Thanksgiving Day, 2010. Our son's first Thanksgiving. Lots of pictures and wonderful memories with my sister and brother-in-law. (They flew out to spend the week and holiday with us...and to meet the newest family member.) The day started a little after 8 am. (At least that's when I made my way out of our bedroom to the kitchen to start making breakfast.)
The night before, my sister and I prepped as much as we possibly could to make Thanksgiving day as stress-free as possible. With myself 2+ weeks post c-section, and my sister 22 weeks pregnant, it was bound to be an exhausting day in the kitchen. So prepping included making the breakfast casserole and taking out the puff pastry for the following morning, chopping up onions and celery for the stuffing, making the pumpkin surprise, green jello & custard, and writing out a rough time schedule for food prep/oven time for the next day. Come morning, while breakfast was in the oven, we took our first Thanksgiving picture as a family of three, still in our pj's, as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was starting.
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| our first Thanksgiving as a family of three |
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together of sausage, egg, bread, and cheese casserole and chocolate-cheese Danishes. However once that was over with, it was right back into the kitchen to get dishes cleaned up and to get the turkey into the oven.
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| sausage, egg, bread, and cheese casserole. so easy. so tasty. |
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| my favorite chocolate-cheese Danishes |
Once we felt like everything was under control in the kitchen and we had some time between the turkey cooking and putting the sides in the oven, it was time to address the table. The table situation didn't go as I had originally planned. I wanted to bring in our dining room table and chairs from storage and set them up in the middle of the living room. This plan had been in my head for well over a month. Well, come time to set up the table, a certain someone thought that was a bit of a hassle, so I had to settle for sitting around the coffee table. I was unhappy with this idea at first, but I came around. After all, the color of the coffee table would bring out the blue in the fabrics to be used on the table. But that's not the way things ended up panning out either. Travis knew I really wanted to sit at "normal" height for our Thanksgiving meal, so he took off quite secretly to run to Walmart on Thanksgiving morning. He returned with a card table and chairs. His intentions were incredibly sweet, but now I had to address an unattractive, black, plastic and metal collapsible table. I didn't have a table cloth that would work with the table linens. I was seriously distraught for about half an hour. Sad, I know. But setting the table is my favorite part of any holiday meal, and now this was the second time I'm having to re-think my table setting. So, after racking my brain for a table solution, I ended up grabbing a throw blanket, tossing it in the wash, and then laying it over the table to serve as our table cloth. Not ideal, but it worked. From here I could move on to setting the table. Given the table was now significantly smaller than I had originally planned (and re-planned), I was forced to downsize the centerpiece. (As well as serve the meal buffet-style.) C'est la vie.
Do you remember the
fabric leaf bowls that I made a few weeks back? I finally get to share how they were used on our Thanksgiving table! Quite simply, actually. With the addition of a small pine cone and name card, each guest is invited to sit down and fellowship around the table while enjoying a much anticipated meal. I love the variety of contrast between the tablecloth, China, leaf bowl and pine cone.
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| even Callan got a place card...although he slept throughout the meal in his pack-and-play |
While we still had some time before we had to make our way back into the kitchen, we wanted to take a few family photos. Callan decided this would be a good time to take a nap.
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| group shot |
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| sisters |
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| me and my boy |
After about 3.5 hours in the oven, our bird was ready. As the bird set for a bit, the sides got tossed in the oven and mashed potatoes were made. We sat down to dinner just before 4:30 pm. We enjoyed a quiet, casual meal together as a family.
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| the finished bird - cooked to perfection |
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| I had already started in on my plate before I remembered to snap a picture |
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| even Callan had a post dinner coma going on |
After dinner was over and the kitchen was cleaned up (which took about an hour - love those holiday clean ups!)...and we had some time to rest and digest, it was time for dessert. Green jello and custard sauce had been a tradition on my Dad's side of the family for years. It always followed Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents. My sister and I have loved this tradition since we were little girls, so I thought it was only appropriate to bring it back this year as we celebrated the holiday together with our little families. I even had green goblets, like Mama used to serve it in.
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| "green jello" and custard sauce |
About an hour later, I whipped out round two of dessert. "Pumpkin Surprise" is one of our favorite Fall desserts. My mother-in-law introduced me to this yumminess several years ago, and it has become a staple to our Thanksgiving meal.
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| "pumpkin surprise" |
Well, that was Thanksgiving 2010 at our place. Good food, great company, lots to be thankful for. Callan's first holiday in this world. A memorable day. And as my brother-in-law would say, "good times".
Keep 'em comin'.
Hope your Thanksgiving was equally blessed!
