How we gave thanks...

Thanksgiving feels so long ago and it was really not even two weeks ago...I guess Thanksgiving ends and Christmas swoops in and takes over. Then, suddenly, anything besides Christmas feels like ancient history!
Though I couldn't locate my camera for our actual family activities that day, I did catch some of the before-and-afters.

Though I meant to start much earlier, the food prep for Thursday started the night before. Every year I like to try my hand at a little something new. Hopefully, within a few years, I will have enough experience to prepare a well-rounded Thanksgiving meal, from scratch, all on my own! Because I love cooking from scratch when I have a good excuse to. And...apparently, I think that all the bunches of family we live right near will somehow disappear in the near future and I will have to cook completely on my own for this holiday. (?)
Or, maybe I just enjoy knowing that I could do it if I had to. (Scratch the maybe and apply that statement to anything and everything in life.)

Anyway...last year I made a turkey for my family. This year, I left that in the experienced hands of my dad and I moved on to stuffing. I love stuffing. A lot. Bread...good. Seasonings...goood. Bread...goooood. Oh wait, already said that. Well, you get the general idea. (And with stuffing, it doesn't go much beyond the general idea, does it?) So, I was quite excited to do this. I planned to do everything myself, including making the bread. But, ended up taking advantage of Walmart's bakery. Yesss.

I did cube it myself...which was really fun for me.
I enjoy chopping, dicing, cubing, slicing, mincing, etc.
JC has all these kitchen gadgets for exactly these purposes and seems exasperated that I never want to use them. I just really like doing it manually. And I can't explain it.
So, this bread thing was enjoyable.
(JC worked on a crossword puzzle while I worked. He really likes doing those. I can't explain that either.)

Oh, and he also did this while I worked.
Fixed the cabinet door that came flying off at me when I opened it the other day.
Didn't even come off at the hinges. Just busted.
He used his expertise plus one of the many varieties of glue he has accumulated.
I am proud to say it is now returned to its rightful spot and you can't even tell it had to be resurrected.
(Please notice both Hamm from Toy Story and my messy kitchen floor in this picture)

I couldn't get any good pictures of this cooking because of my stinking stainless steel cookware. It reflects everything, especially a flash, so until I have a nice camera or recall my grudge against tephlon, I may not get to share many cooking pictures.
I know, I know, cry it out.
But, anyway, here is my cranberry sauce all cooked up, ready to chill.
I have made this for a few years but really loved the new recipe I tried this year.
And it looks pretty in my white and red dish.

Here is the chicken broth, simmering. I know chicken broth seems a strange thing to be making for Thanksgiving but back when I had decided to do everything completely from scratch, I was planning to make this for use as liquid in the stuffing. Since I had already bought and thawed the chicken, I went ahead and did so.
Soups and sauces are my favorite things to make anyway. They cook forever, simmering and making my house smell SO good...you can experiment with seasonings and feel like you accomplished something.
Yum.
Plus, something like broth goes a looong way. I did use it for the stuffing, plus white chili (with leftover turkey) and chicken tortilla soup (with leftover chicken, from making the broth) the following week.
Yum again.

Thursday morning we were finally able to get reception on our tv antenna...or adapter...or something else I don't understand...and the kids got to watch the parade.
And guess who they saw?

Ben wanted to get as close as he could.

James couldn't resist a front-row seat either.

Once Buzz was gone, Ben got a little bored with the parade and joined me in the kitchen. He helped get all the bread cubes, nice and crispy after drying out all night, onto the pans to toast.
Sweet helper boy.

He and I made up a snack of blackberries since we were, you know, hanging out in the kitchen.

This was another thing everyone wanted a front row seat for.

Goofy boy.

My toasted bread cubes.
I was so excited about my toasted bread cubes.

...computer time...

...which becomes swinging/spinning time...

And then, later, believe it or not, we got dressed and left our house to share a nice meal with family. It was a good time. Monica was in town from Idaho, her fiance, Austin, was there, Andrew and Bonnie (plus the pea in the pod...BABY COMING!!!) were there, Laura, Katie...you know, from all the way over in Scottsdale...Mom and Dad...the cat...it was cozy and wonderful.
No pictures. Perhaps next year I will remember to keep better track of the camera...in addition to preparing...whatever it will be next year! Already excited...

