Back in our day, trick-or-treating meant hunting for full-sized candy bars with an empty pillowcase, an orange UNICEF box, and a coveted Ben Cooper plastic costume. Sure those masks had no ventilation and the coats our moms made us wear ruined the effect, but man, those were the (spooky) days. Here’s a look back at some of the best ensembles from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Which one did you have?
We didn’t even know She-Hulk was a thing.
Jem from Jem and the Holograms.
“Show’s over, Synergy!”
Road Runner
Beep, beep! Can’t catch me!
A Popple
Remember these little guys? Did we ever figure out if they were teddy bears with tails?
Barbie Cowgirl
“I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world.”
Wonder Woman
Even the Lasso of Truth won’t be able to save you from this trainwreck of a mask.
Princess Leia
The force was strong with this costume, but good luck fitting a cinnamon bun hairdo under that mask.
Pound Puppy
Who could resist those (pound) puppy dog eyes?
Cabbage Patch Kid
So that’s where cabbage patch kids came from!
He-Man
By the power of Greyskull! Now that we’re older, we have a deeper appreciation for built-in abs.
Glo Worm
Unfortunately, the costume didn’t come with that special inner glow.
Lisa Simpson
This was the costume if you had a pesky big brother and constantly felt like the smartest person in your family.
Chuck Norris
There was no tougher costume than the Karate Kommando himself.
Cornelius or Zira? Who knows, we could never tell them apart …
The Fonz
Frequently mistaken for Richard Nixon or Ronald Reagan by those answering the door.
Scooby-Doo
The irony was, you couldn’t fit ANY sandwiches in your mouth through that mask.
Morticia Addams
Were you Team Munsters or Team Addams Family?
The Hulk
Based on the Marvel comic, not to be confused with the Lou Ferrigno/Bill Bixby TV series.
If this post makes you feel all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic, we’re happy to report there is a cult following for vintage Ben Cooper costumes on eBay, so have at it. When your kid complains about how “itchy” their $90 Plush Minions costume is, you can break into a righteous “When I was a kid …” speech with the goods to back it up.
Former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher is here for your holiday shopping! The TV star is teaming up with Etsy to launch her second collection and it’s all about the holidays.
The exclusive holiday collection is packed with all the things that will make your home merry and bright this season. Items range from $27 to $225 and are crafted with gold accents, winter white and natural elements that make this collection perfect all year long.
Fletcher collaborated with 15 Etsy artisans to create the new line which is available now through early January 2021 (while supplies last). Items in the collection include candles, pillows, tableware that includes a snack platter, a mudcloth, napkins and cheeseboard, table runner, ornaments, a stocking, coasters, napkin rings and more.
The coronavirus pandemic is still continuing to spread globally causing many businesses to pivot for the safety of staff members and guests. runDisney has made the decision to transition the 2020 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World Resort to a virtual race. All registered guests for the onsite event have the option of receiving a full refund for the race, and registered guests with a U.S. mailing address may convert their existing registration to the new virtual event that can be completed from home, a local running track or favorite running trail.
Eligible runners who select to participate in the virtual race will receive a race shirt and medal for each distance they complete. Registered participants will receive an email beginning Jul. 23 with instructions on how to make their registration selection before Aug. 5. If a selection is not made, registered guests automatically will be refunded.
Runners registered for the 2020 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World Resort who select the refund option will receive a refund back to their original form of payment for the following. If they no longer have their original form of payment used when registering, they may contact runDisney by Aug. 5 to receive a refund via check or a Digital Disney Gift Card for the following:
Race registrations (Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, Two Course Challenge and Kids Races)
Commemorative merchandise (automatic refund – no virtual option)
ChEAR Squad (automatic refund – no virtual option)
Processing fee
Additionally, any registered participant with a shipping address outside of the U.S. will automatically receive a refund back to their original form of payment. At this time, participants without a valid U.S. shipping address are not eligible for the virtual option.
Those who select to participate in the virtual race will receive
Race distance medal(s)
Runner long sleeve shirt(s) and kids short sleeve shirt(s)
Digital Bib and finisher certificate
Digital Toolkit including start/finish line and mile markers
Digital Goody Bag
Virtual playlist
A Digital Disney Gift Card for select races
Additionally, guests with a U.S. mailing address who already have received a refund for their registration may still register to participate in the virtual race option by contacting runDisney by Aug. 5.
Eligible athletes registered for the Half Marathon, 10K, 5K or Two Course Challenge during the 2020 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World Resort will receive a Disney Gift Card.
