{"id":1861,"date":"2011-11-01T01:03:30","date_gmt":"2011-11-01T08:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/?p=1861"},"modified":"2011-11-01T20:24:58","modified_gmt":"2011-11-02T03:24:58","slug":"it%e2%80%99s-the-great-pumpkin-charlie-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/it%e2%80%99s-the-great-pumpkin-charlie-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s all Hallows Eve. Day of the Dead. Children hide themselves within cute and clever costumes (except for a slew of teenagers that showed up at my house). They go door to door in search of fun-sized candy \u2013 threatenng tricks to those who dare to proffer raisins or toothbrushes. (Seriously! Who does that?!)<\/span><\/p>\n

And this year, I have toddlers. So it was with tremendous pride that the muppets cleverly disguised themselves as muppets. Kermit and Fozzie Bear hit the town tonight.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re barely walking \u2013 well, they\u2019re walking just fine, just not necessarily in agreement with the direction you may have suggested. (These disagreements are generally resolved by a small child going completely floppy on the floor.) So if family services calls \u2013 no, they were not supposed to be drunk muppets. They just naturally look like that.<\/p>\n

Last year (due to a distinct lack of tiny muppet costumes \u2013 and trust me I looked) Search and Destroy were mommy\u2019s monkey and a little lion respectively<\/a>. They didn\u2019t seem real thrilled with those particular outfits \u2013 but they sure did look like the stuffed animals I loved so much while growing up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

More candy please!<\/p><\/div>\n

Before the sun set, the muppets were fed and we were ready to get into costume. Turns out, they didn\u2019t particularly love these costumes either. But they\u2019re older now, so this year they could be bribed by graham crackers. (Also, we fed them before leaving the house.)<\/p>\n

They eyed me with a look clearly saying, \u201cNot cool, mom. Not cool.\u201d Naturally, I just squealed with the cuteness of it all. I\u2019m not completely fluent in toddler babble yet, but I\u2019m pretty sure Search turned to his brother and said, \u201cWe\u2019re never going to get a second date\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Muppet on a mission.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWaka waka!\u201d replied Destroy\/Fozzie Bear. I, am a Proud mommy.<\/p>\n

We set out down the street, drunkenly stumbling along the sidewalk, in search of a house with the telltale symbol of pumpkin and porch light. It was still daylight, and many people weren\u2019t home from work \u2013 so it was like a puzzle!<\/p>\n

We came upon a house with a blinking blowup ghost carriage (or some sort of ghoulish d\u00e9cor). Thrilled to be exploring the new environment, the muppets ran toward the front door. A women opened the door with a large black bowl of candy. I looked up. She looked back at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the NICU nurse who discharged Destroy!\u201d I exclaimed.<\/p>\n

What are the chances? We\u2019d stopped by the NICU yesterday to bring our nurses Mrs. Field\u2019s cookies \u2013 to remind them of their miracles, as the muppets grow up big and strong.<\/p>\n

We were off to an auspicious start. Each muppet got a tiny Rice Krispy treat. They clutched them like nuggets of gold. And it was only going to get better. We traipsed from house to house (with muppets mostly being carried by Grandpa Gary or Uncle Jeffrey and placed at the latest and greatest doorstep). One guy even stopped mid-drive down the street to comment on the unbearable cuteness. (I mean, COME ON \u2013 MUPPETS)!<\/p>\n

By our return trip down the block (after an exhausting seven house bounty hunt) Kermit and Fozzie Bear, muppet BFFs (except when Fozzie Bear steals Kermie\u2019s toy, in which case Kermie usually has to go spend a minute in the penalty box for biting), were getting a bit cranky.<\/p>\n

House No. 8 bestowed a cherry Tootsie Roll Pop upon Search. He clutched it like he had just obtained Aladdin\u2019s lamp in the Cave of Wonders. Apparently being green is a lot easier with a cherry Tootsie Roll Pop. Ten minutes later I realized a general stickiness emanating from the frog in my arms.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Trick-or-treat!<\/p><\/div>\n

