I Want Candy!

Although I've made some creative costumes for my kids in the past, this was not one of those years. I have had WAY too much stuff going on lately and despite the unique ideas I came up with in years gone by, I fear the creative part of my brain has ceased to function. Truth be told, I'm sadly lacking the Martha Stewart gene. I know people who can take a dirty diaper, a can of gold spray paint, and some pipe cleaners and create a lovely centerpiece. I'm not one of them. I would take the diaper, toss it toward the garbage can, miss , and knock over the whole can, spilling trash across the floor. The little kids would grab the can of gold spray paint and do some redecorating on the family room walls, and the older kids would take the pipe cleaners and stab each other with the sharp wire ends. Nope, taking a pile of junk and turning it into art is not something I encourage at my house. I guess they could've gone as Crazy Pickle Arm Man - "Look at me! I have a pickle for an arm! Now give me some candy!"

So here are the notsocreative costumes of 2007.

"You dress me up in this stupid outfit, you stick wings on my back AND you expect me to smile? I think not."

"You've got to be kidding me. You want me to leave this thing on my head too? You're pushing your luck, lady."

OK, so we walked to our neighbor's house. The kids went up to the door and rang the bell. Brooklyn stood, a look of confusion on her face.

"Let me get this straight - you put this ridiculous outfit on me, you took me outside in the cold (because it's always 30 degrees on Halloween in Chicago) and now we're standing here at the neighbor's door? Why? Why would we be doing this?"

Just then the neighbor opens her door, exclaims how cute the kids are and gives them candy.

"Candy? I got CANDY? Just for standing here in this silly costume? Wow! I can get into this! Why have we never done this before???"

Remember that little crying princess? Here she is with candy...


Amazing how a little chocolate can put a smile on your face, isn't it? I know it works for me.

After the first "score", she happily ran up to each door. She never quite learned how to say "trick-or-treat", but she got really good with "thank you". She ran to the house yelling, "Thank you!" She yelled, "Thank you!" as candy was dropped into her bag. And finally, one more "Thank you!" was shouted out for good measure as she walked away from the house.

Ummm, I don't know. She wore her softball uniform (Yay, I didn't have to buy or make anything). Then she gave herself a "black eye" and "bloody scratches". What can I say? Softball's a dangerous game.


Here we have the Mermaid Man costume. This thing has had four years of use now. I think it's time to retire him. He sponginess is flaking off, his eyes have several rips in them, and it looks like he's growing mold.


My little monkey.


Cinderella


A scarecrow


A really creepy scarecrow! This is my oldest. He sat out there and waited for big kids to come by. When they did, he jumped and scared them. When little kids came by, he took off his mask and passed candy out to them. I think he had more fun doing this than he's ever had trick-or-treating.

Oh yeah - I want to apologize for deleting a couple dozen comments today. I inadvertently hit the "reject" button instead of the "publish" button. I'm sorry if your comment was accidentally rejected. Oops!

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