Thanksgiving Part II

Thanksgiving Day

 We got up at normal time on Thursday, but we did something out of our normal routine--watched the parade! That is, until they were bored with it! We finished up what was left over from our pie crust snack and headed to Grammy's house to feast on delicious food!

 Once we got there, the kids immediately started playing--like they always do. Bug loved playing with this laundry hamper cart. 

These three played nicely together--though Miss Scrunchie mostly crawled around--or should I say scooted around the wood floors (we don't have wood floors so this was fun for her). 

Ummm... sweet Boushka was trying to be sly, bless her heart! Cracker sneaking = Not a Success!

This one lost interest in the puzzle and decided to decorarte (or did she REdecorate???) Grammy's table. She did a wonderful job!

And I feel proud of this girl; she put a 100 piece puzzle together in no time. I HATE puzzles and never did/do them with the girls when they're little (yes, this is one mommy-ing area I fail miserably in), so I'm happy she knows how to work these things!

The sweet, little goofball enjoying her first Thanksgiving on Daddy's lap. Mmmmm... fingers!

The only man in that house (until my sis gets hitched or we have a boy... which do you think will come first?) carved the turkey. I equate this chore with taking out the trash---it's just the Man's Job because that's just the way it is, and for no other good reason (smile)!

Grammy starts the gravy. I intended on getting the whole gravy-making process photographed, but I think I got distracted by (5) something(s)!

But I got back to picture-taking mid-carving time. Mmmmm.. delicous (to us, not Scrunchie. She still likes her fingers).

Oh yeah, and POTATOES!!! OMG (yes, I wrote those three letters because I'm quite immature for my age) this child is a potato addict. 100% Irish genes flooded this baby's body at conception!

Most of the spread!

But this sweet appetizer (sweet as in awesome, not taste) was not on the table. But it's so lovely I had to share it with you! Mom made it per my request--I call it a salmon log, though I'm not sure of its official name. It's cream cheese, green onion, smoke flavor of some sort, parsley, nuts... I'm not really sure, but I love it.

Turkey, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes (we had allergy friendly mashed potatoes as well)!

Mandarin orange salad, both allergy free and regular sweet potato casserole and the other mashed potatoes!

I made the sweet potato dishes and a craving of mine pictured here--cheesy hash brown casserole! And my stuffing that nobody really ate! We had mom's regular stuffing as well, but I guess it wasn't on the table when I snapped pictures!

We went around and said what we were thankful for. I believe she said her family!

I'd be lying if I told you I remembered her answer, but I'm all honest when I say I bet it had to do with crackers!

I honestly think she said everything! 

I think mom's grateful for everybody's good health!

She usually repeats what the sister before her said--family, I think she said (SMILE!). 

He said he was grateful the doctor was able to correct his eye/tongue coordination! (HAHA) Okay, fine! He was making a face at Scrunchie! 

Once the meal was finished, we all retired to the living room. One passed out!

The older three watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving. 

And sweet Boushka passed out. She was totally exhausted after no nap and all that activity!

We also fought for that wishbone. Brownie and Peach originally played the tugging game, but Peach moved on to Daddy. I just love the look on her face in this picture. This is the second to last in a series of pictures where she's making scowls and frowns as she fights for that bone! The last picture is her smiling at her accomplishment!

I decided we needed to do a craft too. So we made a mailbox for Santa communication. I had all the materials laying around the house, so I gathered it up to take to Grammy's. The girls enjoyed cutting and gluing--and so did I! 

We have had a couple of letters delivered to us from Penguin Man (our version of Elf on the Shelf), and we also plan on putting your letters to Santa in this mailbox. Craft Success!

We came home Thanksgiving night and pretty much crashed. It was a long and busy day, but we were excited for what was in store for Friday! Stay tuned...

Thanksgiving Part I

 We've developed a tradition in our family that involves pies and movies on Thanksgiving Eve. My husband is Master of Pie Making because he likes to make a really yummy crust and then pour in cherry pie filling. We're not typically fan of canned food (except the kind you can at home), but we get crazy around the holidays!

 Daddy had two helpers ready to go at the island. Boushka was taking it all in this year.

