Halloween 2007

Well, I survived another Halloween! I have to admit that I actually love Halloween as much as the kids. It is always a fun night. Getting ready for Halloween, specifically getting costumes for everyone, is another story. I am NOT one of those Martha Stewart types who can sew an award winning costume. I am happy if I can just have 3 kids in 3 costumes. It's a miracle if I can just get everyone to the store and they all leave feeling happy about their costume.

This year was going to be even easier for me because I was only going to have 2 kids in costumes. Veruka was so sad because she was going to have to cheer at football game on Halloween and wouldn't be able to go Trick-or-Treating.....she is 14 and in High School after all....at some point you do get too old to Trick-or-Treat right??? I mean when the kid is as tall as me, isn't it time for her to admit that she's too old!!

The best part of this year's Halloween was Brian. He left in the morning wearing blue jeans and a black T shirt. He said he and his brother, Chris, were going to work dressed up as "Aging Rock Stars." He told me that Chris had some things for him to add to his costume. About 2 hours later, my SIL emailed me pictures that she had taken that morning at her house. I almost died when I saw them! This is how Brian went to work and later Trick-or-Treating with the kids. He heard all kinds of comments...everything from Ozzy.... to the Fat Tommy Lee! (Check out the tattoos on his arms!)















Here are my boys, the rapper "Money J" and "Captain Jack Sparrow."















The funny thing about Charlie's costume was that originally he told me that he didn't want to wear a costume this year.

Three weeks before Halloween, our conversation went something like this:

Me: Charlie, what do you want to be for Halloween this year?

Charlie: I don't know.

Me: Well, we know Mike is going to be Jack Sparrow.

(He bought his costume back in August and has worn the hat well into the triple digits...we've certainly gotten our money's worth on that one!)

Charlie: So.

Charlie: I don't want to wear a costume.

Me: Well, do you want to go Trick-or-Treating?

Charlie: Yeah, duh.
(Oh, the joys of having a middle schooler!)

Me: Okay, then you have to wear a costume.

Charlie: Well, it has to be cool. I could just be the "Scream" again.
(Charlie has been the "Scream" which is a black costume with a mask, from the movie the Scream for the past 3 Halloweens!)

Me: How about if we see what we can find for you at the costume store?
(For the love of God, anything but the "Scream.")

Well, the days flew by, the week nights were full of meetings and football practices and games to be cheered at. The weekends were "stacked"...Church group Friday nights, 2 football games Saturdays, church on Sunday etc. etc. (You get the idea.)...not to mention visiting our parents, baseball tryouts, a trip to Skyline Drive and Luray Caverns, and Homecoming for Veruka.

In fact, October was so busy, that we never got to go to the pumpkin patch! The one weekend that we had some free time, it rained! My FIL felt so bad for Mike that he gave him the pumpkin that he had carved...see it sitting there all alone on the step??? (The other pumpkin is fake.) Sunday, I finally told the kids I'd have to get them pumpkins from the grocery store. Dejectedly, feeling like the worst Mom in the world, I drove to Safeway....there were no pumpkins!! They were all gone! Then on to Martins, it was the same story there....not a single pumpkin in sight! Oh well, there's always next year right???

It was now 2 days before Halloween and still no costume for Jake! Aaaagh! Monday night was out for costume shopping because Veruka was cheering at a Varsity game. (Her first one, we couldn't miss it.)

Tuesday morning (1 day before Halloween) Veruka was sick. She stayed home from school. While we were talking, she lovingly informed me that, "By the way, our cheerleading coach wants us to wear a costume for the game tomorrow. We also get to wear it to school."

(I always hate when a sentence starts with "By the way"...you just know it's going to be bad!)

Just when I thought I was getting off easy this year, now I was going to have to scramble and buy a costume for Charlie and Veruka and there was football practice that night! Aaagh!

I told Charlie that I would go to the Halloween store while he was at school and pick him out a couple of costumes to choose from. Veruka would come with me to pick hers out.
(Yes, I'm such a good Mom, taking my sick kid shopping.)

