Gobble Gobble

Pie to feed an army. Or a bunch of 1st graders.

I was really prepared for Thanksgiving to be a miserable day. You see, we don't have family nearby - 3 hours is about the closest, and we're headed to see them in two weeks for Christmas - so typically the 6 of us rattle around the house on Thanksgiving, trying to treat it as a special day when in reality, it's just like any other - only Matt and I feel like we shouldn't be doing chores, we should be relaxing, while I spend hours in the kitchen cooking a meal that will only be appreciated by about half of us. At least on Easter you have church to go to, and Christmas has presents. Thanksgiving is all about the food, and as you all know by now I'm still trying to drop a few pounds - needless to say, it's not necessarily my favorite holiday.

William's Feast of Friends luncheon

To top off THAT anticipation, the forecast was for a cool, breezy, drizzly day - so we'd be cooped up inside. BONUS! Nothing says happy like four energetic kids stuck in the house all day, right?

I don't think he knew I was coming :)

In reality, I have to say it hasn't been half bad. Evie helped me make pumpkin pies this morning, and Sarah helped trim the green beans, and was actually excited about it! The kids decorated some wooden ornaments for Christmas - thank you, Michaels, for all your awesome kids' crafts! - and everybody mostly got along without any drama - imagine that! Of course - Matt and I opened some champagne and had Mimosas throughout the afternoon, and by dinner the bottle was gone - so I'm sure that helped ease some parental pain. The chardonnay we opened at dinner has about one glass left and my name is written all over it.

William and TJ

While we may not necessarily feel like observing it, Matt and I agree that it's important to observe the traditions of the holiday because the kids won't always be little. I can only hope that 20 years down the road I'm cooking for a crush of people when my four come home for the holiday, hopefully with families in tow.

My Turkey! You should hear her gobble :)

In the meantime, I cook a turkey breast - enough for the 6 of us for Thanksgiving and a night of leftovers - and all the trimmings, and pumpkin pie.

Emma and Evie at their 'Diversity' lunch. Don't ask, I don't know.

We eat around dinner time, clean up and then have dessert...

Prayer hands!

...William spends 10 minutes at the dinner table trying to pull out his loose front tooth...

...we have pie and then everybody settles in to watch Elf - best Christmas movie EVER. We'll spend the weekend doing fall clean-up in the yard, and maybe on Sunday afternoon when it's warmer and sunny we'll get some Christmas decorations out. Or maybe we'll wait until December 1st :)

This tree outside our church had all its leaves on Sunday.
I took this picture on Tuesday. By Wednesday it was bare.

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Whenever Evie brings schoolwork home, I always have to check the back of it - you never know what you're going to find - nothing I'd like better than a cat that enjoys coffee with her morning paper....

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And finally, I'd like to direct your attention to a little poll I have at the top of the page: I try to post twice a week and feel kind of bad if I miss one, as - due to the magic of the internet and statistical counters - it seems that some people stop by more frequently than that. SO - if you wouldn't mind responding, I'd appreciate it. If you want more Harried Mom, I'll do my best to oblige - and if you really don't care, then I won't worry about it :) Thanks in advance!