Happy Thanksgiving 2008

We started our day off by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. The boys and I sat on the couch in our jammies for about 1/2 hour and watched the parade, and then we decided it was time for a bowl of cereal. We ate our cereal, and then played for a little bit before we started cooking dinner.

I enlisted the boys to help me make the pumpkin filling for the pie. They were great helpers! Somewhere in the midst of our baking I left out a key ingredient....sugar! However, I didn't realize that I left it out until the pie was almost done. **NOTE- sugar-free pumpkin pie smells the same as regular pumpkin pie.
So, we weren't off to a good start. In fact, I didn't have anymore pumpkin so we made a trip to good ol' Wal-mart. I put on some pants, a hat, and my coat and off we went. Surprisingly, it wasn't crowded in the store, so we took our time and got a few extra things including a foil roasting pan,( I dug through all the boxes I could reach, and couldn't find ours), a meat thermometer, and some beautiful fall flowers for our table.

Pumpkin Pie Round 1

This was our first Thanksgiving ALL BY OURSELVES- no friends, no family- It was just the four of us depending on me (Kelly was at work, so he was no help) to come up with a successful turkey dinner. I have to admit that it was a little intimidating at first, especially as I ruined the first pie, but as I started cooking and the wonderful aromas filled my home, I realized I would be okay. In fact, it was so weird that those yummy smells could fill my home without 10 people in the kitchen.

Our Thanksgiving Centerpiece

At mealtimes during the month of November we created our "Turkey of Thanks" each one of us would think of something we were grateful for, and this is what we were able to create. He turned out beautifully.

I seriously cooked, baked, organized, washed dishes, set tables, washed dishes some more, cleared counters, etc.. ALL DAY LONG!! There was no respite! But, it was good and I had fun. The meal turned out delish, the turkey was divine, and pumpkin pie round two was absolutely heavenly! I don't give myself much credit for things in life, but thanks to my mom I can make one mean pie crust- they are GOOD!

The Cook

My sweetboys ready to dive into the meal

We had all the traditional foods. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and then I made green beans with almonds, and we had virgin strawberry daquiri's to drink. Yummy!

We finished the night by playing Memory with the boys. Team "Hunter and Daddy" won, as my brain was fried from being in the HOT kitchen all day long!

It was a fun and rewarding day for me, and my family loved the meal. And to top off a great day, Kelly washed all the dishes from the meal and last minute cooking dishes. What more could a girl ask for????