SPIDEY GOES TO COSTCO

Okay, so, where to begin? Well, I guess I will start out by saying that one of my best moves I've made as a mother in my children's eyes, would be having our huge trunk full of costumes/dress ups I've accumulated over the years. I bought most of them online at www.buycostumes.com a few Summers ago from the clearance bin. And my kids love them. And consequently play with them almost daily. And all of their little friends enjoy dressing up as well. And it's been a great way for them to be imaginative and crazy. . . . when they dress up AT HOME.

And the hit of the bunch lately has been this Spider man Costume I actually bought from Costco last fall. But honestly, if I have to put this darn spider man costume on Thing 1 one more time I think I'm gonna scream.

So last Thursday I needed to run to Costco to pick up a few things for my girls-only weekend getaway. And if any of you remember last Thursday in particular you might remember that it was a bit hot. Not dreadfully hot or anything, but hello, it is May. Well, this particular day, like most days, included Thing 1 insisting upon wearing said spiderman costume around as his clothing. Usually in the winter it goes over his clothes, and sooner or later he gets hot and sweaty and off it goes. But lately? He wants to wear it EVERYWHERE. And Costco was no exception. Except now, that it is getting warm, he likes to only wear his undies (spiderman of course) underneath so the padded (fake muscles are important) costume doesn't get too hot. And I told him, "You are going to be too hot. Let's wear "normal" clothes to the store, then as soon as you get home we can put spidey back on." Well, he didn't like that, and started telling me all of the reasons he needed to be spiderman. Which included being able to save Costco in case of an intruder. Seriously. And I wasn't in the mood for an argument, so I chose not to fight this battle. Well, at last not right at that moment. We put the costume on, and got in the car. Well, I did at least talk him into keeping the mask at home, which was a good thing. Cause really, that mask is ridiculous with it's two mini Velcro spots. Keeps falling off, all day. Which just means I spend my day velcroing the mask back on every 20 seconds. My life is riveting, I know.

So anyways, there we are walking around Costco when Thing 1 announces that he is hot. Really? In a fully padded suit from your neck to your ankles? I can't imagine why? Well, remember his logic about no clothes underneath? Well, that didn't really pan out so well, given we were in public and I look over and my three-year old is stripping down to his drawers right smack dab in the fruit section. Yes, lovely. And just so you know, apparently my three-year old has no qualms about being seen in his underwear in public. Might be my re-occurring nightmare, but apparently he finds it freeing, and not in the least bit embarrassing. Well, remember back when I said letting my three-year-old wear his costume to the grocery store wasn't a battle I was willing to fight? Well, allowing my three-year-old to walk, er rather run around Costco in his skivvies is one I am willing to fight.. . and win. Most importantly so my face would fade back to it's normal color. Somehow (thank heaven) I talk the kid into putting the costume back on (in case of an intruder, he'd be ready. Or something--but just the legs) and tying the arms around his waist so he was just nekkid on top. Shirtless rather. And it did take some serious coaxing, well, to be honest I did some serious bribery right there by those grapes. But it was worth it. A bag of Costco-sized dum dums later, we made it home, mostly dressed.

And what did I learn? Well, first off, my three-year old is getting too darn smart and sneaky. I'm gonna have to start switching up my parenting tactics with this one. Secondly, I'm really looking forward to an entire Summer with Thing 1 (note the sarcasm). And Thirdly, you can bet your bottom dollar the minute Thing 1 went to bed that night I hid that costume. Am I mean? Yes. Will spidey return? Yes. Probably. Yes. I just need a few days break. Really. At least that is what I keep telling myself. And for now, I am thoroughly enjoying my spidey-free days.