I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. While I am indeed thankful to have Ted and the children to spend the day with, I've come to the conclusion that Thanksgiving just isn't the same without additional family or friends to add to the excitement. It seems like too much effort making a huge meal for just five people, so if anyone ever needs a place to go, give us a call.
This year, I am pleased to report that our full-sized turkey turned out much better than last year's attempt at a turkey breast. Many thanks to my mom for giving me the courage and know-how to take on the project, Oprah's cooking show, the turkey advice online, Sierra for accompanying me to purchase the turkey, and Ted for removing the giblet bag. This was no small emotional obstacle for a vegetarian to overcome, so I needed a lot of help getting through the process. It didn't help when Sierra was cradling the little frozen cornish hens and singing them lullabies in the grocery store. (She wants a baby chick so badly after holding one at a friend's birthday party, so I think this was the next best thing to having a pet of her own.)
After spending Tuesday and Wednesday making four pies and the side dishes mostly from scratch, I have vowed to make things easier and lighter next year. I've had a stomachache for a couple weeks, and we normally don't eat rich food, so I felt like I was forcing myself to eat what we had spent so long making. I do think the kids enjoyed the holiday, watching the Macy's Day Parade and sampling all the new dishes. Sierra was extremely dainty dabbing her mouth with her cloth napkin, and Caleb tied his napkin around his neck and dug into a huge helping of turkey and cranberry sauce. Madeline loved the pumpkin pie so much she inhaled four pieces without swallowing.
I've always wondered what Black Friday is all about, but have never dared venture out. This year Caleb promised to go with me, so I spent a couple hours looking through the online ads and seeing what was available. Caleb wanted to leave at 4:30 am, but I talked him into waiting until a more decent hour. We started at Wal-Mart just as the sun was coming up on a very dreary morning, and we couldn't find a single item from our list still in stock! We headed over to Target and found everything we were looking for, and then went to the mall and Costco. I don't think we got any fantastic deals, but at least we now know what it's all about.
5 comments:
Exciting Thanksgiving. Brent took out the turkey organs and let the kids have an anatomy lesson with them. They loved seeing the heart. I don't even like eating meat that's on the bone. It's to "graphic." Makes you realize what you're really doing.
I'm glad we'll have a house full of family for Christmas.
I can't believe you made a whole turkey AND braved Black Friday. You were daring this year.
I laughed so hard when I pictured Sierra cradling the baby carcasses. She has such a tender little heart. Just don't ever unwrap one of those baby chicks and let her see what's happened to it! Hope you're feeling better by now. Wanna hit the after Christmas sales here in Tucson?
I'm glad you had a good Thanksgiving. You are very brave to put together the entire meal by yourself.
I have friends who get together with other families (not relatives) with kids the same age as theirs and have a big potluck Thanksgiving. Makes things lots easier - and it's fun. That might cut down on the tummy aches too.
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