I have never really gotten into the whole costume thing for Halloween. Call me a grouch. I just don't get it. But now that I have a kid, I have to change my thinking as its not all about me anymore *sigh*
Last year, I put him in a baby monkey costume that I picked up at TRU. We were in Vegas and were going trick or treating with my neice & nephew and some of my sister's friends' kids. Being our first halloween with the baby, I had to dress up too. So leave it to me to wait the week before to get something. And being the size that I am, its not so easy to just walk into a halloween shop and come out with a costume. And the choice of costumes are quite limiting too. I chose the one costume that I could fit into and that was a scary court jester. I wasn't happy about it but then again, I didn't have too many choices. Needless to say, the court jester and the cute monkey boy didn't quite go together.
So this year, I am thinking ahead of time. Good momma!! But really the only reason I'm thinking ahead is that my husband and I have been invited to an adults-only Halloween party this year where costumes are required. And earlier in the day, we have been invited to a family party for an open house, but it will be halloween themed and costumes can be worn. So I have been wracking my brain to come up with something.
Everyone says how much my son looks like my husband. He's like a mini-me. There's the answer. Father & son look-alike costumes. I searched all over the net and found both a Dr. Evil costume for my husband and a Toddler Mini-Me costume for my son at http://www.halloweencostumes.com/ They are going to look great together.
As for me, I'm still searching for a costume. I'm leaning towards something in the Austin Powers mode since my family is going that route. Probably do something 60's era. But at least I'm not waiting til the last week to find something and have 30 more days to find the perfect outfit that will complement my family.
This hot weather is just so draining on the system. I was just saying the other day how we really had a mild summer in the Valley this year. Just a couple of weeks ago, I even wore a light jacket because it was cool. Now I don't want to wear anything because its just so darn hot outside. Thankfully we live in an era of air conditioning because I would d.i.e. without it!!
On Friday night, we went out to eat dinner. Seems to be the weekly routine. We went to Emle's which is a really good restaurant, but I'm not impressed with the kids meals. Our third time there with the kid, and the third item we tried to get him to eat to no avail. So probably won't be going back there for quite a while.
On Saturday, the kid and I went to a birthday party. It was nice because I was able to hang out with a couple of my 'single-life' friends. I'm friends with the kids mom/dad from my single days at the rock clubs. Now I hang with them more since we have kids. haha
On Sunday, I achieved exactly what I thought I would and that was a bit of nothing. It was so hot outside--too hot to be outside--so we stayed in side with the games on tv and played. I wasn't able to catch much of any game as the boy is too young to sit back and watch television, unless it was Blue's Clues or Yo Gabba Gabba (& the latest "the Upside Down show"). Then I can't get him away from it!
We did take a dip in the pool once the sun wasn't blazing down on us. And we cooked up some chicken on the grill so the kitchen didn't overheat with use of the oven.
I have such a hard time working, coming home and cooking dinner. So I recently found some interesting recipes online using the crockpot. Last week, I made roast pork with sweet potatoes and it was quite yummy. Tonight's fare will be chicken cattiatore. What I do is prepare everything the night before and then in the morning, throw everything into the crockpot, set it on low for 10 hours, and come home to a piping hot meal. Can't beat that! That's the only way that that my husband gets a home cooked meal these days. Otherwise, he has to fend for himself and its soup, sandwich or a salad. We need to get into the habit of eating a meal with the boy so the crock pot it is. Not that he eats anything I prepare, but if he sees mommy and daddy eating it, I hope that someday he will be open to trying to new food besides mac & cheese, spaghetti, corn dogs, chicken nuggets or hot dogs.
ahh..Finally Friday. That means just a few more hours at work and then the weekend! The only thing really planned this weekend is a kid's birthday party on Saturday.
Weekends have sure changed for me. My weekends use to consist of going to rock clubs, staying up all night and sleeping in until afternoon. Wake up and do it all again. Now, I crash in bed before midnight. Get woken up by 8am (if I'm lucky) and start the day running after a crazy child. Will he nap or won't he? Will he eat or won't he? Will he be clingy or won't he? Everyday is a bit different and I can never really plan my day until I see what the little one will be like.
Roger works every other Saturday so on the days that its just me and the kid, I try to do things to keep us busy. For instance, tomorrow we have a birthday party to go to. On days that we don't have planned activities, I usually will end up at the mall with the kid buying more clothes for him. We'll go out to eat lunch and he'll play in the kiddie play area. Or we'll go to a park or do something to keep us entertained.
When Roger is home, we try to do family activities. I'm the one that has to plan our day or else the day would just consist of sitting in front of the tv watching sports. I check out the activities in the area and try to do something that is outside (since we live in Southern California and the weather is pretty decent for the most part!). That is, when I can pull him away from the tv and sports. Its football season. I like the games too but its really hard to watch them with a kid at home.
No plans for Sunday yet. But it should be a nice day outside so maybe we'll just play at home, lounge by the pool, throw balls, and get an ocassional peek at the games? We recently redid our backyard and now that's its complete, we haven't spent much time at home enjoying it. Now that would be a perfect day. Just chill at home, take a dip in the pool, cook out on the bbq and relax. What a concept!
Don't know a whole lot about blogging. And probably don't have time to do this on a daily basis. Plus I like to maintain some sort of privacy for me and my family so I don't know how much I'll even use this. But nonetheless, I wanted to 'secure' a site for me in the off-chance that one day I decide to blog away....
In any case, here I am. I am what you can call an "older" first-time mommy. I had my son when I was 42. Hey, what can I say but I started this home-life late in life. Met my husband at 38, got married at 40 and had a kid at 42. Yes, I admit that sometimes (many more than others) I'm absolutely exhausted and don't know if I can do this raising-a-kid-thing at my age. Having a almost 2-year old toddler is an experience like no other. Everyday there is laughter, amazement and the stress of dealing with a little person. All the while, working and trying to maintain a homelife for the three of us. And needing my alone time (which doesn't seem to happen anymore), my social playtime with the girls (which doesn't happen nearly as much as I feel I 'need' it), my alone time with the hubby (which we try to have as much as possible), and let's not forget time with my single friends (which unfortunately just doesn't happen these days).
So this is where I am now. More to follow....got work to do at the office...
