Halloween 2014 Recap

Was it just me or did it feel like Halloween lasted for about two weeks this year? Maybe it's because I went to a costume party a week before Halloween, or maybe it's because there's been candy in the store for about a month.

This year was fun nevertheless. Sal's friend, Jimmy, was planning on throwing a party the weekend before Halloween, being that he was in his new house, yes... you guessed it, the one by the lake. He had some of his friends decorate, got a bunch of drinks, and decided to order pizza and subs for everyone. It wasn't a requirement to dress up, but it just made it more fun. After work, Sal and I headed up there with my brother and his girlfriend, both were home from college. We were all dressed to perfection. Sal was Clark Kent, my brother was a doctor, and Michele was a football player. They were all cute costumes, most of which were put together with clothes they already had. For my costume, I decided to reuse an old costume. Sal and I buy a new costume every year and twice we had no where to go to wear them to... I know, sad story. Anyways, one year Sal and I bought Top Gun costumes; his being more of a flight suit, and mine a dress. I tried mine on, and it didn't fit my shoulders, which just shows you how much kickboxing has positively affected me, and how much muscle I've gained. So I decided to wear Sal's Top Gun flight suit, but I wasn't going to just be Maverick or Goose... oh no... I was going to be one of our friends, Mike, who is currently in Oklahoma in the Air Force. He wasn't going to be at the party, so I figured I'd be him! It turned out that one of our other friends decided to be Jimmy. The two, Jimmy and Mike, are best friends, so it was absolutely hysterical. We even had Jimmy's mom calling him upset that she didn't know Mike was home. I have to say that we were picture perfect. 

The night drifted on by as we kept the party alive - bonfire, beer, good friends, and music played by two awesome guitarists. 

We headed back home before it was too late for us grandmas and grandpas, because some people (like me) have to work on the weekend. When I was home, I felt as if Halloween was done and over with, and like another year had passed, but we still had a week until the real day!

I didn't have any plans for October 31st, and I had to work at the hospital all day, but it was so so worth it. The other Child Life Specialists and myself decided we wanted to dress up together, so we chose to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, even though there were only three of us. We bought the shirts, chose to wear black leggings, and I added long green socks, from my soccer days, and a purple tutu to match my mask. We wanted costumes that we could get away with if something serious was to happen at the hospital (a new diagnosis of something or a serious accident). 

We were at the hospital bright and early with a mission to make the day fun for the children, to get them to laugh, and not care if they were missing trick or treating with their friends. We do reverse trick or treating, giving nurses, who were also dressed up, bags of goodies (Halloween related and not) like playdoh, vampire teeth, shirts/socks, coloring books, toys, and more, to pass out to the children. They'd knock on their doors, yelling "Trick or Treat!" The children would be in the room, waiting, with their bags open wide and huge smiles on their faces. It turned out to be a huge hit once again, and we surprised the children, and their families with cupcakes decorated just for the occasion! Project Sunshine from a college nearby joined us for the party and had crafts available for the children, their siblings, and families to do in the playroom. 

It was such a great day, and I'm pretty sure no one was upset that they missed Halloween outside of the hospital, at least not too much. 

So now you can understand why I thought Halloween was much longer than it was, but how it might've been the best Halloween yet. Hope all of you had a wonderful Halloween! 

Tony Stark & Pepper Potts

This year Halloween was quite different than the last years, and I'm not complaining. I had to work at the hospital during the day, but I was able to go in early enough to get home with enough time to get ready to go out with friends.

At work, some of the nurses and other child life specialists dressed up for the children. It took me quite some time to finally decide what I was going to be and I was leaning towards a minion or Super Mario, until I was in the halloween store and I found a woody costume that would be perfect with my cowboy boots! Since it'd give me another chance to wear my cowboy boots, I was sold. It was easy and comfortable to wear, except I hadn't realized I'd be running around the floor with cowboy boots on (my feet were a little bit sore when I finally took them off).  The children loved it, as did most of the staff; and it made the day fun. The children couldn't dress up or go out trick or treating, which I never thought about prior to working in a hospital. Even while I was volunteering and interning in hospitals, I never thought of children being in the hospital on holidays. While you may be thinking Halloween isn't a huge holiday to miss, it is to a 7 year old who planned to dress up as his favorite super hero and have a candy competition with his friends. We were able to bring joy to children though, even the babies who would be missing their first halloween, by doing reverse trick or treating! We handed out halloween bags that morning (though pillow cases could have worked just as well; remember those days?!), and we had the nurses and staff participate by knocking on their door, saying 'TRICK OR TREAT,' and giving them a small toy or knick knack ... does anybody still say knick knack anymore? The children, as well as the parents, loved it, and were happy their children were able to celebrate halloween in a special way. We also had ongoing crafts in the playroom, with the help of volunteers, and passed out cupcakes, as well as their own mini pumpkins! While we couldn't carve the pumpkins, some kids used markers to draw on them.

It was incredible seeing the resiliency of children in the hospital; while they were upset in the days prior to, they were no longer upset when they had a bag filled with special toys. I bet they didn't think they'd be celebrating at all in the hospital. Hopefully it made it a little less scary and a lot more fun.

When I got home, I had a bit of a wardrobe change, transforming myself into Pepper Potts. Not sure who she is? Have you ever seen Iron Man? Pepper Potts is Tony Stark's girlfriend. Tony Stark being Iron Man himself, and who, you ask, would be Tony Stark... well Sal would be. Sal had it in his mind that he wanted to be Tony Stark, not Iron Man, just Tony. Joking around, I said it would be funny if I was Pepper, only I didn't have blonde hair. He decided that after 5 years, it was time for us to actually dress up as a couple on Halloween. While I wasn't against the idea, I wasn't completely sold, until he told me that I could wear business attire, and just had to add on a blonde wig. I have to admit something though; the minute I put the blond wig on, I cried. Identity crisis commence! I was fine once I got into character, and kept repeating that I could take the wig off once the night was over. Once we were both dressed, and I had my ID badge on, along with my Stark Industries notebook in hand, we looked quite like the characters themselves! We headed out with our friends, and while I thought it was obvious who we were, we had to explain it to some, but I didn't mind. It was funny to see what people chose to dress up as, all while enjoying a few cocktails.

I learned a few things about myself that day... #1 being that I will never, ever dye my hair blonde.