Halloween in Arlington, MA

I was inspired by the $3.99/lb live lobsters in our grocery store, one of the occasional things that strike me as being major perks of living in New England. A few pieces of felt, packaging scraps, and a Goodwill store later, Rohan the Lobster was born.

Mike took the (beautiful, warm) day off, so we joined troops of Arlington babies, toddlers and parents in a "parade" down Massachusetts avenue. Rohan got almost as many comments as did Mike, who wore his outrageous pirate captain's costume. Though rather different comments than the ones he used to get on Castro Street in San Francisco.

Back at home, we removed a much spat-upon (spit-upped on?) lobster outfit, and a rather unthreatening pirate and I passed out candy to Arlington's youth. Highlights of the evening included:

1. Two little Roman centurions. Mike identified them, upon which their mother remarked, "Wow, there are a lot of educated people around here!"
2. The Spanish Inquisition. "No one EVER expects the Spanish Inquisition."
3. A little boy who said to Mike, "I know you're a pirate because of your ripped pants and your bare feet. And your eye patch, which you Aren't Wearing." Noted.
4. Speed Racer. "Do they still show it on TV?" I asked. "There's a movie," said young Speed Racer, who looked about 8 or 9. "You can see it on Comcast On-Demand or FiOS On-Demand."
4. The sweet politeness of children in general. One pair of boys asked, "How many are we allowed to take?" "As many as you want," we said. "I love these houses!" (grabbing fistfuls.) "Thanks for letting us load up!"

I like our town. Next year I'm bringing my harmonica to the parade.

Smiles we can believe in.

The countdown to election day has begun (the same day as my last day of maternity leave, which do I dread more?). If you still haven't decided who should be our next commander-in-chief, you should write in a vote for Rohan The Baby.

Here a couple shots of our third-party dark HORSE candidate, stumping on the campaign trail.

His platform promises billions in smile bailouts (sorry, rescues), and lowering the giggle tax for those making less than 200,000 laughs per year. After all, we should "spread the love around."

Rohan ("The Other One") has been visiting potential day cares, hosting a baby shower for a new friend arriving in December, and visiting his mother's old colleagues at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. All this to secure the crucial baby vote and scientist vote, both known to be key battlegrounds for the presidency.

Join him today!

Happy Durga Puja!

Durga Puja
Rohan helped us celebrate Durga Puja in our home this weekend. Our friends Shoumita and Jason and their two kids Sonali and Nalini came over to visit and celebrate the holiday. Chandreyee's sister, Jayatri, and her husband Steve were also in town for a fun weekend. Rohan's Kurta was a bit too big for him, like a lot of his clothes. But he is still growing and is learning new tricks. This past week, he smiled for the first time for mommy and has quickly learned when he should as Uncle Steve put it "Roll out the cute." After a long and sleepless night, he smiled and giggled and almost made Chandreyee forget the long night she had. We had a wonderful visit and even though Jayatri couldn't get a good still shot of Rohan smiling, she was able to take the short video of him happy and smiling in his vibrating chair. We can't wait for the holiday season to visit more with all of the relatives.


Penn State
Rohan has helped daddy cheer on the Penn State Nittany Lions this season and often sleeps next to or on daddy during the games. With a cute fan like this, Penn State may not lose a game this season. Here Rohan is watching Penn State beat the Wisconsin Badgers 48-7.