October is usually one of my favorite months of the year. I love everything about fall, from the pumpkins and Halloween festivities to the spooky traditions we've been enjoying since the boys were little. This year, though, I spent so much of the month consumed by the house situation and other stresses that I felt like I was barely participating in the season at all.
But looking back, we actually did quite a lot. There were pumpkins, hayrides, Halloween parties, time with friends, and some pretty wonderful moments with the boys. There were also medical mysteries, an ongoing mortgage saga, and enough secondhand furniture shopping to furnish a small Victorian mansion. Somehow, amid all the chaos, October turned out to be a pretty memorable month.
October, As It Happened
The never-ending house saga: October began with an enormous amount of stress surrounding the appraisal of our future home. What should have been a straightforward step in the mortgage process had turned into weeks of corrections, reviews, unanswered questions, and uncertainty. I spent the first half of the month contacting USDA employees, advocating for myself, and trying desperately to keep the purchase from falling apart. The sellers had even relisted the house and were holding open houses while everything remained unresolved. Eventually, we received another long-awaited yes, submitted a revised offer, and signed another contract amendment. On October 29, my revised mortgage commitment letter finally arrived. We're still waiting to close, but after everything that happened, that letter felt like an enormous victory.
A house full of treasures (without the house): Despite not having the keys yet, I continued furnishing our future home through Facebook Marketplace and secondhand finds. I picked up a beautiful bedroom furniture set, two vintage record players, a $30 king bed frame with a $20 box spring, and all sorts of smaller decorative treasures. My aunt helped tremendously with pickups, including my fireplace. One of my favorite finds was an enormous set of Christmas china for just $25! More than anything, I loved watching my visions for each room slowly come together. I can practically see the finished spaces in my head. Now I just need an actual house to put everything in.
Holden's busy social calendar: We attended an open house at his new school and went to a friend's birthday party at Get Air. He's such a social little guy and seems to have friends everywhere he goes. We also worked together to build a commemorative kit of Cindy's house (the baboon I've been obsessed with for years who passed away). Ruben, Cindy's "brother" who runs the account, shared a photo of Holden with the creation on his Facebook page, which has more than 3.5 million followers. As an unabashed fan girl, I may have been even more excited than Holden.
Two very different parent-teacher conferences: Both conferences were held over the phone. Caleb's teachers absolutely raved about him. His math teacher even said, "I've never seen anything like this. He gets hundreds on everything!" I know how bright Caleb is, but hearing his teachers recognize it is always wonderful. Holden's conference was slightly less glowing, but I really like his teacher and think they'll have a good year together.
All things Halloween: I took advantage of a day off from work and school to visit Blodgett Farm with my mom and the boys to pick pumpkins. We attended the town's annual Halloween party, where the boys tried out their ridiculous inflatable costumes, and went to the trunk-or-treat event at Holden's school. We also made our annual trip to Powers Farm Market for the spooky hayride, followed a week later by trunk-or-treat and dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I had my annual Hocus Pocus night with my friends, too. I kept feeling like I wasn't getting into the season the way I normally do, but looking at everything we managed to squeeze in, I suppose we did pretty well after all.
Halloween morning runners: On Halloween morning, Holden participated in a kids' Halloween dash while Caleb opted for the full 5K. He hadn't been running in months, so I wasn't sure how it would go. Naturally, he went out there and finished in 39 minutes. That boy never ceases to amaze me.
A medical mystery: I spent much of October dealing with a mysterious lump that became progressively worse. Urgent Care initially suspected a lipoma and referred me to dermatology, but the earliest available appointment was in December. After I sent pictures to my primary care doctor, she suspected an abscess or infected cyst instead. Unfortunately, her office couldn't see me until December either, and referred me right back to Urgent Care. By the end of the month, I was still uncomfortable, getting worse, and without a definitive answer.
A surprisingly wonderful musical: I saw BOOP! The Musical with my friend Larry as part of the new Broadway season. I hadn't been particularly excited about this one, but it completely surprised me. I loved it! Later in the month, Larry and I also met up for dinner at Rohrbach's. This was a social month for me!
