Justin and I went to Rupp Arena for what has become our annual Christmas break basketball game (I think after three years it becomes a tradition). Always against a no-name team. Always a blow-out (I think it’s been 30 points the past two years). Always a great reminder of what we are missing living so far away from Wildcat Country.

Justin and I hauled ourselves across downtown Lexington in about ten minutes tonight (a perk of a smaller town than Boston!) and made it into our seats just as they began announcing the starting line-up for Coppin State (you know you haven’t heard of them before, either; according to Justin, they’re a school in Baltimore not known for their basketball). We were there for the fireworks. We were there for the tip-off. We had amazing seats. But something was missing, and I don’t mean Robbie (don’t panic; he was at the dinner we left early with my parents).

Although the game was more exciting than the lackluster showing of Billy Clyde’s Cats in 2008 (can you believe that guys STILL doesn’t have a job?), it didn’t have the magic about it that last year’s did. There was no John Wall. There was no Cousins. There was no anticipation about seeing the NEW Kentucky Wildcats.

But you know what? None of that really mattered to me. Well, it did a little. I think what was more important was the nostalgia. Watching the student section, seeing the college students living the life that I had ten years ago (how has it been a decade?). Remembering the most important games we’ve been to (mine is still Pitino’s first game back as Louisville’s coach in 2001). Waiting for the UK pyramid at the end of the second half.

Being home is a very conflicting thing for me (and Justin, too). Being here makes me want to move home, be closer to family, live a life that I know would be comfortable and “easy”-ish. But I also know that I’ll go home to Boston on Sunday and fall in love with life up there. I’ll love the snow and my friends and my job. I guess this is the part of life that we can’t necessarily plan. I worry that if I want to be home in Lexington so bad that I try to force it to happen, I might be disappointed in how it all turns out. So I’ll enjoy my time at home and let life take me on the journey I’m supposed to have. And I’ll thank God every day that he gave me a wonderful man to travel with (oh, and a pretty great little boy, too).

We took Robbie to his first real movie today. I say “real” movie because he saw The Hangover when he was two weeks old and Avatar when he was five months old. But today was the real deal: Tangled at the Movie Tavern. And it was a fail. Not an epic fail, but a fail nonetheless.

Robbie was bored with all of the “no talking/no cell phone” portions, but he immediately became entranced when the previews came on. He stayed that way until about thirty minutes into the movie. That was when the real fun began. Robbie started yelling, “Hi!” every few seconds. And then he started his loud fussing. Thus ended any attempt I was going to make to actually watch the movie.

Now, even though I said the afternoon at the movie was a fail, that just meant for me. For Robbie, it was probably one of the best afternoons of his life. He ran up and down the hallway. He met all the people working in the theatre. He busted into different movies. He ran up and down the aisles in an empty theatre and managed to conquer going down stairs. It was an ultimate win.

I don’t think I’ll have enough energy to try taking him to a movie until at least spring break. But, since we’re going to be on vacation then, I think I’ll be able to get away without taking him until at least Memorial Day weekend. And even then, only if there’s something good out.

Where did Christmas go? I spent the past five (seven?) weeks so excited for it to get here: making Christmas cards, decorating the house, dragging my family out to buy the perfect tree, shopping, traveling to see family. And now it’s gone. Over. I cleaned up all the presents and boxes and paper in my mom’s basement after we got home this afternoon. The tree looks empty; it’s uneven branches are even more apparent. But, as I type, I’m sitting next to the tree, surrounded by my family and thinking that maybe I need to remember that Christmas isn’t just on 25 December…

Roberto had a big day on Christmas; he got to celebrate three different times! As soon as we got up, we went over to my mother-in-law’s house. Robbie got all the classic toys: the wooden bench with pegs to hammer, a Bozo punching bag, a sled, and a Sit ‘n Spin. I wasn’t sure what he would do when faced with a four-foot tall Bozo replica. Personally, I was a little disturbed. But, Robbie, undaunted, immediately tackled the clown to the ground and went back for more as soon as he popped up.

When we got back to my mom’s house, it was almost time for breakfast. However, Hilary and Hunter wanted to get Robbie ready for his big day. As soon as he got upstairs, I heard the screaming start. And continue. And get louder. And louder. It didn’t stop until my child was back downstairs and running into my arms. In a pimp suit. That’s right. Robbie was fully outfitted in a gray Little Kings suit, complete with a purple shirt, vest, and coordinating striped tie. I’m not entirely sure it was designed with a white boy from Boston in mind, but Robbie wore it as well as he could.

The present-opening extravaganza continued all day, only interrupted by a brief nap before driving to Cincinnati. There were presents to open, trash to throw away (how did I manage to get a child concerned with picking up after himself?), and food to eat. He played with his toys, focusing mostly on his new baby laptop, which I’m hoping will be a nice substitute for banging on mine. I almost burned the fire hose meant to go on the truck of Robbie’s new fire station. I’m still enjoying the irony of that.

