After hitting my 5 year anniversary with my firm this year, I received an extra week of vacation time. I'll be putting that week to good use by staying home with Hannah over her upcoming winter break. A whole 10 days with nothing major planned - I can't wait!
But how exactly to pass the time?
We're planning to go to see Tangled on Christmas Day (Max's first movie theater experience!), visiting the new wing at the Museum of Fine Arts, celebrating Max's third birthday on New Year's Day, plus Shabbat Helper, swimming at the JCC and a trip to the mall with Grandma Fillis. But there's still a lot of time left to be filled in.
Any suggestions? Anyone want to have a play date?
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Hanukkah 2010
It was another great Hanukkah. I thought we had excited kids last year, but this year was even better. I loved that it was so early this year, as it felt very distinct from Christmas (as it should), and I really enjoyed so many of the viral videos that really came into their own as a genre this year.
Marc made latkes twice this year, and we enjoyed celebrating at Max's JCC class, Hannah's religious school class, with Marc's family in Hartford, at our synagogue and with Julie. I purchased all of the kids presents online this year, which worked out really well given my off and on back issues and not wanting to trek around a mall or super store. Again, the kids were thrilled with everything they received, and I felt so lucky to get spend such a nice holiday together. Now I'm looking forward to the end of 2010 and the start of birthday season around here!
Marc made latkes twice this year, and we enjoyed celebrating at Max's JCC class, Hannah's religious school class, with Marc's family in Hartford, at our synagogue and with Julie. I purchased all of the kids presents online this year, which worked out really well given my off and on back issues and not wanting to trek around a mall or super store. Again, the kids were thrilled with everything they received, and I felt so lucky to get spend such a nice holiday together. Now I'm looking forward to the end of 2010 and the start of birthday season around here!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thankful
I have a lot to be thankful for this year. First and foremost, my wonderful husband and beautiful children, but that almost goes without saying. It takes a lot to make a life run well, and to have a little fun along the way. While this year has had its bumps in the road, I'm thankful for the following:
- My parents, especially my mom, who still wants an email from me every morning just to make sure I'm okay
- My brother Ryan, who is one of my best friends and is marrying the amazing Allison
- My in-laws, Fillis and John, who dispel every in-law stereotype
- Rachel, Jon, Nate and Evie, who will soon be far away but always in our hearts
- For discectomies
- For the ability to express myself through my blog, facebook and Twitter, and for the communities who respond to my random thoughts and epiphanies (and for my iPhone for giving me constant connectivity)
- For two supportive bosses, who praise me by saying I am a "fully formed person" and seeing potential in me that I didn't know I had
- For the MBTA, which despite my constant griping, provides me with an efficient, budget and environmentally friendly way to get to work each day
- For the JCC Early Learning Center and for the Bowen After School Care Program for letting me work while not just taking care of my children, but helping them learn and grow
- For our amazing synagogue community, which encourages me so much
- For Glee, Gossip Girl and most things Bravo for providing me a bit of escapism
- For husbands who like to cook but still let us go out to eat, for blanket and blue boxes of vanilla soy milk and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, for headbands and early reader books and the Disney Channel
- For Maidpro and Massage Envy, which help me keep my sanity
- For online shopping, which makes life so much easier
- For the friends that I don't see often enough in person, but who make it feel like you've never been apart
For this and so much more, I'm very thankful. What about you?
- My parents, especially my mom, who still wants an email from me every morning just to make sure I'm okay
- My brother Ryan, who is one of my best friends and is marrying the amazing Allison
- My in-laws, Fillis and John, who dispel every in-law stereotype
- Rachel, Jon, Nate and Evie, who will soon be far away but always in our hearts
- For discectomies
- For the ability to express myself through my blog, facebook and Twitter, and for the communities who respond to my random thoughts and epiphanies (and for my iPhone for giving me constant connectivity)
- For two supportive bosses, who praise me by saying I am a "fully formed person" and seeing potential in me that I didn't know I had
- For the MBTA, which despite my constant griping, provides me with an efficient, budget and environmentally friendly way to get to work each day
- For the JCC Early Learning Center and for the Bowen After School Care Program for letting me work while not just taking care of my children, but helping them learn and grow
- For our amazing synagogue community, which encourages me so much
- For Glee, Gossip Girl and most things Bravo for providing me a bit of escapism
- For husbands who like to cook but still let us go out to eat, for blanket and blue boxes of vanilla soy milk and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, for headbands and early reader books and the Disney Channel
- For Maidpro and Massage Envy, which help me keep my sanity
- For online shopping, which makes life so much easier
- For the friends that I don't see often enough in person, but who make it feel like you've never been apart
For this and so much more, I'm very thankful. What about you?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Halloween Past and Present
Halloween seems to be off to a good start this year, beginning with Hannah's school parade and assembly this morning. I'm not positive Hannah's costume, in its current, hemmed form, is going to make it through the school party tonight and trick-or-treating on Sunday, so I took the pictures this morning just in case. It's pretty funny how the kids ended up color coordinated this year.
As we waited at the bus stop, Hannah and I talked about all the costumes she has worn over the years, and we had a hard time coming up with them all (and actually forgot the year of the cheerleader). So I'm going to post some reminders of them here. It's a pretty amazing progression.
2004:
2005:
2006:
2007:
2008:
2009:
And 2010:
While I don't find organizing the costumes and the actual trick-or-treating all that fun, it *is* pretty cute looking back over it now.
