Who would have thought that it would take having kids to meet some great people and get invited to some fabulous New Year’s Eve parties??? I say that, but I once had someone tell me that kids will introduce you to some of your best friends. Jay and I are beginning to see that.

Thane and Mara were invited to a New Year’s Eve Party, Puerto Rican style. As their parents, we got to tag along. The theme was to celebrate at 10 pm Central, midnight in Puerto Rico and ring in the New Year with pots, pans, and fireworks.

In honor of the ethnic event, I decided (aka was mocked for not wanting to by Liz) to make baklava for the very first time (how do I not have a picture of it??) I do not bake. I cook, but I do not bake. I love food, but I only like sweets. Give me a hunk of bread and good piece of cheese over a piece of cake any day. However, my new cooking fever made me curious. Being the quality project manager I am, I evaluated the risks and when I went to the grocery store I not only bought the ingredients for baklava, I also bought a box of Carrot Cake mix to mitigate any risks. Either way, I was showing up with a dessert.

Jay and Thane went to sleep. I don’t remember why but they were both exhausted. Mara was sleeping as well. It gave me a quiet house to obliterate the kitchen. I mean bake.

I have to say, even though I was worried the baklava came out pretty well. The syrup, eh. Next time I will use a candy thermometer (again, thanks Liz). The Persians at the party appeared to be big fans, so I feel good!

We arrived at the party and the kids went downstairs to Wonderland (seriously, the downstairs is one huge playroom with every toy imaginable…one of the perks of having 3 kids!) and the parents stayed upstairs. Jay floated between areas but I think he was having as much fun playing with the toys as Thane was.

Dinner was an entire ethnic feast, with Spanish, American, Persian and Greek tastes.

Thane found a Viking hat at the house. I guess his Nordic roots are coming through. At one point he even drank (through a glass) his milk from it. He loved it so much that at the end of the night when he was giving it back, Mark said he could borrow it until he was done with it. Very cool.

Around 10 pm we headed outside to do sparklers and fireworks. I was very eager to have Thane hold some sparklers and celebrate. Jay played the role of Stephanie very nicely and was a nervous wreck the entire time asking me if I had any clue what I was doing. The same sentiment was echoed by Lisa Marie when she saw the Sparkler pics on Facebook and asked what I was doing letting her godson play with fireworks. Thane and Mara were a little edgy when the real fireworks came out so we went inside and watched from the window. That was much safer, as Thane said.

Champagne and Apple Cider bottles popped and we were then able to head home before all the crazies hit the road, making phone calls to family and friends on the Eastern Time Zone.

I think we were even asleep before the strike of 12 here in Nashville. Damn we are old!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 11:51 pm and is filed under Mara 12-18 months, Posts with Photos, Thane 2 years, Thane-isms. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.