General Busy-ness: December 2014

Hannah congratulating Max on his "Star of the Day" award

I haven't done one of these catch up posts in a while, so here's what we've been up to lately that hasn't merited a post of its own. Or, I haven't had time to write a zillion little posts. Funny how I'm great at making time during NaBloPoMo and then I completely give it up as soon as I can. I partly blame December.

The kids went to the dentist early in December, which isn't usually a big deal, but they both have things I've been monitoring. Max lost the four middle top teeth over the summer, but only two of them have grown back in so far. We saw the dentist this summer, and he said to wait it out, which we did, but practically every time Max smiled, I wondered about those missing teeth. We did an x-ray this time and confirmed that yes, the teeth do exist, but they are taking their sweet time settling in. More waiting, but at least we know the teeth are real. Meanwhile, Hannah needs an orthodontist consult. Her teeth are actually in pretty good shape, so it might be minor, but that's on my to do list to figure out in 2015.

December 4th was a very unusual day for me, as I spent most of it at the Massachusetts Conference for Women, where Hillary Clinton keynoted, and then went to see Bravo TV's Andy Cohen at a book reading that night. I really enjoy going to the conference and spending time thinking about ideas beyond the scope of my immediate work, but also get caught up in some of my more nuanced opinions (like that I hate the "do what you love" trope or the "I couldn't do it without my husband" public praise). I got to meet the author of "Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink," who inspired this post. I was as impressed with HIllary Clinton as I expected to be, and I enjoyed catching up with a few blogging friends. Andy Cohen was fabulous and funny, an I hope to read his book over the next few months.

Hillary Clinton and 10,000 women

 

 

 

 

Andy Cohen and me

In addition to Hannah's play, Max passed another swim level, Hannah performed in an impressive event with the New England Philharmonic Orchestra at Boston University, we attended two holiday parties with our neighbors, went to lovely Hanukkah parties at temple and with Max's best friends at school, resumed our annual Hanukkah celebration with Julie, Mike and now the lovely Maya, I got my hair straightened, we somehow purchased all of our holiday presents mainly on time and successfully, I'm planning an evening on social media with Nanette, LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER Boston is slowly progressing, a paper I wrote at work has been cited in new federal regulations, I improved my blood sugar over the last three months, we've started working with an architect on renovating our house, and I planned Max's upcoming birthday party and Marc planned a trip to NYC for Hannah's birthday to see a show.

The last night of Hanukkah

And now I'm on vacation until January 5. We'll be home for most of the time, and I'm excited for my sister-in-law and her family to be visiting with us, especially to meet my new nephew! It's great to have a break after all of this busy-ness, and I'm looking forward to reading (I'm half way through Amy Poehler's "Yes Please") and cleaning out my DVR (so much "Scandal" to watch!). December is always super packed with activities, but it's nice ending with some quiet too.