Search had eaten through the paper wrapper. And he was DETERMINED to find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop. My son has mastered, \u201cthe look.\u201d The look *clearly*<\/strong> said, \u201cLIKE HELL YOU\u2019RE GOING TO TAKE MY SUCKER. MY SUCKER. MY SUCKER! SUUUUGGAARRRRR!!!!!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

We were home within the hour. Darkness fell as I flipped on the light to illuminate our own porch pumpkin. I had a large bag of Reece\u2019s Peanut Butter Cups to dole out to all the grim grinning ghosts (but mostly princesses) who may come to our door.<\/p>\n

When the candy ran out (or I decided I couldn\u2019t give out any more of the chocolaty peanut buttery goodness \u2013 I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations) I turned off the lights and hid.<\/p>\n

The Great Pumpkin arrived. It was a good night.<\/a><\/p>\n

Tomorrow (possibly today given this blog posting time) is All Souls Day. A day to commemorate the faithful departed. (And Happy Birthday Julia!) But it\u2019s also the beginning of Prematurity Awareness Month. Prematurity: the crux of this blog \u2013 and the leading cause of newborn death.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bumpy ride. But you just may get muppets. (The new Muppet movie<\/a> \u2013 in theatres this Thanksgiving!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s all Hallows Eve. Day of the Dead. Children hide themselves within cute and clever costumes (except for a slew of teenagers that showed up at my house). They go door to door in search of fun-sized candy \u2013 threatenng … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[23,19,10,1],"tags":[531,530,139,529,173],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Sbzi-u1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3641,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/happy-halloween-disguises-through-the-years-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1861,"position":0},"title":"Happy Halloween: Disguises through the years","date":"October 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Another year, another adorable terrible twosome. In need of power, no longer through the screams of a child, but through the bouncing-off-the-wall energy \u00a0of 3-year-olds who have discovered that by going to door and simply looking adorable, neighbors will willingly hand over candy. In the words of Destroy (after canvassing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holidays"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Dragons-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2874,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/happy-halloween-disguises-through-the-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":1861,"position":1},"title":"Happy Halloween: Disguises through the years","date":"October 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The muppets went trick-or-treating tonight. I'm not sure who was more excited. (Ok, I'm totally sure - it was me.) You'll have to stay tuned for the full adventurous recap. But just for kicks - here's a memory jog of disguises through the years (so far).","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Halloween-12_10-31-12_01-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4111,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/happy-halloween-disguises-through-the-years-2014-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":1861,"position":2},"title":"Happy Halloween: Disguises through the years (2014 Edition)","date":"October 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Another year, another adorable terrible twosome. The force was with them as they raced down block after block, pumpkin baskets in hand, ready to charm the candy out of all our neighbors.","rel":"","context":"In "Baby Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/CA-Halloween-011.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4388,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/happy-halloween-disguises-through-the-years-2015-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":1861,"position":3},"title":"Happy Halloween: Disguises through the years (2015 Edition)","date":"October 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Another year, another adorable terrible twosome. \"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.\" And so, Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee took to the streets of San Jose sending a message to all other transformers: They are here. They are waiting. And they want candy.","rel":"","context":"In "Celebrations"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/CA-Halloween-011.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1430,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/the-muppets-t-shirt-design-challenge\/","url_meta":{"origin":1861,"position":4},"title":"The Muppets T-shirt Design Challenge","date":"June 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Boy do I wish I was artistically inclined. Threadless is running a competition to design a muppet t-shirt around the theme of friendship. From the site: The Muppets have gone from television personalities, to hit musicians, to big-time movie\u2028stars, and they\u2019ve never let the limelight spoil their friendship. No matter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.streamdoubletrouble.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/252804_10150193348724440_598019439_6917660_7747554_n-236x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4491,"url":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/happy-halloween-disguises-through-the-years-2016-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":1861,"position":5},"title":"Happy Halloween: Disguises through the years (2016 Edition)","date":"October 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Another year, another adorable terrible twosome. \u201cAvengers Assemble!\u201d And so, Captain America and Iron Man came together \u2013 protecting the streets of San Jose from possible enslavement of candy. Captain America: Iron Man, we need a plan of attack! Iron Man: I have a plan: attack!","rel":"","context":"In "Holidays"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/CA-Halloween-011.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/streamoftheconscious.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}