Family Matters

And I did it! I cooked my first Thanksgiving turkey!  Granted, once my mother-in-law got to our house, she did most of the basting.  But I prepped the turkey - massaged it, seasoned it.  And I have to admit, if I never have to touch the inside of a turkey again, I don't think I'll be disappointed.

Overall, I'm glad we hosted.  It was wonderful to spend our first Thanksgiving in our new home.  But, as it goes with hosting, I felt like I was working all day.  Between cooking since 6 a.m., trying to keep the house clean for guests, and catering to Marlo who woke up with an ear infection and a fever, I was pooped by the time it was all said and done.  Oh, and not to mention cleaning by hand all the fine china.  Ugh!! What a  pain!  But, I loved using my china.  Little things like that do make my day.

Poor Joe was exhausted.  He's been working like a crazy person and had to be at work on Black Friday at  6 a.m.  He was so tired that he wished my mom "Happy Birthday" instead of a Happy Thanksgiving when she left!   But at least he was well fed!  We all were!

Joe's entire family was there and my mom and brother Chris and his girlfriend were there.  I wish my entire family could have made it, but so be it.  My older brother and his wife had their own Thanksgiving and my younger sister has been MIA for a while living up north.  Since Joe's immediate family is just his parents and his sister, we always know that they will take part in family gatherings. But with multiple siblings I guess it's harder for everyone to get together.  When I told Liam that his aunt and uncle weren't coming to Thanksgiving because they were having their own, he responded, "But mom,Thanksgiving is for family."  This made me smile and broke my heart at the same time.  I love that my three year old is aware of the importance of holidays and family.  But it also made me sad to think that although this is true, not everyone thinks this way, and it doesn't always work out with people's schedules and what have you.  I can't expect all my siblings to come together for every Thanksgiving.  I am hoping that once there are more kids in the family, there will be a greater desire to come together because Liam could sure use some buddies at the kids' table! We did get to Skype with my aunt and uncle and cousins in Wisconsin and that was pretty cool!  Liam remarkably remembered who everyone was even though he only met them once.

But we did have a wonderful, wonderful time.  I am already looking forward to Thanksgiving next year - mainly because I won't volunteer to host!

Here are a few pictures!

19 lbs.  Whole Foods Kosher Bird

Prepped and ready to roast!

Cooked and ready to eat!

A little decor and a cozy fire!

The adults' table!

Took out the fine china!

Kids' table

Liam's place setting

Hand turkeys by Liam for everyone

A picture of my darling (who woke up with a fever and an ear infection!)

Oh, and one more adorable story - when I asked Liam what he was thankful for, this is what he said:

 "I'm thankful for bananas, and mommy, and daddy, oh, and I like strawberries, so I'm thankful for strawberries."   (Note:Liam does not like strawberries.)