Monday, November 30, 2009

Sleepwalking

When Connor was a toddler, he had a couple of episodes of night terrors. Although it totally freaked us out the first time, we read up on it and handled it okay the second. And that was that.

Then a few weeks ago, he got out of bed about an hour after he had gone to sleep. Chip went up to check on him (our kids NEVER get out of bed before morning) and found him running around the upstairs, giggling and talking jibberish, while holding his crotch in that special "I'm a boy and I need to pee" way. We tried to talk to him but he didn't respond- he was NOT awake, although his eyes were open. We finally guided him into the bathroom, and upon releasing his bladder his giggles became total guffaws- peeing was the funniest thing that had ever happened! We tried really hard not to laugh, got him back in bed safely, and closed the child gate at the top of the stairs just in case.

At the time we talked a bit about his night terrors, and how that was related to sleepwalking, and maybe it's just something he's prone to do. We didn't feel weird about then, but we did this past week when he had an episode that seemingly combined the two. We heard him get out of bed, and Chip and Roy went to check on him. Again, he had his eyes open but he was not awake. Only this time, he was HYSTERICAL. Screaming and speaking a mix of jibberish and phrases like"turn it off." When I ran up to see what was happening, he pointed and shrieked and acted scared to death. We got him to go to the bathroom and settle back in the bed, where he cried to himself until he was able to come out of it and go back to normal sleep. Chip watched him to make sure he was safe, then came back downstairs so we could compare stories.

Thinking back there were two other times when something like this had happened, but we didn't really realize what was going on. One was on a car trip, when he talked jibberish and couldn't explain to me what was wrong until finally he peed on himself and went back to sleep. The other was one time at his grandparents' house when he was wandering around upset until Roy held him to calm him down, at which point Connor peed all over Roy. As you can guess, our crack diagnostic team quickly realized that a need to pee seems to be the common thread to Connor's sleepwalking incidents. (The night terrors occurred when he was still in diapers, so I can't speak to those.)

This post has no point, other than to share with you what I've been Googling constantly this weekend and to tell you that you should probably make sure Connor pees before going to bed if he's spending the night at your house. So far he's only hitting the toilet in 50% of cases, so you might be in trouble if you don't. The good news is, this usually goes away by the time a kid is 15-17, so I've only got ten more years or so to be freaked out by it.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Scenes from Thanksgiving Dinner

The sacred tofurkey, in the last minutes of its noble life.


Immediately post-slaughter.


The real boid.


The chef.





Chloe says this Thanksgiving stuff is bollocks-- bring on Christmas!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thankful

A sampling of things I am thankful for this year:

Footless tights

Starbucks peppermint mocha latte, non-fat no-whip

My gorgeous kids

That flats and flat riding boots are in style right now

Being a member of the wine-of-the-month club at Great Wines

How easy it is to get locally grown foods in Memphis

The fact that Carrie and Shannon are going to have a baby

My favorite coaches: Josh Pastner, Jeff Fisher, and Eric Taylor

Tiffany finally found the right man and made it official

Chuck is coming back in January, followed closely by Lost in early February

I'm married to the smartest, sexiest man in the world

My iPhone

But mostly I'm happy to have wonderful friends and family to spend this holiday season with. I love you all- have a great day!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Air

The Beale Street Flippers, from the most recent Rock-n-Romp...



Friday, November 13, 2009

Pastels

As I was leaving work yesterday, I saw a really beautiful sunset hanging over the Mississippi.  I may have been a few minutes too late, and this vantage point wasn't the best, but this shot does show the amazing purples, pinks, and oranges I saw.


Thursday, November 12, 2009

Have You Seen Me Lately

Recently, a friend emailed me and asked what the Chockleys are up to. "It stresses me so when you don't blog daily." Well, I don't want to upset anyone! So here we go.


This past weekend was very busy, with an awesome Rock n Romp and a wonderful day building and eating dozens of raviolis. Instead of trying to describe it myself, I will urge you to read Chip's description of the Rock n Romp here, and read Richard's description of the weekend here (the Chockleys weren't at Ronald McDonald House, but still), and Stacey's story of the raviolis here. There are also plenty of pictures on Flickr, which you can click on over at the right.



In other news, Chloe took her first sick day in years this Monday. She has been really congested and snotty and sinus-y all week, although she hasn't had a fever and her energy level has been pretty good. She spent most of Monday in her PJs on the couch, though- that was her low point.

Connor has learned to whistle, and also how to tie his shoes. Sometimes he does them at the same time! But he does them both often, as his knots don't usually hold for long, and any opportunity to make an annoying noise is jumped on. I'm really proud of him. Two more little milestones that let me know how grown up he's getting.

Chip and I had a date on a school night last night! We went to the Hunt Phelan to enjoy their Downtown Dining Week deal. It was awesome- I love an unexpected date night! A special thanks to Mom, for taking care of her baby and her baby's babies on a Wednesday night. We all appreciate it!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Lucky Elevens

Happy birthday, Cullen! Please accept this blog post in lieu of a gift, since the one we ordered for you hasn't arrived yet. Have a great day and a wonderful year!

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Mr. Know-It-All

Recent conversation:

Me:  You know Steph, I've been thinking that maybe we should let Connor listen to that Ben Folds song.  Maybe it would do him some good.

Steph:  Which one is that?

Me:  You know, the one that goes, "Why ya gotta act like you know when you don't know...Why you gotta act like you know when you don't know... It's okaaaaaay if you don't know everything."

Connor:  Oh, I know that song.  I know that one.