meme – Urban Suburban Mommy

So you’re the mom who waited to get costumes for the kiddos?

Yah, me too. We’ve been talking so exhaustively about what they want to be, but actually braving the stores… that’s a whole other thing. I was planning to get them to decide early this year and then just order them! Cheap and cheerful without having to hit the stores.

But nope. I waited. And hubby finally got them to the store and I don’t want to see the bill.

My older son is a really cool strip of bacon. He was a hot dog last year, but the bacon beats it all. He’s been working on his “It’s sizzling in here!” line and is über happy with himself. My younger son is a Star Wars guy. He doesn’t know which guy exactly, but his costume has a cool mask and a cool gun – neither of which is permitted at school – which I don’t think he understands quite yet…

Costumes aren’t easy. Masks and weapons aren’t permitted in schools, and I get why (though it really does ruin some of the fun!). Not all of us can paint a face – and not all costumes lend themselves to that. Some costumes are too sexy, while others are culturally inappropriate. It’s really a mine field out there.

My favourites for this year? Aside from super heroes, animals and everything Harry Potter, I’ve seen a few good ideas, though I’m dying to see if there are any parents out there willing to pull one of these off with the kiddos!

Easy and on trend: Georgie from IT

If you’ve seen a preview for the movie, you know the yellow raincoat and red balloon. It’s little Georgie and it’s the easiest and scariest costume out there. Just put the hood up and tie the balloon to your child’s wrist and voila! Just tell your kid to say “You’ll float too” if asked for a trick.

Food: Pizza, bacon, hot dog – food is in! I’ve even seen matchy matchy costumes of burger and fries or peanut butter and jam.

My son has the funniest sense of humour. Last year this hot dog costume made him so happy. Those mustard and ketchup bottles were filled with popcorn kernels. He shook ’em like maracas and pretended to spray people when he was asked for a trick. I should have filled them with glitter, it would have been an even better trick – but I couldn’t have the entire neighbourhood hating me.

A meme: The get-along shirt. Instagram celeb. Grumpy cat.

If you’ve got 2 kids you can do the ‘get-along’ shirt, just stuff them both in one extra-large Tshirt. Hey, you may be able to re-use this if they need help getting along over Christmas. Or get an eyeliner out and do the No Ragrets neck tattoo. That one always makes me laugh and laugh.

YouTube sensation: Pink Fluffy Unicorn Dancing on Rainbows. Karl and Jinger. Keyboard Cat.

Come on – it’s a cat in a shirt with a keyboard. You know that baby keyboard you’ve been tripping over for years now? Tie it on. Kitty costume is cute enough – but with the keyboard you’ve just taken your parenting game to a whole nother level.

Stranger Things

Forget the characters, go as the house. Wrap a string of Christmas lights around them for good measure.

I hope we won’t be seeing any Trump masks on kids – hoping we stay away from politics altogether. There is so much fun to be had on Halloween, and so many ways to get creative. Whether it’s store bought, home made, wonderfully weird, super popular or totally unique, I hope all children have a fun and safe Halloween and that all parents get enough candy to keep them happy til the next holidays hit!

Trick or Treat!

We grew up before social media was a thing – sometimes I think this is a good thing and sometimes I think I missed out.

I was 35 when I started my Twitter account and 36 when I joined Facebook. I resisted Facebook for a while, but decided to join when I went on mat leave so that I could share my pictures of my new baby with friends, family and colleagues. I quickly realized that it was a great way to keep up – and I was hooked.

At the same time my sister, who is 11 years younger than me, was using social media for everything from making plans to go out to networking to find her next job. She never picked up a phone and I actually knew that it was easier to get a hold of her on Facebook than it was to leave her a voicemail. She grew up online.

I was a bit of a wild child when I was younger, and though we have a few photos, there’s not much evidence! Most people weren’t carrying cameras around with them on nights out – we didn’t yet all have camera phones – so there are only pictures of special occasions or weekends away. They’re printed away in albums and rarely circulate unless someone gets inspired on a #ThrowbackThursday. And I’m glad we didn’t all have camera phones so that embarrassing pictures could not be turned into memes and go viral. I think that would be one of my biggest fears if I grew up in the golden age of social media!

But I am glad I joined when I did. Now that my boys are 5 and 7, I show them the albums and share the videos I posted. It’s better than any family album, it’s completely the highlights of their early years. They love seeing the baby pictures, the funny things they did, the cute outfits I’ve all but forgotten, the pets who are now past, previous homes. And more than just an album, there’s commentary. With dates and timestamps, there’s not only an explanation of the moment, there’s reaction from everyone I know, and they love hearing the responses.

So while I’m glad I missed growing up on social media, it’s among my most favourite inventions of my adult life!

Suburban Mommy Michelle adds:

I am in total agreement. I am still learning how to communicate in abbreviations and few words for social media. LMFAO, LO, OOTD, QOTD, MIL, FIL, FML (just learned that one – that’s a goody) I am still learning. There are times where I was just too embarassed to ask and Webster’s couldn’t define (I should have checked the Urban dictionary). Have we done away with speaking English properly? (Sorry my mom is an English professor). And hashtag…who invented that word and what does it mean? Nope wasn’t born into the hashtagging generation. But, it has certainly been an experience expressing how I feel with a number sign prior to every word that I write.

I miss writing letters, picking up the phone, having proper catch ups face-to-face – I wonder if anyone under 30 even knows what I pen pal is?

So a part of me like Elisa, is glad that social media didn’t exist while I grew up – I had some really bad outfits and really bad hair. The debauchery in my 20’s was not caught on Instagram thank heavens! A few gems can be found in an album hidden away in a box buried in my basement. Don’t get any bright ideas!

And on the other hand, I too relish the times when Facebook sends me a “memory” of my children to remind me how blessed I am. So much easier than sifting through an envelope of photos or making a print from a negative.

Urban Suburban Mommy

Tag Archives: meme

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