Thanksgiving Weekend. And How.

Thanksgiving Day:
7:45am - Wake up to Ben crawling on me, poking his freezing cold fingers at my face and saying, "Up, Mama, Up!" (This is always what happens when JC is nice and gets up with the kids, letting me sleep. Ben waits until Daddy turns his head or leaves the room for two seconds, then scampers down the stairs and up onto my bed to wake me with a smile and, usually, a declaration that has something to do with the status of his diaper.)

9:00am - After sleeping in, then snuggling around with the kids on the couch for a while, making them Egg in a Nest and smoothies for breakfast and shuffling around in my pajamas, I realize that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is probably on so we find it on tv. The first thing they see is a sneak peek of the Spiderman balloon and they are hooked. I realize that this parade is now my best friend. They are ecstatic about any floats and balloons that they recognize anything about and I have plenty to do in preparation for the rest of the day! Golden.

The Sesame Street Float was cause for much dance and celebration.

10:00am - JC and I have spent most of the morning together in the kitchen which is wonderful. The kids have alternated between watching the parade and playing outside. This easy transition is now possible since James busted the gate that used to sit at the top of the stairs that lead to the backyard. I think this may have been intentional because now they come and go as they please. Which, I guess, is fine. Except for the stairs still make me nervous sometimes since Ben is still little and also there is the mud issue. But, let's be honest. A little mud tracked on my carpet would not feel all that out of place in this Palace of Preschoolers. At this point in the morning, I start to think about getting the turkey ready. Yes, I had decided to make the turkey for my family this year. Scared. Excited. The recipe I had chosen told me to give it three hours to cook. I had some prep work to do on it and, inevitably, something would go wrong. So, getting a head start on it seems like a good idea even though dinner is at three thirty and technically it doesn't need to get in the oven for quite a while yet. I decide to, instead, finish up some last minute cleaning and get the kids dressed.

11:00am - Having just now finally gotten the kids dressed in an assortment of fall-ish colors (that's as good as it gets at this point in time!), I throw on something decent since I don't want to wear pajamas while doing something so awesome as preparing my first Thanksgiving Turkey. BUT, I reserve my skirt and newly acquired teal cardigan for dinnertime. I am excited about wearing my new cardigan and can't risk getting it turkey-juiced-on. I never thought of myself as a cardigan girl but I have to tell you that if I was in charge of what's what in fashion, it would be all about the cardigan this winter. And sweat pants. And t-shirts and scarves. All together. It's my new uniform. But this is neither here or there. Back to Thanksgiving...I am finally in the kitchen, ready to get my turkey on. My mom calls to double check what they are bringing to dinner. At this exact moment, I realize that I read the recipe wrong and my turkey should have been already cooking for at least an hour now, considering the recipe is for two small birds and I have one giant one...therefore changing things, which I failed to think about before. And I still have preparation to do and a panic attack to have before I can get it cooking. I go ahead and get the panic attack out of the way since my mom is already on the phone. We chat for a bit, which helps to distract me from the task of pulling the turkey's neck out of its ribs. I can't find the little bag that has the giblets (horrible word), so I decide this turkey has none. My mom is quiet on the other end, most likely disagreeing with me but letting me move ahead nonetheless.

12:00pm - My turkey is now in the oven. After an hour of de-necking, washing, drying, lemon zesting, vegetable chopping (which, next time, I will do all this prep the night before), rosemary picking (never used that bush until now!), olive oil-painting, salt-rubbing, foil tent-making, etc. it is off to a beautiful, albeit late, start. JC helped a lot. I am still panicking about the lack of enough cook time but I have my new handy cooking thermometer on hand to give me hope. And lots of positive thoughts sent in the direction of the oven. When I ask JC to send happy thoughts to the turkey, he just says, "He's already dead. I don't think happy thoughts are going to help." Fair enough. But, since we were going that route, I then asked him to send happy thoughts to the turkey's spirit encouraging it to bless its former body to cook quickly so that it could serve its purpose. He didn't say anything back.

