Erin Alexis' First Halloween

Keith is anti-Halloween. I don't really have an issue with the day. I think it's harmless fun to get dressed up and go out to collect candy. My sisters and I used to love to trick or treat and then come back to dump our candy on the floor and begin the process of negotiations.

I was very excited for Erin's first halloween. I really wasn't sure what I was going to dress Erin in. I had thought about a ballerina (Mamachula made her a tutu when she was 2 months old). Costumes for little ones can be quite pricey despite the lack of fabric. While browsing at a local store I found a panda suit for less than $15.00. Sold!

As Erin was still recovering from being sick I wasn't sure if we would actually get to go trick or treating (or even where we would go to collect candy.) After asking around I was told that the nearby SOMA district has a great turn out for trick or treating. As I have friends in the area I decided it would be easiest to pick Erin up from school, eat dinner at Vadiay's house, trick or treat and head home - hopefully all before 8pm (I'm an optimist).

So excited! we had a plan for Halloween!

Monday, October 31st was finally here! I dressed Erin in a shirt I had made for her ( it was monogrammed of course. Who doesn't love monogramming?) and dressed her in her Panda suit and off to school we went!

Isn't she a doll?! I returned later in the afternoon for her Halloween party. Costume off of course - white and cheetos do not make for a good combination.

Erin had a fabulous time... junk food galore! There was music and baby dancing and kissing (Erin just has a lot of love. :D

When I came back in the early evening to pick her up, I was SUPER excited. Erin? Not so much. We went to Tia Vady's house to have dinner, very messily i might add - and still sans panda suit. At 7:00PM we were finally getting ready. 7:15PM and we were on our way.

We headed down the block to our first house. The family was on their front porch waiting for ghosts, goblins and panda bears. Mommy says, "Trick or treat!" Erin stares with her big brown eyes. Mommy says "Wow, candy!" Not a peep from Erin. As candy is dropped into Erin's bucket the lady hands Erin one. I think we know have her attention. I put Erin back in her stroller and wouldn't you know the candy monster came out, demanding that i open her package. We still had a lot of houses and so much candy to get so to keep Erin calm (yes, I thought a sugary substance would keep her calm. =I) I opened the package. As we headed down the street to our second house (Adelia's) my monster seemed momentarily satisfied.

We tried the same routine at Adelia's house. Mommy says, "Trick or treat!" Erin stares with her big brown eyes. Mommy says "Wow, candy!" Not a peep from Erin - that is until the candy is spotted and the candy monster makes her demands. First candy devoured (well as much as an 11 month old can devour it with her small hands and mouth). As we get up to leave another monster appears... this one is the scarier one... this one is the tantrum monster.... WooOOooOOoo! Erin decided she was quite content sitting on Adelia's front porch eating candy. Her little hand reaches out and she grunts her request. Trick or treaters come and go and I stare at our empty pumpkin. It's 7:45PM.

I try once again to "show" Erin that the more houses we go to the more candy we get for mommy---er---- i mean Erin! To no avail. OK, pack it up were going home. A baby kicking and screaming on a dark street in a neighborhood you're not entirely familiar with is not always ideal. So i packed us up and we were headed to another colleague's house, nearby. My little one was not a happy camper and had her bottom lip out when we arrived at our next destination.

I kept telling Erin, as we exited the car again with our empty pumpkin, "this is fun! we're making memories!" I get the feeling she was not impressed. We ring the bell and Joy answers, very excited to see us. Erin still unsure looks on. And then, from the beginning, Mommy says, "Trick or treat!" Erin stares with her big brown eyes. Mommy says "Wow, candy!" Now this time, the word candy seems to trigger something in Erin and Joy hands her a sucker. Ahhhh, bliss for an 11-month-old! Joy looked in our bucket and said, "It looks like you guys are just starting!" Uh... something like that. A happy baby and her sucker and a candy-starved mommy bid their farewells and thank yous. I think it's time to go home. Maybe next year Mommy--- er--- i mean Erin, will get her bucket full of candy.

Stomach of Steel

It's true what they say. Things do change when you have kids. You and the hubby have to steal alone time, you have new priorities, you're diaper/formula/daycare poor, you're sleep deprived --- the list goes on and on! Really, for me, one of the most unexpected changes to parenthood is the stomach you develop.

There's a scene in Baby Mama where Tina Fey's nephew comes up and he's covered in brown gooeyness. His mother asks him just about three times, "Is that chocolate or poop?" To which he just giggles. She finally licks the concoction and says, "Mmm, Chocolate." Tina asks, "What if that had been poop?" to which her sister replies, "It comes with the territory." Understatement of the year!

When my Erin was much younger (presolid food!) I did have a couple of those moments. Except I wasn't contemplating if it was something yummy like chocolate. Mine was more, "mustard or poop?" I admit, I licked too. Sometimes I was lucky and it was predigested food, sometimes it wasn't. That my friend, did not earn me the badge for the stomach of steel. I needed something that was going to push me to my limits.

Erin had been off and on sick for about a week. We were alternating between loose poops and vomiting. We had been playing "Pass the Baby" since Erin could not recontaminate the children who had contaminated her. Keith took her to the doctor who asked for us to fill, not 1, not 2 but FOUR viles with her poop. And so the waiting game began.

And then, as Erin was playing there was a pause, followed by a symphony of bubbling and squirt noises. Sigh. The time had come.

I changed Erin, set her soiled diaper to the side and put her in her crib with some toys, locked the dog in his crate and made myself comfortable on the floor so that I could begin to scrape poop. Such fun!

And so I began. I must tell you that as Erin's poop was loose and watery there wasn't as much scraping as there was squeezing (I'll spare you the details). There really is a technique and after 3 diapers I'd say that I mastered it. But to clarify, we still haven't pushed the limits all the way.

Erin had been entertaining herself in her crib, occasionally popping up to supervise my work or to let me know she had an additional sample. I continued to work and my skin had turned a brown color (and no it wasn't because I am Latina with an olive complexion). I was very focused and scraping the last sample to fill my 3rd vile when Erin was talking to me about only she knows what. It must have been very exciting because she began to jump up and down. "Erin, no saltes. Erin, por favor." She either wasn't listening or didn't care but she suddenly stopped. At this point I was sitting with my back against the crib for support. I started to turn my head to thank her for listening when she proceeded to vomit all over the top of  mommy's head and down my back. My friends, we had reached the limit! Poop in hand, i looked at her and said, "Mija, wait until Mommy scrapes this poop and then we'll take a bath." I repositioned myself against the crib, she lost interest in her supervision and I, covered in vomit, kept on scraping poop.