Bad Attitude

Right now I have a bad attitude.  I hate Halloween.  You read it.  I HATE HALLOWEEN. Im sure I'll change my mind in a few days.  But, for now, I HATE HALLOWEEN. Let me outline my reasons and we will see if you agree.
1) Costumes part 1.  I do not like coming up with costumes. I thought this was a holiday for kids. When I watch Charlie Brown Halloween, the children come up with their own costumes. They are all made out of things the kids can scrounge up from home. I never see a mother spending money, or sewing anything, or spending hours on pintrest. Never.  Im not creative, so coming up with costume ideas is painful for me.
2) Costumes part 2.  Why do I feel pressure that the ENTIRE family must dress up?  Why do I feel pressure that there has to be some kind of "theme"? I can't get 5 kids to agree on ANYTHING. They can't even agree on what flavor of ice cream to have.  How on earth am I supposed to come up with costumes that the entire family can enjoy?
3) Costumes part 3. Why is every costume so stinkin' expensive?  Even when I pick something that seems "cheap" when I start.... never ends up that way.  It is crazy. There is all kinds of pressure to have a "good" costume and in my mind that means it needs to be good down to the last detail. Details cost money.
4) Candy part 1.  You know, the candy that you buy at the store for the trick or treaters that the trick or treaters never see.  Its candy you have to buy over and over so you actually have some when trick or treaters come. We don't need the candy. Yet, when I go to the store, Im like a kid, in well, a candy store.  I can't help it.  I have to buy candy. Im a sucker for the candy corns.  Not the nasty kind with the peanuts. But, the real candy corns.  A little chocolate isn't bad either.  A lot of chocolate is always a good way to go.
5) Candy part 2. How much candy do you get for trick or treaters? Why do I stress about this every year?  Will there be enough? I dont want to get too much, because then I will eat the left overs. If I don't get enough I feel like the mean lady in the neighborhood that has to turn sad little children away.
6) Candy part 3. Then, there is the TYPE of candy. You don't want to be the looser house that gives away tootsie roll candy. Yep, its the cheapest. Its the most sugar for the dollar. But, everyone knows it.  So, when you hand it out, you are cheap. Even the littlest kid knows you are cheap. By the way, I'm being cheap this year.
7) Halloween parties. It is a pain to get everyone into costumes.  I do love to go see all of the other costumes. There is nothing like looking at other peoples kids in MUCH cuter and more creative costumes than my own children.  I do enjoy the food at the parties. I enjoy it too much. That takes me back to #4 part 1. By the time we go to all the parties it seems we are dressing up for 5 days in a row before we even get to Halloween and trick or treating.  I don't mind the parties ON Halloween. Thats when we should dress up.
8)If you have a 1 year old, the CUTE costume ideas are endless. I have a one year old.  I decided to make her a cabbage patch doll.  She looks a lot like one, so it was a great idea. I worked so hard (started over about 15 times and Im not kidding) on knitting a cabbage patch wig for her.  I FINALLY got it done and it was DANG cute.  I said WAS.  I tried putting it on her and she ripped it off.  I tried SEVERAL times to convince her that it was a cute hat and that it was perfect. The last time she ripped it off, she ripped a LARGE hole in it. There is no way I can save it. So, after all that work, no cabbage patch. Now I have to figure out something for her.... that she will agree to. UGH.
 9) The real reason Im upset:  The kids had a halloween party on Monday. So, I stress about getting costumes all put together for that party. Corrines costume hadn't even been started yet, (talk about missing details)  so she had to throw something together.  Sariah and Hayden had their costumes, but Sariah was missing her "weapons" because I hadn't had time to go to the store and buy that "detail" that made the costume much better.  They managed to get to the party and it all turned out ok. Tonight, there was another party for the primary. This is the party where the entire ward/neighborhood comes to see how cute your kid is. This is the show and tell for the pintrest mommies. While Im doing Sariahs hair (20 mins before we have to leave) she tells me she doesn't want to wear her costume. WHAT???  She says she doesn't like it. (ninja costume that SHE INSISTED ON WEARING FOR WEEKS)  Tough girly. TOUGH. Then, she says she can't find it.  Can she not find it because she doesn't want to wear it?  Or she can't find it because she doesn't  put anything away? Either way, Keith found her costume and she went to the party in it.  Hayden was supposed to be a vampire.  FIVE minutes before the party Hayden tells me he can't find his cape or teeth.  I was so angry by this point in time. We tore the house apart looking for his cape. We tore the car apart looking for his cape. Now, I know that I keep a totally clean and organized house. (sarcasm)  There is no possible way his costume could get lost in this house. (more sarcasm).  We tend to organize in "layers".  You know, (at least I hope you do) the layer method. You start digging into dirty clothes and you know that "they wore that on Sunday and the last time we saw the cape was on monday, so it couldn't be this deep into the pile".  Or "the kids played with this on Tuesday, but we haven't seen the cape since Monday... so keep digging.....  When it was 1 minute before the party was supposed to start, Keith grabbed a Harry Potter cape and a Harry Potter wand, threw them on Hayden and said "there, you are Harry Potter, DON'T LOSE ANYTHING".  UGH. Remember my point about all of the ward watching to see how cute and creative we are?  Due to the 1 minute before, I didn't have time to paint a scar on his forehead or find glasses. What kind of Harry Potter is that????   Its the kind that loses his dang dracula cape.  That kind.
So, on the eve of Halloween, I still have to finish Corrines costume, find Haydens cape, and figure out what to do for the 1 year old. I think she is going to be a skeleton because that is the costume I have at the bottom of the bin and its about her size.  Im sure I will like Halloween again on November 2nd or 3rd.  Maybe.