On any given day, you will find my children covered in dirt and grime. I really would like not to bathe them everyday, but that’s pretty much impossible around here. Once we are done with school, they make a beeline for the backyard. They are forever hunting down lizards, snails, frogs, worms, spiders, and the list goes on. I was summoned to the backyard yesterday where they proudly showed off the flies they fed a spider. Well…that’s not really my thang, but I’m sure the spider was appreciative of their efforts. They build these little forts for their creatures…usually out of twigs, leaves, and rocks…pretty much whatever they can get their hands on. I do love their imaginations and the way they love nature. 
When I first started asking them about their Halloween costumes, it was no surprise that nature would play some sort of a role in the design process. Savannah was the first to pipe up and tell me she wanted to be a river otter. The girl loves her river otters. I had no idea how to even go about making one, so I asked her:
Me: Savannah, I’m not sure I know how to make a river otter costume. Is there anything else you want to be for Halloween?
Savannah: Yes!
Me: Great…what is it?
Savannah: A river otter with a fish in it’s mouth!
Not exactly the answer I was looking for, but rarely do I get the answer I’m looking for from Savannah. Thankfully, she decided on being a Salami. Salami = snail in this house. It’s the name they gave their first pet snail and every subsequent pet snail thereafter. I saw this awesome snail costume on Oh Happy Day…and knew it would be perfect for her.
Annie said she wanted to be “48” for Halloween. I have no idea what this means. It’s her answer for everything. However, for the purposes of a Halloween costume, I translated it to owl. Jacks is always the easy one. He doesn’t really get himself worked up over costumes. In fact he is really quite boring. I asked him if he wanted to be a fox…and he was all like…”sure.”
I made Annie’s owl mask out of brown kraft paper that I have been storing up from Amazon Prime deliveries. What? I hoard packaging supplies…don’t you? It turned out really cute! I wanted to do a tutorial, but I ran out of time. Maybe next year.
Because, I’m a last minute Lucy, I had to finish up Jackson’s costume on Halloween. The fox didn’t turn out how I wanted, so I ditched it and made him a bat…also out of kraft paper. He was all like…”sure.” Good thing he doesn’t complicate matters.
For someone who is deathly afraid of paper cuts, I’m pretty proud of myself for facing my fears and taking a few for the team. Gah! I ended up with two on my fingers and one on my foot. Not sure how that happened, but I wasn’t even aware until I walked barefoot through Savannah’s freshly mopped vinegar floor. Yeah…then I knew.
Next year, I’m going to be ahead of the game. I’m starting and finishing their costume weeks before Halloween. Then again, I say that every year. I hope all of you had an awesome Halloween!