Costume Cuteness

Not to brag or anything, but our family pretty much rocked Halloween this year.

This being the first year in what's felt like FOREVER that Steve and I weren't just in survival mode, we were able to do a lot of fun things that we hadn't done since Jack was a baby--decorating the front yard (it was a zombie cemetery, complete with hanging, glowing ghost bride), making fun Halloween foods (pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, and "mummies--" croissant-wrapped hot dogs and "worms--" green macaroni and cheese), AND I was finally able to have the energy to help the kids come up with fun Halloween costumes that weren't just my desperate $10 buys from Walmart.  

The extra effort?  TOTALLY worth it.  

Just look:

 Aren't they cute?

 Clark has been begging for months now to be Thomas the Train for Halloween, and I just didn't know how I was going to do it.  Googling "Thomas costumes" was depressing, because they were all so expensive, but on the Wednesday before Halloween I decided to try it.

I dug up an old diaper box and some paints, grabbed a suit jacket, bow tie, and hat, and voila!  Thomas the Train, with his very own conductor!  

Not gonna lie, this is one costume I'm quite proud of.  It took a few hours and a couple of hot glue blisters (anyone else never fail to burn their fingers when working with hot glue, or is it just me?), but Clark was SO thrilled--and even when he tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and totally face-planted, we both cried for a minute (it broke my heart!), but then he kept on chugging along!  He was a hard-core Trick-or-Treater this year, and it was fun to watch him talk to everyone walking past.

 Jack and I read the first three Harry Potter books this summer, and because my brother had a Gryffindor tie and I had an old graduation gown that I didn't mind "hemming" with hot glue, the rest of the costume came together pretty easily.

Jack didn't particularly like getting his hair sprayed black, but the effect was awesome!

 Maggie's was the easiest--I was down in my parent's basement, looking for a conductor's cap for Clark, and she came across this little red cape.  I held it up to her and excitedly asked, "Maggie!  Do you want to be Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween?"  She squealed, "Yes!!!"

So that was that!!

 And, because I'm cheesy like that, I had to get a picture of her with her Big, Not-So-Bad Wolf.

 Steve found his own zombie costume--the kids asked him if he was going to be a zombie every year, and he said, "Mmmm... probably."

And my picture didn't turn out too well, but I put on a pair of black yoga pants and a black shirt, curled my hair, and went as "Lady Shadow" from this Studio C sketch:

Thank you, Studio C, for providing the ultimate lazy pregnant woman's costume.

So, all in all, our Halloween was awesome!!  Hope yours was, as well!!!