New Year's Eve

Alrighty, peeps. Maybe I'm aging and if so, I don't really care, but it's 9:40p, we had a great dinner, some nice champagne and wine, and now are off to watch a movie in PJs. I feel satisfied. Completely. And I will be in bed well before midnight, and that's great too.

We had toasted baguette with thyme pesto and preserved lemon crème fraîche, steak fajitas, roasted fennel and potatoes with radicchio, endive and bagna cauda (ridiculous sauce made of anchovies, capers, garlic, lemon, butter and olive oil), and in the fridge lies in wait a chocolate-caramel-hazelnut tart. Mamma mia. I'm stuffed! T is chugging water and we're just happy the boys are in bed.

Honest to god, they killed me today. During bath time I imposed monetary fines on them starting then for 1) purposefully dissolving their bath soap in their bath water ($2), 2) using the words butt, crack, fart, hole, tongue, lick and several others anymore (25 cents per transgression), 3) general rudeness, especially in the form of not listening and basic cleaning when asked (25 cents per transgression), and 4) NO dessert or gifts until I see wildly improved behavior.

"But Mom, at my old school, I LOVED the puppet theater, so I NEED one in my room."

A likely story I say. "And no puppet theater for you!"

I had such big and hopeful plans for Em-i-lis 2013 Year in Review as well as Predictions for 2014 pieces for you tonight, but the children beat me to a pulp, and this is all I can manage. Also, the dentist mentioned something about a pulpectomy or some such shit for Jack's unclean 7 year old mouth, but that kid needs to pony up with better behavior before we go on with pulp crap that costs a fortune.

So, in the meantime, I wish you all the happiest and healthiest and best-ever of years as 2014 reaches you. If you're a parent in any way to anyone, I wish you patience and godspeed. Also R&R whenever possible, even if you have to plead or pay for it.

Remember:

• if you chew gum, don't smack it with an open mouth;
• if you're wearing tight and/or white pants, please check your rearview via trusty mirror or human source before leaving your home;
• be kind because you don't know what others are dealing with;
• that said, stand up for yourself because usually, people can do more;
• write thank-you  notes, seriously!
• let things go if you can or if it's warranted (that includes to-dos, "friendships", piles of unread "I swear I'm getting to thems", etc;
• give, thank, love;
• be nice to Mother Earth;
• listen to and/or read an old, amazing speech, like the Gettysburg Address.

Happy New Year!

The past 24

People, it's been a day. My parents left, Nutmeg had a booster shot, J and I went to the farmers market where he requested at least one of everything (but was totally darling, and like I'll ever say no to my little boy wanting one more apple), Percy looked slightly mournful, we went to the playground, some of us got barbecue, another insisted on salad, O had a wildly apoplectic meltdown because I misunderstood his answer and flushed the toilet instead of letting him do so, then he had another about something involving poop and I'll leave it at that, we went to the regular market, T gave Ol a haircut, one of J's front teeth is literally hanging by a thread and is askew to a very odd degree, Ol let me know that I might find wafting crackers in some of my shoes, and Nutmeg continues to attach T's feet in bed but not mine, never mine. I did have the presence of mind to get all the necessary ingredients for steak fajitas for dinner, and boy were they good. T riffed on a Tyler Florence marinade recipe, and the steak was top-shelf. 

Have I told you that I signed up for an online food-writing course? I'm quite excited though I tend to feel about online education the way I do about e-newspapers versus the real thing (there is nothing better than the real thing); class begins 1/15, and I'm most looking forward to it despite my Luddite-like attitude.

Too, T's Christmas surprise from me was a weekend in Charleston for his January birthday, and we leave in less than two weeks. Neither of us has ever been (yes, I do feel like a failed Southerner) but have heard great things and plan to eat, drink and explore our way straight through it. Thank you T's parents for keeping our children and this gift of time together!!

What happened to the Redskins tonight? Sad.