A noise I couldn't figure out woke me up this morning.  It wasn't exactly a clicking sound, but it was rhythmic: tick tick tick tick tick  It sounded like the furnace going wonky, maybe, so I got up to check.  Partway down the hall I realized that it was Nate playing drums on Rockband. 

I looked around the living room:

• candy and candy wrappers – everywhere
• kid who slept in and was still wearing yesterday's clothes shredding his drum solo
• television, DVD, and Wii remotes strewn about, some open and missing batteries
• iPods, headphones, and a tool box on the ottoman
• empty wrapping paper tubes, broken from swordfighting

and the kitchen:

• empty glass coke bottles (Mexican Coke yummmm)
• squeezed lime halves
• empty glasses that held rum and coke the night before
• Cup 'O Noodles wrappings in the trash
• more candy and candy wrappers

The clock read 9:38 a.m., and Nate and I were the only ones up.  He said good morning to me, and reminded me that after SG gets back from his motorcycle ride, they are going to the skate park.  I stood there, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, and realized that winter break is almost over and our frat house ways are going to have to come to an end.  

Christmas this year was awesome.  It was quieter than it has been in years past, but definitely all the better for it.  Soph was stoked about the chocolate coins in her stocking:

SG came over at the end of the day, around 9, and we bundled up and went outside to ride skateboards and new bikes until 11.  I don't want to get all sappy, but it was nice because it was joyful.  It felt like Christmas is supposed to but never seems to anymore. 

The next day we went to Granny's to meet up with and introduce SG to all the local family, plus my brother and his wife and their not-born-yet baby, visiting from Portland.  That was pretty great as well; it was sunny so I sat outside most of the day watching the kids (and SG) skate and run around.  Soph brought her giant tray of makeup that she got at her dad's house, and the girls' older cousin put makeup on them.  It came out much better than the makeover Soph gave me.  (Contrary to what Sophie thinks, I cannot pull off the blue eye shadow, unless by "pull off" you mean "look like MiMi from the Drew Carey show.")

I had a lovely and very much appreciated weekend with my guy while the kids all went to their dads' houses.  

This is going to be a good year.  We started it off right by eating our black-eyed peas for good luck and toasting each other with mismatched fancy glasses full of apple cider (champagne for Willow and Sophie, margarita for Nate, red wine for Lex and a mini mason jar for me).

Happy New Year.  Here's to love, warmth, happiness, and laughter, and to always having enough of them in our lives to make the hard stuff more bearable.