Halloween
 

I went through the Oriental Trading Company catalog with my four year old over the weekend. He loved everything to do with eyeballs and bones.

I like the Devil's Eyes dish, but what about dried cherries for the eyeballs instead of raisins, to give the eyeball a nice red color?

Halloween
 

Dude - sprinkle of cayenne. Don't you sprinkle your deviled eggs with cayenne pepper?

Halloween
 

And make sure plenty of costumes like this are worn: http://store1.yimg.com/I/pinupgirlcl...3_36952476.jpg

Halloween
 

I've always used paprika (excellent). I may have to try a little cayenne, though.

Halloween
 

If you put the paprika and the cayenne into the yolk/mayo/mustard/dill mixture, it's even better. The sprinkle on the top is just not enough flavor.

It does make the yolk mixture a bit orange-y. But people love my deviled eggs.

Halloween
 

Oh that's nothing. The family business growing up (in which I participated) was the sale of gravestones (though we always used "monuments" -- more appealing). Grandpa's front lawn (combo home/business) was covered in sample headstones and we kids all played hide and seek behind them (Halloween was special because we did that, except we wore wax fangs that turned into very tasteless vaguely mint gum after a while). They were even engraved with fake last names and birth/death dates so customers could see the different types of lettering. Nothing outable here!

Okay, so here I am for my now thrice yearly plea for help. Vietbabe, in a stupor caused by sugar and lack of nap, drunkenly tore into her birthday presents in a flash while I went to grab the remains of the Dora cake outside. Now....I have no idea who gave what (for about 1/2 the people and there were a lot). I could guess for some; others I have no idea (though I'd like to kill the person who gave a 3 year old a "princess castle makeup kit" complete with purple eyeshadow and red lipstick).

Should the "Thank You" notes say "thanks for the swell items" or should they fess up and say "I have no idea what you gave us but we really like you and are so glad you came to the party. Hope you enjoyed the takeaway goodybags which as you know by now contained candy recycled from the pinata".

Solutions anyone?

Halloween
 

See, mine are simple - mayo, yolk, paprika. But maybe I'll branch out (love them), so long as they don't go relishy.

Halloween
 

Although it's best to cite the gift in the note, I'd just say something like "Vietbabe loved her gifts, and can't wait for you to come back over and play with them with her." (You will notice the implicit threat for whomever got her the princess makeup kit. ;)) For close friends, if you think they will find it amusing/familiar, you can confess the true circumstances, but do it afterwards, not in the thank-you note.

Of course, if someone showed up giftless and gets such a note, they will think you are being cleverly catty. O well, tough shit.

This actually illustrates one key reason one usually opens children's birthday presents during the party - as a technical matter, you aren't required to write a thank you note for a gift opened in front of the giver (because, of course, you thank them profusely on the spot). Of course, it's still nice, and really sumptuous gifts should probably inspire a rash of written appreciation anyway, but you get a technical pass, which is apparently very useful later for alleviating guilt about lazy or forgetful children (who should be left to find out about this thank-you letter loophole for themselves through independent etiquette study).

eta: oh, and nononono, try adding some mustard. French's flaming yellow stuff keeps the color nice and bright, and it gives them some zip.

etaa: shit, I just swapped recipes for "zippy" deviled eggs. I have not become my mother, I have become a pathetic joke of a 1950s housefrau.

Halloween Costume Ideas
 

Since this appears to have become the board for all things Halloween, I am looking for suggestions for a costume for the temporarily (hopefully) portly.

The best I can come up with is to don some flip flops and too much smudgy eyeliner, and throw on some skanky or inappropriate clothing (too tight, short, lowcut, or whatever) rat up my hair so it looks like I haven't washed or combed it in 3 days and put it in a ponytail on top of my head and go as pregnant Britney Spears.

Any refinements to this idea or any other suggestions are welcome.

Halloween Costume Ideas
 

Well, it's probably been done to death, but you could put on green or brown leggings and draw a face on an orange T-shirt and go as the great pumpkin.

Buddha. I guess you'd need a bald cap for that, but they aren't hard to find.

If your husband has put on sympathy weight you could go as tweedle dum and tweedle dee.

If you've got an all black outfit (and who doesn't), you could attach two additional sets of legs under your arms (pin them to your top and hang the ends from your wrists on strings, so they move when you move your arms) and pin a big red hourglass on your belly and go as a black widow.

But the "Brittney" idea seems like a good topical variation on the old "pregnant jailbait," "pregnant bride," "pregnant nun" theme.

Halloween Costume Ideas
 

Humpty Dumpty.

Halloween Costume Ideas
 

The thing that has stuck with me about Britney preggo pics was that she was never wearing a bra and frequently had her midriff exposed. Think wrap shrug over nothing at all and tie-dye sarong tied underneath the belly, with flip-flops, of course.

tm

Halloween Costume Ideas
 

HA! I almost inserted in my post that it wouldn't have been quite right since there was NO WAY I was going to go braless (especially in light of the fact that I just outgrew my most recent ones and am now going to have to order off the internet).

BRC, you had some great ideas. I may start working on the red markings for my thorax.

SEC (what comes after DD? DDD or E?) Chick

Halloween Costume Ideas
 

I can tell you quite authoritatively that the next size is F. Yes, I'm wearing one right now. For me, pregnant was one size bigger than normal, and then bfing is one size bigger than preggo. Sounds like preggo is more than one size bigger than normal for you. ;)

tm

Halloween Costume Ideas
 

Pregnant women are entitled to do whatever is easist. Go braless, you can consider this authorization. And it applies to the post-pregancy nursing period too.