"Trick-or-Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me Something Good To Eat!"

The obvious differences and age gaps between our kids can sometimes cause more drama around times such as Halloween. Ty is just now old enough to enjoy the church carnival (“Fall Festival”). Lane is at the age where all he wants to do is join up with his neighborhood friends and knock on as many doors as possible before having to head in. Elise just tags along wherever we go… Because of these differing wants and needs, this was our busiest Halloween to date! We hit the church first, then off to our neighborhood for Trick-or-Treating with GiGi (my mom), back in the car to drop by a few family friends’ houses, and then finally back home to collapse from exhaustion.

Our church, Cottonwood Creek Baptist, has a Fall Festival full of games, food, bounce houses, and other fun stuff on the night of Halloween. I took Elise up with me a little early to volunteer at a ticket table for an hour. This left my husband to get the two boys ready-- and their costumes were both home-made involving face paint, hair spray paint, and several costume props! So, needless to say, I was a tad bit nervous about the outcome of leaving them all alone to get dressed.

My fears were quickly squelched as soon as I saw my newly-turned 3-year-old running toward me completely decked out in his Oscar the Grouch getup. He was no longer my Ty-Bo (nickname), he was now OSCAR through and through! Chris made his costume out of a pail, spray paint, scraggly yarn, hot glue, pajamas, and store bought eyebrows, which he made into a “uni-brow”. This costume took several weeks to put together, and I think it turned out wonderful! Chris is very creative. I usually come up with the idea and he figures out how to make it happen.

Lane looked the part as the Monopoly Man. He wore a sash that my husband made of our Monopoly game cards. A $6 hat and $3 mustache later, and he was set! I made him a money bag out of an old pillow case, and Chris spray painted his hair silver (we didn’t want to mess with a bald cap). Lane had waited so long to choose a costume this year, that I had to threaten him with my rule of --- “No costume, No candy!” That seemed to put a little fire under him.

I sent Elise to school in a leopard outfit to match her costume theme for later that night. I didn't want to send her in her dress/costume, because they do so much with her there that I didn't want to risk messing it up.

I searched diligently for a costume, but didn’t find anything I really liked, so I found a little leopard dress, and thought it was really cute. I found some cat ears and glued on some pink pom-poms to match her dress. I knew that these ears would only serve their purpose in select pictures, because --

#1: Elise has microcephaly, which has left her with a very small head (skull), about the size of a 9-month-old. So headbands, hats, even silly ears or antennas to go with costumes are always out of the question,

and

#2: Elise is constantly hitting herself in the chin and temple or banging her head around on her wheelchair headrest (part of her self-injurious behavior), so anything that isn’t clipped in very tightly to her hair goes flying! I’m pretty sure I have spent a large part of her life retrieving bows off of the ground and affixing them back into her hair. It would be so easy and less stressful for me if I were to just forget the darn bows, but that is just impossible for me. I will be replacing bows for the rest of her life- you can count on it!

By the time we returned home at the end of the night, our church had posted Ty’s picture on their Facebook page as the best costume of the night.

Congrats, Daddy!

I don’t have many pictures of Elise this year. She started out pretty well, but eventually the hitting began. Thank goodness she fell asleep and took a pretty good nap. I usually take her up to houses and get candy for her with her brothers, but not this year. I didn’t feel right taking candy for a child who was passed out cold! She can’t eat it anyway, so it was Lane and Ty who noticed their candy stash cut down by ⅓ this year!

Chris created the can and lid by cutting off the bottom of a pail. He lined the inside of the pail with foam so Ty could step into it and it would hold itself up without the use of straps. He took the cut off bottom of the pail and turned the edges under to make the lid/hat. He super glued a kitchen drawer handle to the top to look like a trash can handle.

We ran into a handful of older people or people from other countries who didn’t know who Oscar the Grouch was. They usually thought he was some version of a swamp monster or something!

Daddy reapplying makeup to Ty as the night went on. He was able to step out of his can to go to the bathroom, thank goodness!

GiGi (my mom) with Lane, Ty, and a neighbor friend, Andrew.

He was one of the Men in Black.

Elise and Lane were both exhausted by the end of the night.

Ty, on the other hand, was still going full-force as I tucked him into bed.

They all had a great night!

Now it’s on to Thanksgiving!

Costume Madness!!!

Ever since Chris and I met back in 1995, we have always taken Halloween costumes very seriously. Before marriage and kids, we dressed up together for parties. My favorite was the year I went as a cat and Chris was Animal Control. He made up a uniform and led me around all night on a leash (very anti-feminist, I know!) We had a blast.

After Lane came along, it only took one year of a cute store bought duck costume before we decided that it would be fun to make them at home -- stuff you can’t really find at the store. Lane wasn’t into Power Rangers, Superman, or Harry Potter, so we had to get creative. We all started brainstorming ideas starting in the summer. We would pick a favorite and then figure out the best way to create it. My husband, Chris, is the creative mind in our family, so the task always falls directly on him (Don’t let him tell you he doesn’t love it!) He has perused the aisles of Home Depot, Lowe’s, Halloween stores, The Dollar Tree, and Walmart searching for the just the right materials and parts for each costume. He always surprises me with his resourcefulness and ingenuity.

In about the 1st grade, Lane wanted to gain a certain freedom from these elaborate costumes, so we cut some holes in a sheet and he went as a ghost. The next year, he was a skeleton (easy peasy). Well, this year, Lane will officially pass the “Homemade Costume” torch along to his little brother. Ty will have just turned 3, which is a perfect age for this sort of thing. For the first year, he understands what we are going to do, and he is pretty excited about dressing up. Ty has, in the first few years of his life, worn store bought costumes (Resale shops have always proved to be treasure troves of costumes for all of my kids.) I am so excited, though, that this year we have decided to go with Oscar the Grouch. We like to be pretty authentic, so I’m pretty sure Ty will be spending most of his night wearing a trash can!

Elise has always been something that is easy to wear. I’ve seen pictures on the internet of extravagant costumes for kids in wheelchairs, but never did any of that. Her costumes are limited because she can’t keep any kind of head piece or ears on, and any sort of wings have to be attached to the back of the wheelchair! We always dress her up, though, and take her around with the other kids to trick-or-treat. I try to get all of her costumes at resale shops because it isn’t like she is going to be playing dress up with them throughout the year like most little girls. This year I am looking for something a little different from past years. Maybe a cute leopard outfit...

As for Lane, well, I expect he will pick something easy and comfortable. After all, when you’re 9-years-old, isn’t it all about the candy anyway?

I will post pictures of all the kids in their final costumes after Halloween!

He literally walked very stiff just like the Tin Man. He was tired at the end of the night. Daddy and Popi carried him to the car!

Enjoying Fall Fest at Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church. This was Elise’s 1st year to wear the 50’s costume. She wore it another year as well.

On our way to a Halloween party! I was pregnant and went as a country hick. It wasn’t too much of a stretch for me -- other than the teeth! Chris and Lane both won costume contests that night.