Embarrassing Stories, Funny Photos, a Carnival and Giveaways – now that’s a perfect Halloween!

Halloween 2007 came less than two weeks after we brought Annalyn home from the hospital. Those days are pretty blurry, but I’m pretty sure I spent that evening ignoring the knocks on the door (Hello, neighborhood kids. If the light’s off, keep on moving.) and checking on the teeny tiny baby sleeping in her crib.

Last year was much more exciting. My mom and I took Annalyn – in her ghetto kitty costume – to visit a couple people and then headed to their house for dinner and a movie (“It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”).

This year, I’ve been so excited that Halloween falls on a Saturday. That means we can take Annalyn to more than two houses for trick or treating and, more importantly, Mark can come with us.

I’ve bought a ladybug costume, borrowed an antenna headband, found some black tights and mapped out all the stops we want to make before going to my parents’ house for chili and the annual Charlie Brown movie. It’s going to be great.

At least . . . it’s supposed to be great. Mark told me yesterday that he might have to work on Saturday. And so I got a lesson in my own philosophy – give up on a perfect Halloween, Mary!

Seriously, do the holidays ever turn out like we hope? Like we plan? Like we expect?

Not in my world.

Back in the day when I could show a little leg. (Also known as college.)

Ah, the memories of hand-me-down clown costumes and face paint made of Mom's makeup.

Carving a pumpkin with my dad. I think something went awry between picture #1 and picture #2!

Take the Halloween Slumber Party of 1990. From the black hair dye that started on my friend Elizabeth’s hair and ended up staining my mother’s sparkling clean bathtub to my insensitive friends who insisted on watching “Carrie,” even though some girls (read: me) were too scared to even look at the television, that night did not go as planned.

But nothing beats the Big Halloween Party of 8th Grade.

My friend Mindy and I got all dressed up, stopped by my Granny’s house to get some candy and snap a picture, and then headed out to the country for a good ol’ barn dance.

Okay, so it wasn’t so much a barn dance as a real, live boy and girl party in a . . . barn. But the boys and girls mostly stayed on opposite sides of that barn, honest. And as it turns out, Mindy was the only one who showed up wearing flannel and overalls.

She was dressed as a hobo. I was dressed as a gypsy. And everyone else was dressed as awkward adolescents who did not dress up for Halloween.

We were mortified. We ran into our friend’s house and called Mindy’s mom. We begged her to bring us clothes to change into, and she was more than willing. Unfortunately, Mindy lived on Trick or Treating Central, so there was no getting out of the driveway.

Eventually, one of her neighbors took pity on us and drove out with two normal outfits. Finally, we could head back to the barn and stand next to the rest of the girls who were staring at the boys.

Have you ever had a costume catastrophe? A holiday mishap? A less than perfect Halloween? Tell us all about it – link up in the MckLinky, and leave a comment!

Need more motivation to comment? How about a giveaway? What’s that? You want more than that? Okay, how about three giveaways?

Click over to my new review/giveaway page for the details!

Link up your posts, check out the giveaway and comment! And remember – give up on a perfect Halloween. The results might just be spooktacular. Or, ah, bootiful?

Darn it. I went nearly 800 words without a cheesy Halloween pun. Sorry, friends. I just couldn’t help it. Happy Halloween!