Robbie doesn’t really understand the meaning of Christmas, but it was so fun to watch him see presents and have his eyes get big. They say Christmas is for children. But for my money, I think it’s for the parents who get to watch the children.

On my way to bed… Don’t want Santa to see that I’m still up. But, since the snow started, we all went outside to make snow angels. No coats. Just snow angels. It was awesome.

Merry Christmas!

We survived the ride home in relative silence yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

We found the noise preferable to constantly pulling over to readjust the luggage rack. It also drowned out any fussing that Robbie might have done (not entirely sure that he did any!). And it meant that Justin and I sat in the car without listening to music or talking to each other. For nine hours.

Even now that I’ve been out of the car for twelve hours, I can still hear the ringing in my ears from the luggage rack. As one friend put it, it sounded like we were sitting on the engine of a small plane. Hopefully, we’ll remedy the situation before heading home. Mom already has a few suggestions for things that might make it better. And she usually knows best.

I’m feeling much more human now that I’ve slept for ten hours. Rob seems to be adjusting to life outside of his car seat, although I am a little concerned about him going through movie withdrawal. That’s all he did for 17 hours in the car. Movie after movie after movie. I’m a little worried about how easily he zones out in front of a screen, but I’m willing to overlook that and exploit it during travel.

Now that we’re finally home, it feels so good to just be. Sure, our room is a disaster. Some of my presents came unwrapped. One of them broke (my loving seester went out last night and found a replacement for me). Justin lost (and found) his wallet. But we’re here. Now it’s just time to relax, enjoy family, give some presents, and relish in just how wonderful life can be. Because it sure is fantastic.

Happy Christmas Eve!

We left for Kentucky last night. Since I only have minimal time before we leave the hotel, here are the highlights:

1. The framed work that was supposed to be ready for pick-up at 4:00 wasn’t. It took an extra twenty minutes with Robbie, Justin, and Barkley in the car waiting.
2. Don’t tie luggage straps to the care across the width of it. This makes a horrible noise that is only slightly preferable to screaming child.
3. It was snowing when we left Boston and the traffic was horrible.
4. Wendy’s in Meriden, CT, does not have a baby changing station. This is extremely inconvenient for anything involving poop and total clothing change.
5. A small Frosty comes with a kid’s meal at said Wendy’s. This makes up (almost) for the lack of a changing station.
6. Hubands can be unforgiving when a child comes out of the restroom with crisscrossed overall straps. They often refer to it as an “epic fail”, which just seems cruel.
7. Being the watcher of the luggage rack is stressful. Particularly when it moves suddenly in a high wind are and the only place to stop is the side of the road as truckers race by. It’s even more stressful the second time you have to do it.
8. My child does not sleep on road trips. Ever. Even at 12:15 in the morning. He prefers to scream and did so from 11:00 to 12:30.
9. It is not easy to watch a luggage rack in the dark.
10. My child thinks hotels are for playing. We arrived in our room at 1:00 this morning. He went to sleep at 3:00 this morning. THIS constitutes an epic fail.
11. My dog is crazy. He needed to be let out at 12:30, 2:30, and 7:30 to make sure we are safe.
12. I’m not entirely sure we’ll make it to Kentucky in one piece (or at least with the luggage on top of the car).
13. Our hotel room is stocked with a variety of Jolly Ranchers. Most of them are watermelon. My son is trying to make up for last night by bringing them to me.

See? I told you there would be stories!

Somehow, I made it. It’s 11:00, and I’m exhausted. But, I’m also as ready for this trip home as I’m ever gonna be. I didn’t get the cookies baked, but that’s OK. Justin’s finishing up the laundry (he politely did mine first). The presents are all wrapped. The suitcase was broken, but we found a bigger one to fill.

Just one more day of work and then it’s time to hit the road. I’m so ready for 3:07 tomorrow afternoon. For now, I’ll settle for a hot shower and six hours of sleep.

Since I know you all wait with baited breath for a post every night, I want to give you fair warning that there may not be one tomorrow. After a full day of work and eight hours in the car… It just might not be in the cards! I’m sure there will be some great stories, though.

My entire day today can be summed up in one word: unprepared. Unprepared for how crazy the kids would be at school. Unprepared for snow on the ground (I was wearing flats with no socks). Unprepared for all the work left to do before leaving for Kentucky. Unprepared.

