Dispatches from Madtown: Pirates and Fairies

Last weekend our neighbor Kieran had his 5th birthday party. They recently went to Disney World so Disney was the theme and the kids could come dressed as a Disney character. Owen decided he wanted to be a pirate so we borrowed a costume from some neighbors but it was long sleeved and more suited to October 31st than July11. So we made a trip to St. Vinnies Saturday morning and picked up a few things and fashioned our own pirate costume. I think it turned out pretty good and we plan to use it again next week when one of the local libraries has a "Pirate Party". The birthday party started at 1 pm and Zora got up from her nap at 12:55. I didn't plan for her to wear a costume but just as I was getting her up I remembered that we received a box of clothes from my friend Melissa (passed on from her daughter Mia) this spring that included a brightly colored fairy dress complete with wings. I'm not sure of the exact Disney character she was dressed as but surely there are fairies in at least one Disney movie, right? Amazingly enough I actually found the dress in less than 5 minutes, fashioned a wand of a Tinkertoy and some tinfoil and we were off to the party. The kids had a great time and it just so happened that the party was also the debut for Ken's Red Tricycle Ice Cream Company. The bike was a hit with the grown ups and the ice cream was a hit with the kids. We went home hot, tired and happy and Owen and Zora wore their costumes for the rest of the day. They even wore them when, because I was too hot and tired to even think about cook, I took them to Noodles and Company for dinner and I'm sure they would have worn them to bed if I would have let them.