The Growing Goodsons: To Martha or not?

This time of year always starts to bring out the Martha Stewart in me. I'm not sure if it's the idea of cooking delicious foods to watch during football games, decorating my house for Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas, or just a sense of renewal due to the crispness in the air. But, I do know that whatever it is, I like it!

With Halloween quickly approaching, the family has decided what we're going to be for the festivities. Piper got the ball rolling when she decided she wanted to be the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. (Actually she wanted to be a flamingo, a witch, Renaissance era fashionista, & Wonder Woman... all in 5 minutes before settling on being the Queen.)

So, then we decided that Channing, because she still has no idea what's going on (Although has mentioned several times that she wants to be Ladybug Girl. This is being vetoed due to the fact that that's been her costume the last 2 years. Next year, I'm sure she will be Ladybug Girl.) could be Alice, Gus the Mad Hatter & Josh and I Tweedle Dee & Dum. Great! Decided! You'd think.

Gus is going through the Spiderman phase! So, that was his original desire. Spidey. Again, decided! Not so fast. Then a friend he calls his "brother" was going to be a dinosaur. Mind changed again. He now has settled on being a Spiderman/Batman/Superman race car driver. So, it is done. But, he can't be the only non-Alice costume, says Mom, so there goes Dee & Dum.

(You may wonder how I decide if they are serious about what they want. It usually is based on the idea being fleeting. I know that if they change their mind 5 times in 5 minutes, see Piper, it's probably not "it." But if they talk about it for a day, it's not mentioned again for another day or so and then it's brought up again with the same answer, I know it's gonna make them happy when they get it.)

Josh is going to be the Mad Hatter, an appropriate role, orange/red hair & eyebrows, white face, crazy hat and all. This may be his best costume yet. (The fall we started dating, he was a rodeo clown- the best one I've ever seen. Wish I had pictures of that one!)

And I will be the race car driving Mom. This is not an easy costume to find, unless you have a very large chest with perfectly round ta-tas you're willing to show and don't have to bend over the whole time you're wearing the "dress" the width of a paper towel. All of which are not likely. But, I will make due with the addition of leggings, boots, a hat, aviator glasses, wreath of roses & jug of milk.

And, I digress. The whole point of all of these details is that I've come to a crossroads. While it's not a life or death situation, it is a 15 day dilemma. Last year I made Piper's Little Mermaid costume from scratch. It was quite the accomplishment and saved some serious shells. This year I have found some patterns that would be easy enough to complete. And also some of the cutest costumes online... for a price. While yes I could make them and save quite a bit of cash, it would probably take more time, energy, sanity & cleanliness that I'm just not sure I'm willing to give. So, alas, I will be purchasing these: