<p>fencersmother, welcome. You have found your people! We are always happy to have another antic sense of humor around. </p>
<p>I love that Xmas card! I guess if you have 9 kids you’d better have a FANTASTIC sense of humor…</p>
<p>so I guess I’ll be spending New Year’s Eve in the Alley – I really do hate the night, we normally have a quiet evening with friends, but this year – no plans whatsoever and I’m feeling a bit like a loser. Not that SA is populated with losers – just the opposite! So can we break out the streamers and bang our pots and pans? Happy New Year to all.</p>
<p>Well, my college freshman finally turns l8 TODAY. </p>
<p>My favorite birthday for him was his 6th. We’d just moved into town a few months prior. He knew enough new schoolmates to invite a few over for a sleepover. Older brother and sister covered a huge bouncy ball out of aluminum foil with a cord attached, and lowered it into the middle of their party from a balcony as we all counted down to zero.</p>
<p>The best part was we’d changed every clock in the house by several hours, so this actually happened at 8:00 p.m. but the kiddies thought they’d stayed up until midnight.</p>
<p>They fell asleep soon, leaving the older portion of the household to enjoy the real moment on a televised screen, live from New York City.</p>
<p>Two forms of unreality, both fun. Happy New Year to all.</p>
<p>Hey, I just saw a clip about the New Years crystal ball in Times Square. It’s the l00th year, so they cut the crystal on both sides, used 5,000 LED lights instead of the old 700 bulbs inside, and thereby “saved energy” (huh? I guess so…). </p>
<p>More dumb statistics: the coldest it’s ever been in NYC on New Year’s Eve is 1 degree, the warmest 58 degrees. A million people gather. </p>
<p>How is everyone spending this evening?? SA must be all decked out…</p>
<p>Ivory, you are correct! There are no losers in the Alley, and therefore, you are the winner of the chicken bucket for New Year’s Eve. There are plenty of chip baskets to go around. These are worn in place of shoes because this is a classy joint, and we don’t serve anyone who’s not wearing shoes, damnit! Shirts, otoh, are not required. Otherwise, the Italian soccer team and the Las Vegas cast of Thunder From Down Under would not be allowed to serve drinks. :p</p>
<p>My New Year’s list is a mash-up of SB’s, Alu’s, and mommusic’s. But, first…let’s all sing, Happy Birthday! to my puppy who turns 12 today…</p>
<p>Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear Fluffy;
Happy Birthday toooooo Youuuuu! 
</p>
<p>Sluggbugg’s Top Ten Favorite Things of 2007</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Summer baths followed by dreamy naps with Italian soccer players who are laughing and reading me poetry while feeding me pecan pie and cocktails in Paris.</p></li>
<li><p>My kids when they have haircuts and are wearing clothes that they have paid for themselves because they have jobs.</p></li>
<li><p>No more progress notes from the high school! Thank you, Jesus!! (This one is mine.)</p></li>
<li><p>Other people’s babies, puppies, kittens, trees, and everything from the produce department. And, I want to add baby marmots and hamsters lying on their backs eating popcorn:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>[YouTube</a> - hamster piano and pop corn - criceto pianoforte e popcorn](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfqNXADl3kU]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfqNXADl3kU)</p>
<p>*No hamsters were harmed in the filming of this video. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Smiling adult children who aren’t snuggling up to me because they are trying to wangle me out of my last $15. </p></li>
<li><p>Having a conversation with my kids that does not include a discussion about panty hose and bedroom furniture.</p></li>
<li><p>Watching sluggson perform well at Urban Outfitters.</p></li>
<li><p>Hearing my kids complain about leaky bathroom sinks, antique wiring, and living in a house with other students. </p></li>
<li><p>Hearing other parents talk about their own kids and not mine, for a change! </p></li>
<li><p>Gleefully deleting email from the school district superintendent! :)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Oh! My! Gosh! That video is <em>hilarious</em>!! Don’t watch it if you’re in a place where you can’t cackle hysterically.</p>
<p>My twins turn 16 at the stroke of midnight! We have given over to shouting “Happy Birthday,” rather than “Happy New Year” when the clock strikes 12.
