A couple of days ago we decided it was time to carve pumpkins. Or rather, the Little Dude was home from school, he and his brother were fighting like cats and dogs and when they weren't fighting they were whining about inconsequential things that made me want to shout "FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS!" at them. Everybody had had a snack, the Little Guy was fresh off a nap so really, there was no need for such unpleasantness. NO NEED! I had stuff to do (laundry to put away, dinner to make) and they wanted me to play, so we had a problem. And then someone suggested pumpkins. I don't know if it was L.D. or I that realized we had not carved yet and Hallowe'en was only a matter of days away. But it seemed urgent. And relevant. And worth ignoring the laundry for. So, first step is cleaning them out.
But nobody wanted to put their hands inside. Too goopy apparently.
Even the Little Dude who is previous years has been all about grabbing big handfuls of pumpkin guts, insisted on using utensils. So who did most of the pumpkin gut removal? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.
The Little Guy was especially pleased with the removable top.
Lid goes on, lid comes off. (and note the chicken pox all over this poor child. Scabbing over nicely though. We're almost over it!)
L.D. said, "Look Mom, it looks like a spider web! Take a picture of this!"
Once we had them more or less cleaned out (and I did NOT do a very good job of that. We were under time constraints as dinner does not make itself people!) we did a little concept art on paper and then drew what we wanted them to look like with washable marker on the pumpkins themselves. And then we carved! Or rather, I should say that then I carved. Because three year olds and knives are not the safest combination. Though the Little Dude did the teeth on his pumpkin with my assistance.
And here are our finished pumpkins. The Little Dude's is on the left, and the Little Guy's is on the right. And I must say, they are a pretty accurate depiction of their different tastes and personalities.
The Little Guy was saying "Its too heavy! I can't hold it anymore" as I quickly snapped this picture. Which is why the Little Dude is helping him hold it up. I'm glad I have a photo of this becuase I need proof that he can, occasionally, be helpful to his brother.
Though of course, everybody's favourite part of pumpkin carving - better than knives, better than gooey pumpkin guts, better than scary faces even - is fire.
And there they are, all lit up! We'll burn those candles down to nubs on the first night for sure. Oh, the joy of looking out the window and seeing those glowing orange faces on the porch. So, pumpkins carved, done and done. And we had quick scrambled eggs for dinner. And now, we can't WAIT for Hallowe'en!
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