(no subject)
Why do we ever plan Halloween costumes?
A couple of Halloweens back, N wanted to be a bumblebee. Great! We made a costume for her, and made mom-and-dad bumblebee outfits for us, at her request. Then, at the last minute, she decided to be a princess with bumblebee escorts. Surprise!
This year, she wanted to be a "love mouse" -- a mouse that gives out love. She made a little drawing of the costume and everything. Again, wonderful! However, when we went to the fabric store to pick out fake fur, she was seduced by the dalmatian print and we came home with a couple of yards and a plan for her to dress up as a doggie. Minor change of plans. OK.
Then yesterday happened. dilletante and I were sitting at the kitchen table idly crafting, while the two girls were on the floor playing with scissors -- S making scary monsters out of paper, and N, mumbling about oarlocks, making a big boat out of a box that she wanted to row around the kitchen. A few minutes later, we looked up, and she had transformed the boat with a green marker, declared it "Frankenstein's monster", and started stomping around the kitchen and growling. She had given up all desire to be a doggie or a love-mouse and gone straight for the scary monster.
This morning, she stomped to school gleefully wearing last week's recycling, with black lipgloss underneath her monster costume.
I hope to god that she comes home from school today feeling mighty at the awesome power of being able to create her own costume, because, really, I am almost unbearably proud of that recycling-bin costume, because it came entirely out of her.
Also, I'm glad we didn't make matching doggie outfits.
A couple of Halloweens back, N wanted to be a bumblebee. Great! We made a costume for her, and made mom-and-dad bumblebee outfits for us, at her request. Then, at the last minute, she decided to be a princess with bumblebee escorts. Surprise!
This year, she wanted to be a "love mouse" -- a mouse that gives out love. She made a little drawing of the costume and everything. Again, wonderful! However, when we went to the fabric store to pick out fake fur, she was seduced by the dalmatian print and we came home with a couple of yards and a plan for her to dress up as a doggie. Minor change of plans. OK.
Then yesterday happened. dilletante and I were sitting at the kitchen table idly crafting, while the two girls were on the floor playing with scissors -- S making scary monsters out of paper, and N, mumbling about oarlocks, making a big boat out of a box that she wanted to row around the kitchen. A few minutes later, we looked up, and she had transformed the boat with a green marker, declared it "Frankenstein's monster", and started stomping around the kitchen and growling. She had given up all desire to be a doggie or a love-mouse and gone straight for the scary monster.
This morning, she stomped to school gleefully wearing last week's recycling, with black lipgloss underneath her monster costume.
I hope to god that she comes home from school today feeling mighty at the awesome power of being able to create her own costume, because, really, I am almost unbearably proud of that recycling-bin costume, because it came entirely out of her.
Also, I'm glad we didn't make matching doggie outfits.