Fashion Disaster Day

It's Spirit Week at the kids' school -- a time to rally through the final days of the school year with some good ol' fashioned silliness. The kids love it. But as a parent, it drives me bonkers and here is why...

Imagine if you will that your kids have been invited on a Thursday to a costume party on Monday. Oh, and a costume party on Tuesday and on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday. You are also told on Thursday that each costume party has a theme, and the costumes must fall within the theme.

• Monday is Hawaiian Day

• Tuesday is Fashion Disaster Day

• Wednesday is Favorite Animal Day

• Thursday is Famous Person Day

• Friday is Twin Day (which means contacting a classmate's mom and trying to dress your kids in matching outfits)

Hawaiian Day is easy. Just go to a party store and buy some plastic leis. Today, however, was even easier -- one might even say "easy peasy lemon squeezy." For Fashion Disaster Day, the kids and I rummaged through their closets and drawers last night, pulling out the worst possible combinations we could find. I love a good fashion disaster.

Wednesday through Friday are the worst. They all involve trying to throw together creative, clever costumes with less than a week's notice. Take Favorite Animal Day for example. My kids want to throw on old Halloween costumes (the warm, full-bodysuit kind), but the forecast for tomorrow is 80° and humid.

Oh, and did I mention that my kids are trying to win prizes for having the best costumes? There's nothing like adding a little pressure into the already stressful mix.

[inhale, hold it for two seconds, then slow exhale]

Okay. I'm done complaining now. Sometimes I just need to hear myself whining, and it helps me to put things in perspective.

Yes, today will be crazy. Today I will balance proofreading a 60-page magazine with lunch duty at school, guitar lessons after school and taking care of the kids alone while Adrian is in Detroit. Today I will try to do all those things in addition to searching the stores for kitty cat ears in May. But that kind of stressful, crazed searching is NOTHING like what the parents in Oklahoma are doing today, following yesterday's storm.

I can't even imagine. My prayers go out to them.

Here's a picture of Oo and T dressed up for today's Fashion Disaster. They are safe, healthy and having fun. Aren't they beautiful?