Halloween Contingency Planning

I've had several people (including Mia's father) ask me what Mia will be for Halloween. Last year, she went to our subdivision's Halloween party as a hot ladybug. You see, the costume was a lovely fake fur number handed down from her cousin. Just add a black turtleneck and black leggings and you are good to go. The only problem with this was that up North (where the ladybug costume came from) the temperature is often in the 40's on Halloween night. (Fun fact: in 1991, the great Halloween blizzard dropped 28 inches of snow on our hometown, making it one of the top 5 weather events of the 20th century there. Right up there with the Dust Bowl of the 1930's.) Anyway, I believe it was about 80 degrees here last year, so as soon as I'd proudly paraded my new daughter in front of the neighbors, the fur had to fly.
This year, Mia is going to be a dog. A white dog with brown spots to be exact. I found this very cute costume on clearance last year. My hope is that the temperature will be a bit cooler than last year. The National Weather Service says the typical high temp on Oct 31 is 68 degrees.

WARM WEATHER CONTINGENCY PLAN:
If it is too hot for the dog suit, we will pull out the still-too-big purple leotard I found at a consignment sale, pair it with the still-too-long lavender tutu my sister sent and whatever shoes look the least stupid, and Mia will go to the party as a rather poorly dressed ballerina. (Darn, I should have picked up that pair of used ballet shoes at the consignment sale when I had the chance.) Or, maybe we'll add a wand and pretend she is a fairy. No ballet shoes required for that.

DOG COSTUME REJECTION CONTINGENCY PLAN:
Mia can be a bit fussy about what she wears, so there is no guarantee she'll wear the dog costume even if we have a successful dry run. See WARM WEATHER CONTINGENCY PLAN.

Happiness Moment: For most of my adult life, I wished I had a child to celebrate Halloween with. Now I do.