The Thanksgiving wrap-up

Oh, Internet ... Thanksgiving was a hoot-and-a-half -- very much as Nathaniel had predicted it would be.

We traveled to South Carolina to be with Grayson's extended family at his sister's house. There were 15 adults and 13 children in attendance, some of whom came in just for Thanksgiving day, and some of whom stayed until Friday.

Debbie had -- as usual -- gone All Out with the Fall decorations. She got that gene (and some of the decorations) from her mom.

There were turkey cozies for our silverware:



Turkey plates and acorn silverware cozies for the kids:



Pilgrim cupcakes for the kids' dessert:



Apple pie for the adults:



And more Harvest Decor scattered artfully around the house:



Prior to The Big Meal, the kids gathered in different rooms and ransacked them all ... (Don't you love all of Debbie's vintage Little People sets?)



Some of the adults gathered in the den and chatted while we waited for mealtime.



Once everything was ready, we served the kids' plates first.



Debbie set up three tables to accommodate all the kiddos. Jakey got to sit at the Big Boy Table.



Anna Kate, Abby and Ali sat at the Girls' Table.



And Coleman and Jack sat near us in the dining room. Coleman and our Jakey are only two months apart. But of course Coleman says lots of words and uses like 30 signs.



Here's my plate. Do you think I could have fit any more carbs on it? GOODBYE, JENNY CRAIG. It was nice knowing you.



I wasn't the only one who ate too many carbs.



Men were sacked out left and right.



They were all in the same room, taking up all the seating with their napping.



In the late afternoon, we had our ornament exchange, sort of a Dirty Santa game. Here's Jonah opening his ornament, with Matt and Nick helping.



And here's Patrice, holding my baby. He loves her. It's funny to me to see her holding someone besides Jonah! Precious Gabe would be exactly Jake's age today ... they were only a couple of weeks apart.


I love that Patrice is able to open herself up to Jake, despite how it hurts her soul to look at him and think of Gabe. But I know in my heart that part of Gabe lives in Jake, and when I look at Jakey, I think of Gabe, too.

Back to Thanksgiving ... after lunch some of the kids piled up on the couch with Gary to watch some football.



But it wasn't long before they were all back out on The Best Idea Ever: the bouncy house that Debbie and Gerry had rented for the day. BRILLIANT.



Will caught quite a bit of air:



Jake went down several times by himself, but he also wanted to go down with Nathaniel and Nicholas, who were all too happy to oblige.



It did not go exactly as planned.



Jake's center of gravity, along with a helpful arm from Nick, pulled him over.



Choke hold firmly in place, Jake continued down the slide with his brothers.



As uncomfortable as it looks, he was smiling when he came up for air.



Jonah watched the whole thing from the porch (and got in on the action with Matt and Patrice later, once the other kids had been pulled off).



He loved watching Will, Abby and Grant slide down together.



Grant, the oldest cousin, tried all sorts of methods. (Hi, Grant!)



The cousins all had SO much fun together jumping, sliding and bouncing all over the place all day.



We may have to arrange for a bouncy house EVERY year!



When they weren't bouncing, the girls did their own thing:



... and the boys did their own thing.



And on Friday, the WOMEN did their own thing. We went to Target to do some shopping ... we got one cart for the six of us, and we filled it to overflowing. For the most part, we shopped together, but we split up when we had to.


I am noticing how I totally stick out like a sore thumb with my DARK BROWN HAIR. It deserves all caps and an exclamation point, given how much I stick out in that picture. Note to self: Wear that shirt only under a jacket. Too wrinkly.

On Saturday we drove 30 minutes to my Grandmother's house and went to Pizza Hut for lunch with her and my parents. We love to see Grandmother whenever we can, since she lives so far away.



Mom and Dad were happy to see the boys, too, and we enjoyed our lunch with them very much!


So as you can see, it was a very busy weekend with a lot of people ... but it was all a LOT of fun! Now back to "the real world" ... and I'm getting started on decorating the house for Christmas while I'm off of work today. Laundry and sparkly decorations are the order of the day. Good times!

