Happy Halloween!

Sexy Halloween Costumes part II

Less than an hour ago I posted about the sexification of Halloween costumes and was looking for an article I had read last year to include. Well persistence does pay off now and then and I found it! Seems it has been reposted and possibly updated this year. Yippy!

Enjoy it here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/sexy-halloween-costumes-for-girls_n_2011943.html and be sure to look at the photos at the bottom which document costumes from teh early 1990's against today's versions. The mind boggles!

It's nearly Halloween! Time to pull out that sexy costume....?

I have always enjoyed halloween. When I was in my early teens I was especially sad that I could no longer trick-or-treat, and most halloween parties or too young for others. I put a lot of energy into decorating the house and figuring out a costume to scare the neighbor kids.

Some of my Halloween costumes over the years. (from top left clockwise: Where's Waldo?,  home made princess costume, Lunette, scary clown, home made bride, a 'mod') 

As you can see from my little collage above I have had some silly costumes, some scary costumes and some downright lame costumes. Yes, I have dressed up like Waldo. What's the big deal?  Recently, as my children have begun to pick their own costumes and we have moved from dinosaur and princess to other options I have been shocked and put off by the overwhelming number of the uber-sexy costumes made for girls of all ages and sizes. That may be the reason I found this bit on The Daily Show so awesome. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

A few years ago I had read something about the rise of hyper sexy costumes for women and young girls which included a then and now of simple things like a witch, strawberry shortcake and EVEN Spongebob. I have not been able to find that same article but I did find this very interesting commentary on the subject by Rebecca Hains an academic who writes about children's media culture.
http://rebeccahains.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/halloween-and-the-rise-of-sexy-costumes-for-women-and-girls/ The fact is, that 15 or more years ago there was a lot less pressure to be crazy sexy at halloween. It was a fun holiday in the fall. It's chilly and why in the world would you be uncomfortable for the sake of sexy? Ugh! Today the expectation for women, even the very young women is so different. So warped and strange to me. I guess I should be thankful my kids are asking to be things like zombies and possibly Darth Vader.

Mom always said that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach....And who wouldn't want to BE a sexy pizza? aka the object of his desire.

Making a list of movies for Halloween

My kids are not "normal" I know that.
They love creepy stuff including movies and stories. They also love spending time visiting graveyards. I believe this is directly inherited from my husband, but then again I have fond memories of walking graveyards myself as a kid so I guess he may be taking the blame for something they have inherited from us both.

My two kids nearly two years ago at Hollywood Forever on Halloween morning

When L was little she was the sort of child that would wait in dark rooms for someone to come in so she could jump out and scare them. At less than two years old! When she started preschool I had to warn the teacher that she might tell scary stories or pretend to be dead. 

People say things all the time. F is playing zombies and people say "oh, but that is so scary!" as if that child is not loving every moment of being afraid! Being scared for these kids is the same sort of adrenaline rush that other people get from ridding motorcycles or bungie jumping. 

So as October draws near they are starting to pull out costumes and watch scary movies. This morning we began making a list of movies to watch each Sunday of the month leading up to Halloween. 

Here is our list. 

1. Frankenweenie (short) 1984 

Walk like a Zombie

It's an autumn-ish Sunday morning and we are learning how to walk like zombies. Here is our favorite how to video. 

#familyfun #weekendswithathreeyearold #creepykids #pbandangst

Another Painted Lunch

Thanks to an extra crazy schedule this fall, and the 6yo's love of hawaiian rolls with PB&Honey I simply have not had time or the need to make any elaborate painted lunches. This week the 3yo had extended day at preschool and needed launch. To welcome our first week with rain and cooler weather I went with a fall theme. The sandwich was filled with the peanut butter and honey mix I make each monday and I used a rolling pin on the bread before I put any spread on it so that it would be easier to cut and also take the paint better.

This is about 1/2 of a sandwich. If you are using cookie cutters,  especially if you want the details to show up, be sure to press or use a roller the bread. 

detail of the painting process

Little owl, leaves, and acorn. Hand painted with food coloring. 

Final product with sides. 

It's A Bird... It's A Plane...

The following is a true story. It happened to me.

Yesterday I needed to send off some documents for work. I love my local post office. The people who work there are so friendly and helpful.

Anyway, I had completed my transactions and I was headed to the front door to leave when I saw that I was about to meet up with an older man (somewhere between 75-100) walking the same direction.  He was hunched, and thin, and walking slowly. So I dropped back and let him go through the door first. 

Beyond the door parked at the front curb was a late model Saturn. In the passenger seat was a woman who looked like she had been cast as the grandma for a Normal Rockwell painting. The only thing she was missing was a high necked shirt with a cameo broach, her silver hair was packed neatly into a bun and everything about her suggested softness and fresh cookies.

As we exited the building "Grandma" looked up at the man in front of me and I heard her exclaim "There's my Superman!" and my heart swelled thinking about these two people, their entwined lives and their love.

In a flash I was stopped dead in my tracks as Grandma with pure venom in her voice said "Fly shit-head, fly like superman you stupid SHIT-HEAD!"