Pumpkin seeds

When Halloween was over I was ready to get rid of the pumpkins. They were sitting on my mantle after all and I feared dripping pumpkin slop.

I thought if I unceremoniously threw them in the rot pile in the backyard I might crush Anders and Finn’s Halloween spirit forever. How would I answer Anders when he asked, “Mommy, where did my pumpkin go?”?

The end of holidays and other special occasions are something I have to deal with now. I’m a “it’s over, get rid of it” kind of gal. Halloween is over, pumpkin is gone. Day after Christmas, decorations are down. Move on, people.

I am nothing if not sensitive to my kids’ needs, though. So instead of having their pumpkins disappear in the middle of the night, I chopped them up while the kids watched.

(If you want to see the pre-gutted pumpkins, go here.)

Holy pumpkin, Batman. The pumpkins after they had been de-clowned and de-pirated.

Anders “smiles” while holding the raw seeds.

Freshly toasted and fragrantly delicious.

The boys enjoying their pumpkin innards.

Anders and Finn ate a few seeds, but they were more into the process than the end result. Lucky for me, because I got to eat the rest of them.

A few seeds does not a dinner make, so I whipped up some kiwi/banana/almond milk/spinach smoothies. And some real dinner, too.

Mmmmm…smoothie. My favorite travel mug is also in the picture, but you can’t see it.

After we ate it was time to clean up. Why does it always seem like it is time to clean up? Oh, because it is.

The clean-up crew. Wonder why they push each other around to get under Finn’s chair?

Rigby goes straight to the source.

At least I get some help once in awhile.