Speaking of which, “Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck 12, and all others escaped with minor injuries.” Ba-dum-ching! (Now where did I put that crash cymbal?)</p>
<p>Slugg- first of all, the reason I look bigger than the rest of the family is all PhotoShop’s fault, DH took my photo and I took one of him and the kids and we merged them- the perspective was a little off, I am much smaller than my DH, no need to be so snide…and I’d like to see you find a non-oily beach in california! Hmph…bulging biceps mom stalks out of the alley</p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>well it’s after 5:00 here in the East, so I’ve opened the Pinot. I decided not to be so pathetic as to sit around all night moping and went out to rent some movies. Pretty slim pickings on the shelves, so I guess we’re not the only ones. I remember my parents getting all done up to go out on New Year’s Eve, without giving a thought to whether we had anything to do. Now my Ds are downstairs preening, and the parents are eating hoagies and settling in for the night with “49 Up.” What’s wrong with this picture?!</p>
<p>Don’t feel so bad - H and I are in the same boat. It’s especially sad since even our S has plans, and he is only 11. We’ll probably be doing the exact same thing as you - renting a movie and drinking some wine. The only thing is, I can’t drink too much as I have to pick D up from the party at some point after midnight.</p>
<p>Cacthcing up and getting emotional over the birthday threads. Ending the one year celebrating life and starting the new year celebratinig life. To p3t and mo3s happy birthday (and belated birthday-however having a New Years eve birthday guarantees a celebration that goes into the next year) to your boys.</p>
<p>Ivory, I happily pass on my chicken bucket to you. Hey I spent a quiet evening at home also. I actually nodded off and missed the New Year come in (D called to wish me a happy new year and I watched the replay).</p>
<p>to all my peeps on SA…</p>
<p>*** H A P P Y N E W Y E A R S !!!***</p>
<p>Happy New Year and b-day wishes all around. My husband is a member of the New Year’s Eve birthday club, too.</p>
<p>We’ve had a perfect winter break so far, just the right combination of guests, day trips, and quiet times, and oh, my, it is so good to have all of D’s gang back home and hanging around. It was also good that the mother of one of the boys invited them all to their New Year’s Eve party and let them spend the night. We shot off a few fireworks with the neighbors, had a New Year’s toast, and went to bed happy to know that we didn’t have to worry about D being on the road after celebrating. </p>
<p>“Clock struck 12”…yeah, one of those escapee mice was running around my feet while I played the piano for our chapel’s candlelight Christmas Eve service!</p>
<p>Love the aluminum-foil ball drop and clock-switching story!</p>
<p>Happy New Year to all from another who spent the night at home, and fell asleep before midnight my time. Hey, I made it to midnight NYC time - does anything else count?</p>
<p>Does it get geekier than this: I made it past midnight, but spent most of the evening watching Lord of the Rings Extended Edition DVD behind the scenes supplental extras with D and her BF. Wife was asleep by 10:30!</p>
<p>Pass the chicken bucket hat, I’m bringing out the dad brag book. This time though, it not for the kiddies. I made a New Year’s resolution this time last year to lose fifteen pounds. One year later, I am down twenty two. Five years ago, I filled a carboard box with 30" waist pants that were too tight. I can wear them all now, fashion changes not withstanding.</p>
<p>My goal this year: maintain the current waist size and build up some upper body strength. </p>
<p>Happy New Years to all SA participants and lurkers.</p>
<p>Congrats m&sdad - you are really quite thin, aren’t you? I don’t think my H has ever had a 30" waist, at least not since he was a child.</p>
<p>Yay to M&S Dad. My New Year’s resolution was to have the tree down by now. I sit here in the glow of my living room enjoying its beautiful lights and scents. The new year is off to an auspicious beginning…</p>
<p>Failing to deny yourself of beauty should be lauded even if it means some bullet on some list is not crossed off.</p>
<p><em>hiccup</em></p>
<p>I never feel guilty about having the tree up until 12th Night. (I miss Germany where the office was closed from Christmas Eve to Jan 6.) We are having a 12th Night Party this year and need the tree for decoration. :)</p>
<p>Is playing bridge and then watching a Stargate Atlantis episode on DVD geeky? (It was the one where the two main characters - McKay and Sheppard - are playing what they think is a really cool game a la Civ 4, but it turns out they are playing with real people.) That’s what we did and then walked over to neighbors at about 11 and shared the bubbly.</p>
<p>H and I watched our fav movie - North by Northwest - and went outside in the freezing wind and banged on pots and annoyed our neighbors for a bit. Then we came in and had some Baileys and then we put on our warm flannels and read our Christmas present books and then we went to sleep and never once talked about how worried we were that the kids were “out.”</p>
<p>Mathmom, as a confirmed Stargate fan, I would contend that watching a Stargate Atlantis episode is NEVER geeky. But then, my daughter and I have an ongoing Friday night phone date; she calls me during the commercials of Stargate Atlantis, and we compare notes and reactions. My daughter even has Joe Mallozzi’s blog (producer of Atlantis) saved under her favorites…I suppose that could fall under the category of “geeky”!</p>
<p>rescue from page 2. We’re having friends over this weekend…keeping up all the Christmas “stuff” until after then…Growing up, my mother was always a fanatic about taking down the Christmas tree the day after Christmas. I always found it terribly depressing, so I swore I’d never do that to my kids! Of course, this year, we were taking down Mom’s Christmas tree on the afternoon of Christmas Day, because we were leaving early the next morning, and I wanted to get as much done for her as we could before we left. I knew how relieved she was, but it was still good to get back to my own home (and 3 Christmas trees) after our holiday travels…</p>