Turkey Day 2013

Thanksgiving is usually a pretty well-attended holiday at Nola and Nopsi’s house, but we had extra family at the table this year. Cub, Car, and AD#1 came into town from Arkansas to celebrate with us. After meeting up at Nola’s for a bit, some of us decided to get the party started a little early with lunch out at Gott Gourmet on Wednesday afternoon. (And dessert in the form of caramel pretzel bread pudding with salted caramel ice cream. Yum.)

 

{How cute is my Riley-bean in his little peacoat (and my green scarf)? I actually ordered this coat for him when he was less than 6 months old from Zulily. There were only bigger sizes available, but I liked it so much that I decided to get him one anyway, even though he wouldn’t be able to wear it for awhile. It’s still a little big on him, but oh. my. cuteness.}

  

{Rory was pretty cute in his penguin outfit, too. I bought it before he was even born, on a huge sale at Gymboree. I had to guess at the size, but I figured a 6-12 month would be just right, since he would be around 10 months when it would be cold. However, I severely underestimated the chubbiness of my second born son. This might have been the first and last time he wears it.}

Both boys slept in a bit on Thursday, which was awesome. We had a nice, relaxing morning lounging around after breakfast and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Then it was suddenly almost noon and we were supposed to be at Nola and Nopsi’s at 1 and no one had showered or dressed or gotten together the things we needed to bring with us. Oops.

We got there about 20 minutes late; everyone else had arrived on time. But there were plenty of appetizers left and Nola handed me a glass of wine shortly after we walked in. Kenny got Rory to go down for a nap, and Riley and Kate had fun playing before dinner. No biggie.

  

Jeff, Cub, and I (and our spouses and kids) were seated at the “kids” table in the den while the grown-ups were at the main table in the dining room. All good, though; I bet we had more fun.

Dinner was fantastic; everyone at our table agreed that the ciabatta pancetta stuffing and the panko-crusted green bean casserole were our favorite dishes. And no matter how many new pies Nola tries out over the years, the old standbys of Mississippi Mud and pecan are always the crowd pleasers. I look forward to that mud pie all year.

As always, thanks so much for having all of us over for a wonderful dinner, Nola and Nopsi. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

First Haircut {Rory}

Well, it only took seven months longer than his brother’s first…..

 

…..but we finally gave Rory his very first haircut last weekend.

Handsome boy.

PK3 Potluck and School Holidays {Happy Thanksgiving}

Last Friday was Riley’s class Thanksgiving party. It was in the style of a potluck dinner, with each student responsible for contributing something that started with the first letter of their first name. Cute!

I of course came up with raisins for Riley to bring, but I wanted to do something else as well. After some thought, I added some Reese’s pieces into the mix and ended up packaging individual treat bags for Riley and his classmates. The potluck was supposed to be family style, but I figured there would be tons of food and this was something easy to put together that the kids could take home with them. I created a cute little tag using PicMonkey and put all of the assembled bags into my bread basket to take with me to the party.

 

Lots of parents attended the party, and we were scrambling a bit to get everything set out on the tables and labeled appropriately before the kids arrived. But we managed to finish up in time to see them parade into the cafeteria, holding hands with their partners and wearing their special Thanksgiving hats (the boys were Pilgrims; the girls were Indians).

 

Once we had loaded up the kids’ plates and said a prayer, they tucked into their Thanksgiving feast. Riley especially liked the sugar cookies with red icing, although he did eat a few healthy pieces of turkey and apple too.

 

 

The half-hour party went by super fast, and then it was time to head home for a week-long break from school. Riley gave Ms. Amanda a big hug and told her he was going to miss her over the holiday (which I’m sure is true but make no mistake: he is psyched to be home this week).

Speaking of the holidays, we unfortunately haven’t been able to do too much of anything because of the lingering sickness. We’ve basically been inside for five days straight, staying warm and trying to get better. In fact, we’ve all been wearing our PJs much more often than normal, which I suppose is acceptable given the circumstances.

  

We’ve also watched lots more tv than normal, which is also acceptable, if only for my sanity. In addition to plenty of the standard Mickey and Turtles, Riley discovered the movie Robots, which has become a new favorite. He was locked in from the get-go. The little one was too, once he woke up from a nap.

  

But we’ve also baked a fun treat, eaten a train-shaped PB&J sandwich (he took three bites and I finished the rest), and played a fun matching game that goes with one of our favorite bedtime books. So we’ve managed to have some fun while stuck indoors. (Although I could not get Riley to agree to do some more finger painting. Rats.)

 

But today, Thanksgiving Day, we will be surrounded by family, which is so important, especially at this time of year. Nola and Nopsi are hosting a dinner for 15 people at their house, and that’s where we’ll be, sitting around a big table, stuffing ourselves silly, and enjoying the day.

I am thankful for a lot of things, but most of all I am thankful for my little family.

  

A very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, near and far. I hope your day is everything you want it to be and more.