Top 10 reasons I knew it was Thanksgiving weekend

10. It took us four-and-a-half hours to drive 140 miles from Birmingham to the far side of Atlanta.

9. Fifteen adults and 13 children packed into one house to enjoy one meal and six hours together on Thursday.

8. I saw pieces of roughly 52 SEC football games. And I felt nothing. (Yes, the South DOES want to kick me out. I hear it's already begun formal proceedings.)

7. I kept thinking, "That's bloggable, that's bloggable," every seven minutes. But I didn't have my Post-its nearby, so all you're getting is this list of OTHER things that I can remember at this very moment. Apologies.

6. I was surrounded at all times by more Thanksgiving-pilgrim-harvest-Fall-themed tchotchkes and paper goods than any one person has ever been surrounded by, ever. EV-VER. (My late mother-in-law would be so proud ... she LOVED all that stuff and would be thrilled that Debbie is continuing the tradition.)

5. I got to see Jonah and smother him with love. And possibly taunt him with a pilgrim statuette or seven.

4. I ate my weight in carbs. Ten starches on one plate. And then I ate seconds of four of said starches. Need I say more?

3. I couldn't keep track of what day it was, any day, even Thursday. I think I was in some sort of carb-induced waking coma.

2. I went to Target on Black Friday with "three sets of Christmas PJs" on my list, and I came out 90 minutes later with $170 of "stocking stuffers" AND NO PJs. (I blame Debbie, Patsy, Tiffany, Kim and Patrice. They are a bad shopping influence on me.)

And the number-one reason I knew it was Thanksgiving weekend:

1. While I was packing our things to leave the hotel yesterday morning, our baby took off his diaper and pooped on the king-size bed, leaving three round turds rolling around on the cream-colored blanket, AND I WAS STILL THANKFUL FOR HIM.

Parlay-voo frawn-say, anyone?

I have this odd habit of projecting a French pronunciation onto words I've never heard before. It's not that they're ACTUALLY French ... it's just that if I haven't heard a word before but it COULD be pronounced in French, that's how I say it in my head.

Two that come to mind are:

1) Caillat: As in Colbie Caillat, the singer. I believe she pronounces it "Call-ay," but until I heard a DJ say it for the first time, I assumed that it was correctly pronounced "Ky-yaw." Which really sounds more like the utterance you make simultaneously with a karate chop, but whatever.

2) Henredon: There's a furniture maker of this name, and the four or five times that I've seen it in print in my life, I've always said it in my head as "Awn-rih-daw" ... well, maybe not exactly like that, but it's hard for me to get the phonetic spelling down pat on the old blawg. I STILL don't know how to pronounce it, but I'm relatively sure that it's not the way I say it in my head.

So given this idiosyncrasy of mine, you might think I'm somebody who orders "kwuh-sawn" at the bakery or "chicken cor-daw bluh" at a restaurant, but I don't. Words that ARE French apparently don't hold the same allure for me as words that just LOOK French.

I think I go through this weird thought process because I took a combined eight years of French in high school and college. I don't know. I wish I could stop. It's like I'm using up brain muscle on NOTHING.

The day after

Oh, what a DAY yesterday was! We gathered at Grayson's sister's house for a feast, and to help entertain the kids and to keep the adults' sanity intact, Debbie and Gerry had rented an inflatable bouncy house with a slide for the day.

And I would just like to say that this goes down in the record books as One of the Greatest Ideas of All Time. The kids had a blast, and nothing inside the house was broken or damaged (as far as I know).

Unfortunately, this computer is refusing to download ANY of the pictures I took yesterday, which means that I don't have anything of note to post today. Without pictures to back me up, my commentary would hardly be colorful and wouldn't do the day justice. So I think I'll just wait to post a Thanksgiving follow-up until I get home to my temperamental-but-customary PC.

I hope that you all had a wonderful day and have the long weekend to look forward to, surrounded by the ones you love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our home to yours ... wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving among family and friends.

Party of 30

This year we'll be spending Thanksgiving with Grayson's side of the family, which will be great because last year I didn't have any more vacation for the holidays because of my maternity leave over the summer, so we missed Christmas with them (we switch off holidays between our extended families every year).

Last year one of Nathaniel's Kindergarten assignments was to journal and draw a picture of what Thanksgiving is like in his family. (And remember, Grayson's family is Very Large, the group we go to the beach with each Summer.)

