From the moment the “plus” showed up on my home pregnancy test, I knew in my heart I was having a little boy. My dreams at night were all focused by this little bundle of blue. I called it new mother’s instinct and spent hours online looking at nursery’s that were made up of blue cars and red fire trucks. My husband never questioned my firm belief. After all, I was the one with child. If I was so confident, then surely it was a baby boy we were having. While vacationing in Seattle, we visited the Experience Music Project which essentially is a museum celebrating rock and roll greats, focusing on Jimi Hendrix and Seattle’s own Nirvana. While in the gift shop, I saw the perfect Halloween costume for our unborn baby boy- it was a blue onesie with a picture of Jimi Hendrix on it- I immediately bought it after calculating how old our baby would be on his first Halloween. Before the trip was over, I had already gone online and ordered a baby afro. Yes, they make baby afro’s.
Fast forward to week 14 of my pregnancy, the time had finally come to confirm that my motherly instincts were correct and that yes, indeed we were having a boy- Justin, we would name him…As the ultrasound began and the technician smiled and announced “it’s a girl”, I watched my husband’s face grow incredibly pale. It was like one of those slow motion moments where I immediately wondered if he would faint.
Plan B. We were having a girl. I am a bit of a feminist and have that whole “girl power” thing going for me- so I simply decided that our little girl, aka Hayden, would be Jimi Hendrix for Halloween complete with afro wig.
Seemed like a good idea to me. It did not seem like a good idea to my mother who was horrified. Like every other good mother, she has an incredible ability to make me feel guilty about just about everything.
So, in typical fashion, I gave in and ordered a handmade angel costume from some woman on Etsy. A week goes by and I’m regretting the decision of the angel- I want Hayden to be something more unique. Then it occurred to me- Duh. She’s a little me. I went eight straight years being Marilyn Monroe for Halloween and now that I was a parent, I didn’t plan on dressing up myself- So SHE should be Marilyn. I know it seems highly unlikely, but where there’s a will there’s a way. Finally, I found a woman on eBay who recreated the famous white dress… in a baby size seven months. Oddly, finding a baby afro was easy, finding a baby Marilyn wig- not as easy. I finally settled on buying a Tinkerbelle wig and cutting it to resemble Marilyn’s golden locks. On Hayden’s first Halloween, she started the day as Jimi Hendrix, changed into an angel for her visit to Grandma’s house, and switched into Miss Marilyn for an early evening get together with her friends. I was exhausted, she was cranky and colicky and I officially hated Halloween.
After that experience, I longed for my childhood. I would spend hours as a kid staring at every Halloween costume that came in those magazines in the mail. Remember, you could just order them? Send a check, write in the one you wanted, and bam! Four weeks later it’s at your door. Who am I kidding? I would spend plenty of time looking at those glossy pamphlets, then my Mom would bring me to Woolworth’s and I would have to choose from their selection which usually encompassed a witch, Minnie Mouse, or some kind of pirate get up. $9.99, costume selected approximately three days before Halloween, and mission complete for my Mom. That’s how it was done. There was no costume parade, no costume parties, no driving around town showing off my kid in her handmade costumes- what has happened to us as parents?
Last year Hayden was Minnie Mouse. Of course, it wasn’t the one you buy in a bag at Walmart- We took the drive to Woodbuy Commons in New York to find the closest Disney store so she could have an authentic one. I put my foot down with the yellow plastic high heel toddler shoes though. I didn’t care that they were “marked down” to $24.99… It was just about principle. She could wear regular shoes. Of course the moment I dressed her that Halloween night, I regretted that decision. I couldn’t help but wonder how much cuter it would have been with those yellow heels. I’m hoping this is first child syndrome. All my friends who have multiple kids could care less about the outfit being “perfect”- I’m hoping when (and if) I ever have another child, I’ll chill out a bit. Seems unlikely.
For some odd reason, I had a lot of concerns about Hayden getting older and Halloween. I had thought she would be picky and be very determined to wear a certain costume- and -essentially drive me crazy. I think in retrospect, the only person who drove me crazy- was me. I asked her the other day what she wanted to be for Halloween and she simply said “a princess”. Confused, I asked her which princess?… She replied “a beautiful one”. So, that’s what she’ll be this year, a beautiful princess. I’m still going to the Disney store again in Woodbury though- I mean, she should obviously be Belle, right?… or maybe Cinderella…
Anna Sforza-Zapotosky is the definition of a multi-tasker. Why have one love when you can have many? She is a full time Realtor with William Raveis Real Estate servicing all of lower Fairfield County. You can hear her as “Anna Zap” on-air with Connecticut radio stations, 95.9 The Fox, 99.1 PLR and Star 99.9. She has performed standup comedy all over New York City, Westchester County and Fairfield County. Her most important role though is as a Mommy to her beautiful three year old daughter Hayden, and wife of seven years to her college sweetheart, Paul. Together, they are making it in Fairfield County.
You can read more of her “rants” at rantingsofafirsttimemommy.blogspot.com, and always feel free to email Anna.