Happy Halloween?

 Sorry there hasn't been much to read here lately. I'm hoping I can pick it back up in December...you know...when things die down.

"Better late than never." It could be a slogan for feminine products. Or it could be how I feel about a Halloween blog post in mid/late November. You decide.

Anyway, Halloween.

Howie's alligator (or is it a crocodile?) costume was purchased at TJMaxx in September. For the next four weeks, we proceeded to hear from Faith that she, as well as everyone she knew, was going to be "a alligator" for Halloween.

While that would be really weird/amazing to see so many alligators out on Halloween, we weren't convinced. Someone suggested having her dress like Steve Irwin, in little khaki shorts and a button-up shirt, and walk "Howie the Alligator" around on his leash. I loved the concept, but "Sleeping Beauty" had other ideas.

This child is obsessed with princesses. Not only do I feel like a commercialized failure, she also will only wear skirts and dresses. (Her worst tantrums involve Rob or me trying to put some leggings on her body. It looks slightly like an exorcism.) One of my good friends asked me how I ended up with such a girly girl. Well, I blame karma (and one of my sisters in particular :)

Needless to say, we went with a store-bought Sleepy Beauty costume from Target.

Faith and our neighbor boy/partner in crime, Thomas -- er, I mean Tigger.

 As someone who thrives on homemade Halloween costumes,

I never said they were well done.

 I was disappointed. I wanted her to be McKayla Maroney from the Olympics for Halloween, complete with the face!

Faith can do the face. This is the best one we've got on camera.

But putting on that gymnast outfit was almost as bad as putting her in jeggings.

Instead, I lived vicariously through myself. After spending the day chronicling my fellow employees' costumes for a work blog post, I came across "Michael Jackson." After we got done singing "Heal the World" together, I looked her up and down and thought, 'Hey, even I can do that.'

The most impressive part was my lone strand of curl. The least impressive part: my three quarter mitten-glove, that was supposed to serve as MJ's white glove. I did go for the crotch grab a couple times for authenticity purposes.

I have to thank my neighbors for accompanying us and taking great photos. Without them, MJ would've had to photograph the kids trick or treating and that's never good. I also want to thank my dad for coming with us while Rob handed out candy. He was a big help walking Faith up to doors and encouraging her to say "trick or treat" and "thank you" even though 9 times out of 10 homeowners got a blank stare for their candy. Dad also kept Rob busy with the gift he got Faith for Halloween.

She loves it, but we're still working on singular digit puzzles.

All in all, it was fun. And oh what a different a year makes.

 

There's always hope for Steve Irwin next year...

Lucky Number 8

Eight years. No, it's not a round number. No, it doesn't have any significance. And no, a "being together"/"couple" anniversary is not something most people celebrate. Rob included.

But he can't stop me from blogging about it, especially when I wake up at 5 a.m. to do so. The man is dead to the world until 6:45 when I have to gently wake him up perform a Hulk Hogan leg drop to get him out of bed. Most of the time I let Faith to do my dirty work. She's cuter than me in the morning (and always) so it works well.

While Oct. 16 is not our wedding anniversary, I feel like it's just as much of a significant date as June 2. I feel like that fall day in 2004 was the day we committed to each other. Not in front of God and everyone, but to ourselves. Sure, it was possible that we'd date for awhile and break up. But what happened was that neither of us looked back after that day. I think we knew within a couple weeks that we truly loved each other. And by the time we graduated from college six months later, we were pretty sure we'd get married someday.

And because after eight years of togetherness, a house, a needy dog with a small bladder and a two-year-old that causes major exhaustion, sometimes you don't necessarily feel the love like you used to. Don't get me wrong, it's there. But sometimes it's hard to feel between the daily grind and busy schedules.

I want my husband to know that I love him. One of my favorite games that Rob hates to play is "5 things you love about the other person." Some might think this sounds like a lame, needy schoolgirl thing to do, and that's just fine. (I'm telling the teacher on you though). However, I think it's important to remind your loved one about the good things they do, rather than the laundry he didn't fold, or the dishes she didn't do. It's easy to criticize, forget what matters and go about your day. It's much harder to stop and think, reflect and tell someone how much they mean to you. So that's exactly what I'm going to do here. But instead of 5 things, I'll go with 8. What kind of list maker would I be if I didn't. Without further ado:

I love Rob because he makes me laugh every day. Whether it's a corny joke, his Gangnam style dancing or one of his tweets or Facebook posts, he's always able to get a smile out of me.

I love Rob because he is all about equal partnership. He cooks, he cleans, he holds Faith on the toilet while she does her biznas. That last one is not for the faint of heart.

