October 31st.

I've been saying from the beginning of this month that I was too tired to "do" Halloween this year.

I insisted that they were getting too old for this. (Notice I didn't say the "I" on that one? I know. Shut up.)

Let's just shut off all the lights and sit upstairs in the dark and watch movies and ignore the Tri-co-tri just this once, I said.

But as the end of the month got closer, they argued back to me that a Halloween Party is a"no-brainier" for us. That all the neighborhood kids will be disappointed if the Darbys don't step up. (Ouch!)

"It's your own fault, mom. You trained us."

It's early in the day on October 31st and Jonathan is covering our front yard in fake spider webs. Lucy is designing spooky lighting. This involves markers & old-school low-watt lightbulbs. They are nothing, if not resourceful.

Drinks are chilling. Bowls are full of candy. The house looks "cute-spooky" as opposed to "creepy-spooky." It only took one trip to the store and lots of willing hands.

Once they started putting in the work, I felt bad (this, of course, was part of their Evil Plan all along) and so now I've got tons of flap steak marinating for the steak sandwiches we'll be serving (at the party I wasn't going to be having). And, the chimichurri is always a crowd pleaser.

If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by. Our theme this year is "Guilt by Halloween."

Stay creative, my friends.