Runners who’ve booked through a charity or tour operator should reach out directly to that organization. Runners who’ve booked through the Walt Disney Travel Company may call them at 407-939-4786 (407-939-IRUN) for available options.
Donations made to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida will not be refunded and will be delivered to that organization as originally planned.
runDisney still plans to move forward to host the 2021 Walt Disney World Marathon weekend as scheduled and will share more details at a later date.
Refunds and Digital Disney Gift Cards from runDisney can be expected to be processed in six to eight weeks. If you haven’t received your refund or Digital Disney Gift Card after eight weeks, please visit the “contact us” section on runDisney.com.
When I was expecting my first child, I had imagined this perfect tiny human that was going to be coming into the world and he was going to be all mine! I mean, I knew I sort of had to share him with my husband but in my mind, he was mostly mine. I was so excited and yet so unprepared for motherhood. When he finally arrived, I was smitten! He was perfect, he was more than I could have imagined! If love can happen at first sight, it definitely did!
I had imagined the endless snuggles, little boy hugs and kisses and all the things that we would do and bond over, after all, I was his mama. And of course, I got all those things! We laughed and played, snuggled, giggled over silly things and bonded like a mama and her boy only can. It was blissful. But, when he started to develop his own sense of personality and desires, I began to slowly fade out of the picture. Suddenly Daddy became his whole world, and still is.
My first realization that things were changing was when my son started having meltdowns whenever my husband left for work. Things would be calm and peaceful until Daddy left. Suddenly this little boy was sitting by the door crying out for Daddy in pitiful sobs, giant tears pouring down his little cheeks. My heart broke. I couldn’t do anything to make him feel better. No amount of snuggles, hugs or distraction would work. I would try to comfort him but I wasn’t enough.
My heart felt like it was being torn in half. How could this beautiful little boy that I brought into the world (painfully I might add!) suddenly decide that I was not his favorite anymore?! I mean, I was supposed to be HIS whole world, right?! Nine long months of pregnancy, a year nourishing his little body, my undivided attention, while I stayed at home and raised him…what, had I done wrong?
He started to run to Daddy when he banged his knee or fell down. He would call for Daddy in the night when he had a bad dream and needed extra comfort. He wanted Daddy to give him night time kisses and hugs before bed. I was barely on the radar it seemed. The more I felt rejected, the more I wanted to prove myself worthy of his affection. If only it worked that way…
Now that he is three his preference for daddy comes out in other ways. He still gets upset when Daddy leaves in the morning but there are no tears. Rather, he serenades my husband in heartfelt good-byes and endless hugs and snuggles. Then we go about our day as normal and things are pretty good, or at least civil. When Daddy comes home it’s like he’s been away for a year! He runs to the door where Daddy is waiting with his arms open for those little boy hugs and snuggles that my heart yearns for. When I come home after being away for a few hours I barely get a hello!
While reflecting on the last two years, I had a humbling thought; it’s not about me. My purpose as a mother is not to have my emotional needs and wants met. My job is to raise my children to the best of my ability and make sure that they know they are loved and that they are secure in that love unconditionally. Does it still hurt? Yes! Do I still feel those moments of heartbreak? Of course. Rejection is never easy, especially when it comes from your child.
My son, who is and always will be one of my greatest treasures on earth, needs me to be a source of love and comfort for him. I know he still loves and needs my consistent care and that he still wants me to be his mama. He bonds with his daddy because they have similar interests, similar personalities, likes, dislikes and desires and I am happy about that. My husband is a cattle farmer and my son LOVES going out to the farm and spending time with the guys (Grandpa and his uncles). They do things that Mommy doesn’t—ride tractors, check the cows, get a little dirty! This is what my son loves and doing these things with his dad is developing his character in ways that I probably can’t.
I won’t lie, there are moments that I am a little glad he prefers his dad! Times when he says that only Daddy can wipe his bum or when only Daddy can snuggle him at 4 a.m! Hey, I can live with him needing Daddy to do those things! The real challenge is being okay with him needing Daddy to fulfill his needs and emotional desires that I so much want to fulfill. As a mama to my two little ones, I want to be the favorite parent, the one needed most, if I’m being honest.
Are you experiencing these same feelings? Does your child prefer one parent over the other? It’s natural for our kids to have favorites, but it is never easy feeling like you are the runner up in a marathon for two! I won’t sugarcoat the reality by suggesting this is all just a phase —maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Your little one is figuring out how to express themselves in the only way they know how and you are the one person they can safely express those feelings to. Continue to be that constant source of love, comfort and stability and they will love you for it!
