For the past five years, I have heard about the Spooky Walk at the park down the street from us, but we’ve never gone. This year, I decided, would be different. Since it was the Spooky Walk, Robbie couldn’t go in just anything. After all, adorable baby isn’t a good costume if that’s what you are every day… And thus began the quest for the right Halloween costume.

We started our journey not actually looking for a costume. We went to the other park down the street for their field day. Robbie ran around and danced to music like a mad man. He picked up rocks and sticks and stirred the dirt. He climbed and slid and swung (swang?). He laughed and “hi”ed all over the place. He stole Justin’s ice cream (yes, the ice cream truck was there in late October). He had a blast.

After attempting to tire the child (and succeeding in only tiring ourselves), we set off for TJMaxx, sure we would find a great costume at a bargain price. Oh, and we needed adult socks since all our pairs are missing one sock. There were a few costumes there. For girls. And, although we did find the socks we needed, the overall mission was a fail. So we moved on in our search.

Justin initially steered the car toward the mall, which I decided wasn’t the right option. This was mostly because the only place we’d be able to go was Gymboree, and I’d left the coupon at home. I was not going to go in that store without a coupon! So we went to Target. Surely Target would have an ample supply of costumes. Right? Wrong. They had a few toddler costumes, but they were wicked expensive ($40, really?!) and a size too big for Robbie. Fail. Times two.

And so we headed home, me feeling like I had failed as a mother. After all, we only have a week until Halloween. And, knowing me, there won’t be much time for costume shopping during the week. Not to mention, we have a Halloween dance Thursday night. This was time for something serious. Thus began my Internet search. I naively started with “homemade Halloween costumes.” That’s really not me. So, I headed to Amazon but didn’t want to pay outrageous shipping.

Then it hit me. Where do I always look when all else fails? That’s right: craigslist. Place of breast pumps, baby slings, and rocking chairs. Surely my perfect costume would be there. And surely I could find one in the right size relatively close. Right? RIGHT! At last! Success! Believe it or not, the costume was living in a home only a mile and a half from our house. And a bargain at just $10. I got it just in time for the Spooky Walk. Not only was Robbie festively attired, but he was warm. And adorable.

Be fairly warned before watching the video. He’s pretty scary. I just want you to be prepared…
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No, not the abstract headaches of Robbie, Justin, Barkley, or any one of the four cats. The actual pounding headache that has been throbbing in just behind the front of my skull for the past two weeks. I’m giving into it tonight and going to bed. I just had a massage, and she miraculously made the headache disappear. I’m not sure how, but about thirty seconds into massaging my left foot, the pain just disappeared. So, I’ll take her advice and head straight to bed to keep the relaxation going as long as I can. And just think, by only reading a short paragraph, you can get to bed that much earlier, too.

Tomorrow promises to be rich with fodder for blogging. Lots of Halloween fun for the Manna family. I’m going to need this good night’s rest to keep up with Justin and Robbie tomorrow. Sleep well!

It’s everywhere I turn. Last night, it was down the side of the tub and in Robbie’s shoe. I’m not sure how the poop got into the shoe (I was too busy catching up on my magazine-reading…); I didn’t even know he had pooped. But, man, do I wish I could have seen him finding the poop in the tub and deciding it didn’t need to be there anymore. I can only imagine the thought process, and I can see the mischievous smile spread across his face as he found it and decided what to do with it.

There was more poop when I went to bed… I smelled something funny when I walked into the bedroom and was devastated to see that Barkley had pooped in my new black dress shoes. Granted, they were a cheap pair from Target. But, still, No girl wants to see a pair of shoes go down like that. The trend continued at 4:00 this morning when I work up to go to the bathroom and found more presents from Barkley downstairs. Now, he normally doesn’t do that. I found him in the backyard with an expired jar of sour cream that had been thrown out last Saturday… Hopefully the worst of that has passed.

And then we got to bath time tonight… Robbie and I video chatted with my sister, Hilary, tonight. He blew kisses and batted his eyes and clapped his hands and had a fabulous time “playing” with Hilary. I went to wash him after we finished chatting, and my hand brushed up against something. Something hard. And brown. Yes. That’s right. Robbie pooped in the tub. Again.

I’ll count my blessings about this. It was solid (diarrhea in the tub is terrible). Robbie didn’t throw it over the edge. But I’m tired of all the work it takes to get everything cleaned after a poop incident. He’s too young to start potty training. But, would it hurt to stick him on the potty for a few minutes before bath time?

Robbie used to give kisses. Open-mouth, slobbery expressions of love. Then he learned to bite, so we ducked for cover every time he loomed over our heads with an evil grin on his face. Yesterday, however, was different. Robbie has learned to pucker up and kiss!

