Selling Out

I don't consider myself a very strict parent. I mean, we're no Supernanny family, where the kids are assaulting the parents and should be locked up in Juvy. We definitely have boundaries and demand some level of respect be maintained. But I always told Dave our kids would be the ones swinging from the rafters as we watched shaking our heads and chuckling. And so far, that has been the case. But when I saw what some of the little girls at a Halloween party were wearing this weekend, I began to think I was on the the militia side of the parenting spectrum.

Why do 8 and 9 year old girls need to be wearing half cut shirts, super mini skirts, and high heeled boots to go trick-or-treating? We are turning our family friendly Halloween activities into a pedophiles dream. And we wonder why we have to start teaching sex ed in kindergarten and hand out condoms in middle school!

Maybe I'm overreacting, or maybe it's because I watch too many crime shows, or maybe it's because I don't have a girl begging me "please, please, please", or maybe I am stricter than I thought, but I just think this is ridiculous. Who's the parent? You or Britney Spears? I think I'll stick to having boys for a while.

Speaking of Halloween, Mateo is a race car driver. I know, boring. But the kid refuses to wear anything bulky, furry, with a hat/hood/tail, chunky, heavy, glittery, too hot, too cold, or purple. So that doesn't leave me with many options. Actually, it left me with only one option. Race car driver. And he didn't even like putting that on. But I bribed him with....you guessed it...lollipops.

But seriously, I don't blame him for hating costumes. I mean, while awfully cute, most baby and toddler costumes resemble that of a torture device. They are itchy, fuzzy, bulky, and hot. A lot of times they include a big tail or something you have to drag around behind you. The hats are too big or too small. I wouldn't want to wear one either. So, in this house, we are an uncomfortable-Halloween-costume-free zone.

Actually, my family has a long history of making Halloween costumes. I used to make my own as an adult. Yes, I dressed up for Halloween every single year since I was born until last year when we got Mateo. Now he is my muse. But really, I love Halloween. And I love dressing up. I made his costume last year (see picture below). And I had planned to make his this year. He was going to be Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights, complete with Wonder Bread sponsored uniform. But I got too busy...and lazy. So now I'm a total sell-out because I purchased one at Party City for $29.99. I hate being cliche'.