Month: November 2007

For those of y’all that have asked, here are the previous costume contest winners.

When she was a 15 months old, she went as a duck. I made this costume using a white onesie covered in a white feather boa.

I could eat her up in this costume.

Then last year, she went as a pirate. I did NOT make this costume. I bought it off the internet. Which, frankly, was a lot easier than making it.

However, it was still cheaper than the Disney Sleeping Beauty costume.

Plus, she still plays dress up in it when she feels the need to release her inner pirate.

While I was gone this weekend, our neighborhood shopping center held a little Halloween trick-or-treat event. They do it every year and it has become our tradition to attend.

And I don’t mean to brag…well, actually, yes I do….when I tell y’all that Caroline has won the costume contest two out of three years that we’ve attended. The year she didn’t win was a year they didn’t hold a contest, so it was no one’s fault other than the people who forgot to arrange a contest.

Because, otherwise, she totally would have won.

I hate to admit this but somewhere along the way I have become the Texas Cheerleading Mom of the Halloween contest.

I’d like to say it’s because I want to win the coupons for two free scoops of ice cream and a medium size bag of popcorn, but the truth is, it’s about my pride.

So this summer when Caroline told me she wanted to be a pumpkin for Halloween, I immediately began designing the costume in my head. Because I have problems.

And, clearly, not enough to think about.

Then, two weeks after school began, she came home and told me she wanted to be Sleeping Beauty. Whaa? Sleeping Beauty? I silently heaped curses upon the Disney marketing machine that brainwashes little girls into wanting to be narcoleptic princesses and pixies with an attitude problem.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to let my Halloween ambitions interfere with my daughter’s happiness. Although I strongly considered it.

I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t occasionally throw this out there, “So, you’re sure you don’t want to be a pumpkin?” Only to be rejected and informed in a firm tone that she was going to be Sleeping Beauty.

Early in October we headed to The Disney Store to purchase the Sleeping Beauty costume. We got the dress, the light-up shoes, the golden scepter, and the crown.

A little part of my soul died inside.

But at least I felt good knowing that I was helping the Disney empire keep their head above water. I’m sure they’re just barely making ends meet, what with that whole Magic Kingdom deal.

We came home and put the costume in the closet so that it wouldn’t get trashed before Halloween. Then, this past weekend, I packed it with all of her stuff and dropped her off at Mimi and Bop’s house.

I was sad I was going to miss the Halloween carnival, but knowing she was going to be Sleeping Beauty, I felt certain that the Best Costume award was going to go to some other child whose mother has serious issues and too much time on her hands.

Mimi got her up Saturday morning and began dressing her for the carnival. As soon as they got the Sleeping Beauty dress on, it became apparent to Caroline that it was very itchy. She was clawing at the top of it trying to make the itching stop.

The dress needed a quick fix or it wasn’t going to get worn at all (and you certainly can’t have your two-time costume contest champion showing up in no costume at all) so Mimi taped duct tape, otherwise known as Louisiana chrome, over the itchiest parts of the inside of the dress.

Caroline looked at Mimi and Bops on the way out the door and said, “Oh, I made a mistake. I should have been a pumpkin.”

Thank you.

That’s all I’ve been trying to say.

I will use this story over and over again in the future to remind her that her mama ALWAYS knows best. And I feel certain that she will sit at my feet and absorb my motherly wisdom with quiet dignity and respect.

Or she may stomp out of the room while yelling “YOU ARE WEARING ME OUT!”

Not that she’s ever done that. It’s a hypothetical.

So once I returned from my weekend away, I heard the whole tale of the costume and the itchiness. It was also made clear that she did NOT want to EVER put that dress on her person EVER again.

Thank you Walt Disney. How about spending a little less money on Euro Disney and a little more on finding costume material of a slightly higher quality than recycled cardboard?

I leapt into action and went back to Plan A. The pumpkin costume.

I’d like to say I didn’t spend Sunday night plotting how I was going to make a pumpkin costume in just three days, but that wouldn’t be true.

Monday morning after I dropped her off at school, I ran to Joann’s Crafts and Fabric Store. I started to feel intimidated looking at all the dress patterns and fabrics, but I pressed on.

I bought 8 yards of orange tulle, some green tulle, black felt, and some RIT dye in a shade called Tangerine. Oh, and a handy little invention called Liquid Stitch, which is essentially glue for the sewing impaired.

P came home to find me mixing Tangerine dye in the kitchen sink so that I could dye Caroline’s pink leotard and tights from last year. I was wearing rubber gloves and stirring like a mad woman. I think he thinks I need therapy.

He may be right.

I cut more strips of tulle than I ever dreamed possible and tied knot after knot to make an orange tutu. I was like Martha Stewart after 15 shots of espresso.

Finally, it was finished.

It was too late for the costume contest, but not too late for the pure cuteness. And as she said when someone dropped candy in her bucket last night, “I TOTALLY SCORED!”

We had a great Halloween night. We walked up and down our block for some trick-or-treating and then came home to hand out candy to “customers”. Everytime a kid walked up Caroline would say, “HERE COMES ANOTHER CUSTOMER!” and she’d grab mounds of candy to pass out, while AJ, Mimi, Bops, P and I all sat on the front porch, ate taco soup, and watched the festivities.

She’s already planning her costume for next year. She told me before bed last night that she either wants to be a kitty-cat or some poop.

I’m pretty sure Disney doesn’t carry either of those costumes, but don’t think I won’t buy some brown tulle and make the best of it.