I know this about myself and I've come to terms with it.  I am not good at Halloween.

I appreciate the creative ability of those who come up with really clever, elaborate, funny, or sexy costumes.  You're good!  I can work the Google and see what's popular, but coming up with something truly crafty and original for myself (or the kids for that matter) is something I've never been able to accomplish.  In fact, I'm invited to a costume party this Friday, but the host is relaxed about it and said costumes are actually optional.  Guess who will be the only one there in street clothes?!  Yep!  Or maybe I'll wear a football jersey and be Peyton Manning.  We do have similar foreheads.

My ex will actually have the kids on Halloween weekend, and that may be why I'm not going all out.  But so far I've failed at these things:

1.  Decorations.  The kids are so excited that my ex's house has been fully decorated, is totally elaborate, and is the "spookiest on the street" with fake cob webs hanging from the porch and witch likenesses hanging from the trees and weird statues spitting smoke.  Meanwhile, I'm enjoying what I like to call "my peaceful and sane house" with zero spook.  I finally broke down and bought this crazy cat saying "Eek" to hang on the front door.  That's as scary as Mama gets.

2.   Pumpkins.  I took the kids to the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago and we got three pumpkins to paint.  It was an awesome afternoon of pumpkin-decorating and snacks and fun, and they came up with some impressive 2, 4, and 6-year old masterpieces.  So I put the finished pumpkins on the front porch to show them off to the neighbors.  And then it started to rain.  I brought them inside really quickly, with just one side of each one wet and smudged. And then I put them back outside and then it rained again, and washed every bit of that paint off.  We're going to have to have another painting party.

3:  Costumes.  The 2 and 4-year-olds found costumes by chance one day as they were digging in the toy chest, so Mama is off the hook there.  They'll be SuperGirl and a Pop Star (sequined dress and carrying a mic).  But the 6-year old has nothing, and I just fully realized that today.  There will always be old things that fit the younger two, but the 6-year old is the lead grower, and nothing fits!  So we'll have to go grab something this weekend.  And then the younger two will cry and fuss and yell because they're not getting new costumes too, and I'll be stuck in a predicament right there in the middle of Walmart.

Happy Halloween!  At least we can drown our stresses in that candy corn-peanut mixture.  It's hard to fail throwing that together.

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