Turkey Day and one 1st birthday

Let's back it up to the day before

Wednesday

Prep Day

Entertain the masses day

And I am referring to kids out of school

Not family in town

Cause it was just us

Cleaning Day

If you are that kind of person

I'm not

(And I'm ok with that)

The boys finished up their pine cone turkeys

I think they are hilarious 

And this might be our new seasonal craft

 Wednesday morning with a list of things to do

And very energetic boys

It took us 2 hours and 5 timeouts to get out of the house

I threw my plans out the window

And decided running around the park was the best bet for us all

Besides it was an unseasonably 80 degrees

with freezing temps knocking on the back door

At Colton's request we went to the duck pond

Really the local kids fishing pond

But with stale bread and tortillas 

They flock to you

Then a few feet away

One of several playgrounds in the park

Connor is getting great at his balancing act

Tried to pose for a picture

unsuccessfully

This is also the day I was no longer allowed to call Connor by his birth name

Had to be called Dan

from this new show DINO DAN

I obliged

It was just easier

While the boys napped I prepped my dressing

Granny's dressing

And let me just say

Watch out GRANNY

I did an excellent job

If I do say so myself

After dinner we decorated our cupcakes 

While the big boys helped 

Christian cleaned out the drawers

I was so proud of myself for keeping the kitchen clean all day

With each pot and spoon I used

I washed it up or loaded it in the dishwasher

But in the 20 minutes we spent here

The place was destroyed

And of course 

Christian melted quickly

So we headed straight upstairs

Then Mark entered

into the war zone

 And our result

These cute little turkey diddy's

But they were not easy for a beginner baker

Needless to say

I only make about 8 of them 

The rest got 1 spread of icing

Maybe a few sprinkles

Doesnt' matter

I am about to toss the 2 dozen cupcakes

We will never eat them all

Good Morning

Happy Thanksgiving

and

Happy Birthday

I was prepared for the day

with a cooking plan in place

All while feeling a bit

sad

for lack of a better word

Turkey in by 7am

then dressing

followed by sweet potato casserole

then the rolls

Green beans and mashed potatoes going

Pecan pie made the night before

Lunch at 11

Naps at noon

TOTAL PLAN

And it all worked out

 The first turkey

Pretty proud of myself here

FOR REALZ

I was most nervous about having to stick my hand in there and pull the junk out

So I made Mark do it

Hey, what are husbands for

Only to discover it is just a sealed, non clear bag of juicy stuff

Just sitting inside the bag

No big deal

I can barely stand to watch Martha Stewart prepare a turkey

Something about raw white meat that grosses me out

It started when I was prego with Connor

Couldn't even eat chicken for a while

Let alone cook it

But I stuck my hand under the skin and everything

It turned out a bit dry

But the flavor was good

And what Thanksgiving table is complete 

without a can of jellied cranberry sauce

No one ate it

But it was there

And the boys plates remained untouched

SHOCKER

Mark is always my honest food taster

Even though I get mad at him

He agreed the turkey was a bit dry

"I've had worse"

he said

The sweet potatoes were not sweet enough

I don't eat that, so I have to take his word on it

He said it needed more brown sugar

My recipe did not call for that

But when he said it

ding,ding,ding

A little bell started going off in my head

I know I read brown sugar somewhere

And I know I did NOT get it out of the pantry

at all

So I grabbed my recipes out

And sure enough

There was suppose to be brown sugar in the pecan pie

WHOOPS

Good thing we had 2 dozen cupcakes 

Over all a good lunch

Not bad for my first cooking

And Princeton the Turkey

turned out very full

Lots and lots to be thankful for

Mostly the zoo (from Colton)

all though it was probably more requests than thanks

After nap we celebrated Christian's first year

I plopped him down in the middle of the table

with his own cake

in an effort to recreate his pictures

Don't you know

he was not so into this time

But it was still great

He was not so into unwrapping gifts

But the birthday cards were a big hit

And lucky for us

We have a 4 year old who is a great gift unwrapper

He got a tricycle from moms and pops

A chair from us 

Pj's from Connor

A nativity scene from Colton

Clothes, book, and an ornament from Aunt Sissy, Uncle T, KK, and Thomas

A turtle that puts stars on the ceiling from Ilan and Castel

Such a wonderful day

Except for the big boys and I are getting sick

If you want to watch some video you can do so here

Now it is time to get my Christmas cards out

(If I don't have your address please email me)

And plan Colton's party

Here or in TX?

I can't decide