1:00pm - Turkey is coming along wonderfully, but who knows if it will be ready in time...I'm actually not stressing too much though. If it's not ready, it's not ready. And we will have it for dessert. The boys are having "rest time" (which, on Thanksgiving, means a dark playroom with a movie going..the back door open, and children playing outside freely...occasionally running, squealing, through the playroom and kitchen. I love that they play together now.) Bethany is at JC's mom's house, helping her make cookies and sweet potatoes. I am rather delighted by the turkey stock simmering on my stovetop. I love things that simmer for a long time. I love creating flavors in sauces and soups. This is my first experience making stock and it makes me feel especially empowered. Even though, now that I think about it, JC was the one who got it going...hmm...well, I will count it as a shared effort...though I have no data to support this. Except, I did pull the neck out of the turkey cavity. Big points. In my book at least.



2:00pm - Turkey is starting to brown and it's wonderful. The house smells good and I've scrubbed down the guest bathroom and JC has spot-mopped the kitchen floor. We've gotten all of our dishes clean and the tables arranged and set. Among all of this, we are having a really fun morning. The kids are having a blast - Bethany at Grandma Teri's baking away, the boys here at home, free to do as they please without structure or big-sister-bossing (which they really don't mind most of the time) and JC and I are getting to spend lots of time together being pretty productive in both effort and banter.

Festiveness.
(This picture makes me painfully aware that these windows still need curtains.)

3:00pm - I am now donning my earlier mentioned ensemble, sweater and all, and doing my makeup. I am ignoring the fact that I still have to hover over the oven babysitting the turkey for its (hopefully) last half hour and stand over the stove to make gravy. This will cause my makeup to melt off and my sweater to roast my torso from the outside in. Ignore, ignore, ignore.

3:30pm - Everyone is arriving! Even though my house is only partially clean, I, for once, don't even care! Stepping over toys is a skill all have, yes? The good thing is, I'm not the only one who doesn't care. I enjoy seeing everyone start to settle in and visit while the food finishes up and my kids entertain everyone with their antics RIGHT IN YOUR FACE like always. :) The turkey is going to be a-okay (phew!) and the backup jar gravy is not going to be needed. (I would have been fine with jar gravy but it feels like an accomplishment to have made it from the stock of the actual turkey I cooked. Though, I must say, I had help from JC and my dad. Like, when I was trying to accomplish a "smooth blond-colored mixture" and my dad kindly informed me that my "blond" was "quickly turning Polynesian.")

Monica and Bonnie visiting before dinner...happily.

James shoots them with a balloon.

4:00ish pm - My mom and I taste-test the turkey. Delish. I feel pleased. JC carves - turns out there WAS a bag of giblets inside - we all sit down, we all enjoy everything immensely. Everyone brought such yummy stuff! So many good flavors and textures and...yum.

Proud.
So, I thought I would share/document the recipe. I mean, come on, it's my first Thanksgiving Turkey. That's equivalent to...to...Britney's first halter top.
If you'd rather see a picture of that, kindly keep it to yourself.

Roasted Turkey with Citrus Rosemary Salt
aka
Mandy's First Thanksgiving Turkey

Ingredients:

Citrus Rosemary Salt:
1 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 cup coarse salt

Roasted Turkey and Stock:
15-18 lb turkey
2 small, whole onions, peeled
2 carrots, cut in half
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
8 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 lemons, halved
4 large carrots, halved lengthwise
8 celery stalks
1/2 c water

Turkey Gravy:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions:

For the Citrus Rosemary Salt:
In food processor (I used a magic bullet), process all the ingredients. Pulse until well blended. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

For the turkey stock:
Remove neck and giblets (yes, they are probably in there...) and put into a large saucepan. Add 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks the 1 quart of chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat and let simmer until reduced to about 2 cups. Strain and reserve. This is the stock you will use for the gravy.

For the roasted turkey:
Wash the turkey, inside and out, and dry well. Coat turkey, inside and out with 1/2 c olive oil. Season the turkey on the outside with 2-3 tablespoons of the citrus rosemary salt, pressing it in to adhere. Place 8 rosemary sprigs and 4 lemon halves inside cavity of turkey.
Arrange celery stalks and halved carrots on the bottom of a roasting pan, pouring 1/2 cup of water in as well. Position the turkey on top of vegetables so that it does not rest directly on the bottom of the pan. Drizzle turkey with 1/2 cup remaining olive oil.
Roast until a cooking thermometer (inserted deep into the thigh but away from the bone) reads 165 degrees F and juices in the thigh run clear when pierced with a fork, about 4-4 1/2 hours. (or, miraculous, perhaps less.) So...begin checking at about 3 1/2 hours.
Remove from pans and let rest 15 minutes or so before carving. Reserve pan juices for gravy.

