A No Fuss Thanksgiving

I love celebrating holidays in our new house. It just makes it feel more and more like our home.  I wasn’t sure what we were going to do for Thanksgiving until almost the very day, but all I knew was I wanted to stay home where the kids had their own space to play so that we could relax a bit. This is the first year since the kids were born that I could actually see us peacefully eating the meal without food being thrown, or other toddler nonsense. Not that I was planning on the meal being perfect or anything, but just a little more civilized than years past. We had planned on a crowd of friends and family that sort of fell through last minute, so we asked some new friends who also were without plans if they wanted to join us, and lucky for us, they did. Since it was only a few days before the meal, we decided to keep things simple, and order the meal Sprouts was offering. It was only going to be about $35 each for the turkey and 5 sides, and included a pie. We were sold. We also planned on each making a couple more of our traditional favorite dishes. I also wasn’t satisfied with the number of rolls they sent, so I made some of those too. I needed to get my hands into something or else it just wouldn’t feel like the holiday I know and love. (I used some coconut oil in the rolls, btw. Highly recommended.) KC and I set everything up the night before, something we NEVER would’ve done with younger triplets. Little things like this prove to me that things really are changing as the kids grow.

Thanksgiving morning, I headed out to the Parker Turkey Trot, and was shocked by the attendance. Over 1000 preregistered, and many more registered that day! I was not expecting that. But it was great. So many people all bundled up, some dressed as turkeys. I haven’t been running a lot lately, but wasn’t concerned with my time anyway. I cranked up my music, and enjoyed that crisp air. I love running to Christmas music. At one point I forgot I was even running because I was so wrapped up in it. The cold air did hurt a bit, but for a few miles, I could handle it. As I was coming up to the finish line, I recognized some very cute familiar faces, and didn't even technically cross the line since I veered over to them for a hug-fest (it wasn’t officially timed anyway). Best prize ever. We also ran into our cousins, and a couple friends from church. It was such a fun way to start the holiday. For me, it really doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving without it.

We headed home to do our last minute preparations. Most was done the night before, so it was just a matter of putting things in the oven at the right time, and making sure the kids didn’t make too much of a mess before the guests arrived. All went as planned, but even with the prepared meal, I was still a bit stressed with the kids getting in the way of things. I guess we’ve always had a nap time to utilize, unlike this year. I was very thankful we kept things simple this time around to preserve the peace of the day. And KC introduced them to the Macy’s Parade, which was a hit.

Our friends came, and we enjoyed the delicious appetizers they prepared. The kids enjoyed their activity pages I made for them, and we adults enjoyed talking and getting to know each other better. Eventually we all sat down to a beautiful spread, and ate a wonderful meal. My favorites are still the stuffing and pretzel jello (aka The Red in my family).

We ate leisurely, chatted a bit, and then made our way to the movie theater to see Frozen. The kids were fantastic, and we all loved the movie. The prefect post-feast activity. The dads took the kids home, while the moms braved the crowds at Wal-Mart since it was across the street. It wasn’t the worst, but definitely not my favorite setting. There was a complication with the boy bikes (they weren’t in the right place), which it why I went, but eventually, through an interesting turn of events and the generosity of a friend, they were acquired.  It was quite a bit of savings, buying three, otherwise I wouldn’t have cared. But all’s well, so phew.

After our shopping adventures, we had pie. Usually when I make a lot of the meal, I don’t focus much on homemade pie, since I’m wrapped up in other things. But this year I decided I had the time for it, so I concocted a little something. Graham cracker crust, pumpkin cookie layer, homemade pumpkin ice cream layer, and pecan caramel sauce on top. A fun switch from the regular pumpkin, or pumpkin ice cream pie I grew up loving. We barely made a dent in it. And we had two other pies we didn’t even bother with.

It was a wonderful day, and I loved the memories we made in our new home.