Monday, October 7, 2013

Letting Go: Halloween Costume

While I am very laid back about most parenting things, one thing that I am not laid back about is Moose's appearance.  I feel like the way that she looks is a direct reflection on me.  She is a toddler, so obviously I don't buy her expensive clothes for everyday use, but she always looks impeccably dressed when we go out in public.  Her clothes are clean and ironed, they match perfectly, and she always has a bow.

This obsession feeling of mine also translates over to Halloween costumes.  Growing up, my husband and I both always had homemade Halloween costumes, so we looked fabulous every year.  Because I have the craftiness of a brick wall, I am the person who pays whose parents pay for Moose to have adorable costumes.  This was her last Halloween.

Tell me this isn't the cutest thing you have ever seen?!

This year, we got the same catalogue in the mail and she and I sat down to look at it.  She immediately chose an owl, which I was fine with because the costume looked adorable.  We ordered it and it came in the mail yesterday.

As soon as she saw it, she freaked out.  No matter what my husband and I did to ease her into it, she was terrified.  She didn't settle down until the costume was safely back in the box.  Obviously I am not going to traumatize my toddler over a costume, so we sent it back and I decided that she could be a princess, VT cheerleader, or something else that closely resembles "normal" clothes.

My husband suggested that we go to the Halloween store to see if we could find something she was not afraid of.  If not, she could be one of the above mentioned ideas.  I agreed, so off we went.

As a side note, those Halloween stores are so creepy, and not because of the stuff they sell.  They are like the retail version of carnivals.  They are dirty, kind of scary,  and the people who work there are definitely "carnies."  Totally creepy.

Back to my point though, as soon as we walked into the toddler section, it was as if the heavens shined down on her because there it was, right in front of her: a Cookie Monster costume.  She LOVES Cookie Monster.

As soon as we tried it on her, she was in love.  She was beaming from ear to ear and kept saying, "Cookie Monster."  You would have thought the kid hit the lottery (if the lottery rewarded cookies and Elmo stuffed animals).

She was elated, Josh was thrilled, and I was devastated.  Seriously devastated.  All that I could think was. "My kid is going to be the kid in her class with the cheap-ass stupid Cookie Monster costume.  Noo!"

We bought it anyway, with the knowledge that it can be returned until October 18th.  As we drove to dinner, Moose was clutching her costume, filled with joy, I was reeling in the fact that my kid was going to have the worst costume, and Josh was making me feel like shit for trying to take away her joy.

Clutching her Cookie Monster costume in the car.

After she went to bed, I spent hours scouring the Internet for nicer Cookie Monster or Elmo costumes and came up empty.  I found some adorable tutu dresses, but they are all sleeveless, which is a no-go here at the end of October.  To say I was stressed is putting it mildly.  My OCD was in high gear as I pictured her marching in her Halloween parade with her cheap, shedding, Cookie Monster costume.  At 1:00am, I finally decided to sleep on it.

With 7 hours of sleep under my belt, I was able to wake up with new perspective and realize that I needed to let go.  The costume makes her happy and that is what Halloween is about.  Plus, when I saw her in it this morning (we tried it on again), she really did look cute.

Look at the joy on her face.  She is SO 
excited to be dressed at Cookie Monster!

Would I prefer that she wore something else?  Absolutely.  Is it the end of the world?  Absolutely not.  Is it worth taking away the pure joy that spreads across her face when she sees the Cookie Monster costume?  Not in a million years.

So, there it is...I am letting go.  And, let's face it, she does make the cutest Cookie Monster I have ever seen.  :)

21 comments:

  1. I bought that pig costume for my daughter this year! She will not leave the headpiece on though...guess I need to take your approach and let go as well!

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  2. She does look SO happy to be cookie monster! What a cutie! :)

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  3. I am with you on the whole buying a costume thing. My crafty side ends with hanging a picture on the wall. haha! She looks so cute though!!!

