Backward and Forward

November, oh November. Started off with great intentions and sort of...devolved. Similar to October. Bad call weeks, challenging kid behavior, sickness, etc... left me in a 2-3 week funk. I didn't write much here because I am trying not to spread or dwell on negativity.

Thanksgiving weekend was a much needed break. We had a pretty nice 4 days, all in all. Thursday the weather was unseasonably warm & sunny. We went to the Thanksgiving parade, which was really fun for the kids and tolerable for us---I'll never complain about being outside in nice weather, and the crowds weren't too bad---enough to get a nice since of community and celebration. B and I made a chocolate mousse pie, and he did a fantastic job following directions and somehow the activity caused him to open up and talk about unrelated topics*. I took the boys to the park while G prepped a chicken** and veggies for roasting. We rounded off the meal with buttermilk biscuits and green beans (and wine for the adults). I took videos of the boys saying what they were thankful for (B: my family, the Thanksgiving feast, and getting good stuff like toys and treats; L: Thanksgiving feast, mommy, daddy, B, Doggie, hugs, kisses, that you turn the lights off when we go to sleep, the animals in my bed, the clock that tells me the time at school, my toys, hugs, kisses, that you read me books). So cute. So so cute.

Friday was another warm & sunny day. Spent hours at the park. Then my sister & family came in the evening---I hadn't told the boys they were coming so they were delightfully surprised to see their cousins. Saturday was grey & a bit drizzly but didn't stop us from spending even more hours at the park. There was some inter-cousin fighting but overall a good day. My sister left Sunday morning after breakfast and it was a cold, rainy, lazy kind of day. We got all our chores done and...that was about it. Relaxing.

I worked out Saturday and Sunday. I am reading a really fascinating book. I resurrected our book club and picked this for our January meeting. I also set up a holiday drinks outing for the book club and some work colleagues. Two of my best friends from chlidhood are coming to visit this weekend. Things to look forward to, and I am feeling much better overall.

One of the goals I had set for myself this fall was to start & stick with mindfulness meditation. I did about a week in October and a week in November, and the November week I really really started to get into it, look forward to it, and enjoy it. But I am having trouble finding a good time to do it.
Mornings do not work. I am just not in the mindset for stillness in the morning. I have so much  energy and I am raring to go. Mornings are better for exercise or even getting through chores. In November I did 10 minutes of meditation right before bed. It was great---I could clear my mind of all the stress of the day and was in a great mental space to relax and sleep. The problem with this is that it involved going up to bed ridiculously early which resulted in no time with my husband for those 10 days. If I stay up to hang out or even to work or do a project, either I'm too tired by the time I get up to bed or he is also coming to bed and I don't have the room to myself. I've tried to sneak in 5-10 minutes during the work day. I certainly take breaks to blog or do other "chores", but I don't feel fully comfortable, even with the door to my office closed. I need to get over that so today I'm going to put in my headphones and do 10 minutes right before I leave to get B.

I might as well set my goals for next month here since who knows when I'll write again!

• Holiday decorations (my favorite part of the holidays, and so worth the hour it takes to set up our small tree and light up the stairway)
• Meditation 
• Stay hydrated (easier to forget in cold months! I've bought decaf chai spice tea to make it pleasant)
• Aim for 4 days of exercise/week
• Set up positive reinforcement system for kids' behavior (I've tried several things, advised by the therapist that did NOT work, but I'm not giving up, I have new ideas!)
• Address a couple of lingering medical things for myself 

It'll be a short month of "real life"---we are traveling for 10 days at the end of the month and then I'm on call for New Years (more on all that later). Let's see how it goes!

*One of the main issues we are having these days is with B and his perpetually sullen, grumpy, whiny, and angry attitude. And his constant distracted behavior. So focused, open and cheerful is a HUGE and welcome change!

**Turkey for just the 4 of us seemed excessive, plus I prefer chicken.