Halloween House of Horrors

Halloween was a lot of fun – Cordy made a cute pirate/goth vampire (she still wouldn’t wear the hat), and lots of candy filled her bucket. I went with her for trick or treat, and we were done in under an hour.


But the real fun of the night was at our house, where Aaron scared the bejeebus out of kids with his costume and our child-eating pumpkin was a big hit.

Here was Aaron’s costume:


Pretty simple, but the faceless mask really creeped out many kids coming up for trick or treat. At one point, I was outside when three children approached the house. Aaron was inside the darkened house. As I reached out to give the first girl candy, the three of them suddenly screamed and ran away as fast as they could.

I turned around to see what spooked them and saw Aaron coming out the door. They saw him approaching the glass door, and in the darkness, they only saw a featureless white face coming at them. These weren’t little kids, either – I’d guess they were six, eight and nine years old. I couldn’t help but laugh – Aaron wasn’t even trying to scare them!

The youngest of the three kids ran so fast to get away he lost a shoe in our yard. And he refused to come back for the shoe, or for any candy. The two girls came back, although they armed themselves with plastic swords to make sure they’d be OK. Finally, Aaron had to take the mask off and return the shoe to the scared boy’s mom in their car.

Of course, their fear level started out high when they had to walk past our Jack O’ Lantern:


I tried to tell them they had nothing to worry about, since he had clearly eaten. Ah well.



The Future Songwriter

We were watching Backyardigans last night while eating dinner. (Yes, we’re lazy and have dinner in front of the TV on occasion.) As usual, I’m never allowed to eat my own meal – Cordy will gobble every last bite of her food, then rush over to demand half of whatever I’m eating. There’s something about mommy’s food that makes it sooooo delicious.

On this occasion, it was my Lean Cuisine Margherita pizza, and I really didn’t feel like sharing. I only get 300 or so calories from this meal, and I’d like to enjoy every last one, thank you very much.

Cordy started with her normal begging for food. “Pizza for Cordy?” she asked. “No, you had your dinner. This is mommy’s dinner,” I countered with my standard response.

This exchange continued for a few minutes, and then she was quiet. The Backyardigans episode we were watching was the Secret of the Nile, and the song “Please and Thank You” was being sung at this moment. (For those who watch, it’s the song that Tasha and Uniqua sing at the end.) Suddenly, out of nowhere, Cordy comes up to my chair and starts singing along with the song, only with different lyrics:

Peeeez an fank you are da seeee-cwets of da pizza!
Iiii waaaan some of da red pizzaaaa, it’s weally yummy!

She continued on from there, but Aaron and I were laughing too hard, tears in our eyes, to hear the rest of her original song.

I had no idea she was a songwriting talent.

And yes, she got some of my pizza.



I’m Crazy, How Are You?

Wow, I haven’t updated since Friday? Where did my weekend go?

Oh yeah. That’s right. I have two girls who won’t give me a moment’s peace.

Seriously, how do you convince a five month old that she does not need to scream loud enough to alert social services because I had the nerve to put her down on a fluffy soft blanket on the floor, surrounded by a bunch of developmentally stimulating and appropriate toys, for just five minutes so I can make myself a frikkin’ sandwich? The crying and fussing is hard to endure, especially when you’re trying to enjoy lunch, or go to the bathroom, or give her big sister a little attention.

I remember that Cordy was a high-needs baby, too – at least I thought so at the time. Someone forgot to give Mira the message that she’s the second child, so it isn’t all about her. Putting her in her swing, in her bouncy seat, on the couch, in her crib, or any other surface (Bumbo on a countertop edge?) that isn’t my lap or my hip is a serious offense.

No problem, you might say, just get your rest during her naps. That would be fine, if she took real naps. Her naps consist of 3 catnaps lasting 15-20 minutes during the day.

Believe me, I’m not trying to play the “who has to endure the worst baby?” game, because I know there is someone out there who has a baby with some sort of aversion to sleeping all night long or a baby with a shriek that can break glass. Mira has a smile that would make your heart grow three times its size, and she is so cute when she sleeps. And Mira does sleep well at night. It’s just the other 13 hours of the day that are the problem.

