N.Lo, of course, was supposed to be Darth Vader this Halloween. Or as K.Lo would say, Darth Spader, who I am pretty sure is James’ second cousin. It’s late October, and I’m not even going to get into the fact of what the weather should be like this time of year; it is what it is. And that is, warm. Or actually, it’s been pleasantly cool several days, but never when it’s convenient. And tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday, when the employees are to attend two costume parties, followed by Trick-or-Treating, the weather will be decidedly inconvenient. Darth Vader is long-sleeved, black, and fleece. One breaks into a sweat just looking at it. I purchased the costume last year, uber-marked down after Halloween, and I’m not sad that it will simply end up in the dress-up bin. Between this incident and Belle and the Butterfly, I’ve learned a few lessons for next year: 1. Don’t plan so far in advance 2. Don’t neglect planning altogether when it comes to the final shopping trip(s).

Because today, honestly, was a shopping trip from hell. I was just poorly organized, and ended up running all over town, unfocused and overwhelmed by options, not just for N.Lo’s new costume, but for my own (another story, another day). I won’t bother recounting the thousand tiny battles fought throughout the day, because frankly it’s not worth reliving. Just know that 1 preschooler + 1 cranky toddler + 1 scattered Manager on a Halloween quest does not = good times. Especially when you add in low blood sugar, picked-over stores, and a lot of traffic. Anyway.

We finally settled on Woody from Toy Story, but I sort of hated the one-piece outfit version, for various reasons. So I thought I could either find an accessory set, and/or assemble my own. The accessory sets were ultimately too pricey for what you got, so I went with assemble our own. I do love the hat, which was the first acquired piece, from the party store. The bandana we found at the craft store. I don’t know if he’ll wear it. A yellow plaid shirt, I couldn’t find, but this one has yellow in it. Don’t even get me started on the gun set—it came from the Dollar Store, which I should have gone to first, for maybe a zillion reasons. The set also came with the silver badge that says “Police,” even though it was listed as a Cowboy Gun Set, and so I decided to paste Woody’s face on there. I cut out the face from our Toy Story fruit snacks. The vest is an old shirt of K.Lo’s with the sleeves cut off and split up the middle. Black cow spots were painted on; they are pretty hard to mess up. Shoes—we don’t have shoes. I’m tempted to buy the Toy Story boots at Kohls, as they are rad, and like the shirt, he will get further use out of them. But maybe not. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the result, and I hope N.Lo will be, too.