Tuesday the 1st I was worried Nina would not like the buttermilk pancakes I made (no previous pancakes had made the cut). But not only did she eat one (and a sausage), an hour later she had another one (and a sausage). The next night I finally watched the Kennedy Center Honors television broadcast – bummed they cut a couple songs. I don’t know what the name is for the action of trying to watch for yourself on TV is, but it’s an odd one – there’s a nice clear shot of us during the first Buddy Guy ovation. Amusingly, you can also see us leaving during Caroline Kennedy’s speech at the end.
Friday the 4th I was cranking Megadeth and playing along on bongos with Nina – just because. Saturday we went to Sunflower, a vegetarian restaurant in Vienna, tonight. Nina liked it ok, but her favorite thing was the aquarium – I think every restaurant should have one. I didn’t find the Ravens/Colts game the next day that exciting – fell asleep in the middle. Too bad the Skins playoff hopes buckled like RGIII’s knee later, I didn’t sleep through that one. Monday I knew Nina’s favorite color was red – she was walking around with a red toy egg and red ball, and got upset when she got another colored ball.
Friday the 11th I finally got a flu shot after calling 7 places – there were shortages, and the pharmacies close to home had been out for weeks. Saturday I took Nina to Meadow Lane Park, her fave with so many outdoor toys. Monday the 14th we had the best food at a company party ever. From now on, I’d be perfectly happy to have all of them at L’Auberge Chez François, where Jill’s work took over the whole restaurant. So delicious. But one night: 4 star restaurant. Next night: dog poop on the landing and a child trying to lick the kitchen floor. Sigh (then avocado on my back and a grande finale of a poop in the tub – just as I was about to dry her off).
Sunday the 20th the Cozads dropped by to visit while biking and on the 21st daycare was closed, I was off and Jill wasn’t, so I took Nina to Chibi’s (almost full, no surprise on Martin Luther King Day). Later it was weird watching the inauguration on my DVR, especially since I’ve been there a number of times (my dad and I even started heading to DC for Reagan’s frigid second one, before the public ceremony was cancelled). Could definitely hear better than last time, though. The next night Nina broke her first glass (a Yankee Candle). I have a feeling it won’t be her last.
Thursday the 24th was a fabulous morning – snow, dog pee on the carpet, and finally smacked a car in the parking lot at work after I skidded during a turn, and my headlight was cracked and the door won’t open. The next day I was only at work for a little bit before seeing an insurance adjuster, then never went back to work because Nina was sent home with strep throat symptoms (and an epic fail from South Lakes CVS to give her a prescription – Safeway’s computers were down too, but they still got it done). Saturday I was out to run errands, picked up some Peruvian chicken and local beer for dinner.
Monday the 28th I was convinced I wouldn’t be at work – daycare lady called me the night before and reminded me that on teacher workdays, they get to decide if they’re closed or not (otherwise they follow Fairfax County). But they opened late and I made it in – good thing as I didn’t want to burn another vacation day. Since Jill works late on Mondays and Tuesdays, she doesn’t eat dinner with me on Monday’s, so I eat with Nina then, and I’ve made Mondays fried chicken nights. We’ve really bonded over our mutual love of Banquet fried chicken. We also got our groove on to “Physical Graffiti” that night.
Nina’s favorite book this month was Neil Gaiman’s Chu’s Day – I even got her panda a shirt to match. Her favorite new word was “hot”.
Jill took Nina over to another new favorite spot on Wednesday the 30th – the tot lot near Wegmans in Ashburn.
