Halloween + Mom Shaming

I recently wasted my time reading an article on Facebook about how moms shouldn't shame each other by posting pictures of the cool stuff they do with their children.  I disagree.  I don't get a paycheck or even a thank you to validate what I do, so I like to toot my own horn when I do something rad/super time consuming to justifiy all the time I put into said thing.  Besides, I just think Halloween is fun.  I like making matchy-matchy Halloween costumes despite the fact that I have boxes full of costumes that my kids have never worn.  I don't expect other moms to go to the extent that I do, because other moms don't care and that's cool  and it's kind of a waste of time.  Like I don't care about Elf on the Shelf but if you do and you want to pat yourself on the back for all the clever ways you hid that elf for a month, go for it.  Post is all over your blog, and Facebook, and Instagram, and whatever other social media outlet I'm not cool enough to be a part of.  You deserve all the praise you can give yourself.

Having said that, I will now praise myself for our Halloween costumes this year.

Alice was Heromine.  She wore hand-me down tights with consignment sale Target shoes.  Grandma Pattie made the skirt.  The tie I ordered from China and had to pray real hard that it would arrive on time.  The scarf is made from fleece and the robe is a re-purposed, over-sized t-shirt I made using this tutorial.  I bought an additional t-shirt to add a hood.  I also made a Gryffindor patch for the robe using felt--cost less than $0.50 to make 2--take that $5 plus shipping for one on Etsy.  Her wand is a stick she found in the back yard.  Alice especially like not having to brush her hair for a day.

 Rex was Harry Potter.  He wore consignment sale pants; thrift store vest; China tie; dollar store glasses with the lenses removed; t-shirt robe with felt patch; fleece scarf; black eyeliner scare that actually hurt once I drew it on--Voldemort was near (we haven't gotten to the 7th book yet ok)--he was mad that the scar wasn't pink but the dollar store didn't have any lip liner and I wasn't going to pay more than $1 for lip liner I'll never use again; he completed the look with black hair spray.  He also had a real wood stick wand that we were later told wasn't good enough because it didn't light up like the other Harry Potter wands we saw that night--popular costume.  There were more Hogwarts students than Elsa's at our 4 ward trunk-or-treat.  For real Halloween, Greg fixed the wand problem by taping a glow stick to the end.

 Rex's favorite spell: Expellimarius.  Alice's: Crucio!  (Just kidding, I'm not sure what she's saying)

 Henry was the house elf Doby.   He wore some thrift-store, hand-me-down pajamas from Rex with a modified pillowcase from a holey sheet set I've kept around for these exact reasons.  His ears turned out a little big but considering I can only sew when the kids are in bed...I used felt for the ears and the waist band of an old pair of Alice's tights for the skull cap.  Notice also, his mismatched socks.

 Greg was Hagrid: he wore shoes left over from his mission, thrift store pants and shirt with the Indian vest from his Halloween costume when Rex was 18 months.  He was super excited about his mismatched beard and wig and said that maybe next year I could just make him a t-shirt with the picture of the person he's supposed to be on it.  I was Professor McGonagall.  I bought a real skirt with a thrift store turtle neck, dollar section hat from Target which I embellished with pheasant feathers, dollar store glasses, Dustin's middle school graduation robe, and a Greg Baker Original necklace.

 Then I did a mini Great Hall in our van for the trunk or treat--complete with floating candles (white card stock taped to battery operated tea lights) and enchanted ceiling (twinkle lights with a shear black curtain over them.  Man I am clever.

Wow, in addition to giving myself a giant pat on the back for our costumes and coordinating van, apparently, I also like to hear myself type.  You did not need a play-by-play on how I made all of our costumes.  And that was just the trunk-or-treat.

For real Halloween, we went with a group of young families from several wards.  We meet at the Wilson's house (one of my friesins--friend + cousin).  Rex had a blast running from house to house with the other 5 year old boys.  Alice got tired after house number two so Greg and I took turns walking a little more slowly with her.  Henry--he chilled in the stroller and refused to fall asleep.

After trick-or-treating, we went back to the Wilsons for a bon fire and hot chocolate and were settling down for a nice long PAR-TAY--I was even putting Henry to bed at their house so we could party longer (we're such party animals), when a giant thunder storm named Responsibility rolled in and ended the party.  We left, soaking wet, and put the kids to bed only 2 hours past their normal bed time.  It was fun and I'm sad to see it go, but I broke my Thanksgiving only in November rule and played some Christmas music today, so I'm ok.  You don't need to worry about me.