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  4. Awww, she really does look adorable! I'm a stickler for cute Halloween costumes. Last year it killed me to buy one but they have such cute infant ones that I did. My mom made all of my costumes but I don't see. Luckily I convinced her to make hers this year.

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  5. Is it not the cutest costume in the world?! I seriously love it so much. I can totally relate (obviously) to being stressed about her not wearing the headpiece, but I know that she will look adorable even without it.


    Thanks for reading and commenting. :)

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  6. Thank you so much! She still isn't over the excitement of being Cookie Monster. She tried it on again today. I am going to have to hide it though because I am not sure that the material will hold up to being worn every single day in October!

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  7. Thank you so much!! Seeing how cute and happy she looks makes me happy with the decision.


    And if you are doing as well as hanging a picture on the wall, you are doing better than I am! I make my husband do that. ;)


    Thanks for commenting! :)

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  8. Thank you so much! Seeing how cute she looked helped me be okay with the decision. That and the fact that it makes her SO happy.


    What is Violet going to be this year?? Homemade costumes are always the best, but I agree that the infant ones are so cute that there is almost no point in making them. There is a lamb costume that is similar to Moose's pig one from last year, but I am going to take a deep breath and let her stick with Cookie Monster.

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  9. Violet's friend is being the lamb this year like moose's from last year! It is super cute. Violet is being a cowgirl. My mom made a cute little dress, it's adorable. Even cuter is watching V try to walk in her boots :)

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  10. Oh my gosh, I can only imagine how adorable that is! I will look forward to seeing pictures. :)

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  11. Bahahaha! This is hysterical and SO SOMETHING I WOULD DO! Damn the OCD!! LOL.

    She is a cute cookie monster. Reagan is wishy washy on her Halloween costume this year and since we are in the middle of this move and the contents for my house won't even show up until the day before Halloween I don't have high hopes this year.

    I'm packing her princess dress up crap with me in the hopes she'll just wear an Ariel or Jasmine gown. Fingers crossed!

    ¤´¨)
    ¸.•*´
    (¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo
    Raising-Reagan.com

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  12. Jennifer @ My Sweet SanityOctober 7, 2013 at 10:38 PM

    Awww! She is an adorable Cookie Monster!

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  13. Thank you so much!!! :) She really loves it.

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  14. She makes the costume adorable. Meanwhile my son has insisted on wearing a skeleton costume for the third year in a row. He loves it and is not interested in any other costume.

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  15. She is adorable! And totally ROCKS this costume! The smile on her sweet face and joy in her heart makes it all worth it. Enjoy!

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  16. Thank you! Glad that I am not the only one whose child has very strong opinions about what costume to wear. Hopefully you can at least reuse the skeleton costume from last year because buying costumes sure isn't cheap!


    Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  17. Aww...thank you so, so much! I agree that seeing her so happy makes it worth it.


    Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  18. Seriously, the cutest thing ever. The look of glee on her face is awesome.

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  19. Thank you SO much! I agree about the look of glee. I can't look at the picture without smiling. :)

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  20. Looking for any awesome, scary, funny
    or weird Halloween
    Costumes
    and just in time, I found your blog which is very
    interesting. Thanks for sharing and I do hope I could pin some nice photos on
    my Pinterest boards. Good day! :D

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  21. I am exactly the same way with my son. I truly believe in having him impeccably dressed whenever we go out. Many people tell me that I dress him like he's going to kindergarten instead of him just going to daycare. I don't care; that's just how I think my son should be dressed. But there are times when you just have to let it go if your child will be happier. I, like you, let my child wear a costume that I wasn't necessarily happy about but that brought him great joy! We just have to learn to let it go!


    Great post! Thanks so much for sharing on Turn It Up Tuesdays! We love having you! :)

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Thanks so much for stopping by! I would love to hear from you, so please take a minute to leave me any comments, suggestions, funny stories, or advice about this journey called Mommyhood.

Becky :)