Halloween Costumes: Plan B

Okay, we are having a slight change of plans with the little tots’ Halloween costume. We have a strong feeling that maybe, no, probably the little boy will not wear the Spiderman costume after all. Hmmp! After all the hassle of meeting up with the seller! Buti na lang mura lang.

So the project manager mom thought of plan B as soon as I realized that he will never put even his finger into the spidey costume. Plan B is the Thomas costume he’s been googling over in the Toy Kingdom magazine.

I knew it will require more work than just meeting the seller ang paying for it. It will have to be done from scratch since 1) it’s too expensive to buy one or 2) the one that’s available doesn’t even look like Thomas. The little boy, at 2 yrs old, knows the Thomas and Friends trains by heart (well, those who are famous) down to their coaches. Yeah, he’s that addicted. Most days, he's a train. Pretending that his index finger is an engine wiper and  always making the choo!choo! sound while running around his pretend train tracks :)

Back to the costume, so here’s our Thomas costume done over the weekend. And yeah, Sam already wants to put it on even halfway through the production.

Two empty boxes taped together to form the frame. The box with the bottom intact is where all the treats will go :)

the little boy mixing his acrylic paint

Buti na lang praktisado si Ate Sophie sa painting

my handy helpers, more than willing to assist

After doing all the detailed work on the face and body (like half the day!), I now present our Thomas  train costume. Thank you to all the Thomas trains in the house, I have so many pegs on what it should look like. All it needs are the wheels, whistle and straps and it's ready to go!

Weird/Funny Food Names

For GT topic of food, I have two weird names to share. One is Laswa (pronounced as Las-wah, may lambot sa dulo wahh). Yeah, it's weird right? It's actually an Ilonggo dish that's like a stew of vegetable like alokbati, talong, okra (the slimier the better) and kalabasa. Instead of salt, we put danggit or bagoong (shrimp paste) to season the dish. I'm personally not fond of this dish growing up but my mom says it's nutritious so we have to eat up :(

http://www.cooks-recipe.com/2010/08/laswa-recipe.html

Another weird name that we concocted at home is Palag, short for Palagpat which means tsamba or pure luck. When we cook something at home that's has no name and created from experimenting on recipes, it's initially titled Palag. We invent the name probably the second time na because cooking it the second time means it was a hit the first time so it deserves to have a name already :)

More GT stories here: 

Today's Mommy Moments talks about Mommy's Fave Products. I have a few to mention and these products I have been before I even became a mom:

1. Maya baking products - flour, cornstarch, brownie mix, cake mix, pancake mix. Name it, Maya got it. I'm a cooking addict and have been learning dishes since I was 10 yrs. old (i'm glad both my kids are interested in cooking at their age now) so these products I have tried and tested for years. It just never fail me.

2. Dove and Ivory - these are the only products I use on my kids. I don't use the other children's product because it has Paraben and other chemicals that are harsh to kids. My little boy had several skin allergy attacks when he was a baby so his pediatrician advised to switch to gentler soaps like Dove. Good thing, he outgrew the allergy when he turned one. I never switched to any soap product after that.

3. Human Nature products - this is the end all of all products! It's organic, safe and has a wide range in their selection. Definitely no paraben, phthalates, PEGs in there. I currently use them for my kids (shampoo, insect repellent, hand sanitizer, etc.) My husband is addicted to the smell of citrus burst Hand Sanitizer. Go organic! :)

4. Vinegar and baking soda- these are miracle makers and natural at that! They clean the stains in your kitchen, bathroom, walls, etc. etc.  Baking soda is a perfect odor deodorizer .

As you can see, I try to go with natural as much as I can. A friend asked me once I hope I was able to share some tips to all the moms out there :)

 

Halloween Costumes

Halloween is just around the corner and kids (and adults) will be partying left and right. For this year, I convinced Sophie to be go as a flapper girl. She originally wanted to be Belle but that would mean buying her the gown which is kinda pricey for the frugal mom. I showed her a photo of a flapper girl with the net stockings and red lipstick and she immediately bought the idea. She forgot all about the princess costume :)

Did a little canvass of what I need to buy for her costume and it will be silver or beige tassle/fringe (P29 per yard, i'll need around 21/2 yrds.), feather (P49 per piece) and stockings. I could add elbow gloves for more drama. I'll just sew the fringe on her old sequined dress and bring out her heirloom pearl necklace from her great grandma. Voila, a costume fit for a kikay :)

http://halloween.become.com/kids-halloween-costumes/Kids-Flapper-Costume.html

My little boy Sam is going out as Spiderman. Found a cute Spidey costume in Sulit.com for a really cool price and it will be delivered tomorrow.

http://www.halloweencostume.com/boy-spiderman-comic-costume.html

I'm so excited for Halloween! We're already starting out on the house decor since Sophie's classmates will be visiting for the trick or treat. Meanwhile, I'm also thinking of a cool costume for mwah. What do you think of Lichtenstein Lady? Cool right? Just requires a lot of make up :)

http://www.laurenconrad.com/

See last year's Halloween experience here :)