I am a stay at home mama to two beatiful children! I love writing about every day parenting, reading the latest financial guru book and eating anything chocolate! I live in the far northern corners of British Columbia with my husband, team of huskies and a lot of cows!
Long Island mama Molly Waitz just showed the world that mothers can do just about anything. The 27-year-old recently ran the New York City Marathon—and pumped the whole way through!
The avid runner raced for First Candle, a nonprofit committed to ending SIDS. Even though Waitz is a new mom––her son Bode is eight-months-old––she didn’t want feeding her baby to stop her from running the 26.2-mile race.
So what does a new mom do when she needs to nurse, but also wants to run a couple dozen miles? If you’re Waitz, you pop the hands-free Willow Pump into your bra and ready, set…go!
Waitz said, of her recent run, “I can run a marathon and still do it.” The marathon-pumping mom went on to add, “You don’t have to stop your whole life to feed your kid.”
With a six hour and 46 minute official race time, Waitz finished the marathon with a sense of accomplishment and 20 ounces of breast milk!
After a long summer of fun, it’s time for the kids to head back to school, which means it’s time for moms to… play? One mom decided that the first day of school was the perfect time for a solo trip to Disney World.
Mom and Disney Blogger, Lisa DiNoto of The Castle Run took to Instagram to share her first day of school “mom field trip.” “This, my friends. This is what you do after you drop your kids off on the first day of school. You get yourself a pin and you walk it around Magic Kingdom like some garden gnome on a world adventure,” she wrote in the post which features several pics of Lisa and Disney employees holding up her Disney pin, which reads, “I’m celebrating the 1st Day of School.”
Before you feel bad for DiNoto’s kids, she explains in her blog post that the family lives just ten minutes from Walt Disney World so the kids have visited the park many, many times. As her kids head off for another year of learning, it’s only fitting that the mom of two gets a well-deserved day of fun after momming all summer.
“They were excited for their first day at school and I was excited for some time alone. Pickup time came soon enough and all of us had lots of fun sharing the details of our day,” DiNoto told Good Morning America.
Cynthia Arnold is a runner, record-breaker and a super-mama. The Montana mom to three recently finished the Missoula Marathon in just over three hours—and while pushing all three of her kiddo’s in a super-stroller.
Arnold’s latest run gave her the unofficial title as fastest person to run a marathon while pushing a three-person stroller. And this isn’t even the first time the mama has had a record-holding run!
Last year Arnold broke the triple stroller-pushing record while running the 2018 Missoula Half Marathon. This time the mom ran a full 26.2 miles, with her six, four and one-year-old in tow. That’s an additional 185 pounds (including the stroller).
So what’s next for this marathon mama? Arnold told Runner’s World she has plans to go solo on her next race, but that doesn’t mean she’ll ditch her stroller yet. “I was laughing with my husband about throwing the stroller into a ditch or off a cliff, you know, say goodbye to that heavy old thing.”
The record-breaker went on to tell Runner’s World, “But I would never really do that. I tear up when I think any day could be the last day my oldest daughter goes for a run in the stroller. She can ride her bike while I run now.”
Do your master builders dream about jetting off to the red planet? NASA wants them to create the perfect LEGO spaceship to Mars.
LEGO is currently accepting submissions through LEGO Ideas for space vehicles that are worthy of carrying LEGO people to Mars. Designers 13-years-old and up can submit their self-created designs either by submitting photos of their brick creation or designing one online with the LEGO Digital Designer.
Many LEGO Ideas submissions have been turned into actual LEGO sets, so your unique entry could very well end up in homes across the globe. One Grand Prize winner will definitely be awarded a stellar package of space-themed LEGO sets including LEGO City Lunar Space Station, LEGO Creator Expert Lunar Lander, LEGO Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V and several more. Two runner up prize packs will also be awarded.
If you need some inspiration for your entry, check out some of the creative entries that have already been submitted, including a pizza delivery ship and a space pirate ship.
Entries will be accepted until Aug. 1, 2019, at 6:00 a.m. EST and then the judging phase will begin. Winners will be announced no later than Aug. 22. Check out the complete rules of entry here.