I noticed this when I was leaving daycare and heard Rob making a kissing sound and saw him actually blow a kiss to Zhining. He had finally figured it out! But seeing him blow a kiss was nothing compared to getting my first kiss on the cheek from my sweet baby boy. I’ve kissed him thousands of times, but he has never actually been able to return the gesture. But last night, he did.

We’d finished reading two stories and listening to his musical bear sing “Jesus Loves the Little Children” seventeen times, and I was carrying Robbie to his crib. I gave him kisses and a big hug and asked him to give me a kiss good night. And. He. Did. He knew what I was asking and then did it. And thought it was hilarious.

We stayed there, Robbie poised over his bed and balanced on the crib railing, for a few minutes. I pelted his face with kisses and he threw his head back and laughed. I asked for more kisses from him, but he shook his head and laughed. He gave me one every now and then, but I think he enjoyed toying with me.

Now, whenever I ask Robbie to say good bye to someone, he blows them a kiss. I have a feeling this is going to get him into trouble some day… But for now, I love that he wants to spread his happiness to everyone.

Roberto hates having water poured over his head in the bath. So much that he screams bloody murder when he sees the green cup make its way out of the bin. Justin and I have different ways of approaching this. Justin prefers to wash Robbie’s hair at the beginning of the bath to get the misery over with and let Robbie have fun. I take the opposite approach, letting Robbie play to his heart’s content and then ruining the moment by sudsing him up and dousing him with water.

I’ve been working to find new methods of making bath time more pleasurable, at least the washing part of it. I’ve started giving Robbie some suds and have begun teaching him to wash his face. Right now, he doesn’t do much more than pat his cheeks and laugh hysterically, but it’s a start. He still screams and tries to claw his way out of the tub when it comes time to rinse, though, so there’s work to be done.

What I don’t understand is that the green cup is not threatening unless it is in the hand of either Justin or myself. When Robbie holds it, it is a magical cup, bringing smiles and laughter to a particular little boy. So the new challenge is that I must figure out how to get Robbie to dump the water over his head and rinse the soap himself. I think we might be close to the solution…http://www.youtube.com/get_player

We have toys for Robbie. Tons of them. It feels like I’m always tripping over something that lights up, plays music, or rolls across the floor. I find strange plastic items in my purse and under my pillow. In every room, there is something for Robbie to play with. Magnets in the kitchen. A stuffed moose in the bedroom. An activity table and car in the living room. Don’t even get me started on the closets!

But what does Robbie want? Not the toys I painstakingly selected for his birthday. Nothing soft and cuddly or loud and obnoxious. No, my son wants what any true American boy wants: the broom and dustpan.

He’s occasionally “swept” the floor for me when he’s found the broom in the hallway. Today, he searched it out behind the exposed pipes in the kitchen. And, boy, did he get to work! Until his friend Pete came in and wanted to sweep the floor as well. It was a little touch-and-go for a few minutes, with both boys doing equal battle for the broom. But, rest assured! I came into motherhood well prepared and was quick to offer the boys a Swiffer as well. If only I had thought to put the Swiffer pad on… Maybe then everyone would have been happy: the boys with a new toy and me with clean floors.

Remember date night? Barely? I think it used to be something fun and exciting. Trying a new restaurant in the North End. Going to a play or a movie. Walking around Boston for a few hours. Driving out to Revere for Kelly’s. Driving to the New Hampshire coast for lobster.

Justin and I have resorted to date afternoon. Our babysitter met us at the house when we all got home from picking Justin up at the airport. We barely slowed the car down enough for Robbie to get out of his car seat and fling himself at Elena before we were off. It wasn’t so much what we were doing, as you’ll later understand. It was that we were doing it. Without Robbie.

Justin and I have built up our “prepaid” massages at Massage Envy (we actually made it once a month before Robbie was born, but Justin currently has SEVEN prepaids), so we headed there first. It was exactly what we needed. We both saw new people, and they were a.mah.zing. And then it was off to the exciting portion of the date: grocery shopping. That’s right. We went to Stop & Shop on our date.

It’s going to sound silly, but I remember wandering the aisles of the Kroger on Watson Boulevard late at night with Justin when we first started dating. We would just go to find whatever looked like it should belong in our cart and talk about whatever was on our minds. That’s what I was hoping for tonight. But, there were actual groceries to get, a babysitter to get home, and chores waiting at home.

I was a little sad to realize that even the grocery store on date afternoon becomes one more thing on the to do list. But, the important thing is that we did that to do list item together. And we didn’t talk about Robbie. That much.

Do you ever forget that being a mom is supposed to be fun? Get bogged down with groceries, mountains of laundry, piles of junk mail, and a fussy child? Me, either.