So when I got to that page in his Journal as I was re-reading it recently, I found this there (click to enlarge):

And that, friends, is a very accurate picture of what Thanksgiving Day will look like. Lots and lots and lots of people crowded around several tables, possibly a child sitting on someone's head, at least one person passed out on the floor napping after eating too much, and more smiles than you can count.

OhmygoshIamabsolutelydyinghere

It's been well documented here that I often leave myself voicemail messages at work and home to remind myself to do things later. I also jot notes to myself all the time ... I have Post-its in my purse, on my bedside table, in the kitchen, at my desks at work and home, in my bathroom drawer, in the sunglasses holder in my car. And that's not even a complete list.

I just remind myself about things all the time, and luckily 96 percent of the time, I get it right when it comes time to do whatever it was I was supposed to do.

The boys -- Nathaniel in particular -- are great about reminding me how bad my memory is. We have lots of conversations where I say something like, "Oh, I forgot to empty the dehumidifier when we left today. I'll have to do it tonight when we get home." And Nathaniel will say, "YOU'D BETTER WRITE THAT DOWN." I can't tell you how many times some version of that exchange is uttered in a week's time.

So last Friday night after work:

Grayson: "Hey, you need to come in the kitchen and see Nathaniel's note."

Me: "What note? Did Miss H. send a note home?"

Grayson: "Just come see."

And I walked in there and picked THIS up:


"Log on to milk roks . com."

Nathaniel explained to me that at lunch, he'd noticed a promotional note on his milk carton: Go to www.milkrocks.com and you can register for a free copy of Bakugan for the Wii (a game he really wants). And so that he wouldn't forget to do it, when he got back to his classroom, he grabbed a scrap piece of paper and made a note to himself.

Internet, I believe that is what Oprah Winfrey calls A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT.

DisneyWatch 2010: Events

Lots of you included tips on what events to make time for in each park last week that I'm not sure you'll have much to say this week ... but today is EVENTS.

Basically I want to know what events we should try to see while we're there, including parades, fireworks, etc. I'm not sure that Jake will make it to that time of night on any of the nights, but if there is something that I feel like he MUST SEE, I would try to take him back to the hotel for a long nap that day and take him back to the park for the event.

So, Internet, what say you? Any tips on must-see events?

I have another post set to go up later today, since this one didn't take any effort, so check back in a few hours!

Next week: AIR-TRAVEL TIPS (WITH KIDS)

Slices of Life, Vol. 28

Grayson: "We went to Publix on the way home, but they didn't have any Cherry Pop-Tarts ... just Strawberry."

Me: "Well, that's unfortunate."

Nicholas: "No, Mommy ... That's a SHAME!"

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While watching Wizards of Waverly Place one night before bed, the boys laughed uproariously at something one of the characters said. I thought I'd missed something hilarious:

Me: "What's so funny?"

Nathaniel: "He just said something so funny!"

Me: "Who?"

Nathaniel: "Justin."

Me: "Which one's Justin?"

Nathaniel: "Justin Russo. The tall one in the plaid shirt."

Me: "Is Justin Russo his real name or his character's name?"

Nathaniel: [rolls his eyes] "That's his character's name, Mommy."

Nathaniel and Nick, in unison: "His real name is David Henrie!"

They later recounted a similar story about Max Russo, played by Jake T. Austin. They used the "T" and everything. I think I have two budding People magazine readers on my hands.

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Speaking of Wizards, it can sometimes be a little over their heads. A couple of times per episode, I have to explain what a character meant by a particular comment. I might add a little something in my explanation about an element of the character's personality or whatever, just to help it make more sense to the boys.

Recently, while we were watching:

[Uproarious laughter from the laugh track and my peanut gallery]

Me: "What did he say? I missed it."

Nicholas: [still giggling] "He said something SO FUNNY."

Me: "Who?"

Nicholas: "The fishy-fish one."

Me: "WHO?"

Nicholas: "The FISHY-FISH, one, Mommy. The one who ALWAYS says things like that."

Me: "Ohhhhhh, the FACETIOUS one. Got it."

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Ever since Nathaniel lost his first tooth, he's been yanking at all of his others, trying to get another one to come loose. He's almost there! On the way home from school one afternoon:

Nathaniel: "Mommy, in addition to eating lunch at school on pizza, chicken finger, chicken nugget and hamburgers days, I also want to eat lunch at school on spaghetti days."

