Halloween

I am a bit behind on putting out a Halloween update. The girls had Halloween dress-up parties at their respective schools, dance classes and, of course, our neighborhood trick-or-treating. We were very nervous about how Halloween and the ketogenic diet would mix. We debated even letting Grace participate in these activites where carbohydrates play a central role. In the end, we worked out that she could particpate but that she would need to get rid of the candy and treats. For the school party and the dance class party, Gracie happily gave her bags of treats to Rita and then went to the dollar store and picked out some non-food treats there. This worked great and she was very pleased.

Halloween night did not work as well. I think Grace really felt she had earned the treats that night. Grace tends to be afraid of a lot of things and people sitting on their doorsteps dressed up in scary costumes are high on her list of things to avoid. However, she mustered up her courage and followed Rita and some friends up to even the scary houses. She every so sweetly held out her big orange pumpkin and said, 'Trick-or-treat'. She even remembered to say thank you for the treats. She did not want to part with them when we got home. We took her to the dollar store immediately after arriving home and she was not interested. She just wanted her candy. Her request seemed so reasonable but we had to say no. This was one of the times when the diet tested our resolve, as parents, to keep her on it.

We had a lovely surprise from one very considerate neighbor. When we got to their house, they had a special treat for Gracie - a bag of cashews. Gracie's favorite nut. That was one treat that she did not have to give away or throw out. Thank you Chris, Lew and Angela!!