The parental New Year

by Kristin Darguzas (Subscribe to Kristin Darguzas's posts) Dec 31st 2007 4:38PM

I don't know about you, but I've found it nearly impossible to find a babysitter for my son. The sweet teenaged girl down the street covered for me once, and I think I paid her well and thanked her appropriately, but she's been unavailable every time I've called her since that first time. I've poked around on Craigslist a bit, looking for an occasional babysitter so I can go to yoga or a night class, but nothing has ever come to fruition. And I'm somewhat resigned to a complete lack of social life, unless my Mom or brother happens to occasionally feel exceedingly patient and equipped to deal with Nolan's preference for never sleeping and tantruming often.

It's New Year's Eve tonight. I have An Inconvenient Truth lined up and ready for the DVD player. An open bottle of Cabernet sits in my kitchen cabinet and I'm ready to down a glass at midnight. But other than that? I'll be reading blogs, checking on my sleeping toddler; most likely I'll be sawing logs well before midnight. But even if I did have a babysitter lined up, I'm not quite sure what I'd do with myself. Partying rabidly is not an option when one has a 6:00 AM wakeup call.

How do you plan to ring in the New Year? Please tell me that I am not solo in my utter lameness.

Comments (15)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Crystal 12-31-2007 @ 4:43PM

My husband works 2nd shift, so he wont be out of work until midnight. The kids will be off to sleep by 8:00. And, I'll ring in the new year alone, on the couch, maybe a margarita in one hand and my cell phone in the other.
So, you arent alone in your lameness. I'll be lame with you. :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

ame s 1-01-2008 @ 4:21PM

How lame is it that I don't mind staying home tonight, with a bottle of wine, a bottle of champagne, a pan of homemade lasagna, a 7 & 9 year old, a husband, and the new Harry Potter movie?
When my late husband was alive, my parents kept our girls overnight on New Year's Eve, 45 minutes away. Now that they are 5 minutes away, I have the urge to keep the girls at home. Go figure! They will probably ignore me most of the evening, considering they received their first non-handheld gaming system for Christmas. That's okay. I love knowing they are upstairs.

Jake 12-31-2007 @ 4:58PM

My partner is 35 weeks pregnant, and I'm a law student. I'll be working on a paper tonight. I'll be up for the new year, but she'll likely be asleep and there won't be much revelry, if at all.

Angella 12-31-2007 @ 5:11PM

Oh, Kristin. I just posted about our utter lame-ness when it comes to New Year's. The last time I stayed up until midnight was 1999/2000.

The kids wake up at the same time, and also? I'm quite dull and boring ;)

Karen 12-31-2007 @ 6:40PM

Well...I'm right there with you in the lame department.

Only -- I have you beat. This is also my anniversary. When we got married on this day we thought it would be a great time to go out and celebrate and that there would be all kinds of activities. Well...there are, but I've been pregnant for two of the New Year's Eve nights and the rest of the time I was either nursing or they were too young to leave with the hard to find sitter.

So, we will be sitting around the table playing board games with the kids. No champagne either.

Ho-hum....B O R I N G!

Eva 12-31-2007 @ 6:06PM

I certainly hope I'm not awake at midnight! If I am it's because somebody's teething.

Melissa 12-31-2007 @ 8:17PM

You are lame, Kristin, but I'm lame along with you.

I think I have you beat, though.

Huband: In Afghanistan

Children: Older one asleep at 6 due to no nap today, little one asleep at 7:30, though nine-month-old wakes every 30 minutes (I'm not joking) and has to be put back to sleep.

Dog: Refused to do business all day, so will most likely have accident

Wine: None

Whine: Plenty

Movie: Don't have, so am hoping something good will come on cable. BASIC cable.

A girlfriend was telling me about her NYE plans today: Get the kids today and make fondue with her husband. I was SO JEALOUS. That's how lame I am, that I'm jealous of other people's lame plans.

I wouldn't trade my kids for the world, I wouldn't. But it sure would be nice to have just one more fun NYE.

Mary 12-31-2007 @ 7:51PM

My two older children are out ringing in the new year, while my 11 yr old and I sit and watch cartoons and bake a cake. Bedtime will come about 10:30 because we always wake up early. I got over being lame on new years many years ago. And when I did get the chance to go out a few years back, I was actually ready to go home about 11. Being lame isn't so bad.

Ethel 12-31-2007 @ 8:06PM

The most we'll do is wake up when our neighbors light fireworks and bang on pots and pans to ring in the New Year. Not for us, to comfort the preschooler and toddler - the preschooler from the scary noises and the toddler because his brother is screaming. After we settle them in, I'll curse the neighbors for having illegal fireworks (every freaking year) and then instantly regret it since they were just being jubilant, and secretly planning on walking two loud children who suffer from voice immodulation by the neighbor's bedroom windows around 6 am.

Happy New Year!

Judy 12-31-2007 @ 9:00PM

I've spent the whole day feeling bad about the fact that it's New Year's and we're not only not doing anything, but due to the holidays and all the travels and family, we're so broke we can't even buy a bottle of champagne without putting it on credit. (We have wine and beer though.) And the baby (well, he's 20 months) is going through such a needy phase right now that earlier when I said I was going to the bathroom, he came running over to cling to me, and my husband had to do some serious distraction just so I could pee in peace, so therefore there is no chance for a babysitter.

But - after we gave the boys a bath, I did go put on some nice clothes, makeup, and brush my hair, so that at least I look nice to ring in the New Year.

The last time we celebrated NYE? As in with other adults, maybe even outside the home? Hmmmm .... 2001 we were in New York, but spent midnight in the hotel watching the ball drop on TV, just like the rest of the country. 2002 I don't remember, but don't think that's because I was too drunk to remember, LOL! I don't think my husband and I have ever really celebrated New Year's in style. Maybe next year - the kids will be old enough for a sitter, I won't be nursing anymore.

Samantha 12-31-2007 @ 9:10PM

At least your lame at home. I have to be lame at work until 11:30 where I'll then race home, I live half hour away, where I'll arrive to a bunch of drunks and we know how fun it is being around drunks when you're sober.
Happy New Year!

Kim 12-31-2007 @ 9:45PM

Yep, lame here too. Kids are in bed. At some point Oliver will scream for MAMA! because one of his socks has slipped off. Baby will want to nurse at least twice in the night. As much as I adore champagne, what I would like even more is a kid who sleeps for twelve hours without need of my boobs.

JenniferW 12-31-2007 @ 11:03PM

This was my exact conversation with my family at Christmas. Going out and then caring for a toddler New Years day isn't my idea of fun times. And a babysitter? What's that? I even hate to pay for something like sittercity or care.com if I don't find anyone there!

Keri 12-31-2007 @ 11:38PM

Naw, you are not lame. I, too, am staying home snuggled in bed reading emails, blogs and now am about to read a book while my hubby is watching a movie downstairs and my son is sleeping in the next room. More likely, I'll be asleep before midnight rolls around. It's been a looooong day celebrating the upcoming New Year at First Night Burlington with a toddler. I'm pooped. Happy New Year to you and Nolan! May you be showered with more joy and less tantrums. ;)

Ann Adams 1-01-2008 @ 12:15PM

I already said something about this in another post.

We're always lame and this year wasn't any different. We both came down with colds two days after Christmas (at least we go through the family dinner) and have been miserable ever since.

Last night I was determined to make it until midnight. We watched a Mozart festival on PBS which took us until 11:30 and Dick Clark. I poured us each a small glass of Martinelli's, watched the ball drop (actually it had dropped 3 hours earlier in New York - we get it on tape delay here), and shortly after fell asleep.

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