The idea of not being married to your soon-to-be-ex may seem really appealing right now. No more nagging, escaping the never-ending criticism, and finally being able to live on your own terms again. You can now parent the way you want to parent without being criticized for the fact that your daughter’s pigtails are not exactly parallel. This all sounds wonderful and so freeing. Right?
You might think that only a few things, in reality, would change. There might already be no family time—and lately, the two of you have been sleeping in separate rooms anyway. While there may be moments in your current married life that are less than blissful, the reality is you have a partner, even if you feel as if that partnership is not as wonderful or equal as it used to be. Therefore, before you make an appointment with a divorce lawyer, I urge you to step through the sliding glass doors and truly envision what your life is going to look like when you are on your own but still responsible for all you created while you were married.
An Alternate Universe
Now you are standing on the outside, and you are looking in. Every time you are with your children now, you are on your own, or you are still dependent on someone helping you out? But now you are not only funding your own (and maybe your ex’s) lifestyle; you are also paying for a nanny or a babysitter. Your life is extra complicated, and are literally tasked with dealing with all the drama while still trying to get your presentation ready for work. The idyllic single life this is not. You will be the sole runner in a race that feels like an ultra-marathon most days.
What Is Harder, Marriage or Divorce?
This is truly the loaded question. Trusting your instincts is necessary. If there are any feelings or reasons why you might decide that divorce is not the best option, then you need to listen. This is your gut telling you what to do. As you start to figure out which way to go at this fork in the road, I want you to think about factors that are bigger than you alone.
• How are your children going to deal with this major life change? • How will you manage without the support of the person who has been there with you—through good times, as well as bad? • What are your true feelings about being single? • Is your divorce going to change your career trajectory or your ability to make (and keep) money? What do your finances look like, and how will this potentially change if you are supporting two households? • What lifestyle changes could occur? • Do you anticipate a big fight with your spouse over assets and property? • And seriously, how is your mental and physical health (because they will be impacted as well)? You absolutely must answer these questions honestly and examine your feelings regarding your truthful responses to such queries before you go home and tell your spouse, “I want a divorce.”
Some Tough Questions to Ponder
Here are some questions you should also think about as you look to make an educated and rational decision regarding divorce: • Have you tried to speak with your spouse about your feelings? Have you had an honest heart-to-heart about the issues you are facing as a couple? If so, what was the outcome? • Have you tried marriage counseling? • Have the two of you tried to identify and isolate the problems inside your relationship? • Do you have the ability to openly communicate with each other without nagging, arguing, or even talking over the other one? • Are you willing to compromise? Think about these lines of thought: • Are you going to miss your kids if you do not see them every day? • Do you feel confident that during your parenting time you could be the sole parent caring for your children’s daily needs? This affects not only your life but your children’s lives as well, so answer honestly. • How are your kids going to handle being shuttled between two households with different parenting schedules and styles? • What lifestyle changes are you willing to make?
Keep in mind paying for two households is much more expensive than one. Getting divorced is costly. If your situation is financially challenged right now, expect to tighten your belt even more. To summarize, weighing all possible options is imperative when considering divorce. And you must do this before you decide to pull the trigger and tell your spouse.
Jacqueline Newman is a divorce lawyer and matrimonial law expert. As managing partner of a top-tier 5th Avenue Manhattan law firm focused exclusively on divorce, her practice runs the gamut from prenups for high net worth people contemplating marriage to high conflict matrimonial litigation in dissolutions.
Crew Gaines might only be 10-months-old, but Joanna and Chip’s little guy is already a marathon star! The HGTV stars, who are soon to start their own network, took to the streets over the weekend—running for a good cause.
The Gaines family doesn’t take their fame for granted. After meeting Gabriele “Gabe” Greenwald—a professional runner and cancer patient—in 2017, Chip and Jo decided to help the Brave the Like Gabe Foundation (which supports cancer research and benefits patients) by hosting the Silo District Marathon weekend in their hometown of Waco, Texas. While Chip ran the full distance last year, this year the proud dad toted his tot along for the 13.1-mile half-marathon run.
Not only did Chip and Crew get in on the marathon action, but 12-year-old daughter Ella also raced for a good cause! Even though Joanna didn’t run this year, she posted an oh-so-sweet message on Instagram, writing, “I was so proud of @chipgaines and Ella (and baby Crew) for running the half marathon today and killing it!”
Even though we’re loving the completely cute pics of Chip and Crew, the photo op wasn’t the best thing to come out of the Gaines’ weekend run. According to Jo’s IG post, the marathon raised $300,000 for cancer research. Way to go!