A couple of firsts: I went to my first escape room this month with a friend, and it was intense! So much fun, though. I also carved pumpkins with my friend for the first time in years. Sometimes it's nice to rediscover things you haven't done in a long time... even though I still suck at it! Another first that wasn't particularly great was that this was my very first Halloween not trick-or-treating with the boys in their entire lives. They were with their dad this year since it was a Saturday night. They had fun though, and I had chicken wings and an early bedtime.
Christmas movie season begins: October officially marked the start of my annual Christmas movie marathon. Unfortunately, I've been unusually exhausted lately and have been going to bed much earlier than normal. Usually, I can manage a Christmas movie almost every night, but I only finished two this month. A rather disappointing start to my favorite viewing season!
A little personal progress: I ended October four pounds lighter than I ended September, continuing the progress I've been making throughout the year. Even with everything else going on, it was nice to see that number moving in the right direction. I hit a big milestone too, with 50 total pounds lost.
What I Watched
October brought some unexpected favorites, a disappointing documentary, and the official beginning of Christmas movie season. Here's the quick rundown.
TV Shows
Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat ★★★★★
Prime Video · 2026 · Season 1 (8 episodes) · Episodes 6–8 · Finished October 10 · Complete
An unsuspecting employee finds himself surrounded by actors during a company retreat. So funny and absurd! This series is becoming a favorite, and I could absolutely see myself rewatching it.
Docuseries
McMillion$ ★★☆☆☆
HBO Max · 2020 · Docuseries (6 episodes) · Episodes 5–6 · Finished October 9 · Complete
The story of the elaborate fraud scheme behind McDonald's Monopoly promotion. I was excited about this one, but it was disappointing, dragged considerably, and took me far too long to finish.
Documentary Films
Class Action Park ★★★☆☆
HBO Max · 2020 · Documentary film · Finished October 10
A documentary about the notoriously dangerous Action Park amusement park in New Jersey. Amusement park accidents fascinate me, and I'd wanted to see this for a while. Interesting and enjoyable, but not a standout.
Movies
Sinners ★★★★★
HBO Max · 2025 · Movie · October 24
Twin brothers return to their Mississippi hometown in the 1930s and encounter a terrifying supernatural threat. Watched this with a friend on his recommendation, having never even heard of it. Awesome, surprising, and an unexpected five-star watch!
Christmas Movies
A Second Chance Christmas ★★☆☆☆
Great American Family · 2026 · Christmas movie · Finished October 14
Two divorced parents find themselves stranded together when a snowstorm disrupts their family Christmas plans. I enjoyed the forced-proximity romance, but the heavy-handed religious messaging was too much for me.
'Tis the Season for Setups ★★★☆☆
Hallmark · 2026 · Christmas movie · Finished October 21
A lighthearted holiday romance featuring family relationships, opposites attracting, and a single mother. Cute, with two romances and welcome representation, but ultimately an average Hallmark movie worth watching once.
Favorite Watch: Sinners ★★★★★
Star ratings are reserved for completed movies, documentary films, and completed seasons or docuseries. Shows still in progress aren't rated until I finish the season.
Coming Up in November
November could be a very big month for us. Or it could be another month of waiting. At this point, I've learned not to make too many assumptions about how things are going to unfold!
- Closing and moving, hopefully! The biggest thing on my mind is finally closing on our house and beginning the move. After everything we've been through to get here, I'm desperately hoping November is the month we finally get our keys.
- More medical appointments. Unfortunately, my calendar is filling up with doctors' appointments again. I'm hoping for some answers to the health issues I've been dealing with.
- Christmas movie marathon. The holiday movie season is officially underway, and I'm hoping to make up for my rather disappointing October viewing numbers. Ideally, I'll be watching an absolutely unreasonable number of Christmas movies.
- Bingo night. We missed our monthly community center Bingo in October because we were waitlisted, but we'll get back to it this month. I'm sure the boys will be thrilled. Not.
- Two Thanksgiving runs. Caleb will be participating in our annual Turkey Trot, although I'm sitting it out this year. We also have the town's Turkey Run, which Holden and I will be joining him for.
- Thanksgiving plans. Everything depends on the house. I'd love nothing more than to host Thanksgiving in our new dining room, but if we haven't moved yet, we'll celebrate at my mom's instead.
More than anything, I'm hoping November brings us home. I've spent so much of this year imagining what our lives will look like once we're finally there. I'm ready to stop imagining and start living it.
♥
See you next month.
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