The Year to Date

January has come and gone, and all we've managed to put up on the ChockleyBlog is a bunch of pictures and a story about a tooth. I don't know why I have felt such apathy towards blogging. Maybe all the negative comments? Maybe because so many of my blogging friends are now getting paid to publish their stories and pictures? Maybe because Dee is blogging about all her good deeds, and suddenly my tales seem even more egotistical and self- indulgent than usual? In any case, this little blog suddenly seems Bush League. Plus Chip charges me every time I use one of his snapshots, and I don't have that kind of budget.

Seriously though, I don't know why I stopped caring, but I think I'm coming out of it. Here's a quick rundown of everything you missed in January.

The main events have been covered here to some extent. We've got the Rock Band, the tooth, and the 44th president. Since we are pro-choice, big-government, anti-plastic bag peaceniks (with a degree in American History!), of course we made a big to do over the inauguration. I took off work and kept Connor home from school to experience the big event. We had hoped to join Dad downtown at the Civil Rights Museum, but since it was cold and snowy we decided to stay home and drink hot coffee and cocoa and laugh at Justice Roberts from the comfort of our living room instead. Mom joined us for a moving, multi-generational celebration. Chip and I popped open a bottle of bubbly that evening to cap the night with a toast, and then we slept as soundly as we had in eight years.

The weekend before that we ran up to Nashville for a day so that Chip could do something work-related and the rest of us could lounge at the Chockley B&B. They had just gotten the floor redone in their kitchen, so the toaster oven was in the dining room and the fridge was in the den. It made it seem even more like an exotic getaway than usual! Everything there looks great and has inspired me to think about redoing some of the tired old rooms at this house. So far we've only replaced the kids' shower curtain, but I've got other things in mind. It's interesting- a lot of people I know have started the new year with the attitude that "I guess I'm never going to be able to sell this house, so I might as well fix this one up and learn to love it again." (You know, I think I'll put that in an email and send it to All Things Considered with "Hard Times" in the subject line. I'll mention where I'm from, and how to pronounce my name!)

Chip and I have enjoyed television way too much in the month of January. Two of our favorite shows of all time, Battlestar Galactica and Lost, had their season premieres this month and blew right past our lofty expectations. We're also really enjoying Top Chef, and yes we are the idiots who watch American Idol. Dumb but fun. We have been disappointed this month by a couple of terrible episodes of The Office, but still laugh our fool heads off for How I Met Your Mother and 30 Rock.

I'd cover books in this paragraph, but you can probably tell from that last one that we haven't read any. Well, Chip and I haven't, but know who has? Connor. His reading has really accelerated this month. (Yes, that was a pun for you MCS elementary parents out there.) Last week his class went to the library so they could each check out a book for the first time, and Connor read that sucker like it was nothing. Add that to the missing tooth and the fact that I bought him a pair of shoes that are size 1, and you can see that he has really grown up in the past month.



Chloe has given up naps. My heart has broken into a million pieces- not because I am sad about her lost youth, but because I miss the naptime that has eased my days for the past 5.5 years. A new day had dawned, my friends. A bigger milestone than the post-diaper era is the post-nap era. We are adjusting. Other than that, she got new shoes too. They are a size 10, and as she will proudly tell you, they came from Target.

This week I took the first sick day I have ever taken for something other than a stomach flu or a fever. I instantly regretted it when I got to work Tuesday and realized that I was way too behind and that I was supposed to have stood in line at the school board on Monday. (I am not yet panicking- I still feel good about getting into Snowden again next year. We'll revisit this topic this summer, I'm sure.) I did go to the doctor on Tuesday to get blood drawn and lungs x-rayed. I was mortified to find nothing was actually wrong with me, other than that I should be taking Mucinex instead of Sudafed. Sigh. I can't believe I broke my doctor-free streak for that! (I'm feeling much better, thanks. I just wish I could take a nap each afternoon- the sinus pressure makes me want to close my eyes.)


What can I say about the snow day that hasn't already been said? I put the laptop on our bedside table so that I could check the status of the MCS from under the covers and go immediately back to sleep if they were closed. They weren't. I looked out the window, saw wet streets, and hopped in the shower. Fifteen minutes later I got out and noticed that the streets were suddenly white. I checked again- schools are still open. Cut to 7:00 when Connor and I were walking out the door- only a text from Kristy saved me from getting in the car and driving off. Schools were closed! Although I could have used an extra hour of sleep (see above), at least I already had my coat on, making it easier to immediately begin frolicking in the snow with Connor. Chloe and Chip frantically changed out of their pjs to join us in enjoying our snow day. (Well, we enjoyed it until we got cold, came inside, and some of us decided to continue the fun by drawing on furniture with paint pens. But why ruin a happy memory with that story?)

So there you have it. I'll be back soon. Probably.