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My girls are really good girls.  I remember when they were toddlers, and I would say “No, no” as they were headed toward a potted plant (or some other something that was off limits.)  And they would turn and look at me, smile, and come to me.  “What?”  “Did my child just listen to me?”  “Do children really do that?”

My son NEVER listened to me as a toddler.  I would say, “Ben, No, No.”  as he headed for a the dog food bowl, and he would turn and smile sweetly, and then crawl as fast as lightening.  He would have a hand full of dog food in his mouth before I could reach him.  He used to crawl like he had a motor attached.  And I was pregnant.  With twins.

I am going to have so much fun with him as a teenager.

Anyway, I asked my girls to clean their room the other day.  And I didn’t need to ask twice.

When they were done, I performed the time honored tradition passed down to me from my own mother.

The Inspection.

Did your mother do inspections?

My mother was the master and queen of all inspectors.   No, she didn’t don a white glove and give the furniture a swipe to see if it was properly dusted…  she just used her finger.

And she would say “It better shine like the top of the Chrysler building.”  ala Miss Hannigan.  We lived in terror of her inspections.

Sure, I can thank her now, because let me me tell you, this girl knows how to clean.

Anyway, I enjoyed inspections so much, I do them now with my own children.  And I get the feeling, they love them as much as I did.

“Let me see here…  very nice girls.”

“It looks wonderful.”  “Well done.”

“Wait a minute… what that?”  “Is that Spiderman’s foot sticking out from under the bed?”

Well, I guess that goes to show, even the best of us will try to pull a fast one if they think the inspector isn’t up to snuff.

I am writing about costume ideas for boys with the hope that it may spark some wonderful idea for a costume for my son.  At age 9, he is so worried about having an older kids costume.  The other day he said he wanted to be a Vampire Bat… but when we went to Simplicity to look at bat patterns, he said they all looked like “Little Kid” costumes.

Since I usually sew costumes, I need to get this figured out!  I do not want to be up sewing at 2:00 AM on the night before Halloween.  Believe me, I’ve done that before.

Here are a few costume ideas for you then…

The picture above is last year when Ben was the The Ranger’s Apprentice (from one of his favorite series of books)  This costume was quite simple.  The most important element was the cloak.  I made two cloaks from the same Simplicity pattern last year.  One for Ben and the other for Lily who was Arwen from the Lord of the Rings.  For the rest of his costume I made a shirt from pirate costume.  I also made a quiver sewn with faux leather.  We found a wooden button in the shape of an oak leaf from JoAnn’s for his necklace (shown in his hand.)  Ben also carried his long bow that he inherited from his Great Grandfather.  We passed on the knives the Ranger’s Apprentice carries… much to Ben’s dismay.

That same cloak pattern will come in handy this year as Emma is going to be Hermione and Lily is going to be Ginny Weasley.  I am going to make their school cloaks out of black fleece.

You don’t always have to go to a lot of work to come up with a great costume.  We just scrounged around the house to come up with this Indiana Jones costume.  I even found a wonderful tutorial on how to make a whip (that won’t put an eye out.)

How about a Cowboy….

or an Indian?

I remember the days when Halloween Costumes were more about imagination, than spending a lot of money on a costume.  One of my favorite costumes at the Halloween Parade at school last year was a Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.  He costume was made from silver vent pipe (like for a dryer) on his arms, and lots of disposable silver baking pans, and a silver funnel on top his head.   It was so clever.

Here’s just a few tips for those of you who want to tackle sewing a costume.  Watch for sales on the patterns from Hancock or JoAnn’s… they go as cheap as .99.  But you do need to start watching now.

I also love to buy my fabric at JoAnn’s with a 40% coupon.  Or I watch the fabric stores for sales.  Walmart has some very cheap fabrics, some as low as .99 a yard.  When you are making a costume you can use cheap fabric and it doesn’t matter that much.

Halloween costumes are such a cause for excitement at our house… and after Halloween, the costumes get worn out being used as dress ups.  I love when I can get creative and come up with something really nice, without spending a lot of money.