We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do!

I've never considered myself extremely creative. I come from a family of public speakers, musicians, and artists, but somehow it all skipped me. This is quite a handicap when you have children. As soon as they are old enough to be involved in any kind of school (including pre-school) you are expected to pull off such miracles as... creating a costume for a party at which your child may choose to be a fruit or a vegetable, designing an award-winning Valentine box, or inventing a science experiment with a twig, a piece of string, and a AA battery. And just to make it interesting, you usually have about 5 minutes notice.
My children have always had faith in me. "Mommy, this year I want my Valentine box to be a tiger and you can slide the valentines into his mouth." We actually pulled that one off, thanks to my mom and sister and a round oatmeal canister. (We did not, however, win the prize. That went to the paper mache bear.) Anyway, despite the fact that they're older and should know better by now, they still think I can pull off miracles.
It's only October and we've already participated in several "Spirit" week activities. These always require dressing up and props. For Hillary's we had a little notice and she was lucky enough to get her Memaw to take her to the costume store. So she was ready for Nerd Day, Pirate Day, and Police Woman Day. Parker was not so fortunate. He rolled out of bed yesterday and said, "Mom, I need to dress like a rock star today." Well, since I didn't have any black leather pants in his size lying around the house, I had to think fast...I asked Hillary. She found him some (sorta) "holey" jeans and spiked his hair with gel. I painted his fingernails black and put eyeliner on him. Voila! A Rock Star is born.
The great part about it is, my kids accept my efforts with a smile. They never complain about shredded yellow paper stuck in their sleeves for hay, because I didn't have any yarn for their scarecrow outfit. They truly have a sweet spirit. And that's the best kind.