the most official 2009 halloween wrap-up

It's felt like Halloween has been on the cusp for weeks now. I have been day dreaming about lazing quietly on the couch to watch The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with the lights low and a fire burning, the smell of just-baked pumpkin bread in the air.

I had plans for Alice's costume, imagining that she'd be wearing it to two Halloween parties as well as on Halloween itself. I started to work on it just before October started, giving me plenty of time to complete it. Because of this, Halloween's approach was both exciting and irksome.

Now the day has passed - we're the proud owners of many adorable Halloween photos and both Chip and I are feeling particularly tired and glassy-eyed (the Daylight Savings Time doesn't help things either). It seems like every holiday is like this: the intense build up and excitement, the plans, the allocation of time as we want to wind up all the Holiday prep so as to actually enjoy the holiday itself. After the day is over I always find myself wondering what I can do to make next year a little less hectic.

One thing I learned to do this year was to manage my expectations a little better and to be clear about what I wanted to happen. Case in point: I came to Chip on Saturday morning and told him that I didn't care if we went trick or treating with Alice, all I wanted - and all I expected to get - was some pictures of Alice in her costume.

She fought wearing the hat for several outings already. I didn't have high hopes for her to wear it for pictures, but lo and behold, she did.

Awesome.

But she also insisted on carrying Elmo and her baby.

You win some and you lose some.

How was your Halloween?