For the gravy:
While turkeys are resting, make gravy. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until a smooth, blond-colored mixture is formed. Add the reserved turkey stock and pan juices and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and let simmer until thickened and ready to serve. Season, to taste.

Carve turkey and serve with gravy.


Carving. Big man job.

So good.

Table 1 - The Grownup Table
(where my Dad demonstrates for Ben how yummy the rolls are)

Table 2 - The Cool Table
aka Young Whippersnappers Table

Table 3 - The Throwing Food is Okay Table

5:00 and on - We've all eaten, we're all recovering scattered around the upstairs and the backyard. Football tossing, swing set swinging, kickball kicking (right into Ben's face for yours truly...yikes), dish-rinsing (as I played around with the kids, assuming I would clean after everyone left, mine and JC's moms beat me to it), Mario Kart racing, good old fashioned visiting...good times, good times.

Uncle Andrew pushes little ones.
On swings, that is.

Balcony visiting.

Football tossing.

Mingling.

Laura was very excited that she got to use the swings as well.
(Isn't she cute???)

Ben threw a fit or two. No nap. White bread. Sugar. People. Wet grass.
Grumpy.

JC challenged Austin, Monica's friend-who-is-a-boy, to Mario Kart.
From what I hear, they both did well.
(This is the part of the upstairs that did NOT get cleaned beforehand, by the way...and those windows really need curtains too! I can't wait.)

At some point, everyone left.
At some point, the kids went to bed.
And at that point, JC and I crashed on the couch where we were thankful for Lost on DVD. (And still did not clean the playroom.)


The rest of the weekend, we kept busy with this or that but spent it all together, mostly at home. Getting things done (Christmas lights!), goofing off, and enjoying the beautiful weather that has been ours as of late.
Case-in-point: The kids ate lunch outside everyday, in "The Captain's Ship." This is the tower part of the swing set, the part the slide originates from. When trying to ask them if they wanted to have a picnic up there, I flusteredly (not a word) asked Bethany what that part was called. She thought for a second and said "The Captain's Ship."
And so it became.
There's just enough room for all of them and their little trays.





We even had an extended family gathering at my parents' house on Saturday night that gave us the opportunity to see aunts, uncles, cousins from my dad's side who we haven't seen in some time! It was wonderful!

The dessert spread.
It was quite the sampling.
I have not desired a single sweet since.

James spent most of his time hanging out by the newly-put-up Christmas tree. Spiderman and a dinosaur or two highly enjoyed climbing (carefully...most of the time...) through the branches.

My cousin, Emily and her husband, Adam, rock some more Mario Kart.

Most everybody else got into a rousing game of Apples to Apples.

And, yes, Bethany did play. Card games seem to be her new hobby this
holiday season.

Oh, it was very much a great weekend.
I really really like Thanksgiving. The more I think about it, the more I really do enjoy this time of year. Gorgeous fall weather comes around to rescue us from the heat of the summer and with it come the smells of pumpkin, spices, and that wet windy smell that I wish had a name. It's really just a time that makes your senses come alive. This leads to recognition instead of apathy. Which leads us to Thanksgiving. A time to reflect on all we have to be thankful for.
It's almost ridiculous, really.
We are so blessed.
And this leads right into a time of year when we celebrate the birth of Christ. Ooh, gives me chills. Now we get to move on to this part of the holiday season. To think of Christ, to try to do as He would. I'm already noticing the difference in my conversations with the kids, how much more often we are speaking His name, telling His story. I am so blessed to have children who think of Him often. It keeps my thoughts and efforts closer to where they should be. To have another reason to focus on that will be wonderful as we approach Christmas. Taking this jumping off point from the Thanksgiving weekend, I can already tell it's going to be a special Christmas Season.

P.S. This was a really long post. Even for me.

