Thanksgiving

Finn and I had Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's house today.  It was crazy, and awful, and fun and all that Thanksgiving should be.

J did a great job of planning the timing of things - she has ordered a turkey already made, so all that needed to be done with that was heating it in the oven.  As soon as it was in the oven, we started on the prep work for the potatoes and the dressing. We decided to use the Food Network' mix and match dressing recipe (you can find it here but I like the way they have it laid out as a list in their magazine better); for our bread we used challah bread, then added pears and apples, pancetta, gruyere cheese and gouda - it was amazingly good.  We also did a medley of roasted potatoes:  sweet potatoes, red potatoes, purple potatoes and Yukon gold.  Last night I made a homemade apple pie (with gala, pink lady and braeburns - yummy!), so dessert was one thing we didn't have to worry about.

Our plan was to share the prep work, and at first that went well, as Finn played happily on the floor and her boys napped.  Then Finn got fussy and I had to take him to D's room to nap.  He stayed asleep for about 30 minutes, then was up again, but unhappy and needed constant attention.  I  finally got him to go to sleep again, but he didn't sleep long again, and woke up just before it was time to eat.  Which meant that dinner was eaten with me holding him.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  My sister ended up doing most of the cooking (I did chop up two apples and all of the celery) while my brother-in-law watched football and complained about anything she asked him to do to help out with the boys.  He's usually really great (he's even changed Finn's diapers more than once) so I have no idea why he was being so annoying.  But whatever the reason, the two older boys got more and more wound up through out the day, while my sister worked in the kitchen and bickered with her husband who was doing his almighty best to be a pain in the ass.

And then it was time to transfer the turkey from the roasting pan to the serving plate, a job B actually volunteered to do.  I was helping the boys arrange their chairs in the dining room when I heard a crash, followed by swearing.  The turkey and all its juices were on the floor.  B burned his hands trying to pick it up, my sister was trying not to cry, the kids were asking if the turkey was broken and I made things worse by laughing.  I couldn't help it.

Luckily, the turkey was salvageable, and the rest of the food was delicious.  The boys made a mess with their Thanksgiving dinner while Finn chowed down on pears (in his mesh feeder), and I ate one handed with my plate out of Finn's reach, and my sister and her husband ignored each other.

D (the 4 year old) declared he was thankful for his brother and for Finn - and then went on to say he was thankful for everything in the world - except salad.  And broccoli.

I'm thankful for my family, even when they're dysfunctional.  I'm thankful for the miracle that is my little boy, and thankful that he's celebrating Thanksgiving in good health.  I'm thankful for my friends.  I'm thankful for all of you reading right now.  And I'm thankful for the piece of pie in the kitchen that's calling my name.

Happy Thanksgiving!