He likes visitors (here, with Stacy) so come on by!

I’m not scared about Halloween and all the little monsters roaming about. Nope. I’m just a tiny bit scared of being left to my own devices with Mr. Devin on Monday. That’s the day my husband returns to work after two weeks of being a wonderfully helpful and hands-on dad. On Monday, I’m riding my bike without training wheels — and hoping I don’t fall off.

I love this motherhood thing. It’s great, wonderful, awesome! Yet, like any major life change, I’ve faced a few difficulties already. Trying to keep him smiling is not always easy. When his happy switch is turned off, it’s REALLY turned off. And getting it to come back on isn’t always as simple and straightforward as a full bottle or a clean diaper. Usually it is. But not always. So I’m still working on reading his signals and responding accordingly.

The biggest difficulty, though, has been the total focus he requires (like any child). It’s not that it’s hard to spend time with such a sweet baby, watching him play with his new pile of toys, reading him books as he chews on the edges and slobbers on the pages, letting him crawl all over me as he learns how to master his balance. It’s more the things that you have to put aside…things you used to do for yourself without any thought. Making lunch. Doing laundry. Checking email. Reading a book. Taking the dogs for a walk. Balancing the checkbook.

It all gets done in the end (well, maybe not as much reading as I’d like, but that’s OK). It’s just an adjustment in the way you live your life. One I’m happily willing to make.