I love Rob because he dreams about our future. Going back to school to get his master's, looking at houses online for our family, dreaming of vacations we'll take someday (probably when we're 95)...it's nice to know he plans to be around forever.

I love Rob because because he's so different than me. He's "seize the day." I'm more "Let's just wait and see if the day wants to be seized." I'm frugal/cheap. He's more of an, "if it's going to make you happy, just buy the damn thing." He checks things off his to do list. I like to just stare at mine for a while and then check Facebook. We complement each other well.

I love Rob because he still calls me all the time to say "Hi." Whether it's on his way home from school, in the aisles of the grocery store, or upon arriving to his destination safely, he always checks in and wants me to do the same. Having someone who cares where you are at all times (that's not your mother) is pretty darn great.

I love Rob because he is smart. Not conventional "what's the theory of relativity?" smart, but "I'll-figure-it-out-and-no-one-can-stop-me "smart. Take learning guitar for example. He can't read music, but just taught himself to play by ear. Me? When I tried to learn guitar I took lessons for a few months, got bored and then let my guitar and "beginner books" collect dust. When it comes to attempting  things on my own, I'd rather ask my 12 closest friends, refer to 3 experts in the field and then consult the Interweb. Rob is not afraid to learn by trial and error and I think it's made him smarter than he even realizes.

I love Rob because we share a lot of the same passions. The Cyclones. Running (that one took awhile for him). Journalism. Family. Country music (haha, kidding). And most importantly, Faith. He's the only person in the world that can love her as much as I do and does a great job of it.

And last but not least, I love Rob because he loves me. I know I have flaws (short-fuse, severe procrastination, crying extremely too easily) but when someone can look past all of that to love who you are regardless of your flaws (a mom/wife who would do ANYTHING to keep her family happy and healthy) you know you've found the right person.

 Even when we bicker, even when we raise our voices, even when we're mad because someone accidentally washed our silk tie and ruined it but that person didn't mean to, I love him. I know this because even after eight years, I still get excited to come home, or for him to come home to me. To us. His family. Maybe not "Howie wagging his tail" excited, but excited nonetheless. Happy 8 year "anniversary" to us! Here's to 80 more!

Things I Did for You Today

This post was inspired by an article I read at 3:45 in the morning yesterday (explained why below).
It was about Moms Staying in the Picture. It's hard to quantify what we moms do exactly sometimes,but this author did a good job of it. It made me think of all the mom-ish things I do for Faith in a day that she doesn't even realize, just like I didn't realize what my mom all did for me until I became a mom. Anyway, here's what I came up with. I hope she will come to appreciate it one day.

-I got up at 6 a.m. rather than 6:30 so that I could spend the time you're awake in the morning talking/playing with you rather than getting ready.
-I put more thought into what you would wear to school than what I would wear to work.
 -I spoon fed you cereal while you watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
 -I let you pick out the color of your Flinstones vitamin because it makes taking it that more exciting.
-I moussed my hair rather than blow-drying and straightening it, so that I could brush the snarls out of your curly mop and pull it back into a pony.

 -I thought about you at my desk and hoped you were having fun with your friends at daycare.
-I googled homemade alligator costumes.

-I went to the bookstore to pick up a gift for a friend and couldn't help but buy you a book while I was there.
 -I debated what cough medicine to buy at Target for at least 15 minutes.

-I called your grandma to chat and talked about you the whole time.

-I stole animal crackers from our snack spot at work so you would have something to munch on on the drive home.

-I beamed with pride when Miss Lindsey at daycare told me you had no accidents again.

-I endured "Rubber Ducky" repeatedly on the way home from daycare at your request.
 -I ate a semi-cold meal, not caring because you ate everything on your plate.

-I let you run around naked while your bathwater got cold because you were having too much fun to stop.
-I allowed you to wear a "pretty dress" to bed because it's one of the little things that make you happy.
 -I endured your screams of protest while I brushed your teeth because I know someday you'll value pearly whites.

-I read the same book for bedtime three times for the third night in a row because you just like it that much.

-I prayed for you, with you.

-I checked on you before I went to bed to make sure you were comfortable, found you on the floor and moved you up to the bed.

-I winced every time you coughed in the middle of the night.

-When you work up with a low fever, I brought you into our bed so I could keep one eye open and on you.

-When you fell back to sleep, I went downstairs because I couldn't sleep, got on the computer and typed this all up at 3:47 in the morning.

-I wished I could take away your sickness, just like I do every single time you're sick.

I will end this post with our most recent example of "me in the picture." On my birthday I took Faith to JCPenney for "Fancy Nancy" pictures. We had too much fun! Sorry for the picture of a picture, but you get the general idea. She will either look back on this with fond memories or just be really embarrassed by how dorky her mom can be.