And my sweet Brownie (wait! I just realized she's not wearing a headband or a tiara) was offering her expertise in pie making!

 I love that we have this tradition. Pie's nice and all. It's not great for you--so you get to feel sinful. It's so delicious and there's basically no nutritional value contained within it's crusty/fruity gooeyness! But why I really love this tradition...

 has a little do to with the fact that my girls and we are making memories, but...

 once the pie goes in the oven,

 and we gather up all the left over crust stuff...

roll it out...

and make cinnamon and sugar pie crust strips for snacking (while we watch a movie--this year it was The Grinch).

And while the kids bake with daddy, I cook whatever part of the feast I signed up to make. I made an allergy-friendly (egg and milk free) and regular version of sweet potato casserole. One sweet potato I had was part white on the inside. I have never seen this before, so naturally it was photographed!

I also made a cornbread/cranberry stuffing--also allergy-friendly. My mom made her normal stuffing (sans egg) and I'll say, it's hard to part with traditional stuffing. I don't think my family is a big fan of A) trying new foods, or B) entertaining the idea of a sweet stuffing. But I thought it was good, even though I think I also prefer the regular, more savory, stuffing.

Pie crust and my favorite wine... YES, PLEASE!

She didn't have the wine! I promise she just naturally passed out on daddy so cutely!

In the midst of all the Thanksgiving cooking going on, I also made a new version of potato soup! Oh my! To die for! This is the perfect recipe. I always thought my potato soup needed to be more creamy than brothey, but this new version has me drooling when I think about making it again.

If you care to try it, just saute one onion (chopped) and a little celery (couple ribs, chopped) in some olive oil. Pour in a can of broth and add about 5-6 red, new potatoes (I didn't peel mine). Add some seasonings, about 1/2 a t to 1t each, depending on your tastes (sugar, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover pot. Cook about 15 minutes on low. Combine 1/3 c flour and 1/2 c milk and pour into pot. Boil again for a couple minutes. Then add cooked, chopped turkey bacon (about 8 slices), 1 cup of frozen peas and 2 more cups of milk. Stir it all up, dish it out and gobble it down. I plan on making this once a week now! *I made a version of this soup with almond milk for Bug, and she ate it just as well, if not better, than her sisters. 

Once the pies were complete (anybody missing a Dora phone?) and dinner was gone, we goofed off in the family room without tv or computer distractions.

They all huddled near daddy while I watched the goofiness happen.Tickles, ballet poses, giggling, smiling... all happened that night.

And if you're the jealous type, please ignore the pudge that is my baby's belly--that cuteness could make anybody jealous.

Silly!

Sweet!

And often, quite sassy!

We hope you'll stay tuned for Part II--coming soon!

Our Week

You already know that we had rehearsals last Sunday--here are my Cherubs (SMILE)!

Aren't they precious?

We spent some time at home this week trying to get caught up on house work--but it never gets caught up! We ran typical errands, and other than regular ballet class on Monday night and MOPS on Tuesday morning, we had a rather low-key week.

Thursday was a fun day. The little two and I got out to get some Winter Necessities! I stopped by Starbucks on our way to run errands--I felt that the 34 degree temp warranted a cake pop for the Boushka and one for her mama! Oh, and I enjoyed a 100 calorie skinny peppermint mocha!One of the reasons I love winter (SMILE)!

I found a few things at Bed Bath and Beyond--a couple of gifts for family, and some delicious K-cups--but I loved these pillows. I really wanted bright orange, but no store has any, so I was willing to settle for these. I should say, I WOULD be willing to settle for these lovlelies since I didn't actually buy them.

Then it was off to Target to purchase 3 different kinds of acetaminophen/Ibuprofen. I forgot to buy tissues, but I did pick up some baby items too. No, not this cute pink chair (though Boushka wishes I would have), but I did pick up our first container of puffs for Scrunchie.

I think this would be a fun flip-through cookbook. I love PD, but my hubs thinks she's a bit off her rocker. I think it's mostly because of the way she uses butter and says oil--as if she was saying awl. I think she's a hoot to watch and listen to, and I don't mind a couple dishes comprised of 50% butter and 50% other good, sweet stuff!

