What Super Bowl?

Tonight DD1 and I had the house to ourselves.  The noisier half of our family (including the dog) headed to a friend's to watch the super bowl and we spent the evening doing anything but (a few sour grapes from a devoted Packers fan).  Following our anti-superbowl agenda, we boldly watched Toddlers and Tiaras while we indulged in mounds and mounds of nachos.  Count on TLC for a few shows to make you are glad you are sane (and even sometimes, confirm you are sane).  Watching pageant parents parade their "sexy babies" (see Tom Hanks clip posted next for reference on this) around is enough to make anyone feel a little superior in the parenting department.  And lest we feel good about gorging on nachos, the next show highlighted the story of a 600 pound woman confined to her bed eating fried foods and drinking pop.  Lesson learned.  We ate nothing more for the rest of the evening.  When the TLC program that followed started with the words, "The orgasm....", I lunged at the tv and turned it off.  On to project B--making tomorrow night's dinner.  We have some friends who celebrate Chinese New Year and always make us some Chinese Dumplings.  This year did not disappoint, they were as fabulous as always.  Only this year I got smart and decided to ask for the recipe.  DD1 and I made our first batch tonight and despite her disgust at handling raw pork, all went smoothly.
What a gift tonight was--whether we were just hanging out watching bad tv (training in the art of guilty pleasure starts early in our home), overeating (sadly, another family tradition), or learning to make something new, I truly enjoyed every minute of our time together.  I know teens can be difficult but under the eye rolls and the one-liners, my teen is a pretty great kid and I am grateful to share moments like these with her.