During the week, I often forget about the fun that being a mom can be. Sure, I love my time with Robbie. There are few things as wonderful as his smile and infectious laugh. But, during the week, we have a schedule to keep. He needs to have dinner and a bath and be in bed at a reasonable hour. And I need to make it to the gym, let the dog out, and try to keep the house in order.

But weekends are different. Weekends are a time to have the kind of fun there just isn’t time for during the week. Today, Robbie and I went to the Fall Festival at Willow Hill. I didn’t get to say good bye to my students last year, so it was important to me that I get to see them. So, after meeting with our friendly Irish contractor (who told me he wanted to buy Robbie his first tool kit) about installing some new light fixtures, Robbie and I were off to Sudbury.

Robbie was in heaven from the second he got out of the car. We ran into people in the parking lot, and he put on all his Robbie charm: batting his eyes, smiling coyly, and even blushing adorably. The festival was mostly in the gym, with a huge blow-up sports contraption, which immediately grabbed Robbie’s attention. He wanted to grab the ball that was hovering in the air for the baseball segment of the game, which posed a problem because kids were swinging bats at said ball. He went to the ping pong toss, grabbing all four balls and running around with them.

And when the band came? Forget about it. Robbie is not a stellar dancer, but he has a great time doing it. He ran around in circles, bounced up and down, and waved his hands to the music. Then the girls noticed him and started mimicking his moves, which he really got a kick out of.

And I loved watching it. Seeing his face light up when new people came to meet him. Hearing his laugh when he got to grab a prize from the bin. Feeling him throw his body against my legs and seeing him look up at me, eyes bright and a smile stretched across his face. And I remembered how fun being a mom was supposed to be. And how fun it really is. I just have to remember to find the fun Monday through Friday.

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When Justin tells me he has to go away for the weekend, I put on a pretty convincing act of being irritated and disappointed that he won’t be around. My secret? I’m actually happy to have a little time alone. I can’t let him know that, of course. But, it’s important to have some time to get big projects one. Like that big cleaning spree I decided to was such a good idea earlier in the week…

The good news is that our room, Robbie’s room, the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room, and the downstairs closets are clean and organized. The bad news? I’m not sure that there really is any. Other than the fact that it’s 11:30 and I’m still awake. And there are still three bags and one big box left to go through in the dining room. And that I decided to ignore the chest full of Justin’s things in the guest room and his closet. But I’m pretty comfortable with those decisions.

I know I can sleep well tonight (provided Robbie doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night) and knock out the rest of it tomorrow. Then it will be time to reward myself with two episodes of Hoarders. After all, I’ve proven that I’m not one by getting rid of three bags of trash, doing all my laundry, and donating enough stuff to fill up my Jeep. I have a hard time watching the show if I have closets filled to the brim.

So now it’s time for a well-deserved sleep. And I have the entire bed to myself. This is going to be fabulous!

I used to come home to an empty house and have a few hours to myself before Justin came home. There was time to do whatever I wanted – clean the house (right…), grade papers (sure…), run errands, catch up on my DVR’ed TV (more likely)… And with all that time, I never really appreciated it. Until now. Until this afternoon. That’s when it occurred to me that my perfect night is what I used to take for granted.

Robbie and I went to the store this afternoon to pick up chocolate chips for cookies I needed to bake (and later burn). That kid was everywhere. Pulling Tums off the shelf. Looking longingly at the colorful bags of chips. Knocking over bottles of water. Batting his eyes at fellow shoppers. And then we came home.

Robbie loves to climb the stairs. Loves it. Except for tonight. Tonight he wanted to be carried, and I had four bags of groceries, a purse, Rob’s backpack, and a bag of my work clothes. So, I did what any good mother would do. I grabbed the back of Robbie’s pants and carried him, with the rest of the load, up the stairs. He laughed like a maniac the entire time.

As soon as we got up the stairs, Robbie made a mad dash for the coffee table, where Justin’s drink from the night before sat. It was Robbie’s favorite thing: a cup with a lid and a straw. He put the straw in his mouth and drank. And drank. And drank. And then he ran around the house poking at cats and chasing the dog.

Since Robbie had finished what was in the cup, I decided to give him some more water. Apparently, fast food cups don’t hold their lids as well as sippy cups. I learned this as I saw the cup drop to the floor, spewing water all over the kitchen. And then my son stooped down to play in it. And then he stood up and tried to walk through it. And then he fell.

As much as I love Robbie, I would have given almost anything for a few quiet hours on the couch with a clean house and a dry kitchen floor. And then he turned around, laughed, and threw himself at my legs. And I wouldn’t have traded that for all the quiet time and clean houses in the world.