Back to Work

Yesterday was the day.
JC went back to work, leaving us to our normalcy. We've had him around, for the most part, day in and day out for the last month! I was expecting a good amount of separation anxiety (mostly from me...) as he went back to the old routine of long days at work. It has been awesome having him around so much! Even though he was recovering and doing a lot of resting, he never checked out of the goings on around here. He made an effort to be involved with the kids and do things for and with me, even when he could hardly move around! I wouldn't have blamed him if he just lied in bed or watched tv for the past few weeks. I feel very blessed to have such a kind husband who truly wants to be with and enjoy his family. It's not always easy, quiet, or fun (though a lot of the time it is that last one...), and I would not have minded if he whistled a tune and skipped out the door as he got to go back to work and do something different! But even when I don't expect it, he stays right in the middle of all the action.
And I love him.
And we did miss him. But, going back to normal felt very...normal. :) It was a good day!

But the best part was welcoming him home. It looked like this:

There was a tickle-fest.
Bethany and James got it all started.

Silly faces.

Vulnerable armpits.
(bet you never heard anyone say that before)

Ben opted out at first. He had something stuck to his foot and just could not enjoy himself until that was taken care of.

But the fun came to him before too long!

More turns for everybody!

Even though having him here all day every day was great, now I get to have my favorite time of day back! The time of day when pajama'd feet go running and squeals of "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" fill the air. When dinner is reheated and little fingers poke and open mouths beg at Daddy's serving of the stuff they wouldn't take even one bite of an hour ago. When we get to be "a whole family" (like Bethany says) after a whole day of not.
And I get to step out of the spotlight (a little) and watch my favorite people have a blast together.

Today, I have mutiny on my hands as the kids have realized that yesterday was not a fluke and he is gone yet again today.
If days were tucked away in categorized file folders, today would not go in the "good" folder.
It would go in the folder titled with words I don't say out loud.
But that's okay.
Because we have the best time of the day to look forward to still!

P.S. Do not blame Bethany for the fact that she is wearing boy pajamas. Blame the status of my laundry schedule...aka...me.

Gettin Busy

The holiday season is upon us.
This week did a fantastic job of easing us into all the activity of the next several to come. Considering we've had about a month of perma-vacation...what with JC being home from work and our activity being limited, but also getting to spend a ton of time together as a family. It's been a good time.
Of course, I'm not the one who has been dealing with recovery from a surgery and all that, but I'd say even with it's ups and downs, it's been a pretty great opportunity to take things a little easier and just accept the idea of rest, recovery, and quality time.

An example of a bit of rest for the little ones:

We discovered James watching the rest time movie like this one day.
That thing on his head, astronaut-style is a drum with the lid removed, turned upside down.

With it off, you can see his handsome face.

Bethany, resting.

Ben resting.

Two things I'd like to point out - - my kids are so darn cute. And...rest time is clearly on its way out.


More from the week...

Flowers JC bought me when he took his first post-surgery trip out by himself to the store.
Aren't they pretty? I LOVE them.

He also bought the kids each their own recorders on that trip to the store.

Brave daddy.

They LOVE them.

Ben begins his song and march.

Everyone gets into the groove.

Talented, eh?

Things got a little too exciting and our oh-so-intense middle child ended up in time out.
This is often the case.
Oh, sweet James. Someday that intensity will be a bit more corralled and get you places other than time out.

Happy faces, happy songs.

Our Thanksgiving celebration began on Saturday, with the Kear Family Gathering! We all came to Polly's house for some time together. We had some good food, fun conversation, and...well, see for yourself...

Cousin playtime!
The game changed constantly, but it started out with Bethany being a cat...or a monster...of some sort...

Then it turned into admiration of Grandma Polly's orange tree. Lovely.

And lots of giddy running around...

with a dramatic finish.

JC and Bethany found themselves at a table full of Uno cards and Kear Competition.
The game was so fierce that when I took this picture, Kaitlynn turned around and glared at me, concerned I was catching her hand in the shot with intention to betray her.
Seriously.
And it was SERIOUSLY darn cute.

(Turns out I did actually catch her hand in the shot, though I swore I didn't. Luckily I didn't realize it at the time and therefore did not use it against her. Gotta be careful where you tread in a game of Uno these days.)

