Thanksgiving 2014

Happy December! 

It seems like everyone is knee deep in Christmas preparations already but I wanted to take a minute to share about our Thanksgiving. It seems like the more time goes on, the fewer and fewer things I actually remember so it is good for me to document them in my blog! I blame my memory loss 100% on having twins and being sleep deprived. :o) But still, I like to keep track of what I did each year. I kept trying to remember what I did last year for Thanksgiving and every time I would remember it would be, oh yeah, it was when my mom had her accident. Of course that overshadowed the holiday and it is hard to believe that we are all here now, a year later. We are so thankful! 

Thanksgiving has never really been a holiday that I have celebrated at my house- it seems like most of the time we do something low key at home just us or we are guests somewhere. This year was no exception to keeping it low key as I originally planned to just make a meal for Scott, Michael and I since traveling or leaving the house was really out of the picture. After finding out my brother and his wife did not have any plans for the day, we invited them over and I didn't even have to alter my menu! :o) I was making a ton of food! 

The day ended up going very smoothly and we had a nice time catching up with my brother and his wife. It was nice to have the extra hands for baby holding! I also enjoyed having a small group as we could actually eat in my dining room which basically never happens. It is really fun and makes a meal feel more special. 

I started preparations the week before with grocery shopping and then actually getting things put together starting on Monday. My motto is hope for the best, plan for the worst and I knew with two crying babies my moments of hands-free quiet time were limited! It ended up working really well with me making all the side dishes and getting the dining room set up before Thursday. Then on Thanksgiving I just had to do my turkey (which is a job in itself) and get everything heated up and on the table. It may sound easy, but I was busy the whole morning while trying to prepare and also wrangle three children while my husband slept in and then snowblow-ed the driveway. 

I tried to find some things for Michael to help with so he felt a part of the day. He set the frozen rolls out in rows of four and also helped mix my spices for my rub. We also had fun making candy turkey's out of a ritz crackers (a tradition in my family). 

We usually make the candy turkeys with chocolate bon-bon's but I couldn't find them in the store and thought the Reeses were a good replacement. Michael also had fun customizing his own turkeys the way he wanted. So funny! Can you tell which one is his? 

The Menu: 

Herb Roasted Turkey (19 lbs!)

Mashed Gold Potatoes

Homemade Gravy

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

Green Bean Casserole

Corn

Stovetop Stuffing

Canned Cranberry Sauce

Dinner Rolls

Hyvee Pumpkin Pie

Snacks:

Cheese tray

Crackers and Cheese Ball

Cranberry & Cream Cheese Dip 

I was proud of myself for having everything ready to go right at one o'clock! I watched several youtube videos on carving a turkey which helped immensely in getting good slices of meat off my bird. I also made homemade broth and got lots of yummy little pieces of meat off the carcass so I can't wait to make turkey soup! 

(only one of my girls in their special outfits!)

It was a great day! I hope you also had a great holiday!