It's that costume time of year.

Halloween is one our favorite holidays. Reed has grown out of his preschooler fit-throwing, non-costume wearing tyrant phase and Evyn is still happily dressing up and loves to decorate our house with creepy objects. This Halloween season officially started back in September when I took my little people to the dollar store. Instead of the crappy toys and stuffed animals they love to buy, Reed chose a severed foot with bone and blood oozing from the top along with a lovely package that resembled something you would purchase from a meat counter that contained a brain and a heart. I especially loved the fake blood spots that stained the white foam packaging, and the clear plastic wrap covering the top just made my mouth water for some fresh delicacies from the butcher. Evyn opted for a brain and a heart as well as a bag of plastic skulls.

As the Halloween stores started opening around town, Reed quickly decided he wanted to be a werewolf. We found a scary mask and "paws" and he was set. Evyn was not so sure about what she wanted to be. It was not until we were leaving the store that we came upon a crazy hat. The hat was shaped like a shark and the shark's open mouth is what sits on your head. My sea life loving daughter at that very moment decided that she was going to be a fish being eaten by a shark. The next couple of weeks was spent brainstorming, sewing and painting. This is the result:

I have been known to shop after Halloween for costumes for the next year. This worked very well back when I would just tell them what they were going to be. They never minded, and I got to dress them both up for under $5. Even if they had cared, paying $2 for a costume was such a thrill for this bargain lover. This year I poked holes in my fingers, got fabric paint in my hair and channeled my inner costume designer. It was fun. I loved it, and I loved seeing how happy they were with the end result.

We hooked Reagan up with Evyn's old kitty costume and she made the cutest little round black kitten I have ever seen.

We spent the weekend doing festive things like spraying their hair bright orange and dressing up in old costumes and attending the Halloween festival at their elementary school (there was no way I was going to let them possibly ruin their new costumes, jumping around in a bounce house with a bunch of sugared-up hyperactive kids) with some friends, riding bikes around the neighborhood looking for spooky yard decorations and trick or treating Sunday night.