Sara Plays House

I love Halloween.  I love it alot.  The costumes, the treats, the pumpkins.  I love it all.  Let’s talk about the pumpkins.  Usually we get a pumpkin, Mike scoops it out, and I do the carving.  This year we did something a little different.  In Avery’s Montessori class, they had a “work” activity this month that involved hammering golf tees into a pumpkin.  Avery LOVED this activity, so when I saw a pumpkin kit with colored plastic pegs and a little wooden hammer, I picked it up.  Lite Brite for your pumpkin!  Brilliant.  I should have known when Mike started out the carving like this–

We were in for some shenanigans.  Welcome to our journey to creating a radioactive pumpkin.

The girls waited patiently for Mike to get the pumpkin open and start pulling out the guts.  After some prodding and the promise of DELICIOUS ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS, Avery helped to pull the pulp off the seeds.  Zoe played with them.  Gimli tried to eat them.

Mike got the pumpkin hollowed out and I popped the seeds into the oven.  And now for the hammering!  We completely tossed out the helpful templates and just let Avery design the thing.

She REALLY means business with the little wooden hammer.  Look how fast she’s going!

We created a beautiful, sparkly pumpkin. Just screams HALLOWEEN, doesn’t it?  Er.  Maybe not.  But the bats!  It DOES have bats.  And that is Halloweeny.

Avery was nearly beside herself to get the thing lit up.  The little light that came with it did this annoying blinky thing, so we tried using tea lights.

SIX tea lights, to be exact.  The effect was … dim at best.

Not the OOH and AAH we were looking for.  So Mike put on his thinking cap, disappeared to the garage, and reappeared with one of my old studio lights.  Here’s where the fun begins!

He stripped the light, and started cutting a hole in the back of the gourd.  All the while I’m going, “Are you SURE it won’t electrocute you?  Pumpkins are mostly water, you know.  Water.  Electricity.  ARE YOU SURE?”  The man laughed at me.  He thinks I’m precious.

Doesn’t this look safe?  And I know what you’re thinking–why not use one of those little battery-operated lights that are made specifically for lighting pumpkins?  Well.  That would be too EASY.  And not nearly bright enough!  Why use 4 watts when you can use 75?  This is a much more manly option, obviously.

Are you ready?  Enter RADIOACTIVE PUMPKIN.  As soon as it was plugged in, Avery exclaimed, “It’s so LIGHTFUL!”  Yes, Avery.  It certainly is lightful.  And delightful, for that matter.

No, Zoe!!  Don’t touch the pumpkin-that-could-POSSIBLY-catch-fire-at-any-moment!

Yes.  It was really that bright.  It could be used on a landing strip.  Want to see the back?  Of course you do.

We took it outside, plugged it in, and Avery thought it was the coolest thing ever.  Zoe was more concerned that she could see the moon.  “MOON, Mama!  Moon UP DERE!”  I made the executive decision that we should unplug the fire hazard until Mike could find a more appropriate bulb, say 25 or 40 watts.  And then Mike laughed at me.  Again.  And he’s all, “Feel the top!  It’s barely HOT!”  Keep in mind it had only been on for ten minutes, and yes–it WAS hot.  But it DOES look cool.  I can give him that much.

This, my friends, is how you make a Radioactive Pumpkin.  I do not recommend trying this at home, because I would be really sad if it DID catch fire.  No one needs a fiery pumpkin on their doorstep.  Of this, I am certain.

Happy Halloween, y’all!