Later in the day, JC's mom and sister came over and joined us for a nice meal here at our place. Melissa made a really good turkey. On her stovetop! If you want to know how she managed to do that, I am sure she would love to tell you about it. :) After the new year, she is going to be doing demonstrations on stuff exactly like that! Let me know, anyone who wants to learn some awesome healthy cooking skills.
It was nice to spend a little time with them.

The next day, we endeavored on a new adventure. Jam.
Really, it turned out to be one of those things that sounds difficult and is super easy. At least the way I did it!

We went for strawberry.
It's a favorite.

Bethany could hardly help herself.
My kids really really like berries. I, myself, can have a few here and there.
But they will eat them by the carton.

But they are always so beautiful and colorful, who can blame them?
Pretty berries, pretty girl.

Ben seriously gets this eyes-rolled-back, out of it look when he eats. Ever since he was a baby.
I love it.

James got really excited about the use of maple syrup. He loves it.
I only had enough agave for a little more than half the recipe.
So, the rest was made up for with maple syrup. And it was good. I would maybe do it again purposely!And he thought it was hilarious that a lemon was involved.
I love his face.
Always, but especially in this picture.

I did manage to get a picture of this cooking without too much glare.
I just realized that this post is widely about cooking...hmm.
I did not intend.

The jam was really good. I want to do it again. I may wait until strawberries are in season. :)


Monday night, we had Family Home Evening. Once the weather got nice and not so hot, we started playing outside...baseball or something...for part of FHE. Then, a week later, it got cold. And now we stay inside in the evenings. (I know, those of you reading this from Idaho or Utah are either laughing at me or scowling at me...)
A couple of weeks ago, we pulled out a game we had bought a while back but realized the kids weren't quite old enough for. It was time to give it a go. And...it was awesome. They loved it. We play it all the time now. It's a Cat in the Hat game called "I Can Do That!" So cute.

Here's how it goes...

First you line your kids up.
(oh yeah, and it helps if they got their faces painted earlier in the day and still have remnants)
Look at good James, drinking that smoothie!
Then, you set up the Trick-a-ma-Stick or Stick-a-ma-jig or something like that.
The yellow and red thing.

Then, so your cat feels included, you allow him to walk under the stick-a-ma-what and knock it over. And give you a rather vulgar view of the whole thing.
Which you will, of course, share with others.

Darn it.

Have a child re-set-up the Jig-a-ma-Stick.
Have a child tackle the cat.

Watch the cat as he sets out to be comforted, climbing up on Daddy's lap since that is where everyone else seems to go for comfort.
Daddy does not look interested.
But James looks amused.

Let Daddy deal with the cat and with getting the game set up.

Let the first child draw three cards. One that tells them what to do, one that tells them what object from the game they must use, and one that tell them exactly how to use said object...

For example...
1) crawl around the trick-a-ma-jig
2) with the rake
3) on your head

OR

1) hop three times
2) with the fan
3) on your tummy

OR

1) take three giant steps
2) with the fish bowl
3) under your left arm

OR

1) step over the stick-a-ma-trick
2) with the cake
3) between your legs

Yep, that's right.
(By the way, he had wanted his face painted as Buzz. All I could figure to do was the front of his purple hood thing, his eyebrows, and chin hair. I don't know...)
Ben knows that stepping over something that is as high as your waist while holding anything between your legs is not really feasible.
I love his reaction.

But he gives it a try.

And...succeeds?

Bethany had to crawl under the stick-a-rama with...something...behind her back.
Pretty good!

Anyway, to end the game, you tackle the cat again.
For good measure.

So, that, my friends, is a synopsis of our nice long weekend.
Now that we are inching closer to Christmas, one of the primary thoughts in my head is...Christmas Break! The kids love school, they do great at it, and I am so excited for them for that! And...yes, it is kind of nice to have them out doing their thing and have a bit of a breather with just one at home! But, really, I do love when we are all home. Even if only for the fact that there is no reason to get out of bed before the sun comes up (if I, you know, put the right snacks on my nightstand before I turn in at night...to keep them busy in the morning when they come in my room before the sun comes up...)! But, you know, for other reasons too.
I like them.
And I like having stay-at-home days. A lot.
So, that will be a fun time.
For now, back to the present. I have a lunch to pack for tomorrow. A sick husband to check on. And eyes to rest.
So, until that next REALLY long weekend, I may or may not be back with another post that may or may not hold anything interesting. It's a gamble we all take.