Funky Month

November has been a bit of a drag. Not a lot of exciting plans, lots of sick days. It's left me in a bit of a funk. I function best when I have something to look forward to, and while I do have some exciting things ahead (staycation in December, Paris in February, California in July), it's all too far away for now. But with Thanksgiving finally upon us and Hanukkah just a week away, I'm getting getting past my funk and looking forward to the end of the year craziness.

Here's the catch up:
- Halloween was a total bust - both kids had fevers and couldn't go trick-or-treating. Hannah also missed a special program at religious school, so it was a really tough day all around. Fortunately Max got better quickly and was back at school after another day of rest, but Hannah ended up having strep throat. She took too long to recover, and so we had the fun rounds of blood work and chest x-rays. Just as she finally felt better, Max again got sick, this time taking down Marc as well. But, a few weeks have gone by, and virtually knock on wood, everyone is fine now.
- I had a lovely day attending our synagogue's Sisterhood annual donor brunch and then our rabbi's son's bris. It was great to have so many uninterrupted adult conversations with my TE friends, since typically we're trying to take care of our children at the same time.
- Marc has been really busy with a few different projects that he can tell you about. It's meant a lot of evenings out of the house, or on the phone and the computer, but I'm really proud of him for the excellent work he's been doing, and I know there are more good things to come.
- My back is continuing to be an on-again off-again issue. Very frustrating and disconcerting. The biggest problem seems to be carrying the almost three year old - I really can't do it. But sometimes I really want to, so it's a difficult balancing act for me.
- After years of thinking about it, I finally decided to try a keratin treatment on my hair. The jury's still out on this one - it doesn't look different at all, but it's blow drying in half the amount of time. I'm waiting for a really humid, rainy day to really test it. I did an express treatment, which meant I couldn't wash it for 24 hours, so it's not the full plunge, and therefore may not be as effective. We shall see.
- And not to be remiss: date night with Marc at 51 Lincoln and LimmudBoston, two massages, a play date, Hannah going to Bright Horizons, Fillis staying with us to watch Max on a teacher work day, religious school parent-teacher conference, lots of synagogue-related committee meetings, a birthday party, dentist appointment, serendipitously catching up with a high school friend now living in Philadelphia over coffee here in Newton, and lots of good developments at work. Phew.

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving, filled with lots of love and good food.