NYE

We had a really nice New Year's Eve at home with the girls. They were pretty excited about the concept of a NYE party and were dying to stay up until midnight. We promised them they could stay up late, though did not promise a midnight bedtime. I read that Netflix had a fake countdown hosted by King Julien from Madagascar that lasted 3 minutes and was designed to "trick" kids into thinking they had made it until midnight. We decided it was slightly cruel, but fabulous, and tucked that idea away into our back pockets.

Jillian was really excited about our "fancy food" dinner of fun snacks...cheese/fruit platter, baked brie, shrimp cocktail, marinated feta, roasted red pepper hummus, and some spreads I picked up at Trader Joe's. She was most excited, however, about getting to use her Disney Princess Cookbook to make our dessert--Tiger Stripe (aka butterscotch) fudge

She also got to make our breakfast for the New Year's day--we whipped up some overnight french toast out of the book. She did most all of the work and cracked eggs for the first time. She was full of giggles and glee as she did this. 

Jillian and Elsa presenting a plate of the fudge

At some point in the night Matt asked the girls if they wanted a tent sleepover, so up went the tent in Adrienne's room. We blew up air mattresses and let them have the ipad to watch a movie....and voila! We had the rest of the evening to play games downstairs while they partied upstairs. 

Ah, it's finally "midnight" (actually 10:30...still very very late) and we watched the "countdown". Jillian thought it was totally hilarious. Matt and I couldn't believe she was satisfied by this. 

Where was Adrienne? Well, she passed out about 8:30 mid-movie, Elsa wig and all

Showing off her delicious breakfast creation the next morning. It really was good! Know what else was good? Not a peep from anyone in our house until 8:30 that morning! Woot!

Since I am a person who needs closure on just about everything, here are my thoughts at the end of 2014....

Jillian--Started Kindergarten, lost her first tooth, quickly learning to read and improving every day, handling a full day of school with grace and enthusiasm. Turned SIX. Asked important, value-forming questions. Tried soccer, drama, basketball. Budding pianist and chef. Awesome kid, growing up so fast.

Adrienne--Started preschool, forming her own identity there separate from her sister. Started tiny soccer, made her first friends of her own, said farewell to diapers, wrestled with scary dreams, fell in love with Queen Elsa and all things FROZEN, tried her first summer morning camps, gained the independence to play on the playset alone with Jillian. Turned THREE. Melts my heart everyday with her sweetness, and keeps us all rolling as the family comedian.

Matt--Juggled family demands, both near and far, handling all situations with an uncanny ability to maintain a level head under stress. Published A LOT of papers. Wrote a couple book chapters (one to be published in Gray's Anatomy), traveled to San Diego (twice), Scotland, New Orleans, and Orlando for work. Spent many early mornings enjoying his sauna. Struggled to find time and energy to balance work, family, and taking care of himself. Started piano lessons again after a 20+year hiatus, constantly amazes me with his ability to watch a youtube video of a new song, then play it.

Malia--Constantly striving to organize routines, cabinets, and copious piles of paper. Did probably a million loads of laundry. Broke up sibling squabbles. Read a lot of books. Cooked a lot of meals. Went to sectionals for tennis and won my first singles match after a 2.5 hour battle. Led Bible study, continued to sing at Bible study, started boot camp. Fell in love with boot camp, on a mission to fight the middle age metabolism decline. Resumed piano lessons after a 20 year hiatus, feeling blessed by our wonderful teacher and overwhelmed with the joy that making music brings. Made two solo trips with Matt (San Diego and NOLA), felt victorious after actually enjoying a family trip to Disney World. Savoring this "sweet spot" of parenting--totally loving this age of my girls.