Halloween Wars!

Halloween Wars on Hulu has been a favorite for the kids during October.  Like every other cooking show, it involves stressful scenarios, time limits, elaborate details, and judging.  The kids worked to get everything done to get 15 minutes of a show each night and see the creations and fails.  Did you know professional pumpkin carving was a thing?  

10 days ago, Kelsey came over for a 1 hour playdate.  They decided to do a mini Halloween Wars, and I listened as they spoke excitedly and dramatically during this play/create.  One paradoxical thing about me is that I actually love the creative mess.  I am not especially creative and when I cook, I clean dishes as I go and try hard to be almost done before we eat.  With my kids, though, I've tried to encourage them to explore without the constant Lysol I attack with on my own work.  Play dough, mud, sand, puddles, paint, hair chalk, markers, and even food.  I'm good with almost everything except slime.  

After their mini Halloween War session, they asked to have a longer version.  I knew we had a free day the following week, but cautioned Kate that these materials would come from her own money.  She readily agreed, and the two of them planned and talked every day.  For three days leading up, she could not fall asleep until after 10:30pm with excitement/anxiety.  She said, "I'm more excited about this than Christmas!"

The day finally arrived and they got to work.  I wisely/foolishly allowed them to cook during my phone conferences with Zachary's teachers and they were independent, careful, and responsible.    I was in and out for a couple hours but stayed away from critiques and advice while making sure they were safe and answering questions about how to melt marshmallows.

That is not to say I didn't do some massive cleanups throughout or that every single surface of my kitchen was not sticky afterwards.

They worked for hours, then took my neighbor up on her offer to swim.  "My back aches," and "This is so fun but also work" were two comments I loved.  Also, "This is different than I expected but still awesome!"

Owen desperately wanted to participate and the girls were gems and found jobs for him at every turn.  

He also did his own Halloween Wars.  Yes, that is a cashew next to the carrot.  It represents something "dead and creepy."

Kels is one of the kindest, easy-going friends Kate has and up for anything--even a bubble bath after swimming with Owen.  

Brady surprised us by coming home a few hours early.  He was completely out of time off and losing it each day.  He and Zachary played football for an hour and a half while the girls finished up.

The finished product, in Kate's words.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time.  It turned out almost exactly how I imagined it.  We made a pumpkin monster in a graveyard.  There was worm coming out of the graveyard, a pool made out of jello and dead starburst figures, and a cotton candy house.  For our edible treat, we made edible spiders from brownies mixed with strawberry pop rocks and monster rice krisbee treats.  It was the BEST DAY EVER!"

Halloween was the next day so basically none of this was consumed, except for all the taste testing throughout the day.  Again with the excess but oh, that was fun to facilitate.  Love these two girls.