SO....that's...about...it.
Like I said, I can feel that holiday season coming on with all of its joys as well as its hectic moments. But I have been thinking a lot about hectic moments. Really...a lot. For a while now. And I'm not scared of them anymore.
Ha! Take that, hectic...ness...

Seriously, though, before we went to Huntington back at the end of September, I was all stressed and headache-y and at some point I decided that since I was about to leave on vacation I just needed to start a bit early...worry about things on my "to do" list less, hang out with the kids more (even more), enjoy time with JC without worry about what we could or should be getting done, etc. Try, oh try to accept that I can't keep my house organized, my time structured, and my ambitions entertained 24/7. It was just a week, right? Then a week out of town. Then, back to business.
I did all of this and it was great. Hard to get used to but great.
Then, once I was back in the swing of things, back to the daily grind...it didn't feel right. Something didn't feel right. I didn't know what, but I figured I wasn't going to get any closer to finding out if I was so gosh darn busy in my head all the time. So, I decided to extend my vacation frame of mind. By this I don't mean I lounge around or read novels all day...just a mental slow down, a break in the sprint toward lifelong goals, the scampering from one thought to another, all while trying to be present and involved with my children day in and day out.
I felt like it was just time to slow down. To stop thinking, stop striving so hard, and learn how to be still in my mind and heart, to trade in picking apart every thought in my head to death for simply...pondering. And listening. And being.
I started trying it out. I gave up my daily rest time work sessions in the office. Sitting in an oversized leather chair fretting about which looming project to work on every day for an hour or so while the kids are watching a movie somehow left me more tense instead of less. I always felt like if I got more done, I would feel better. Somehow that's not the case. I can't necessarily explain that, but I definitely feel it.
Now I snuggle with them during their rest time. Or I lay on the floor and do some reading. Or I just breathe. I try to rest my mind...my feet...my back...my worries...just like I am hoping they are resting their little bodies enough to get through the rest of the day happily.
Me too. :)
I started training my mind to move away from negative thoughts, worrisome thoughts and anything of a fretful nature. I worked on banishing fear and drawing in peace.
I tried to stop planning and figuring and replace it with praying instead.
Replace fear with faith.
Replace busy with peaceful.
Replace frazzled with happy.
Push ambition aside and welcome a period of simple existence.

I have so much to say about all of this. So much that I have been learning, feeling, and rejoicing in. Quietly. And I can't wait to say it all. But it's all still floating around, I'm still existing in this process of learning to be at peace. I'm still being taught.

But I will say this - I find it quite interesting that within a couple of weeks of making this deal with myself to take a few steps back, put nearly everything on the back burner in my life and focus on just the present, JC ended up with that hernia of his.
He was going to be home, needing help with some things. He was going to be able to help with the kids less. My responsibilities were going to be more for a while. Our schedule was going to change. Our ability to get up and go was going to change. We were going to have more time together. Time that needed peace and enjoyment and...not a stressed mommy.
The people who know me best (namely, my parents) know all too well that I have a hard time being told what to do. I like for things to be my idea. If you tell me I have to do something...even if I would have on my own anyway...good luck convincing me to do it. Even if it's a good thing.
So, I have a feeling that had this period of time come our way before I committed to a more laid-back existence, forcing me into prioritizing and simplifying, I would have been a terror to live with. I would have struggled so hard against the idea of being forced to take things easy for a while.
But funny how it came after I felt impressed to do so.
I think Heavenly Father threw down just enough unease in my soul to cause me to change things up. Perhaps to prepare me for a time...not a bad time by any means...but a time in which those things would have been ripped out from under me whether I liked it or not.
This way, it was my idea.
My choice.
Or at least this is His way of letting me think that so I don't throw a fit.

I am pretty sure this means that, spiritually, I'm a toddler.
This explains a lot.

JC goes back to work tomorrow. He is excited, we are excited for him and...life is starting to roll along again, perhaps somewhat normally.
But really, do things ever stay the same long enough for anything to be considered normal?

Anyway, enough of my musings for now. I hope that, as the holidays start rolling in, the season brings more peace as opposed to less.
Which reminds me of a quote I heard today in Relief Society that I believe could change my life:
"What we focus on expands."

Roll that around in your brain, why don't ya?
Good stuff.