Anyway, we go to the first store and Veruka looks at about 99 costumes and tries on 3. Of course, the one she loves is sold out in her size. I look at about 99 costumes for Charlie and don't see anything I think he'll think is cool.

So, it's on to the second Halloween store we go. As we pull up, I notice all of the front windows are painted in huge letters saying everything is 50% off! Woo hoo, I think, it's not going to cost me a fortune! So we head inside.

This store doesn't have the one costume that Veruka loved in the other store. Aaagh. So she proceeds to look at about 99 more costumes and tries on 6 of them. She can't decide between two of them; one that I HATE, called "Little Miss Muffett" and one that I moderately can't stand, called "Blueberry Girl." Both of them seem way too sexy for a teenage girl...both of them come with thigh highs if you can believe that!!! I tell her that she can get the "Blueberry Girl" but she can't wear the thigh highs. She can wear white leggings instead. The scary thing is that almost all of the teenage girl costumes were sexy like these two.....short skirts or shorts, low cut boostiers, and thigh highs. What are these costume makers thinking???? Lucky for us, Veruka is short, so her costume's skirt comes almost down to the middle of her thighs.

I looked and looked and looked for a costume for Charlie. In the accessory row, I saw a money hat, a $ necklace, and a "grill" for his teeth. I knew that one of his friends was dressing up as a rapper, I figured Charlie would probably like to be one too. So, I grabbed my loot, grabbed Veruka, and headed for the register to pay. On the way, I decided to pick out some face paint, just in case Charlie didn't want to be the rapper. He could paint one half of his face one color and the other half another color, wear one of his jerseys, and be a crazy fan. I got 4 different colors, so he would have some options.

By this time, I realize we aren't going to be home in time for the bus! I quickly call my neighbor to get the boys off of the bus. We pile up our things on the counter and the creepy cashier rings up our purchases.

Here is what we have:
1 "Blueberry Girl" costume for a teen girl
1 Money Hat
1 Gold/fake diamond $ necklace
1 Gold "Grill"
4 tubes of face paint

I breathe a sigh of relief, silently congratulating myself on a job well done, while I wait to hear my low, low price since it's all going to be 50% off. Just then the cashier announces that our total will be $104.11!!!! (I am not kidding...one hundred four dollars and eleven cents!!!)

Me: Wait a minute, I thought everything was 50% off.

Creepy cashier guy: Oh, that sale doesn't start until November 1st. It says it in small print underneath.

Sure enough it did say the sale started Nov 1st. So, defeated, I handed over the debit card.

Finally, we headed for home. I had one last stop to make. I had to stop at PetSmart to get crickets for the gecko...(that's another story.) Veruka and I ran in and luckily they had crickets. She wandered off to see the kittens. She came back as the guy was handing me my bag of crickets.

Veruka: Mom, can I please hold a kitten real fast.

Me: No

Veruka: Please, please, please...it'll just take 5 minutes.

Me: No, we have to get home for the boys. It's already after the bus, and we have to leave in 45 minutes for football practice.

Veruka: You are so mean. You never let me do anything.

Then she proceeds to pout the rest of the way home. (This is what I like to refer to as the Teenage Silent Temper Tantrum.)

When we get there, I round up the boys and show Charlie his costume. He LOVES the rapper idea. He especially LOVES the "grill." He quickly puts it all on. Here is what he says:

Charlie: Hey Mom, do you think maybe you can use makeup to paint my face black?

Me: (Silent pause ---Hmmm, what do I say to that one??)
No face paint, you can be a white rapper. Like Eminem.

(I don't even know if he knows who Eminem is, he isn't allowed to listen to his music.)

Mike: Ooooh, I want M & M's.

Charlie: Okay. Do you think I can wear the "grill" to school?

Me: Aaaagh! No!

Then we did homework, had a snack, and went to football practice. Whew!
Veruka was still pouting about the kittens when we left.

So that is why I feel good about myself for surviving another Halloween. I can't wait to do it all again next year!


PS. I caught Charlie trying to wear the "grill" to school the next day!