Our Most Excellent New Year's Eve

We had a super-fun New Year's Eve day today. First, we braved going for dim sum in suburban New Jersey. There is was, China Gourmet, a non-descript and ramshackle building with two crumbling lions standing guard out front. The parking lot was empty, and we almost didn't go in.

Thank goodness we didn't turn back. Because the Golden Panda has totally Chinatown-quality dim sum. The parking lot was even packed by the time we left. So for all of you who thought good dim sum in the suburbs was the thing of myth, I can tell you... it's not.

Then we took the kids for "ice cream" - which was really frozen yogurt at Red Mango. They were super-happy.

Once it was night out (which my son calls medium-dark) we went on a tour of the holiday lights around town ending up at a surprise destination, which we managed to pull-up to at the exact right time - just as the fireworks started. We let the kids stand-up and watch them out the sunroof and they were flipping out at how cool it was. The huz and I were quite pleased too - it's not often we get to keep a surprise from our three kids.

Now we're back home, hanging out and watching TV. I promised the two big girls they could stay up till midnight. The rational part of me knows this will not seem like the best idea tomorrow when they're tired and cranky.

But the even more rational part of me knows there aren't too many more New Year's Eves the kids are gonna want to spend with their mom, even with the promise of watching fireworks out the sunroof.

And now if you'll excuse me, my daughters tell me it's time now to dress-up to watch the ball drop.

Happy New Year!

Note: Post totally uncompensated in case it sounded otherwise with the Golden Panda and Red Mango mentions.