This weekend felt a bit rocky. We had a really fun first ever Trunk-or-Treat on Friday and, of course, a wonderful time at the much-anticipated Glow at the Gardens, but Lydia had some sort of stomach bug and I was kind of in a funk. Hoping this (Halloween) week can start off on the right foot. I can’t believe it’s finally here!

Dempsey was off from school Wednesday and Friday and we made the most of it with a trip to the zoo and he got to go to another pumpkin patch! Then his school hosted a Trunk-or-Treat on Friday evening. All four of us dinosaurs walked over and had a great time! We voted for this Inside Out trunk and the one next to it that had a animatronic clown in the back (Dempsey was MESMERIZED) and walked back home with two buckets full of candy. After the kids went to bed, we watched GBBO and I am certain I never want to make phyllo dough from scratch 😅

Watched two full movies on Saturday and boom, the day was done! 😬 Joey and I were up before the kids, so I got started on a fun spooky breakfast and he got them up and downstairs before heading out to pick up coffee at Coffeegraph again. It’s our new weekend spot! Dempsey got a kick out of his bat waffles and hey, they tasted super good too! Lydi was having none of it and seemed pretty off, then she threw up mid-morning 😞 We had plans to go see a movie and weren’t sure if we should bail or not, but Dempsey still wanted to go over to Grandma’s so we took them and told Lori to text us right away if she wasn’t okay. Anora was so so good and really surprising, actually! I had no idea it was going where it went plot-wise and it was a lot funnier than I had expected but also, really sad. I’m a huge Mikey Madison fan and she was amazing in this. We picked up the kids afterward and Lydi was definitely not feeling well. Basically spent the rest of the day resting on the couch. After we got them bathed and to bed, we fired up Parasite. What can I say, it’s just a five star masterpiece.

Lydia had finally managed to eat some dinner the night before so we were hoping she’d turned a corner but she was a mess all morning on Sunday. At 10:45, she was so cranky and tired, Joey just put her down for a nap! She did make it through some pumpkin painting first at least. Dempsey drew his own design and Joey helped him carve it 🥺🥺 And he helped me paint my Frankenstein’s monster face. I love how they turned out! Once Lydia woke up from her nap, she seemed way way way better. She ate a good lunch and was back to her old self, woo-hoo! Not going to lie, the rest of the day was a rush of making salads, finishing laundry, trying to get a tired Dempsey to rest, both adults showering and me making dinner way too close to the time we needed to leave for the Botanic Gardens 😱 That puff pastry pumpkin on top of our chicken pot pie was definitely underbaked but what can you do?

Glow at the Gardens! No joke, Dempsey has been talking about this for months. He really is my son 😂 We got there shortly after 6 PM and had no trouble finding a parking spot, so that was a good start. My little Stage 5 Clinger wouldn’t let anyone but Mommy hold her, so we had a nice little bonding time 😅 She was literally chattering away and singing “this is Halloween, this is Halloween!” the entire time. She’s too funny! Demps seemed to have a blast too. He got spooked by a walking tree, saw his beloved Headless Horseman and even high-fived a skeleton guitar player 😂 And Lydia blew the Headless Horseman a kiss 🤣🤣 They were so tired and loopy by the end, but it was worth it. Dempsey fell asleep in the car on the way home and the first thing he asked me this morning was “are the decorations still up at the Botanic Gardens?” He’s too sweet. Till next year, Glow at the Gardens!