What do you do with a scurvy pirate?

Caroline decided around July that she wanted to be a pirate for Halloween. It was about the same time that she discovered Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Tinkerbell might be fine for some little girls, but my girl wanted to be a pirate.

There is an episode of the Backyardigans that is about pirates and they sing a song that goes “What do you do with scurvy pirate? Make him walk the plank.” In this case, the meaning of scurvy is mean or mad, not someone afflicted with diarrhea like Gulley’s husband thought.

Of course, it might not be a bad move to make either kind of scurvy pirate walk the plank just to get them off your ship.

Also, truth be told this morning my little pirate was a little of both kinds of scurvy due to the combination of getting up at 5:15 a.m. and the chorizo and egg breakfast taco that her daddy let her eat.

But I digress. I searched high and low for a good pirate costume. I have mentioned my tendency to be a little OCD and halloween costumes are no exception. The year she turned one, I made her this duck costume and she won first prize at the neighborhood shopping center contest. It’s like in that moment the bar was raised for all future costumes.

Last year, she was a queen, not a princess, a queen. She was very clear about not being just an average princess, but a true ruler of a monarchy. Sadly, there was no contest so we didn’t get to have a back to back championship repeat. But oh, this year the contest was back. So, on Saturday we attended the festivities and Caroline won first prize for her little pirate costume. Here she is in all her piratey cuteness.

Other than the fact that part of her prize package was a medium size bag of caramel corn, the pirate couldn’t have cared less about her win. My dad was thrilled with the victory and I think may have actually uttered the phrase “she totally smoked those other kids.” It’s all about a grandparent’s love.

I am not quite the Texas cheerleading mom of Halloween festivals, but now it’s like I’ve set a standard that all future costumes must meet. I mean who can resist a prize package that includes a free kids’ meal at EZ’s, a scoop of Baskin Robbins ice cream and a pound of fudge?

Not me, my friends, not me.

Happy Halloween!