It's all about the process

I'm getting a late start this year, but I finally started on Halloween costumes.  I spent over an hour in JoAnn's this morning (no kids!!!) looking at patterns, material and fabric.  And then I spent a whole lot of money on just one costume.  I do this every year.  And every year, I question whether or not it is worth the time and money. 

My mother likes to tell the story of how we learned our colors while looking at thread in the fabric department of JC Penney's (back when they had one).  My dad likes to tell the story of how his mother, a mother of 11, would get her own "me" time by asking who wanted to go to the fabric store.  Somehow her 10 boys never took her up on the offer.  Her one daughter is a quilter and sewer. 

I like to sew, but only really do it about once a year.  Right about this time.  My dining room gets taken over by my sewing machine.  Someday, when our basement is finished (more on that later) I will get to have my sewing machine out all the time, and will hopefully sew more.  But for right now, I'm focusing on Halloween costumes. 

Jake, 2004.  First Halloween

Jake, 2005.  Notice our awesome kitchen, before the remodel.


Jake @ preschool, 2007.  For those observant ones, we recycled the penguin costume in 2006 (and Sophia, being 10 weeks old, did have a store bought costume).

Sophia, 2008.  She has always been our little monkey.



Jake, 2008 at Uncle Dan's.  He was insistant on being a bee.



Jake and Sophia, 2009 @ Mimere's house.  Jake wanted to be a white tiger after seeing them at Busch Gardens. The penguin costume does look awfully familiar, though.


I know it would be easier and quicker (plus cheaper) to just buy their costumes. My kids like to "help" and are in the dining room pretty much when I am. It is such a good time for all of us. I am proud that I am able to make this for Jake and Sophia. I love that they are learning about how things get put together. It teaches us all patience and appreciation, those long nights listening to the playoff games on the TV in the next room. I hope someday, they will look back on the time we spent working on their costumes with good memories. I love being able to provide this for my kids. I know the day will come when I either buy a costume for them, or they don't want to dress up anymore. That will make me sad, but I know it will come. So, in the meantime, I will enjoy the process...and the outcome.

Jake and Sophia @ Grammy and Grandpa's, 2010.
Sophia actually came up with the lion idea first, and Jake liked it.  I am still finding this fur in the house...

And I got in on the action.  Trying out a new parenting style...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Life Was Changed By A Standard Comma

Image
Last night I was having a conversation with a friend about those missed opportunities in a Sliding Doors (if you've never seen the Gwenyth Paltrow movie , you really need to check it out) sort of way. You know, one small interaction can drastically change the outcome of a situation. Then, I posted a funny meme on my author page about commas. Way back in the day, I was taught to use the standard comma, as illustrated above. Only recently, when trying to name my book, Jump, Jive, and Wail , did I, at the advice of my author posse, start using the Oxford comma. After looking at this meme, I realized that the standard comma changed my life. Way back in 1997, when I was still in college, Congress passed this thing called the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. A lot of people probably don't remember it. I do, because it hit along with a major reform in insurance reimbursment. As a result of the BBA, there was a spending cap put on, amongst other things, outpatient therapy services t...
Read more

Miss Chick Lit

Image
In order to celebrate International Chick Lit month, my latest main character has found herself entered in the Miss Chick Lit 2015 contest. She's not the most girly of girls, so this should be interesting. Read on to see how she represents herself, and for a chance to win a prize yourself! Hi, my name is Kaitlin Reynolds, and I'm representing the great state of, um, New York. No, Utah. Oh crap, I live in Michigan now. I'm representing the great state of Michigan. I'm a twenty-nine year-old former ski jumper who now spends her time pining after unavailable Olympic figure skaters. My dream is to one day improve the real estate market in Detroit so I can sell my condo. Oh, and world peace. For my entry in the swimsuit compet--wait, I've got to put on a swimsuit for this thing? No one told me that. Nuts. You see, I'm a former athlete who may or may not have let herself go since an injury stopped her competitive career. This is going to be tough. I mean, I l...
Read more

Fairy Tale Fun Blog Hop (and a CHOCOLATE BROWNIE GIVEAWAY)

Image
Your mission: read this blog post, comment on the question posed, and check out the other blogs that are part of this blog hop. Every blog post comment enters you to win a Sprites Gourmet Brownie Gift Box from Fairytale Brownies . My mission, should I choose to accept it ... compare my heroine(s) to a fairy tale or real life princess. Uuuuhhh, no way can I do that. Or can I? You see, I'm sort of anti-fairy tale. Especially as being the mom to a young girl. I don't want her thinking that she can live her life as a damsel in distress and expect some man to come riding in on a white horse and save her. Or, that "and they all lived happily ever after" is how marriage goes (sometimes it does, but it comes with lots of hard work). I pride myself on writing women who don't necessarily start out strong but end up that way. Sometimes, there is a man (handsome and dashing, of course) to help boost her up, but I want my characters to find their hero in themselves. H...
Read more