A Glass Case of... Halloweenin' and other thoughts

"I'm in a glass case of emotion!"

- Will Ferrell, Anchorman

I have been a little elusive lately. My thoughts have been Everywhere, from the recent wave of crime in our neighborhood, the impending departure of my best bud, and being alone a lot the past few weeks while Manny has been working a lot of overtime. It's also been 5 months since I've been back home, and year after year I wonder if I will ever look at New York as my home, or just as "New York," place of my earthly purgatory. (I've tried to remain elusive of This Stefanie Matters lately for this particular reason: a recent wave of utter depression that I am hoping is only seasonal.) 

Anyway, I've been working at the Positive Thinking and our Thanksgiving trip to Florida can't come fast enough. I can't wait to be surrounded by family. I can't wait to wake up and share breakfast with everyone at the table, smell the aroma of Cuban espresso filling the house, eat toasted Cuban bread with melted butter, and see sun shining through every window in the house. I can't wait to have that sense of community back and the support that comes with it; the one that seems to be missing from the city. 

I've been successful at meeting some cool moms at Gabe's school. Luca's parents are great eggs, and we have a lot of fun together. Halloween night was fun to spend in Park Slope, one of the nicest neighborhoods in Brooklyn. It was so festive and family-oriented, and it was so fun to see Gabe and Luca pal around together. Here is a picture of the two.

How cute are they? Luca went as Nacho Libre and Gabe was, of course, Thomas. We cut holes in Thomas' eyes for Manny to see out of so he went as the caboose.

Anna was the cutest pumpkin ever, and elicited many "Ooh's" and "Aah's" in the crowd.

As a last minute costume idea, I grabbed my Saturday-cleaning wardrobe known as the "Haggard Housewife" look and it went together like this: white robe, tacky pajama pants, Manny's slippers, Comet and paper towels in one pocket, Windex and a rag in the other, hair on top of my head, sans makeup, and a broom hanging from my shoulder. It was actually really easy to put together (almost too easy). 

Some people in the crowd totally got it and loved the originality; others looked at me like, "Why didn't that lady get dressed to bring her kid trick-or-treating?" (I realize the costume made me appear a bit "bottom heavy" but I am still doing good on the weight-loss, and my pockets were stuffed with cleaning supplies.)

After the parade and going brownstone to brownstone, we called it a night in Brooklyn and headed to Queens, where we finished helping Robin move and she and Rob came over to crash for the night before leaving this morning after a coffee and blueberry pancake breakfast, compliments of yours truly. (I know, amazing.) 

It was hard to see her walk off the stoop and know she wouldn't be walking on to it for a while. But the key wording here is "a while" and the constant reminder that D.C. is a mere 4.5 hours away.

Another positive note is that Anna went in to the pediatrician's on Thursday and gained another 2 pounds in 5 weeks! The doctor said her weight gain has been "astonishing" and she is now in the 10th percentile for weight. Gooo Anna! (And I am totally taking credit for this one too. Do I hear a Gooo Mom!?) 

I also managed to wean myself off the breast pump completely (just in time to not have to pay another monthly rental fee AND before Florida - can you just see me truckin' that thing onto the plane? I think not!) When Manny pulled up to NYU where I had to return it, thoughts of those days Anna was in NICU flooded my memory and I was so thankful those days were over. 

Gabe started bawling his eyes out when he saw the entry way's revolving doors; I think he had terrible memories of dropping Mommy off day after day after day. We had to reassure him over and over that Mommy would be right back. It took about 20 minutes for me to head in, drop off the pump, grab another water container (so great!), and walk out of there knowing I was done with that chapter... Now it's just us. And that feels great!