NYE of a Different Persuasion

Remember those days when New Year's Eve was the BEST holiday of the year?  Anyone who claims it's not a "real" holiday has obviously never woken up with the same hangover that they had after a memorable Fouth of July, arguably the most recognized party holiday ever!  All kidding aside, I've had more than my share of memorable nights, ringing in the New Year as loudly as possible, with as many people as possible.  Times Square? Done it!  Tim and I had the craziest night of our courtship history on NYE the first year we met.  Friends are made, drinks are passed, cigars are smoked, clothes are ruined, shoes are lost... It's all in good fun! 

Who wasn't at Port 'O Call on NYE?

NYE takes on a different tone once you have more than one baby.  All of a sudden, the idea of getting all dolled up and drinking and yelling, followed by having a stomach ache or worse, puking, seems eerily similar to every other night with an infant.  (And the messes my toddler can create rival any made at the local bar.)   I love that instead of craving a night out on the town, the only thing I wanted this year was to relax with my husband and sweet girls.  "We'll cheer and toast at midnight, and then we can just go to bed!"  I decided that although we were having a casual night, we were still going to have fancy dinner.  I hit Whole Foods just before they closed, and proceeded to stand in line at the local liquor store for almost a half hour.  (Liquor store on NYE?  Seriously? Brilliant.)  But no nice dinner is complete without a beautiful bottle of Justin Vineyards Isosceles and I knew it would compliment my ever perfect, dependable Asiago Chilean sea bass, with pancetta crumbles.  I know, red wine and fish?  But we gnoshed on imported cheeses and artisan bread with a beautiful Chateaux Montelena chardonnay.  Rest easy, oenophiles.  We only made a half faux pas.

Dinner was a huge success.  I'm lucky I married a man who loves my cooking.  And the girls were absolutely adorable all night.  We attempted to get a family picture for the new year, but this is what we ended up with.  I wish you could see the beautiful gold and cream dresses they were wearing, but without a professional photographer living at my house, I'm unable to secure professional prints.  Instagram will suffice in this instance.    

L1's 3rd NYE

My little L2's first NYE.  Not happy about being in a dress at 9pm.

So how does this story end?  The girls were out of their dresses after about 20 minutes of fighting for pictures, and proceeded to laugh the night away. L1 played with her new kitchen she got from Santa, and L2 was content to make faces at Daddy until she got tired and fell asleep on his chest.  This was around 9pm.  At 10pm, both L1 and Tim fell asleep, making my "down" count 3 of 3.  I looked at my sleeping triple threat and decided I would wake them at a quarter to midnight, and continued my NYE duties of folding baby laundry.  But when the time came, I just couldn't wake them.  I knew not waking my husband would elicit some disappointment the next morning, but I simply couldn't do it.  So at midnight, I kissed each one, told them I loved them, and wished them each the best 2013 imaginable.  And then I got in bed, and promptly passed out.  We woke up on New Year's Day, all four of us in one bed, laughing and happy.  Best New Year's Eve to date.