Approximately 3 Months

FYI....Only 90 more sewing days until Halloween!!!


To me, if you are talking holiday magic (with the duly-noted Christmas and Easter excepted) you are talking Halloween. I know, I know, most moms dread the day. All that candy and the stress and expense associated with dressing kids up, yada yada yada. Let me just say, you are welcome to your opinions, but none of those reasons mean anything to me. All that candy? BRING IT ON. I remember the joy of the candy feast as a child and still to this day it gives me goosebumps. (And cellulite bumps, but that is not the purpose of this post.) The stress and expense of outfitting the kids in creative costumes? Not if you plan ahead. Pick up bargain fabrics at Wal-Mart for $1 a yard. Get started early, so you aren't trying to hot glue gun 1001 boa feathers to a chicken costume at 5:30 in the evening on Halloween. And anyway, what brings on the holiday spirit quicker than a little "I'm never gonna pull this off" adrenaline rush? Personally, I find it to be rather inspiring to the creative process.


A few pictures to get you in the holiday spirit:

Last year I went a little nutty and made all of us matching penguin costumes. On the day of the party, I woke up to 3 costumes that still needed sewing together. Thank goodness the pattern was about as complex as a flour sack. And about as flattering, unfortunately.

Years ago, Josie and Jon were Little Red Riding Hood and The Wolf that ate Grandma (thus the nightgown. Look closely to see the wolf ears peeking from the bonnet.)

These armor suits were actually Sid and Calvin's costumes from the same year. This picture of Jos and Jon (and a rolling pin) makes me think: Kill da Wabbit...

A year later and Jon was Captain Hook and Josie was Tink.

That year must have been a Disney nautical theme, because Sid was Captain Jack Sparrow and Calvin was Will Turner. And yes, for better or for worse, those are homemade hats on the boys.

Highlights from other years that I cannot locate pictures for at this very instant:

Josie was Little Bo Peep and Jon was her sheep. Sid was Inspector Gadget. Star Wars has been well-represented, with an Ewok, Storm Trooper, Yoda, a Jawa (the coolest, with glowing eyes), C-3PO, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker (just before he goes to the Dark Side) and if Jon doesn't change his mind in the next week or so: Jango Fett (possibly Boba, don't know yet.) We have had an angel fish, Kermit and Miss Piggy (total type casting for our 2 month old twins) and a Dalmatian, complete with dog collar and red Converse Hi-Tops.

If you think I am crazy for all this sewing, you are right. Disclosure: I have been a complete sewing nerd since my earliest memories. As a small child, I worked my way through many a complicated "sewing" project wherein I made wardrobes for my stuffed animals (which included an elephant...not your easiest animal shape, people) utilizing the very primitive "stapling" technique that I pioneered. By the time I was nine, I had begged my mother so earnestly and incessantly for her to teach me to use her sewing machine that she finally gave in from sheer emotional exhaustion. But not before she had reminded me a bajillion times to not sew my finger. A real sewing no-no, apparently. And can you believe it? I have been sewing for 28 years now, and yet never, no not even once have I sewn my finger like Mom's fully-grown, ADULT neighbor from her childhood, Rhona Dunbar did, lo these many years ago. (No offense Rhona, but I always thought less of you for this sewing indiscretion, and how it effected my mother's judgement.)

So began a sewing career that has spanned the decades. After many a sweaty summer day spent in Clovis hunched over scraps of fabric that were destined for Barbie's nights on the town with Ken, I moved on to my own clothing line (of note: Naugahyde slippers) and then household goods (quilts and bedding for my doll house). Much later, I am quite sure I was the only Miamaid that enjoyed "sewing your own pajamas night" at Mutual. I took a sewing class in high school so that I could sew during school time. In addition to the required pillow case project, I sewed my own Prom dress during class, a dusty rose/mauve affair dripping in lace. My biggest project came a few years after that--my wedding dress--complete with a massive bow on the back that spanned from hip to hip, and sleeves that Ariel the Mermaid would have swooned over.

Unfortunately for me, my sewing projects rarely get much attention now, what with my five little monkeys and all. And so that is one of the reasons I go plum loco for Halloween. It is my massive excuse for whipping out the sewing machine and spending hours a day working up a child-sized costume replica from a 3 1/2 inch action figure. Let's face it, as a mom I've got to do something to hang my hat on. Because years from now, I'm pretty sure none of my kids will be reminiscing about my home cooking....

So now I am staring down the barrel of the next three months as I race to get 5 custom-made costumes finished. August is the month the kids make their final choices, and I buy the fabric. September through the end of October is just crazy. The kitchen is a mess, because that is where I sew. Pie patiently (or not) puts up with even less home cooked meals than usual, and whatever we do eat is guaranteed to be heavily garnished with fake fur fuzzies. And while I feel for him, I can't help but rationalize: My kids don't remember from one day to the next what we eat or if the house work has been neglected, but they can remember each and every one of their costumes. And you can bet I love the whole process. Just don't expect me to be any use until November.

ps. Even now, occasionally, when I am telling my mom about being exhausted from staying up all night sewing, she cautions me to be careful to not sew my finger. How cute is she?