I don't get Halloween.

I really really don't (I don't have any huge objections to it, I just don't get what is so much fun about it). However, I'm letting the kids dress-up and go tricker-treating this year, simply because I don't want them missing out on the normal fun kid stuff. So, the theme this year is firemen. Reid and Ross will be firemen and Lucy will be a dalmatian. Jeremy thinks I should make Ross a fire hydrant, and while that would be cute, I can't get over the implication that Lucy should be peeing on Ross in that scenario...

So, this morning, I stopped at the costume shop to look for costumes for the boys. I already have Lucy's -- I got it at a consignment sale earlier this summer. Before I get too far into my rant, let me clarify that I am cheap. Yep, I'm cheap, though I usually prefer the term frugal. I buy the kids clothes on clearance at the end of the season and keep most outfits to less than $10 each. So, you can imagine my shock when I see that the costumes I was looking for would run $25 for Reid and $20 for Ross. Yeah, and they looked like they came off the rack at the dollar store. Um, yeah, no way is that happening. So, I go searching for just fire hats, so that I can make the rest myself. They were $6 a piece!!! A brilliant thought occurs to me...they must have hats in the party section, so let's see what I can find. Yep, finally find them for $2 a piece. Okay, I'm feeling better. I still need to make the rest of the costume. However, I couldn't bear to do anymore shopping today because the stores were INSANE. It was like Christmas Eve out there! I found a cute link to a blog where someone made fireman outfits out of sweat suits and, believe it or not, yellow duct tape. Now all I have to do is find that site again, which is easier said than done.