But enough of that rant. It wasn’t our entire weekend, and we did actually have some fun! Aaron and I took the girls to Boo at the Zoo for some trick or treat practice. Kids are encouraged to come in costume, and community sponsors have treat stations set up throughout the zoo. Fierce animals and a candy high…woo-hoo!

It went really well, and for the first time in ages, we had a pleasant day out with no meltdowns from Cordy. She loved getting candy put in her pumpkin, even if she doesn’t know what it is. (Totally serious – she has no idea what candy is. Chocolate brownies are another story, though.)

Cordy’s costume was cute, although she refused to wear the hat. And without the pirate hat, she didn’t look much like a pirate. More like an Anne Rice vampire, thanks to the lace frills and her pale skin. Maybe we should have added a little fake blood and dressed her as Claudia from Interview with the Vampire?

Mira wore her Princess Leia outfit, including her hat. Several people did double takes as they walked past the stroller and saw her. It was cold on Saturday, but Mira’s costume is made of felt so she didn’t mind at all.

Pictures of the day, thanks to Aunt Katie:

Frilly pirate (or vampire) Cordy

Spidey was suffering from VPL (visible panty line)
Tiger. Big tiger. Up close.
Bear on a log

Princess Mira


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Speaking of princesses, check out my review of Cordy’s new personalized book from Printakid over at Mommy’s Must Haves.



Haiku Friday: Threatening to Cut It All Off

Haiku Friday
The sudden sharp pain
It’s like a Vulcan nerve pinch
Let go! Let go please!

I’ll chop it all off
If you pull my hair once more –
That really hurts kid!

After nearly a year of growing out my hair, I’m seriously tempted to cut it again right now. Mira is practicing her death grip, and my hair is her favorite target. Sometimes she doesn’t even look – she reaches upwards and back, finds hair, holds on and pulls. And when that happens, I’m at her mercy, brought to my knees as I beg this little person to please release me.

My hair is too short in the front to be held back in a ponytail. I tell myself that this phase will pass (along with the biting – that will pass, too. Right?), and cutting it all off would be bad. But bald can be sexy, right? It has to be better than having patches of bald spots from a tiny torture specialist.

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your generic blog URL). We will delete your link if it doesn’t go to a haiku. If you need help with this, contact Jennifer or myself.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button above.

So flex those mental muscles and join Jennifer and I for Haiku Fridays!



What Will Your Pre-Teen Girl Be For Halloween?

With Halloween only days away, there is a rush on costumes. Here are some of the hot selections of costumes for pre-teens this year (yes, these all come in pre-teen sizes – some as small as 6-8):

Maybe your girl wants to be a storybook character, like Miss Muffet:


Sold-out! Virginity not included.

Or maybe she’d like to be a fairy, like when she was younger:

Does a pre-teen have the breasts to fill that costume out?

There’s always the classic vampire:

More Anne Rice, less Bram Stoker

But if those are too sexy, you can fall back on the traditional pirate:

More like the galley girl, I think.

Yeah, it’s a sexy Halloween, and from the costumes being sold, it looks like the goal is to make everyone look sexy, from adult down to pre-adolescent girls. Do 8 year olds really need costumes like that? Are we so out of imagination and creativity that we have to fall back on sex, even for costumes designed for middle-school girls?

Oh wait, it’s worse than that:Superhero underwear, now available in size 4-6X!

Yes, Linda Carter wore something very similar, but there are modified versions that are more appropriate for a 4 year old.

I’m not against mini-skirts, and I’m not a prude. I’m even OK with these types of costumes for older teenagers. They’re trying out adulthood, and experimenting with looking sexual can be part of finding an identity. But can’t little girls look like little girls, and not prostitots?

So, Miss On-Her-High-Horse, what are your kids dressing as for Halloween? you may ask. Here are this year’s selections. Mira had no choice in hers, but Cordy picked her costume herself.

Mira’s costume:

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope. And change my diaper, will you?

Cordy’s costume:

Real pirates don’t wear fishnets. 

Finally, if you’d like to see some amazing shoes for your kids (and enter to win a gift certificate, too), check out my review of Vincent shoes over at Mommy’s Must Haves today.
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