We then had our favorite sandwiches at a local-ish restaurant. And baby Scrunchie ate her first puffs. I'm not a huge fan of these things, but I was interested in checking out her pincer grasp. And she's got it nailed down. I knew she would, but I was in denial for the first couple of months.

The next day we were celebrating our first school Thanksgiving lunch with Peach. Before we left, however, I had everybody suggest one-two items for Turkey dinner.

It's blurry, but you can see what everybody suggested. Daddy's name is missing next to the cherry pie and mine is missing next to the sweet potato casserole. And you can't see it here, but Boushka wants the mandarin orange salad. Quite the line-up for my family plus one! But I love the cooking portion of holidays. And I really like it when I'm only responsible for a few items on this list--and I'm going to try some allergy friendly versions for my kiddos--espeically Bug.

We headed to lunch after that. I mostly ate the pumpkin pie--I also nibbled on the roll. But I'm not a fan of cafeteria food--for many reasons. But the kids seemed to like it just fine. We all got a plate and gobbled up the turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, roll and pie.

Just being silly.

Just another great photo with my iPhone--it'd be nice to get the newer version that would take nice pictures.

We also got our new furniture (minus two of the four dressers) on Friday. Here all five girls on the top bunk of Bug and Boushka's bunks. They were all excited.

Not that you can tell here, but trust me she was!

Saturday, Bug and I went on a long overdue date, just the two of us. She chose to eat at Chick fil-a. We then walked around the mall and peeked in at Gymboree. And wouldn't you know, they had the perfect necklace to match this dress (pretty much her favorite dress).

We had to hurry home so we could make it to another Nutcracker rehearsal. Matt took the girls because I didn't feel well. He also took Peach to a bowling party with her friend Jack. We're kinda sweet on that boy!

Today, my mom offered to take all 5 girls for four hours. I was jumping up and down in a Christmas Morning kind of way! Really, all I want is a few hours a week to do some house chores or run errands--basically just doing things that need to be done without kids. So I got that today, but I also had my husband with me. So we were able to get plenty accomplished. The girls' rooms are as done as they can be until the two other dressers come. We got almost all caught up on laundry. The kitchen was clean at one point today. And some of the upstairs got vacuumed! We baked two whole chickens (we like to do this on Sunday so we have some food to work with throughout the week that's already cooked). I also washed and shredded my week's worth of lettuce (for salads) and made the most delicious soup ever (and I may have been talked into making rice krispie treats)!

It's just a variation on my chicken noodle soup--and I didn't take a picture of this delish dish, but I'll give you the recipe (to the best of my ability since I didn't measure anything) for my new
CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP
 (THIS SERVED 2 HUNGRY ADULTS with a few bites for the little minions)

*3 celery stalks, chopped
*1 small onion, chopped
*3 T butter
*about 2T flour
*equal parts whole milk, heavy cream, and chicken broth (I'd guess I used about 1/2-3/4 cup each)
*2 carrots
*about 1 cup arborio rice
*shredded, cooked chicken
*a little salt, onion, salt, black pepper, thyme and rosemary

1) Saute celery and onion in butter until just softened.
2) Sprinkle flour on veggies until mixed in.
3) Pour liquids over veggies and bring to a boil. Add carrots and rice. Then turn heat down to a simmer.
4) Continue to stir and add chicken and seasonings.
5) Keep stirring and adding seasonings to your liking. I ended up adding a little more broth at the end just to make it more "soupy."

Super yummy and filling for these cold nights ahead. In fact, I tried convincing my girls to eat it at dinner time and they refused. I finally convinced my first-born and she was instantly hooked. She then tried to convince Brownie and the masses, but they all refused. Then little Boushka came up and asked for a small bite. I gave her one and she immediately smiled and said "mo, please, mommy!" And I obliged. Then sweet Brownie finally came in and asked for her bite. She was frowning through the initial bite and then once it hit her taste buds, she smiled. And of course she asked for more. But at this point, all I had left was what was already in Peach's lunch bag for tomorrow. But I let Brownie eat this and promised Peach I'd make her more for her lunch. So I'm outta here so I can get my rest--you know, so I can get up at 5 am for my workout (okay it's just walking) and some soup making. Happy dreams for you all about to visit slumber land too!