Switch Witch

Last year I told the kids Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy weren't real. Then yesterday I made up the Switch Witch. Damn, I'm a bad mom. I told the girls first about her saying that she visited kids' house a couple days after halloween to get candy. If you left the candy for her, she would take it and switch it with a toy. But they had to leave the candy in the fireplace with a note telling her what you want. (In the past, the amount of candy obtained on halloween wasn't that much and they could eat it within a week or so. But this year, the amount was ridiculous and it would have taken us months to eat it all. With Elizabeth's recent dental check up (that I haven't mentioned here because it only reinforces what a bad mom I am), I decided with Michael's approval that we would get rid of the candy. The switch witch was what I chose.)

I was shocked how quickly they bought into it. Almost immediately, Miranda and Elizabeth negotiated that they would combine candy to get a bigger toy rather than two smaller ones. They agreed on asking for a horse for Elizabeth to match Miranda's recent marble purchase of a giant pink pony. It was a bigger toy than I would have wanted to get them, but I appreciated the way in which they worked together and Miranda's ability to give away all her candy. They told Parker about it and after eating 4 more pieces of candy, he was ready to give it all away. Parker asked for...wait for it...an angry bird. Some strange piggie. He had a ton of candy and this toy did not match the amount he was willing to give up. I told them all to write notes to the witch about what they wanted and put them in the fireplace. I told him the Switch Witch might not know that specific piggie so perhaps he could draw a picture for her. Which he did. I told them she might not come tonight (in case I couldn't find the toys) but if she did she would take the candy and leave the toys.

Then after dinner, I went to work out and then hit the two stores. Success at both. I got Parker some extra angry bird stuff. And I got Miranda something special too for being so nice to Elizabeth. Back at home, Michael and I wrote notes to the kids from the Witch with clues to where they could find their toys. Parker's was a scramble and the girls were just hints. I was still at bootcamp for the hunt, but Michael took pictures on his phone and said they had a great time and were quite happy with the whole situation.

Today in the car, they were discussing if the Switch Witch was real. Parker said, "Of course she is. Didn't you see what she brought us?" Elizabeth said, "I don't think she is, I think it is just someone dressed up like a witch" which I thought was hilarious since they didn't actually see her.

Regardless, the candy is gone (well...not gone, but in a high shelf wrapped in a bag "a la" frog and toad's will power story. Neither of us are eating it...now, but it just didn't seem right to throw it all away. :)