I accomplished a lot today. I graded half my email inbox (the best way for kids to turn in assignments, by the way). I made my way through most of the papers on my desk. I got all the snowflakes my students made hung (there’s nothing like seeing grown boys cut snowflakes and then get competitive about it, unless it’s watching inner-city boys do this). I got the house picked up. I rolled, cut, baked, and decorated 90 sugar cookies. I started a load of laundry to ensure clean clothes tomorrow (the pants I’m currently wearing have been pulled from the hamper three times). And now? Now I am tired. But I thought you’d like to know how my day went.

There was a highlight to this crazy Monday. When we got home, there was about half an inch of snow on the ground. I set Robbie down on the porch to open the door, and he realized he was standing on something difference. He did a little dance on the porch and watched the snow move under his feet. I can’t wait to see him the first time he really gets to play in it.

And now I’m off to finish my day of unpreparation (is that even a word) with a hot shower and a comfortable bed.

Christmas comes early at the Manna house – the last Sunday before Christmas. Since we travel to Kentucky for the holidays, it’s nice for us to have our own family Christmas (and it saves the trouble of transporting toys 1000 miles). It’s also important for me that Robbie has his own family traditions, even if they are what I did when I grew up.

The morning started with Justin and Robbie making their way downstairs. As you can see from the previous post, I had the tree all set up with our presents to Rob and Santa also came overnight (I think it was a dry run). I did my best to get a picture of Robbie’s face when he came into the room and saw all the toys in front of the tree. A slow grin spread across his face, and he looked at Justin and me to make sure it was OK to play with them.

He dunked the basketball and mowed the grass. He tore open presents. He sat on the Sit ‘n Spin and had me twirl him around. I was actually most nervous about that present; I was just sure it would end in tears. But, Robbie loved it. He kept sitting on it and scooting his bottom to make me push him around. It was so fun watching him enjoy everything. Being frugal with my time last night, I threw everything I bought for Robbie into one big box (I also figured he wouldn’t have the attention span to open every little thing, and I was right). He had a blast going through the box and finding new things.

Robbie’s first Christmas was special, but it’s nothing compared to the first Christmas that he actually participated in. I know he still doesn’t really get it, but he understands toys. Boy, does he understand toys!

Tomorrow is the start of the last three days of school. I’m so ready to be off for a week and a half and to see my family. But, like Thanksgiving, Christmas kind of snuck up on me at work. I usually have to get through the last few weeks with a countdown on my board. Not this year, though! And there’s still so much to do: presents to wrap, cookies to bake, laundry to do, suitcases to pack… But surely it’ll get done. And if it doesn’t, maybe I can borrow Santa’s elves on the 26th for the laundry part.

Every now and then, I forget how much I like my son. I love him more than anything. It’s the liking that I sometimes lose track of. Before you start thinking I’m a horrible mom, let me explain. In the scheme of things, I sometimes get so bogged down with work, keeping the house clean, teething and crying, and just surviving in general. I do what I need to do with Robbie to get through the day and don’t always get to spend a lot of extra time just playing.

Not today though. Today was all about Robbie time. We woke up around 7:45, and Robbie and I cuddled up in bed to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol, an important family tradition. He looked at me, impressed and wide-eyed, as I said the lines while they happened on the screen. He laughed hysterically when I sang along with the songs. I think he’s really going to appreciate the finer qualities of film.

This afternoon, Justin went to a Bruins game with the Silletto men, and Robbie and I went on a play date. He went crazy playing with Max, Noah, and Pete; the four boys ran around like mad men. They dumped toys out of bins. They climbed in the bins. They bounced around. They had the time of their lives. And the moms all finally got a chance to catch up.

It turns out that all of our sons have lost their minds. They’re throwing tantrums, sleeping erratically, refusing to eat foods that used to be their favorites… You know, being boys. It’s so nice to know that I’m not alone or raising a brat.

I think the real “liking” came tonight when we finally got home from our play-date-turned-dinner. Robbie patiently waited while I booked a grooming appointment for the dog and talked to a sick friend. He stood in front of me, while I sat on the rocking chair, with his head on my knee. He smiled up at me while I rubbed his head, melting my heart.

When I finally got off the phone, Robbie climbed up into my lap and asked for “wawa” for the first time ever. He snuggled in while I read Trucks Roll, the book he picked out for tonight. Once it was over, he cuddled in a little closer and looked up at me. We made googlie eyes for a little while, and he pointed to my eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, and tongue – wanting to know what each was. And, before he fell asleep, he was able to say and point out “eye” and “nose”.

It was hard to put him to bed. I love those nights where he wants to cuddle a little longer. Time slows down just a little bit and everything else that I have to do doesn’t matter so much anymore. But, eventually, it’s time to go back to reality.

I got the house picked up, groceries organized for cookie baking, and presents wrapped and put under the tree for the Manna family Christmas tomorrow morning. I’m ready for another day with Robbie and promise to make the time to really enjoy his company instead of just moving from one thing to the next so quickly.