencies.)

Please do not enter if you can’t arrange your own transportation and/or lodging.  Winners will receive movie tickets ONLY.  As Alex would say, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds ya!”

The deadline to enter is midnight on Friday, May 25th.  After that, I’ll choose 10 winners at random.  Good luck!

 

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Filed under birthday, Crazy Mama, Halloween, Madagascar, movie, zoo