Thanksgiving 2016

More than 2 weeks after Thanksgiving and I decided it must be time to write about our holiday.

This year, we had a big Thanksgiving, with lots of family. In addition to my mom and her sister (my aunt Jane) and their offspring, and their offspring's spouses and offspring, my uncle Richard, his daughter Hannah and her fiancé were there; my mom, aunt, and uncle's cousins Steven and Jim and their spouses, plus 2 of Jim's children. I think we were over 30 people, which meant 3 turkeys and a heaping table full of sides.  As usual, the food was delicious and the company warm and welcoming.

Charlotte at her swim lesson

I took Wednesday off from work, but managed to have so much to do that I didn't get to relax. My friend from high school came for a few hours and we tried to catch up, but I also had to take care of Charlotte and take her to swimming. We had dinner on Wednesday night with some of the out-of-town family, and then on Thursday morning I ran the 5 mile Turkey Trot with my sister, her boyfriend, and my cousin Jess.  It always feels good to do that and get my exercise out of the way so I can devote the rest of the day to consuming calories!  Elana and I ran a respectable (for me) 9:22/mile and her boyfriend ran it 2 minutes/mile faster and waited for us at the end.

Elana giving the turkey its pre-roasting massage

The women of our family

After dinner we moved into the living room and sat by the fire and talked. My kids tore apart the 3rd floor of Jane and Ed's house, and Charlotte misplaced her stuffed animals and we spent 30 minutes looking for them at 9 pm at night, which annoyed me. On the way home I lectured the kids about bringing their toys places and then misplacing them, and we then instituted a "no toys outside the house" policy, which has only partly been respected and enforced.

I woke up on Friday morning to no milk in the house for coffee, so Charlotte and I went to CVS at 7:15 to buy milk. She asked me to carry her, so I did, and while I was kissing her cheek I noticed she smelled like vomit. And then I noticed she was in different pajamas than she had been at bedtime... I asked, "Charlotte, did you throw up overnight?" and she said, "Yes!"  I had moved to the couch in the middle of the night because I couldn't sleep, but apparently she had gotten sick in bed and Eric dealt with it! She seemed totally fine and wanted food and water, so I assumed it was from eating only a plate of whipped cream for dessert.

After brunch at my mom's, we took Asher and Charlotte home to nap, and Benjamin went hiking with my sister, her boyfriend, and my cousin Kyle. He promised me he would walk and no complaining, but apparently he lied to me, because he complained the whole time, made the guys carry him, and then facetimed me in a panic because he wanted to come home.  Another situation I was glad to miss.

Post panic-attack

When they got back after their hike, my cousin Kyle showed Asher a very important skill- making fart noises with your armpit.  Asher thought this was the most amazing and hysterically funny thing he had ever seen- he asked Kyle to do it the rest of the weekend, and laughed til he cried each time.  He wasn't able to perfect the skill himself, though.

Friday afternoon I did my obligatory Black Friday shopping, and then some wrapping.  Later I did MORE shopping, and then we had a Friday night dinner at Jane and Ed's. While I was on my second round of shopping, Eric texted that Charlotte had thrown up again! So we decided she should stay at home at dinner time, and I went with the boys.  She didn't get sick again, and no one else did, either, so if it was a bug, it was not a bad one.  Thank goodness! I couldn't have handled a stomach bug and Eric gone for the week.

On Saturday, Eric and I took the kids to a 10 am showing of the movie Trolls, and then Eric had to get ready for his trip to Germany.  He was gone for a week!  He did that 3 years ago, and this time was a hundred times easier for me.  Saturday night was more time with the family, but a smaller crowd- it was relaxing and pleasant.  I don't know if I am an oblivious idiot, but I really enjoy my extended family and I think they like me, too.  There is a great deal of fun and laughter, and the kids all play well together. I always look forward to seeing family and love that we are welcome at all of their homes.

On Sunday I took my 3 to the zoo. It was a little cold and the zoo was very quiet, but the kids played in the Treehouse, which is unchanged from when it opened 30 years ago.

In the Treehouse, on the dinosaur 

I will post my emails to Eric in another entry- I tried to detail the fun and excitement that went on in his absence. It was a memorable weekend with family we don't see often.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and this one certainly lived up to my expectations!