Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. It's amazing the difference between this year and last. Last year was: rushing home after work, frantically throwing together dinner, getting the kids into costumes, and getting all the trick-or-treating done in an hour so that the kids can be home and in bed by 8, since they have to be at daycare at 7am...Kids in bed by 8, me in bed by 9:30, the house a mess.

Compared to this year... spent the day making halloween cupcakes and cookies, decorating the windows and the lawn... took the kids to their respective halloween parties at school, went grocery shopping, got Lili's violin fixed... the kids came home and we hung out and made dinner together. Watched a scary movie, and then decided it was time to go trick-or-treating. We all went as a family, and leisurely walked around the neighborhood for 2 hours, chatting with the neighbors and enjoying our time together. When the kids got tired, we came home and examined our loot. My brother, his girlfriend and their daughter came by and we hung out with them for awhile. At 9 the kids went to bed, Ian and I cleaned up together, and snuggled up to watch a movie.

Great night.

Maybe there are some women out there who can make each holiday special while working full-time and raising their kids...And MAN do I admire those women, and wish I was one of them. I can't though. Sure makes all of the decision-making difficult. I guess it comes down to what is the value of this time I spend with these wonderful kids?

Anyway, here are some terrific photos of the night.