The Horrors of Halloween

Mitchell the Bat says he's ready for candy while Tim lurks menacingly in the background.

Last year, I lost my mind and became over-ambitious enough to make costumes for the whole family based on a single theme. We went as characters from "Nightmare Before Christmas." I tried to find a picture, but I don't think I took any on my camera. If any of my family has some pictures, I think I need them.

I didn't think I'd be able to do pull off another costume idea that could include the whole family, but one of Ian's birthday presents presented the niftiest idea: a DVD of Scooby Doo shows. After quickly calculating it out on my fingers, I discovered that there were enough major characters in that show for everyone in the family to have a part. I was also pleased to note that the costumes would be much easier to make.

And thus, for your viewing pleasure, I present the Ryan Family's Scooby Doo gang.Ian was Freddy (his hair was sprayed with yellow hairspray, but it came off decidedly green), Rheanna diva'd it up as Daphne, Keller portrayed Shaggy, in his more clean-cut days, Meriel was an orange-clad Velma, and Mitchell completed the crew of crime-solvers as the verbally-challenged Scooby Doo. Tim was the requisite Sheriff who was apparently so inept at his job that mere kids could swoop in and do it for him. I was the criminal who always thought that if you dressed up as some sort of monster or ghost, you could scare people away from discovering your stash of stolen jewels. You know, because flying-Abominable-Snow-Beast-sightings don't attract any sort of extra, unwanted attention. I'm an unmasked ghost who unfortunately looked a little too much like a KKK member (I got a couple of comments), but if they would have taken the time to read the front of my costume, their confusion would have disappeared:

"I would have got away with it, if it wasn't for these meddlin' kids!"

Scooby Doo contains wisdom on so many levels.

Now, we've had things happen every year in our attempts to get to the Ward Halloween party causing us to arrive a half hour to a full hour late. Last year, Meriel (dressed as the ghost dog "Zero") suddenly lost one of the doggy ears that was tied to one of her pony tails. We looked high and low, and eventually had to leave for the party, very late, without the ear, only to immediately find it the minute we returned home. I thought I had this year in the bag.

I prepared early to give myself plenty of time to finish odds and ends on the costumes. Meriel required a haircut to help her get into the "Velma" zone. I gave her that haircut, curled the ends under, it was adorable! I was pleased. When Tim came home, the preparations began. Kids, costumes, and emotions were everywhere! But in a brief, quiet moment, as I was nursing Mitchell, I realized that regular snip, snip noise coming from the back of the house was actually SCISSORS! I mentally connected unattended hair scissors--bathroom--Meriel, and I quickly (and loudly) voiced my demands for her to present herself. She did.Jinkies, Scooby! Look what I did to my hair!

I couldn't even yell (doesn' this eventually happen to most parents?), and I made no attempts to disguise it. We went to the party "as is" and we were 15 minutes early! Since the party was outside in the dark, I think most people had no idea. So although I didn't get away with the jewels, I did get away with something even bigger. That's right, Meriel-Velma. Thumbs-up for Mommy! Skunk-Cousin Finn radiates his approval, or dare we say, admiration, with his eyes.

In fact everyone seemed so oblivious that I even began to delude myself into thinking that maybe no one would notice. But the harsh light of day brought me to my senses and forced me to chop the rest of her hair. Now there's nothing for her personality to hide behind.

To round out the horrors of the day, along with leaving the scissors within reach, I also left my wedding rings on the counter while giving Mitchell a bath. They have disappeared, and I have not been able to find them. It's a pretty sad end for a post, but I'm trying to maintain hope for a Halloween miracle.