What is is about holiday parties that make people lose their minds?

I went to my neighborhood holiday party last night. I didn't have to go far (literally right across the street) and I was excited to be out of the house past 7pm...that hasn't happened in a long time (7 months today actually). :-)

Marc and I were going to go to the party in shifts since we didn't have a babysitter for Isabelle (Mom is in Florida and Dad originally said he would babysit, only to snatch that nugget of hope away because he forgot he was going to be in Pennsylvania). For a moment, and it really was just a moment, I thought that maybe Marc and I could both go and just bring our little portable video monitor with us (since it gets pretty awesome reception). But then I realized, very quickly, that it was not the best idea and probably means that I'm a bad mommy for even thinking it. Sometimes you just get a little nutty at the thought of going out...know what I mean?

The party was great...lots of food, booze, music and nice people. After a little while, I called Marc to let him know that I would come home and he could have "his turn", but (and this is why I LOVE my husband) he told me to stay because he knew how much I wanted/needed a night out. I ended up bartending for most of the evening (because that's my comfort zone) and shooting the breeze with everyone until nearly 1:30am. During the party, people really just lost their minds. One of the girls hung Christmas tree ornaments (the balls) from her shirt in two "interesting" spots and wad dancing around, one of the guys ended up in a toga and I might have smushed cake on my neighbor's shirt (he dared me to and his wife said it was okay so what was I supposed to do?). I had a few drinks (which hit me like a ton of bricks since I haven't really had much alcohol in over a year) and overall had a blast. Last night, I was not a mommy...I was just a chic hanging out and having some drinks with friends.

Of course, as soon as I came home I was back in Mommy-Mode because the first thing I did was pump-and-dump so I wouldn't get my child drunk in the morning ("Mommy, is that screwdriver I taste?"). My lovely daughter reminded me, very loudly at 6am, that I am in fact a mom and not just a chic hanging out anymore. But the headache, puffy eyes and exhaustion today was well worth it. Yay for the holidays!