I am not the boss. The Halloween edition.

I really love Halloween. I have as long as I could remember. I was giddy the first year we had a house because finally, we'd have trick-or-treaters! Our little street gets together for pizza and goodies before the droves of cute kids, inappropriately or barely costumed teens arrive at the door. It's just good fun.

I figured this year I'd let The Boss choose her own costume. She certainly has enough opinions about everything else in life. Given her recent interest in dinosaurs, I was so sure that was going to be her choice. C'mon, I know my child! I made sure I gave her ample opportunity to change her mind, but no, every single time I asked her, it was Cinderella, Cinderella, Cinderella. Never mind she doesn't know the story of Cinderella or even watched the movie, this was her choice and she was sticking to it! Those darn peers and their influence on my child!

So Cinderella it was. Apparently, I know nothing! I decided to do make it myself this year. I haven't sewn in years. A shame really, as I realized how much I enjoy it when I sat down to make this Cinderella dress. I came out of the experience with sanity in tact even though this thing was in satin. The satin--it was a bitch to sew, a bitch to rip out mistakes, uh, not that I made any, but it turned out ok for a girl that at times should be named The Destroyer.

She was getting really excited and finally, Halloween was here! After breakfast she saw the dress hanging up and said, "My Cinderella is so beautiful" and then I asked if she was going to wear the dress to trick-or-treat and she said "No, I want to be Ariel."

TRICK!

Sigh. Ok then. All day, she ran around in only underwear, eschewing Halloween and the notion of trick-or-treating and the glittery shoes that drew me in to this princess business. I am not the boss. I almost didn't care. I certainly wasn't going to force her. Nothing good ever comes of that. But five minutes before kids started showing up, she decided that yes, being Cinderella was a good idea. And after receiving candy at just two houses, I heard her say, "Halloween is so fun." She made it a lot further than I anticipated which meant she had way more candy than necessary. But it also meant she wore the dress more than a few minutes and she had a big smile on her face. That's all this mama wanted from her princess.And tonight at bedtime, I lay in her bed ready to read stories. She decided she needed a few books that were in the family room so I let her go get them on her own. She came back with two dinosaur books and two candy bars! Nice try, princess!