What I'm Thankful For.....

Happy Thanksgiving! (a week late!) We had a wonderful one this year. We hosted at our house for the first time this year, inviting my parents and brother down to share the holiday with us! (We did have my parents at our house last year too, but as I was like 20 months pregnant with twins, they did all the cooking and preparing!) It was nice this year to have our family all together this year, since we don't get to see Andrew as often any more!

My preparations for the big feast started the day before, with Lily helping me make the pies! Lily practically made the pumpkin pie all by herself!

She measured out the spices:


And poured all the ingredients into the bowl:


And mixed everything up herself:


She even helped me pour them into the pie pans! Our finished pumpkin pies, ready to go into the oven:


Thanksgiving morning was all really relaxed. I had the turkey in the brine, the pies were made, dip was made, and I just got started on cutting up veggies for hors d'œuvre. There wasn't much to do in the morning, so we all relaxed! Violet claimed her new place on Papa's shoulder!


Lily helped me make the brie en croute, which turned out perfectly! Lily put the egg wash on in:


After having our appetizers, and watched the parade, I got started on preparing the turkey for the oven! A rare photo on me:


Now here's where things got dicey on the day! According to my method of cooking the turkey, I had planned on have 2 1/2 hours before the turkey was done. So we took our time getting things started on all the sides in the kitchen. Around 1 hour into the turkey cooking, I started preparing the potatoes and cutting celery for the stuffing. My plan was to have everything cut, and put together, ready to go into the oven as soon as the turkey was done...but our turkey had other plans! It cooked a lot faster than any of us had prepared for! It was done after 1 1/2 hours!!! After that it was a mad dash to get everything else ready to go into the oven! Sweet potatoes had to be cut and boiled; celery, onions and chestnuts had to be sauteed for the stuffing; brussels sprouts had to be caramelized! Thankfully my parents stepped in to help! My Mom ended up making the sweet potato dish, and my Dad was a big help combining the stuff for the stuffing! I couldn't have got it all done without there help! Lesson learned, even though you think you have time, always make sure to have thing prepped just in case! (I really should have been good on time, it is still a mystery why the turkey cooked so fast!) It all turned out great though, with all the dishes coming together in time for dinner!

Princess Lily waiting for dinner to be done:


The feast on the table, and everyone ready to dig in:


My first turkey! (Ok, not my first, I've made one before...but that was a small one, and just for Sean and I years ago before we had kids, so I'm not counting it...and for the record, that one came out pretty good too!) This turkey was the moistest turkey I have ever tasted! Will definitely brine every time from now on!


Lily still waiting for food:


Violet devoured the turkey we gave her! Ella did too! I mean, we'd cut up a piece for them, turn away for a second, turn back and they would be almost done already! They loved it!


I think dinner was a huge success if I do say so myself! A few lessons I learned while preparing my first full Thanksgiving meal:

-Make sure to have all prep work on sides done early on in the turkey cooking process, in case the turkey cooks a lot faster than you have prepared for.
- Keep an eye on that thermometer! As it approaches 161 degrees, make sure you are allotting enough time to get all the sides ready for the oven.
- I will definitely make the caramelized brussels sprouts again! Not a normal addition to our Thanksgiving table, but I wanted something new for a green this year...and I think it was a big hit!
- Alton Brown spinach dip is a new must for every holiday that requires appetizers!
- Brine for the turkey is another must from now on! Never tasted such a juicy turkey!

After our delicious feast, we all sat down around the tv to watch the Nutcracker, which is Lily's new obsession! It was nice to just enjoy each others company, with Tchaikovsky's beautiful music in the background!

Violet hanging out with Uncle Andrew:

Lily passed out on Nanie after her long day:


Miss Ellie, covered in sweet potato still!



Trying out Lily's chair! The girls love it! I wish we had enough room for a second chair for them, so they wouldn't have to all fight over this one!





After the nut cracker ended, we got the Wii set up to play some Raving Rabbids TV, and got the pies out!

Here in the delicious apple pie Lily helped me makes:


And both the apple and pumpkin pies, ready to be cut into! No, I am not the best at making the crusts perfect...but they were damn tasty!



All in all I think it was a successful first hosting of Thanksgiving!

And for what I'm thankful for...

-I'm thankful for my 3 beautiful children, who are all healthy and happy! I'm very thankful we've never had any big medical scare with any of them...not even an ear infection, and that we have all been relatively healthy this year, with no major illness.
-I'm thankful for my husband, who allows me to stay home with our children, and supports my photography hobby, and who gives me nights off whenever he can!
-I'm thankful to have my family close enough that they can visit often, and be part of their grandchildrens lives! I'm very grateful that they make the trip to us when ever they can, and are understanding of the fact that it just isn't as easy for us to travel up to them with 3 young children often.