catch-up time....Thanksgiving!

So, I bet you thought everyone was done talking about Thanksgiving. :)
Better late than never, right?
We have lived away from extended family for almost 10 years now, and although we would much prefer to live near them, my husband's career is very specific (car sculptor) to Michigan. At any rate for Thanksgivings in the past we have always gathered with other friends whose families also aren't around. This year, however, we decided to do our own thing. Our family is big enough now, it's always a party around here. :)

Thanksgiving morning, instead of throwing the turkey in the oven, we threw all the kids in snow attire and took-off for downtown Detroit to see the big Thanksgiving Day parade live. We had a fantastic time too! It was bigger than I expected, and the kids LOVED it. They loved the huge balloon characters, and all the bead necklaces that were thrown out, and the hot chocolate that I brought along. When we got home, we ate lunch, put the 4 little ones down for their naps, put the turkey in and played Pictionary with Emma. It is her favorite game right now, and I love seeing what see comes up with.

When the kids got up we just played little games with them (all-time favorite right now is duck, duck, goose) and danced around to Simon & Garfunkle. I had made a pumpkin pie and pecan pie the day before, and it was so nice to fix all the yummy food without a deadline. We had a late dinner, but nobody cared or knew that Thanksgiving Day dinner is typically eaten earlier. The best part is that now I have 4 ziplocks of turkey and 4 ziplocks of drippings for gravy in the freezer, so we can have 4 more turkey dinners whenever we want. In fact I am totally into the making-double-and-freezing-half method for dinners these days: chicken enchildadas, chicken parmesan, casseroles, waffles, pasta sauces, you get the idea. It saves so much time! Now I just need more freezer space!

One of our traditions that my mother started is to put 5 kernels of corn on each plate. When the pilgrims at Plymouth had that first horrible winter, they got down to a daily ration of 5 kernels of corn. So, before dinner we go around the table and each person tells about 5 things they are grateful for. Emma loves this tradition!