I feel like I've just been slimed.

KC and I, have spent the last hour carving the giant orange pumpkins, that are now sitting outside our door, casting eerie shadows into the night.

Despite a close call with the pumpkin safe knife when KC got a little overzealous with her cutting, I am happy to report that I have survived yet another year of mad cap carving.

This year, we didn't even bother with the intricate stencil designs, opting instead to free hand faces onto the pumpkins by using a magic marker.

Together we made big triangle eyes, ghoulish skeleton noses, and wide scary smiles, filled with long razor sharp teeth.

KC could hardly keep still in her excitement, eager to see the finished faces of our goblin gourd friends.

"Light the candle Mom!" she urged, hopping back and forth of one leg. "It's cold out here."

"I'm going ... I'm ... Dammit!" I dropped the candle.

"Mom ... You dropped it!" KC sighed in exasperation, looking at me with impatience and disgust.

"Thanks for the update, K." I said in a droll voice, as I raised my hand to examine it for scorch marks. "OK Stace. What do you say we try that again, this time without all the painful flame action."

I lit the candle, taking care to ease it down slowly into the center of the pumpkin, until it landed on the soft fleshly bottom with just the slightest kerplunk.

"OK. It's all you KC, put the lid on, and we're good to go."

We stepped back to admire our work.

"Oooooh Mom. They look scary don't they?" KC said with awe.

"Not to bad, my dear. Not to bad." I said, patting her shoulder, and pushing her towards the door. "Now it's inside with you, to clean up and get ready for bed."

"Ahhh Mom ... Do I have to? It's still early." she whined.

I smiled.

"Yes, you do."