Ghosts of Halloweens Past... A week of Halloween - Day 2

"WOOooooOOoooOO...  I'm the ghost of your future Halloween self...." 

I'm beginning to notice a trend of a lot of these being said in the car.  This morning, Anna was talking about trick-or-treat and Topher started making ghostly noises.  Riley chimes in "WOOooooOOoooOO...  I'm the ghost of your future Halloween self...."  I think she's watched A Christmas Carol recently, the one with Patrick Stewart.  She loves that movie.  

Now if it were the ghost of Halloween past, Marley's ghost would take Riley back to the Halloween of 2006.  She was 3 and was all set to be Fiona from Shrek.  She was dressed, Chloe was gussied up like Jesse from Toy Story 2 (see yesterday's post) and Megan created her own costume. Dead Elvis.  They were running around the house while I got myself ready trying to pull a costume together out in the shop from unsold Renaissance garb.  

Megan walks in and says "Mom!  Riley's put goo all in her hair."  Goo in her hair?  What kind of goo?  "Can you wash it out for me while I finish getting ready?"  "Geez Mom!"  Off they go to the bathroom.  30 seconds later, they return with Megan freaking out.  "It's not goo, mom!  It's hair remover!"

I rushed Riley to the bathtub to wash it out, hoping that it hasn't been on long enough to do any real damage.  Wishful thinking.  I watched in horror as her beautiful long blond hair snaked its way to the bathtub drain.  I cried, then laughed, then cried some more.  This picture, taken that night, doesn't show how bald half her head would become.  Her hair fell out steadily for days.  It covered more than half the back of her head, smooth as a baby's butt. 

We hadn't planned on buying a wig for her costume so she couldn't be Fiona. She cried saying that she wouldn't look pretty anymore and didn't want anyone to look at her.  Her biggest concern was that her cousin Taylor, also 3, wouldn't think she was a princess anymore.  

What could we do?  Just one last minute option.  The only costume that hadn't sold from Halloween that year was a very plain witch.  Adult size 22.  Luckily a drawstring waist and an above the knee skirt will fit a tall three year old.  The bodice had to be cut down but putting a few seams at the pleats, sides, and center back was quick enough to get us out the door to trick-or-treat.

This is definitely my all-time favorite Halloween memory.  We all look back on it and laugh, even Riley.  She still has a very bad habit of emptying bottles of "goo" everywhere and gets in trouble for it on a regular basis.  She says she's "experimenting".  Let's hope she doesn't repeat the Halloween Hair experiment anytime soon.