Trick Or Treat

What's that saying about the road to Hell being paved with good intentions?

Being as clever as I am, I thought it would be a great idea to dress the boys as Thing 1 and Thing 2 for Halloween this year. Knowing full well that Knox is really still too young for trick or treating (and neither Ib nor I need the candy!), I still felt compelled to put the costumes together.

Ib suggested we wait one more year, but I was afraid that by next Halloween Knox will have grasped the concept and have his own costume ideas so I figured this was my last chance to dress them how I wanted.


I made the decals for their shirts at work. It's good to be in the Biz. I've got all kinds of handy tools at my disposal! But can you believe that I could not find a plain red long sleeve shirt for Thane in this town? OK, maybe that is a stretch, since I only checked Target and WalMart...but I wasn't about to run all over the city. While browsing online, I found a one-piece jumpsuit, perfect for Knox's costume! But, it only came in one size (18 month) and one color (white). The reviews said that it was actually enormous and many folks said it fit their 2 & 3 year olds. And for $2.99, I figured I'd take my chances. I also ordered a plain white long sleeve shirt for Thane and then headed off to Michaels to pick up some red RIT dye.

Thane's hat from the hospital was the perfect shade of blue so, after one last stop at the party store for Knox's blue hair spray, Voila! Thing 1 and Thing 2. Riiiiiight...it could be so easy.

Whoever thought Trick or Treating on a Monday night between 6 and 8 pm was a good idea obviously does not have kids. Knox came home from day care with no desire to eat dinner. And, in the interest of getting him out and back home before bed time, I wasn't about to force feed him. Thane had been dressed for hours and was sleeping peacefully, between meals. We got Knox into his costume and then it was time to do his hair. Daddy wet it down and started combing it into spikes...which is not something Knox particularly enjoys. But once the can of blue spray came out, you'd have thought he was being tortured. The screaming and crying that ensued was enough to make a saint swear. As to be expected, Knox's yelling and crying lead to Thane's yelling and crying. And that combination lead to Mommy yelling and crying. And it all added up to Daddy playing the role of that afore mentioned saint.

I'm sure, from outside, it sounded like a house of horrors. No wonder we never get trick or treaters!

But it was all about the photos...and, in the end, we did manage to get one semi-respectable shot for the memory books.

We piled in the car and drove to Jeriann's where Knox got into the spirit by handing out candy. He took this duty quite seriously, and was running half way down the sidewalk to toss handfuls into kids' bags before they even made it to the house.

And if you thought that was the "Trick" part of it all, think again. In my infinite wisdom (read: Mom brain), a few days later I tossed the costumes into the wash with the idea of swapping them on Thred Up (an online kids' clothing swap that I recently joined...and LOVE!). It completely slipped my mind that, even though it is November, there won't be truly cold water coming out of our Arizona pipes until at least January. Yep. You guessed it: For the first time in my life I had a washer full of pink laundry. Awesome.

Who knew? RIT also makes a dye remover. Those guys think of everything. I managed to salvage most everything, but not without some battle scars: A pair of navy blue and white striped pants is now tan and white stripes with green trim, some socks made to look like little black and red tennis shoes are now brown and red...and there is still a faint pink tint to just about everything.

But at the end of the day, no one cares if their socks are pink or if there are red dye splotches on their blue jeans.

What matters is that we have clothes and a home to keep us warm. And I have these 3 amazing, beautiful guys who love me, unconditionally...which is more than anyone could ask for.