MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Oh......if life could be as easy as goofy clown hair and butterfly wings...............

In one of my prior blogs, I talk about what I think the kids will choose for costumes for Halloween. I was so sure about my selections that I became quite smug. I was dead wrong.

After the children combed over the 231 Halloween catalogs that we receive every year, they singled their costume choices down to two or three. Then it took DAYS of discussions and contemplation before the final costume was chosen. They are very pragmatic about the process. "Will the costume be too hot to wear inside during a party?" "Will I have to layer heavily to go trick-or-treating?" "Will the mask be bothersome?" "Will all of the other kids in the neighborhood have this costume?" "Can I move around easily?" "Will the costume be believable?" Who knew that a costume choice could involve such important discussions?

Here is what I thought they were going to choose.....versus what they really did choose:

Tori - Princess............chose a singing DIVA costume complete with shiny sequins and a microphone.

Christian - Army guy.............chose a very dead and very scary ZOMBIE with areas in the ripped clothing that shows bones and flesh. Incredibly gruesome.

Leroy - Ninja............chose a BEASTMASTER costume that is kind of like this Roman skeleton guy with fur and an axe.

Izzy's the only one I got right. He wanted to be a monster and we had an extra costume from last year. That was easy.

I finally chose to complete my Vampire ensemble with a Geisha outfit. "What could be better than a Vampire Geisha girl?" I thought. Then the kids starting asking...."What's a Geisha girl?" How could I tell them that she's a Japanese prostitute? After much prodding, my final answer was....."It's just a name that they call a woman from Japan." Great. Now every person they meet from Japan they will ask....."Are you a Geisha girl?" Sigh.......

So now the countdown begins for Halloween. The kids got to try on their costumes twice....parade once for me and once for Dad. The costumes are then put away until Halloween. Now Leroy asks AT LEAST twelve times a day (not kidding) if he can wear his costume. After each discussion he asks me to show me on the calendar how many days until Halloween followed by tears and whining that Halloween will NEVER get here and this is my tortuous way of ruining his little six year old life.

Next...............Christmas.