Tired! And you will be too after you read this! :)

Well, it has been a crazy few days!  I am usually one to start thinking about my kid's costumes for Halloween around the beginning of October and then eventually get it pulled together by the end of October.  Last year, however, Jesikah got out the dress-up box and pulled together costumes for she, Tessa, and Jarem with things we already had.  That was GREAT!!  This year, I just haven't been into it.  Jarem and Tessa begged me to put up the Fall decorations, and we finally got some of them out last week.  But, the costumes have been the farthest thing from my mind.  The costume box has been pretty much depleted of anything that hasn't already been worn by everyone and I just didn't have any ideas.

At the beginning of the week I told myself, "It is time to focus on pulling some costumes together."  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on those cheaply made costumes you can buy.  Truth be known, I didn't want to spend any money...but the inspiration was just not flowing.  I put it off until Jesikah got on the computer looking for costumes on Tuesday and I decided I could use some inspiration.  When I saw a picture of a fortune teller, I thought that would be a perfect costume for Tessa and we could pull it together with some things from home and just a few things from the store.  I still didn't have an idea for Jarem, but decided to take Tessa shopping at Goodwill on Wednesday afterschool (which didn't end up being until almost 5 since she has running club on Wednesdays after school).  Maybe I would find something for Jarem too?

We found some things at Goodwill that were perfect for Tessa's costume.  Of course, there were alterations that would need to be made, but I knew I could do it.  The skirt was my size, not Tessa's.  It had a perfect blingy waistband that we were going to cut and use it as a belt.  Then somehow make the skirt smaller to fit her.  The jewelry was broken but perfect for the costume and I knew I could fix it, and with a few other minor fixes she would be in business.  All I found for Jarem at Goodwill was a green-striped polo shirt and a hat that I liked.  Still no idea how they would translate into a costume.

We were under a time constraint while shopping.  Alex and Jesikah had a combined boy and girl Fall church activity which was out at a barn and they were going to learn to ballroom dance and waltz as well as eat donuts from a string and have hot chocolate.  They both were really looking forward to it.  It started at 7pm, and Goodwill is on the other end of town.  We knew we were limited on time and were doing very well until we got in line to pay...

Not a person had been waiting in line the whole time we were there, so of course, we weren't expecting to wait.  Funny thing was, everyone seemed to migrate over to check-out at exactly the same time.  Suddenly there were probably 5 people in front of us and one cashier as well as several behind us.  The lady at the counter was trying to make some kind of return/exchange something.  After 10 minutes when the cashier figured out she couldn't do it, she called the manager who must have taken another 10-15 minutes to make it up there.  Then she took care of it and instead of opening another checkstand, left.  By this time, I knew we were going to be late, BUT I wasn't about to leave my stuff and go like I'd seen someone else do.  Finally, finally, finally, I made it through the line and got checked out.  I had no idea what time it was and was very surprised I hadn't received a call from Alex or Jesikah yet.  I soon found out why...When I got out to the car, there was my phone with 13 missed calls!!  Well, to wrap up this long story, we were late (about 13 minutes) and they still had a great time while Tessa, Jarem, and I waited cause we didn't have time to go home and back.  We got home late, worn out and went to bed.

When Jarem saw the green shirt and hat, he thought of a leprechaun or Luigi.  I liked both ideas and looked up costume ideas for both.  I decided that whichever I found the accessories for first would be IT.  So after Alex's orthodontist appointment(saved for another post) and dinner, I headed out once again.  (Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike going to the store and running errands?)  Anyway, Jesikah NEEDED to go because she is in a play and needed high heels (again, saved for another post).  So, off we went.  Two hours, $50, and four stores later.  We finally made it home.  I was worn out, once again, but this time it was after 9 o'clock and I still had not started working on either costume (which both needed things made, and adjusted)!  I had no hope of making it to bed anytime soon (and since I get up at 4:50am, usually I am in bed by 9:30).  Well, I will save you the details and say that things went amazingly well, inspiration was finally flowing, and I made it to bed by 10:30pm which really was surprising. 

Of course there was more to be done this morning since I changed my mind about Jarem's outfit and had to make some last minute adjustments.  I then I faced the consequences of not having time at home the past two nights.  We couldn't find Jarem's homework, backpack, and his buckles kept falling off his shoes.  When we did find his homework, it wasn't finished like he had told me it was.  Jesikah was supposed to help him while I was gone the first night.  He supposed to write in a sentence whether he thought the story was real or make-believe and why.  Also, another sentence about the main idea.  This was what I found:

It says, "This is a real story because people really do this."  Either way, the inventive spelling was darling even though it is supposed to be written correctly and he is missing a sentence.  Not to mention the other page that also was not finished.

Also, I was asked to play the piano for the elementary honor choir(4th & 5th grades by audition) this year which is Friday mornings at 8am.  Tessa is in honor choir, and I really am more than happy to do it, but this morning was not the day for me to be ready early.  Regardless though, we made it only a couple of minutes late.  I pulled Jarem out of class to finish his homework, got to watch the costume parade, and now I am sitting in a messy house just TIRED!

But it was all worth it to see how cute these costumes turned out: 

Yes, I decided on leprechaun

Cutest leprechaun ever!

Walking with his class giving me the "no more pictures" look

Here comes Tessa's class.  Her teacher in the red stripes is Waldo in Where's Waldo.

And there is Tessa in the parade

 She was debating on whether she should be a fortune teller or a gypsy.  With the crystal ball though, she ended up a fortune teller.  And she has her book with the fortune teller in it.  (They call it Storybook Character Day and they are supposed dress up like a character in a book).

I was happy with how her costume turned out too.

Each grade team of teachers made a painted pumpkin for display in the front lobby.  Then all the classes voted on which one was best.  Here are a couple of them:

Now that I got that out, it is time to face the mess below:... sewing box, scissors, hot glue, fabric scraps, tape, rick rack, ribbon, leftover breakfast cereal, and the rest!