Happy 2007: may it be at least as good as 2006
January 2, 2007
I made this from the wire off of our bottles of champagne. My kids thought it was so cool. Even my 12 yr old who thinks precious little I do is cool nowadays.
I celebrated 2006 ending the same way that I rang it in a year ago. Surrounded by the people that I love the most.
The ones who drive me to the brink of insanity, and yet are the very reason I stay sane.
The ones who make me laugh, the ones who make me cry.
The ones who make me want to pull out my hair and go running and screaming naked down the road.
The subjects of 95% of the 4000 photos I took last year.
The ones who make me aspire to be a better person.
The ones who have taught me that love is not a feeling but rather an action I chose every day.
As midnight approached we all stood holding our glasses of champagne, or mock champagne as the case may be, and counted down from 30 out loud. We had just finished playing a game of charades in a way that only a family with a competetive streak can. There were a few times that I thought I should get up and get my camera, to preserve the moment for posterity. But I never wanted to step away from the action, from being a part of the moment.
I didn’t want to make that shift from participant to observer that so often happens when you are trying to document things. And so I have no photos from our night of charades.
But I don’t think I will ever forget how my 6yr old acted out Santa Claus by drawing an imaginary hat and belt on himself. Or the surprise we all felt at how good this child was at playing charades. Or how my 10yr old began pantomiming building a fire and I screamed “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire!” Which was a really incredible guess given the absence of any other clues. And how we all high fived each other and screamed.
We clincked our glasses together at midnight and wished each other a happy new year. A year like the one that had just passed.
The next night we sat around the table eating. My 6 yr old said something mean to my 10 yr old, and despite my warnings they would not stop bickering. My two most difficult children enaged in a battle where neither of them would let it go. Letting go is not their style and when the two of them chosde to engage in a battle of wills, it can never end well. In keeping with his lack of impulse control, my 10 yr old picked up his slice of pizza and whipped it across the table at his brother. It missed him, grazed my hair, and splattered on the wall behind me.
And as my son stomped up the stairs to his room, I had to laugh. It was shaping up to be a year exactly like the last.
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Sounds like your new years eve was great. Memories like that help in more …trying times, I’m sure. I’m so glad my kids aren’t the only ones whose battles are to the death, or grounding, whichever comes first.
January 2nd, 2007 at 12:00 pmThe chair is too cute!
January 2nd, 2007 at 12:19 pmThat chair is so cute! You may have started a new craft trend. Your NYE sounds like a blast. I actually look forward to when my kids can stay up that late so we can celebrate it together.
Happy new year!
January 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 pmSounds like a great New Year!
The chair is adorable.
January 2nd, 2007 at 1:44 pmHappy New Year, Chris! Onward and upward!
January 2nd, 2007 at 2:00 pmChris, I,m Darren,s mom and read your blog occasionally. I sent your Christmas message to my sister in Floria. She wants me to encourage you to enter it in Good Housekeeping, saying it is by far better than most of what they print. You are an excellent writer and we can,t figure out how you manage to do all you do and raisae such a beautiful family. Loved your birthday blog for miles also
January 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pmGreat little chair! And so glad the pizza missed everyone’s faces….
January 2nd, 2007 at 2:26 pmI love the little chair! You could make a cottage industry out of selling these. of course, you’d have a drink a lot more champagne then. Darn.
January 2nd, 2007 at 3:57 pmThe chair is hilarious. My favorite New Year’s Eves are the ones spent quietly at home with loved ones, too.
January 2nd, 2007 at 4:23 pmHe THREW the pizza? Ohmigod. That is too funny. Your six year old must have really made him mad!
January 2nd, 2007 at 4:30 pmHappy New Year!
January 2nd, 2007 at 5:11 pmThat is pretty cool. And your New Year’s Eve sounds amazing. You have a very blessed family, Chris. Good job.
January 2nd, 2007 at 5:21 pmFabulous chair. Would love to have a grown-up size one. Of course it would last 2.2 seconds around here. Sounds like your family had a great time. Happy New Year!
January 2nd, 2007 at 5:31 pmLove the chair, I must drink more champagne so I can try that.
A large family around the table eating Pizza, an angry 10 year old boy and a mum yelling “Go to your room” … I see Home Alone.
In fact your storeys, you wonderful large family and your lovely big house has a lot of Home Alone in those first few scenes! Could this be movie material?
January 2nd, 2007 at 6:12 pmSigh. I LOVE your family! They kill me.
Sounds like a fun night, all around.
January 2nd, 2007 at 9:33 pmThe chair is darling. Your creativity is unending.
I nominate you as having the coolest family EVER!
January 2nd, 2007 at 9:39 pmWhat great memories! I’m looking forward to getting to know your insurgents. Happy New Year!
January 2nd, 2007 at 9:50 pmSeriously, who are you? With increased frequency I am convinced you are some sort of creative borg, and therefore I am released from all responsibility of ever trying to keep up with you. (Translation: may this wino have one of those spectaculous chairs?)
You continue to amaze me. I’m sure there will be only more in 2008.
Happy New Year, sweet girl!
January 2nd, 2007 at 10:02 pmHappy New Year! May the flying pizza keep you laughing all through 2007.
January 2nd, 2007 at 10:39 pmOnce again I say…Thanks for sharing your family with us! I do hope you have a wonderful 2007!
January 2nd, 2007 at 11:49 pmLove the chair!!!
Happy 2007 to you and yours!!!!!
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:05 amI so wish I’d seen this chair before I tossed our, erm, five bottle tops. What? We had people over! ha ha. It’s very cool. Happy New Year to the whole Trench!
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:17 amYour boys’ fight and throwing pizza is priceless! It reminded me of the time my girls (now 13 and 10, then they must have been 3 and 6-ish) were in the backseat as I drove down the freeway. Something set them going, and they were having the craziest slap-fight I’ve ever seen! Pulling hair, slapping, crying, screaming. Oh my. All I could do was laugh. I still laugh, thinking about it. Thank goodness I can laugh at least some of the time!
January 3rd, 2007 at 1:43 am“Love is not a feeling but rather an action I chose every day. . . ” Wow, if only the whole world would read these words, and then act on them. Happy New Year to you and your dear family, and thanks for a year of great blogging!
January 3rd, 2007 at 2:37 amSigh- how refreshing to hear that someone’s else family, too, can go from picture perfect to, well… slightly less than perfect…. in a flash. All that baseball and his aim is still off?
January 3rd, 2007 at 2:40 pmI am watching my husband make your chair as I write. He, who like your son, rarely finds anything cool, thought it was amazing and vowed to make it for the kids’ dollhouse. Because we never throw anything away we didn’t even have to crack a bottle of “champanoid” to make it. Though, we plan on drinking one as soon as he finishes to celebrate a free gift for our daughters upcoming 6th b-day. Thanks for the idea!
January 22nd, 2007 at 11:33 pm