Me: " OK, that's fine. Why?"

Nathaniel: "Because my other bottom tooth is loose, and I want to eat more hard things, because I lost my first tooth when I was eating something hard for lunch. Remembah?"

Me: "Yes, but is spaghetti hard?"

Nathaniel: "Nope, but they serve it with really hard bread."


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Sometimes Nicholas is very particular about taking a certain item to school with him, whether it be his Leapster, a favorite stuffed animal or a book. One recent morning, he wanted to take a stuffed animal with him but left it upstairs when it was time to go. Once they got in the car:

Nicholas: "DADDY! I left Lammie upstairs. I need to go back and get him!"

Grayson: "Buddy, we don't have time. I can't let you go back upstairs now."

Nicholas: "BUT DADDY! I HAVE to go back. I need Lammie."

Grayson: "Buddy, we'll be late for school and I'll be late for work if we stop now. You're just going to have to leave him here today."

Nicholas: [wailing] "DADDY, YOU'RE BREAKIN' MY HEART."


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Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhht.

That noise you just heard was the sound of my Mommy Card being ripped in half. Nathaniel lost his second tooth recently, and that night he put it in his little Tooth Fairy jar at bedtime. The next morning when he came down for breakfast:

Nathaniel: "Mommy, the Tooth Fairy didn't come last night."

Me: [stunned silence] "Umm. She DIDN'T?"

Nathaniel: "No."

Me: "Well, buddy, I wonder if maybe LOTS of kids lost teeth yesterday, and she just couldn't get to everyone in one night."

Nathaniel: [skeptically] "Maybe. If she comes tonight, I'll still believe in her." [pause] "I'll give her til the end of the week."


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On the way to eat lunch at Johnny Rocket's last Saturday:

Nicholas: "Mommy, why are pigs made out of food?"

Just in the nick of time

In case you were looking for that Perfect Thanksgiving Dessert -- because who among us isn't looking to eat MORE this Thursday? -- Paula Deen has EXACTLY what you need: her Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle:



I haven't ever made it, but I'm pretty sure I will. Grayson is a big fan of gingerbread, and even though it's not my favorite thing, I do enjoy it on occasion. Other people who have tasted it say that it's GREAT! And it just looks Thanksgivingish and scrum-dilly-umptious ... I would go so far as to say that THIS IS THE UPS TRUCK OF DESSERTS. Helllllooo, Brown. Welcome to my table.


Ingredients
2 (14-ounce) packages gingerbread mix
1 (5.1-ounce) box cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping
1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional

Directions
Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar, and cardamom into the pudding.

Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle of the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Trifle can be layered in a punch bowl.

Muffins of corn

Yesterday was Nathaniel's Thanksgiving celebration at school (Hi, Miss H!), and we were assigned to bring a dozen corn muffins for the event.

I just bought a couple of those Mrs. White cornbread mixes, and I intended for Nathaniel to mix them up for me in a bowl and I'd pop them in the oven -- but then he got tied up in homework and I ended up mixing them up myself while he did his practice spelling test. (He LIVES for the practice spelling test. He was the only one in after-school care who voted to do the practice spelling test instead of watching a movie. The vote was 11 to 1. That's why we ended up doing it at home.)

Anyway, I was intrigued by the baking note on the bag that you could add two tablespoons of honey to the mix to make it a little sweeter. YOU BET YOUR BUNS I ADDED IT. (And if you're not allergic to nuts, the bag also said you can add crushed pecans. I was worried about kids with nut allergies, so I left those out.)



I let Nathaniel choose whether to use our muffin pan, mini-muffin pan, or brick pan. He chose bricks.



I love my DeMarle flex molds ... everything bakes so evenly in them, and you don't even use cooking spray or shortening or anything. (I know they're expensive ... I bought them from a friend when she was starting to sell for them, but they've turned out to be worth every penny.)



Muffins pop right out, leaving just a few crumbs behind.



It's amazing, really. When I got done popping out all of our cornbread bricks, this is what was left!



And we ended up with 12 perfect little bricks for him to take to school yesterday.


They were a big hit! And the next time I make cornbread, I will DEFINITELY be adding the honey. YUM-MY.