As we waited at the bus stop, Hannah and I talked about all the costumes she has worn over the years, and we had a hard time coming up with them all (and actually forgot the year of the cheerleader). So I'm going to post some reminders of them here. It's a pretty amazing progression.
2004:
2005:
2006:
2007:
2008:
2009:
And 2010:
While I don't find organizing the costumes and the actual trick-or-treating all that fun, it *is* pretty cute looking back over it now.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
A Twitter Success Story (My 33rd Birthday)
I don't wear a lot of jewelry. My wedding and engagement ring, watch, necklace, earrings. Usually the same things day in and day out. Shortly after getting engaged in May 2001, I bought a ring for my right hand, to match my new platinum band. I loved that ring and wore it constantly.
Constantly, that is, until I spent two months in bed with my back. During which time I lost weight. And the ring that had always been a bit loose was now falling off completely. I was so sad not to be able to wear it any longer.
So I began casually looking for a replacement for my right arm - a ring or a bracelet. Being a big fan of Twitter, I tweeted that I was looking for something new. Instantly, several companies started following me, to encourage me to look at their jewelry. It was quite a response, but there was only one company that caught my eye: Objets d'Envy.
I'm a sucker for colorful, shiny and sparkly (despite the fact that I wear black almost every day of my life), and in my opinion the jewelry is just gorgeous. So when they tweeted that a sale was coming up, I sent my favorite color of the Rock Candy bracelet to Marc, and it was a done deal. I just had to wait until my birthday to actually open the present! So here it is:
It's a true Twitter success story, don't you think? And if anyone needs ideas for Hanukkah...
PS: I'm wearing purple in the picture above in support of LGBT youth. The It Gets Better videos are amazing, and so is the Spirit Day campaign, but I really hope we soon don't need to have events like these, and that everyone gets the encouragement and love they deserve.
PPS: This is my 100th blog post! I began on March 16, 2007 with Mr. Bee and BusyBee and eventually BabyBee falling away as I began linking this to my facebook page. I've really enjoyed getting to share my little corner of the world with you all, and am thankful that you've come along on this journey with me. And thank you all for the wall posts, tweets, ecards and birthday love. Here's to the next 100!
Constantly, that is, until I spent two months in bed with my back. During which time I lost weight. And the ring that had always been a bit loose was now falling off completely. I was so sad not to be able to wear it any longer.
So I began casually looking for a replacement for my right arm - a ring or a bracelet. Being a big fan of Twitter, I tweeted that I was looking for something new. Instantly, several companies started following me, to encourage me to look at their jewelry. It was quite a response, but there was only one company that caught my eye: Objets d'Envy.
I'm a sucker for colorful, shiny and sparkly (despite the fact that I wear black almost every day of my life), and in my opinion the jewelry is just gorgeous. So when they tweeted that a sale was coming up, I sent my favorite color of the Rock Candy bracelet to Marc, and it was a done deal. I just had to wait until my birthday to actually open the present! So here it is:
It's a true Twitter success story, don't you think? And if anyone needs ideas for Hanukkah...
PS: I'm wearing purple in the picture above in support of LGBT youth. The It Gets Better videos are amazing, and so is the Spirit Day campaign, but I really hope we soon don't need to have events like these, and that everyone gets the encouragement and love they deserve.
PPS: This is my 100th blog post! I began on March 16, 2007 with Mr. Bee and BusyBee and eventually BabyBee falling away as I began linking this to my facebook page. I've really enjoyed getting to share my little corner of the world with you all, and am thankful that you've come along on this journey with me. And thank you all for the wall posts, tweets, ecards and birthday love. Here's to the next 100!
Friday, October 15, 2010
A Trip On My Own
Last week, I had the pleasure of traveling to Buffalo to attend an engagement party for my brother Ryan and his fiance Allison. I took the trip there on my own, and I have to admit that I really enjoyed getting some time away. I flew out early on Friday morning, and spent most of the day with my parents, Allison's family and the happy couple. We had excellent Buffalo wings and enjoyed a really nice art museum, and then Allison's parents threw a very lovely party. It was great to meet more of Allison's family, and I'm really looking forward to celebrating with them and the rest of my family next summer.
While I definitely missed Marc and the kids, it was wonderful to have a little alone time. I had so many uninterrupted conversations and really savored not having to take care of anyone but myself for a while. Allison's mom volunteered to spill a drink while at a restaurant, just to make me more comfortable, but I didn't take her up on that one. :)
When I got home on Saturday evening, everyone was happy to see me. We had a nice little dinner on Castle Island before driving the rest of the way home from the airport. On Sunday we took the kids to the playground, went out to lunch, and then tackled projects around the house. It was a great weekend - the perfect mix of time home and away. Too bad they can't all be three day weekends!
While I definitely missed Marc and the kids, it was wonderful to have a little alone time. I had so many uninterrupted conversations and really savored not having to take care of anyone but myself for a while. Allison's mom volunteered to spill a drink while at a restaurant, just to make me more comfortable, but I didn't take her up on that one. :)
When I got home on Saturday evening, everyone was happy to see me. We had a nice little dinner on Castle Island before driving the rest of the way home from the airport. On Sunday we took the kids to the playground, went out to lunch, and then tackled projects around the house. It was a great weekend - the perfect mix of time home and away. Too bad they can't all be three day weekends!
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