only 10 more days 'til halloween... i'm torn between excitement and dread. i am looking forward to the kiddos dressing up, they are all going to be pirates this year - how fun is that?!?! i don't think they are going to agree to do a common theme many more times. i managed to keep myself on a pretty strict budget this year and i did pretty well. all i had to buy was the eye-patches and a bandana for each of them. so $6. pretty darn good if you ask me. the rest we can just use what we have at home. i am debating getting some yarn to sew some "dreads" into their bandanas for hair... we'll see if i get to that before the 10 days are up.

i think i am learning a bit as a parent, i definately made some halloween blunders in the past as far as costumes go. i think it was 2005 that G wanted to be Jango Fett from Star Wars and i didnt even blink at the $80 price tag for the costume and 2 "blasters"! not sure what i was thinking there, but that is NOT going to happen again. i like the idea that they can make their costumes out of things we have, or at least with very few outside purchases. imagination is something that has gotten lost and needs to be found again. i don't know that my parents ever actually bought me a costume, i'm pretty sure we had to make them, or my mom made them for us (yes - i remember the clown wig you made mom!). maybe next year G will actually want to make his costume after he sees how much fun it can be... i can only hope i suppose...

we will be carving a pumpkin or 2 this weekend, that should be fun. i think i'm going to pass on the store bought kits for that too, and just carve some classic jack-o-lantern faces!