My Way

I obviously did not go out on the town to celebrate this New Year....again. I am always pegged as a home-body, in general, but this night epitomized and embodied everything that I love about my life.

After a week of travel, and Christmas, and drugging through the slushy sidewalks while trying to pretend that my Maclaren has 4-wheel-drive, I was THRILLED to spend the holiday at home with my family. My husband has to work the majority of New Year's Eves. I typically hang with the kids or briefly have a toast with him before he has to rush off to start his shift. This year was a nice change of pace.

We took a friend up on their last minute offer to visit and eat some food. This friend happens to live right around the block, so I had no opposition to this. I made a few pans of stuffed shells(you have to make a few.....who makes only one pan? They are too much trouble to make just one!) We went to our friends house and enjoyed the company of some pretty cool, and friendly people. These same people also happen to be AMAZING cooks! We feasted on everything from friend chicken legs, to coconut shrimp, to my stuffed and cheesy shells. Not a bad last meal of the year. We are lucky to have friends like this. Not to mention that we had numerous invitations of this sort....it just so happens that the commute to this friend's house was a deal-breaker. I couldn't ask for a better group of friends.

Now, as I sit and wait for the ball to drop and the new year to begin, I am of course reflecting on this past year. A new baby, a new apartment, a new problem everyday, with a near-following new solution. We conquered this year, as a family. I was able to conquer it with the support of my family and good friends. Looking back on this trying year makes me appreciate every aspect of my life....even the troublesome and challenging parts. Funny thought....I have 5 "challenging parts" sitting beside me waiting for the ball drop! They are asking all about Reba! Not much of a country music influence here on the Upper East Side, I guess.

Upon asking the fam what their favorite parts of this year were, these are the answers I received:
"Moving" (times 2)
"When the baby was born" (times 2)
"The Justin Bieber Concert"
"Getting Pepper" (the cat)
I also got a burp.

Always amusing. Always a challenge. And always mine. In just 4 minutes, we will toast with our "Kid Sangria" which consists of grape juice, 7UP, and frozen apples. I will kiss my hubby and all of my little ducks in a row. I will tuck some tired and happy and full little monkeys into their beds. I will have a grown-up drink(or 2) and then I will sleep like a baby. That is my kind of night. That is my kind of New Year's Eve.

Here's to 2011. May it be as wonderfully chaotic, and beautifully aggravating as 2010. I wouldn't have it any other way.