Wordful Wednesday- Bringing Da Halloween

If you know me, you know when it comes to Halloween, I like to bring it!

It all started innocently enough, when Noah was only 14 months old and we were pondering what costume to get for him for Halloween that would incorporate a stroller since he wasn't walking very well yet. We were strolling through IKEA, as we often did back in those simpler days, and passed a cute little tin garbage can and I off-handedly said, " How cute! We could make Noah Oscar the Grouch and roll him around in that can!" And the lightbulb went off and the wheels started turning.


We took him to the Halloween party at the base indoor pool that year and he won first prize. And that was it... we were bitten by the bug. We had to represent and defend our title.

So, the Halloween when Noah was two, his favorite character was Bob the Builder. So, I set out to make him a costume that was awesome and unlike any Bob the Builder costume you can buy.


So I had to make it more about the accessory than the outfit. He wouldn't put on his hard hat for the picture, so it is sitting on Scoop. But, alas, we did not win the costume contest at the pool this year. And I was out for blood. By golly, I would WIN IT next year.. I mean HE would win it next year. Ahem.... **blushing**

So, when Noah was three, it was just weeks before Halloween and I was feeling the pressure. I had no grand revelations. Nothing was jumping out at me. So, we made a visit to the Halloween store and I saw the cutest little top hat.. and thought of Moneybags from Monopoly, and VOILA!




He won the contest at the pool that year. WOOT!

So, when Noah was four, Zoe had just entered our lives two months earlier. I now had TWO children to worry about. Noah discovered Legos that year and his favorite color was blue.



And Zoe was only two months old, so she had no opinion on what she wore and I needed something that could just BE.


And much to Noah's chagrin, Zoe won the costume contest that year.

The following year, when Noah was five and Zoe was 14 months, Noah was still holding a grudge for losing the costume contest the previous year and insisted on a store-bought Darth Vader costume. I complied.



Then,I focused my attention on Zoe. Turns out, the few months prior, she finally started growing hair and it was red!! So, I went with it.


Zoe won the costume contest again at the pool party.

The following year, Noah was still bitter about Zoe winning the contest two years in a row and a little angry at himself for taking himself out of the running the previous year by going with a store-bought costume. I had already decided I wanted Zoe to be a scarecrow and I wanted him to be a crow. He refused. That is, until I found an article on Halloween decorations and showed him a "scary Halloween raven" and convinced him to be a raven. ( to be confused with a crow by everyone else, but that was what I wanted... shhhh.. don't tell him)




The bases had recently merged into one super joint base and we learned that the pool Halloween party had lost its funding, so we attended my husband's squadron party. Zoe won. Noah was mad.

So, this year, Noah has stepped up the competition, but, alas we have no costume contest to attend. The pool will not be funded again this year and my husband's new squadron has their kids' party on a Thursday afternoon at 4pm rather than a Saturday like his previous squadron. Zoe has a soccer game that Thursday afternoon and Noah doesn't even get home from school until 4:05, so we will not be attending the squadron party.

As for the specifics. I got off easy this year. My husband is making Noah's costume ( which is AWESOME and will have to be revealed in a later post because it is not yet finished) and my mother made Zoe's costume. I decided what I wanted Zoe to be and when my mother was visiting in August for Zoe's birthday, we went to pick out a pattern for a dress that looked like I envisioned in my mind. I already had the hat (from THIS prank) and bought the tights.





Now, if I could just find some strawberry-scented body spray to make her smell....

**this post is being linked to Wordful Wednesday hosted by Dumb Mom and is also being linked and entered in Dumb Mom's Happily (un)Haunted Photo Contest ( see how I still found a way to enter a Halloween costume contest? It's a sickness, really.)

**and apparently, when I blog past midnight, I use the word "so" a lot. I could easily just edit this and clean it up. However, I cringe when I read it, so I'm leaving it as is to remind myself if I do happen to blog past midnight, to save it and proofread in the morning BEFORE I publish.