Friday Favorites - Movin and Groovin!

Momfessionals

I'm linking up with AndreaNarci and Erika for our Friday Favorites this week!  If you are visiting from the linkup - welcome to my crazy neck of the woods (or suburbia - that's more like it!)   I'd love for you to say hello in the comments!  And if you are wondering who I am, take a peek at my About Me.  If you REALLY like me, go ahead and add me to your Bloglovin account or Google Friend on the side there - yep, right there on the left side.

The Search for an Appropriate Costume



No longer are the days when my daughter twirls around in a puffy princess costume or as a fairy.  It's a shame.  It was so easy to pick out a costume off the rack, select the size and know it will fit.

We have now hit the "tween" stage.  Avery now fits adult sized clothes.  And if you haven't noticed, most adult halloween costumes for women show too much skin, too much leg, and are completely inappropriate for an 11-year-old.  It's incredibly frustrating as a mom - I don't want to send my daughter out on the streets looking like a street walker.

I have learned to get creative with the costumes, and turn to Pinterest and online shopping to create a good, age-appropriate look.

Our plan of attack to find the PERFECT tween costume?

1. Decide on a few themes.  Because it can be hard to find exactly the right fit, style, etc for my daughter, I don't let her get her heart set on one theme.  If she can give me, say 2-3 themes, it helps us keep our eyes peeled during the big search.

2. Take to the Interwebs.  I hit Pinterest with the themes in mind and see if others before us have recreated the themes.

This worked particularly well last year when Avery wanted to be "Luna Lovegood" from the Harry Potter series:

Sample 1 source //  Sample 2 source

We were able to purchase the wig and glasses on Amazon and picked up the skirt and stockings at Forever 21.  The jacket happened to be in her closet (crazy - I know).  

If that doesn't work, or we are lacking in the creativity department, I take to Google Shopping to search many sites all at once.  Pair it with Amazon and you have a pretty deep search engine.  I used  Amazon to provide quality feedback on any and all costumes I could find.  This was incredibly important in terms of fit, wear-ability, fabric (not itchy) and quality. 

3. Be patient.  Finding the perfect, appropriate costume takes time.  Even if you go to Walmart, Target or Amazon to shop, sifting through the numerous costumes takes time.  Stick to the themes, and work with your daughter so she'll be happy. 

I sent my daughter about 25+ suggestions over the course of several evenings and weekends.  We started early September, but didn't decide upon the costume until mid-October.  I had to realize that she's a different age.  She has opinions and so do I.  I want to make sure she will be warm on a cool Colorado evening.  She wanted to make sure it hit the "cool" factor that middle schoolers want.

4. Compromise.  As parents, we have to understand that what we want isn't always what our children want.  This is especially true for Halloween.  My daughter originally wanted to be a Greek Goddess.  The first thing to cross my mind was TOGA! TOGA! TOGA!  Yep, not the best example for sensible costumes.  But, I kept an open mind and worked with my daughter to find appropriate options.  Unfortunately, what we really liked sold out.

That's ok - at least I was open to compromise.

5.  Enjoy.  Once you select the right costume that meets your criteria and your daughter's, enjoy.  She may not be a princess anymore, but she's still a beautiful sight (even if she chose to be a zombie princess).  


This year, I ended up ordering a costume online.  The one we chose specifically had comments in the reviews that made both of us happy:  the outfit was comfortable, it covered well, I could easily add layers underneath it if it were cold, and it fit well with most. 

We just got the costume in this week and did a trial run.  We took a few pics and sent them to daddy.  He absolutely loved the costume - just as much as we did.  Our search for an appropriate costume was a success. 

Now we have to wait until October 31st to reveal it!

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I Hate Communication



I hate communicating.  Such strong words from someone whose whole job relies on communicating - verbally and non-verbally.  But when you are communicating 1200 miles away, it sucks.  I know - I shouldn't use that word, but it does!

Every Girl Wants to be Pretty



I was the quintessential girly girl growing up.  The one who enjoyed dresses that twirled around and loved to dance around my living room.  Like many young ones, it was my dream to grow up to be pretty.  To have the admiration of those around me.

This will sound vain, but I felt my self esteem was based on others' opinions of me.

What I didn't know, was that self esteem was based on what I thought of myself instead.   Instead, I cared so much about what others thought of me.

Mom Guilt



Mom Guilt.

We all have it.  We all feel it - every day of our lives.  Whether we are SAHM or Working Moms, we play these mind games with ourselves.  Here's my mom guilt for the week:

Friday Favorites - Things To Help My Mood

Momfessionals

I'm linking up with AndreaNarci and Erika for our Friday Favorites this week!  If you are visiting from the linkup - hola, bienvenue, welcome!  I'd love for you to say hello in the comments!  And if you are wondering who I am, take a peek at my About Me.  If you REALLY like me, go ahead and add me to your Bloglovin account or Google Friend on the side there - yep, right there on the left side.

How $1.50 Saved My Hair!



So this past month, my hair has become unrecognizable.  No, it wasn't just the color.  The texture changed drastically on me.  It became dry, cracked, and looked like it would shrivel up and die on me.  I wish I was kidding, even just a tad, but it just kept getting worse.