Halloween: Where Girls Can Be Boys

So apparently it's Halloween week on my blog.  Go figure.  With all the counting down the number of days before it gets here by the wee ones, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.  They've long outgrown the stage where I can choose their costumes for them, so no more being a lion for two years then passing it to the next child to reuse the costume again.

The wee ones at least haven't changed their mind 18 kajillion times before Halloween itself, so I suppose I should be grateful for that.  This year, we had a ninja and Spiderman.

Spiderman is strong, right?

Yes, Spiderman has a strong personality....

So how long can she dress in a costume of her choice?  And more importantly, what did you (and your kids) dress up as for Halloween?

Wrong Closet

Yesterday was Mister Man's birthday.  He turned 9 on 10/11/12.  It was pretty cool, I thought - and yes, the post next Tuesday will be the recipe for the cherry cake with fudge filling and triple berry frosting I made.  Yum.

As we went through the presents, Mister Man was excited.  He got all sorts of fun things from my parents (and two books on Greek mythology from us that he loved).  My mom is never one to let one child have the spotlight and  the other child remain to the side, so much like we had the "birthday sister" when I was growing up, she made sure to have a present for Little Miss, though at least it wasn't wrapped.

As Mister Man worked his way down the pile (my parents tend to go overboard), her present became visible, and she loves her new Halloween shirt.

Mister Man got to his last box, and he soundly denounced it as "clothes."  He opened it up, and he was right - it was clothing.  He held it up to show us, and my husband and I looked at each other....

Personally, I noticed the hot pink on the inside of the collar and around the "Boo!" first.  My husband noticed the sequins first.  We both noticed that the cut of the shirt is a girl cut.  My mom still didn't understand.  She bought a black shirt.  Why wouldn't it be for boys?

It was only when I asked her if she had moved from the girl department before finding this that it really dawned on her.  Remember the nursery rhyme rewrites?  She's losing it.

And that black shirt?  Well, Little Miss two Halloween shirts now.

It's Just A Word

Mister Man got a Webkinz for his birthday last year. I sort of didn't really get it, I mean he was only four and we didn't use the computer much except for Starfall periodically. In mid-November last year, I finally signed up for Webkinz.

Oh, it's cool. For him, really. I don't mean for me. I would never log on just to play the games myself or anything like that. He needs the Kinzcash. You know, so he can take the classes and get higher levels. And if you don't log in for a few days, the garden dies. He loves it. Really.

Actually, he really does enjoy Webkinz. Especially Ant Mania, which is a game I detest. Gardening and the Gem Hunt and other things are also on the high list, I suppose. Unfortunately, we usually only remember to log on and play together once a week or once every other week.

So it's up to me. I try to do my duty when I remember. And recently, I remembered that it was pretty close to a year since we'd first signed up. Actually, it was pretty hard to forget, as they sent near-daily reminders to re-up.

Luckily, we've since gotten new Webkinz. It wasn't on purpose, but when a very nice man who owns the local Learning Express gives one to Mister Man just because, how do you say no?

We now officially have two Webkinz on the same account, which is sorta cool. When you're in a room, you can see both of them. Like I said... sorta cool. The actual stuffed animals are treasured friends of Mister Man's. Like all our pets, he's named them. And like all his friends, they're boys -- regardless of whether they're named Tinkerbell or Rosie or Donald.

Mister Man hadn't played the game with me since I added DonaldLeopard (named after the Thomas train, of course). When we logged on last night, we played our usual games but he kept putting off gardening. Finally, he agreed to garden, which is where we'd finally see DonaldLeopard.

When we entered the room, he saw the other guy there. The smaller one, because DonaldLeopard is a L'il Kinz.

Mister Man: Mommy, who's that?
Me: Who do you think it is?
Mister Man: Is it DK's mother?
Me: Mmmm, nope. Isn't this one littler? Who does it look like?
Mister Man: I don't know. It looks like another cat.
Me: Look closely, Kiddo.
Mister Man: Is it DK's little sister?
Me: Mmm, you're close. Does it look like anyone you know?
Mister Man: Oh, oh, OH! It's DONALDLEOPARD!
Me: You're right, Mister Man.
Mister Man: So it is his sister!
Me: Umm, isn't DonaldLeopard a boy?
Mister Man: Oh yeah, right. It's his boy sister.

Gender, we've got down. In abstract anyway.