Thoughts on yesterday...

...in no organized fashion because my organization mojo is plum worn out right now. ;)

- Had a fabulous Thanksgiving with family and friends...thanks to those who were here! Made it so much more special to share the day with you!

- Woke up yesterday with no voice...which made sharing Thanksgiving with family and friends more difficult. ;) Rather irritating because I had plenty to say, lol, but I'll make up for it later. 

- I'm pretty sure we cooked and carved the turkey upside down. (True story.) But. It turned out wonderfully...thank you, Pioneer Woman! The other dishes, btw, also turned out well. Feeling like we might actually be capable of preparing a decent meal, lol. Also, thankful for the lovely sides and desserts that others brought. Nothing better than food prepared by other people! ;) Yum!! Bummed, though, because I really failed in the photography department once people showed up. Darn it all. (Even after my public service announcement about that yesterday...in all fairness, though, I scheduled that post the day before while I was all optimistic and able to talk. Then, Thursday actually came and I didn't have my act together quite as planned, lol.) But. Here are a couple shots I managed to remember to take while we were prepping things the day before:

(These are the sweet potato dish and the skillet cornbread. We also made cranberry-pomegranate sauce, creamy mashed potatoes, and pumpkin muffins thanks to the Pioneer Woman's recipes.)

- The kids all seemed to enjoy themselves...playing in the basement, challenging each other on the Wii, general play and so on. Plus, they all made little ship placeholders. Remember, I was telling you that I was going to try these to coordinate with my centerpiece? Well, one, those coffee holder things are awesome. And, two, it's unrealistic, apparently, to expect boys to make Mayflower like ships when given free reign. Asher almost immediately turned his into a pirate ship and Noah's first take was a modern sailing yacht. Micah's, since I know you're wondering, was an exploration ship sporting a sail decorated with a fight scene from Star Wars, of course. And, both Asher and Micah immediately needed "cannon holes" in their hulls. Lovely. 

Here are the boys working on their first ships (over the course of Thanksgiving, they each made more than one). I love how these pictures capture each boys' personality. Micah simply set to work and had fun coming up with his own thing. Asher went to google for a picture of the "jolly roger" and set about drawing and coloring, wanting to be as true to form as possible. And Noah got out the rulers and stencils and carefully measured out his design.

I was pleasantly surprised at how excited they were over this craft, though I suppose it shouldn't come as a huge shock. An opportunity to construct a vehicle of sorts? Definitely caught their attention better than coloring a silly ol' turkey. ;) (It didn't hurt that I added caramels and butterscotch candies to each ship on Thanksgiving while they served as placeholders, lol.) Speaking of which, here are the finished ships:

- I have a whole new appreciation for dish washers. And counter space. (Man, I need more counter space.)

- I also have a whole new appreciation for just how much work goes into planning a full meal for multiple families. Oh, we've had folks over before and all, but nothing enough like yesterday to remind me of meals growing up...the kind that my parents would make that would feed 40 easily. Seriously. Hats off to you, Mom!

- I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on tv for what, I think, is the first time ever. The boys joined me and were amazed...they have a definite difference of opinion as to what makes a good big balloon character, though. In particular, they just could not figure out why there were no Star Wars characters represented. ;) (Micah thought it was fun to try to guess how many people it took to hold each balloon...sometimes the announcers would mention it.)

- Very thankful for our lovely dining room table (that made seating everyone possible) and the new plates and flatware that I scored this past month. I actually set the table, which doesn't happen often around here. ;) Isn't it pretty?

- Yay, too, for Thanksgiving providing the motivation to finally finish putting things on my poor mantel. It has been naked much of 2010 whilst I kept talking about putting up these shadow boxes (that have been sitting in my office much of 2010 as well).

- And. Did you watch the 2010 Punkin Chunkin tournament to cap off your evening? Yeah. We did. ;) (It was even hosted by Adam and Jamie from the Mythbusters...can't get much better than that in the world of my guys, lol. Well, maybe if Darth Vader hosted?)

So. How was your Thanksgiving?

Comments

[Monique]

OMG! That's funny. We made our first turkey this year at home and also cooked and served it upside down!! It was delicious anyway!