Hello, good morning, and happy Halloween! Halloween on a Friday feels like a jackpot, doesn’t it? What are your plans?

We will be joining in our neighborhood festivities, which include dressing up, gathering for pizza and costume contests, then heading out to collect candy in a caravan of kids. We live in a smallish community and it’s very sweet and wholesome.

I think my girls will forever talk about Halloween in our old neighborhood because it was huge and people went all out, complete with spooky trails and an in-garage haunted house for the hundreds of kids that would turn out and run around the neighborhood. We would always have friends over for chili then head out for a few miles of walking through the Halloween fun.

I love that they had that experience during some of their prime trick-or-treating years and have fond memories from it. Part of my thinks it is idolized in their heads because of the ages they were when they had the experience, but nonetheless they like to relive the stories.

Shifting to new traditions has been one of the transitions that has come with moving and I’m helping guide the girls through the understanding that will always have those memories, but instead of trying to recreate the same experience in a new place (square peg, round hole), we need to open our minds and hearts to embracing new traditions that are special in their own way (our wonderful, close-knit community we have now, for example).

Apparently I’m feeling chatty, so let’s go with it…

With Halloween comes the anniversary of our move-in! We moved in last year on the day before Halloween. What a whirlwind that was, trying to set up the basics of a new home while wanting to make the season special for the kids. When I look back, I’m so grateful to be where we are this year- settled in, having friends, and getting to embrace the season in full.

What else…

The Toothfairy visited our house this week! The difference between H and K losing teeth is drastic. David would spend literal hours with H in tears trying to convince her to allow him to break the final thread of a tooth dangling out the side of her mouth. K, on the other hand, finds a tooth that is slightly wiggly, works on it all day, and rips it out ASAP. Anything for that $5 that a molar delivers, I guess!

Other happenings this week include me trying to eat as much of the fridge and freezer as possible. We are having solar panels installed next week! This adventure began as looking into home generators, then as details emerged (expiring solar energy tax credits, the cost of generators, the funky way our local electric company charges), it started making more sense to go this route. It’s mostly been David’s project, my main contribution was to minimize the appearance of them from the front of the house, and I’m curious to see how they work and the benefits they bring.

I also found a local food bank this week and I’m looking forward to getting involved. We were big supporters of Feed NC in our old town. Even the girls would use their “give” money they saved each year to purchase of the organization’s need list. My heart is most drawn to giving as locally to our community as possible, and I think I’ve found a good fit at perhaps just the right time.

I really can’t believe it’s the last day of October. This time of year FLIES by. Our calendar is certainly slammed. We’ll be spending Saturday and Sunday from 8AM to 8PM at the soccer fields for the end of season tournaments. and figuring out how to fit in a musical theater commitment between it all.

When I look at our calendar as a whole, I start to hyperventilate a bit, but I’m not allowing myself to live in that. Instead, I’ll glance once at the week and otherwise I’m committing to living in the bite size pieces of the day to day, which are very manageable with a little grace. Grace to me looks like embracing simple meals or picking something up, keeping my daily to do list reasonable, and simply enjoying the present.

Currently, for example, K just walked downstairs with messy hair and a big grin saying happy Halloween!! She asked to watch something spooky while the sun came up and now I’m going to top off my coffee and cuddle next to her on the couch to watch Toy Story of Terror.

I treasure each holiday more and more each year knowing how quickly time goes. Next week is November! How wild. And fun. I have been working on my gifts guides for tweens and teens and I’m so excited to share them next week because these can be such tough ages to nail.

Thanks for stopping by for a Friday chat. If you have a minute, I’d love to hear what’s happening in your world. What is coming up on your calendar? What do you enjoy most about this season? Struggle with? Is there a tradition that you’ve had to shift?

And if you’re too busy getting ready on this Halloween Friday, I totally get that, too! 🎃