I'm not going to lie. I was not looking forward to Thanksgiving in any way, shape or form. All it did was remind me that I wouldn't be getting the house ready for Christmas, that I had no Christmas decorations, and that Thanksgiving dinner would be made in my very pathetic kitchen. I seriously just want to put my life on hold with the family until I can get back my life!
Thankfully though, the kids still come home like Canadian geese, always following the homing beacon. Well actually, only Ethan and Rebecca and the babies came home this Thanksgiving. Hannah was forced to work (or lose her job), Glo was obviously busy being a missionary, and Mark and Allison were spending the holiday with her family. But really, what more do we need at this stage of our lives than grand babies?? ;-)
The night the kids were to arrive, John and I headed out to pick up our turkey. A couple of weeks earlier, while driving from Dexter back to Ann Arbor, we had seen a sign for fresh turkeys at Wing Farms. We called the number and put our name on the list despite being told that the turkeys were selling for $5.00/pound. I don't know how John allowed us to do that when Meijer had them for $1.79/pound, but let's just call it a #ThanksgivingMiracle.
So, "Mr. Wing" called us Tuesday morning and told us that it was first come/first serve beginning at 5:00. I imagined some kind of line down Dexter Ann Arbor road, but it was more like a full parking lot...and a whiskey warehouse!
Yes, Wing Farm was selling their turkeys out of the back of a pick-up which was conveniently parked in front of an open hanger that appeared to hold barrels of whiskey. There was even a bar on the side! I NEVER would have imagined such a thing, but there it was.
I told them that I wanted a 16 pound turkey to which the guy responded, "I can't explain the science of the thing, but for some reason, turkeys are much bigger this year. All the hens are 20 pounds, and all the toms are 30." A 20 pound turkey in my piddly little apartment oven??
A man headed back to the pick-up and started combing through the bags of fresh turkeys. We were invited to step up to the bar to "do some socializing" while we were waiting. Yeah, I didn't really want to socialize with the beer belly, bearded country men at the bar for more than one reason, so we said we would just stand and wait. The 30-something mom with two kids said the same :-). Finally, I heard "I FOUND ONE", and our man marched over with a 19 pound turkey. Hmmmm....
The babies arrived that night, and we were SO HAPPY to see them! Mark and Allison were driving up the next day, and I had tempted Mark with "Brown Wednesday", a sale day at Vault of Midnight for subscribers. Seeing as I'm currently registered as "Gloria Kennedy, box 721", we were ready for the deals. So Mark and Allison said they would meet us there so that I could get them the deals.
Melt my heart, every time Baby sees any of us for the first time, she comes running and throws herself into our arms. I think she saw Mark before any of the rest of us did!
Because there was also a sale on merchandise, Poppie told Baby that he would buy her a Pusheen. Boy, talk about a DECISION!! She went back and forth on which one she wanted, Poppie went back and forth, but finally she settled on one: a UNICORN Pusheen!
Mark took full advantage of the sale on comics,
and no trip to Downtown Ann Arbor would be complete with heading into Cherry Republic for SAMPLES!! Baby discovered Cherry Pit Plinko :-)
I think Rebecca was the most sensitive to how I was feeling as Thursday morning progressed. We all kept expecting that she would cancel last minute, but she did not. So, we got our ginormous turkey all prepped the night before with herbs and onions in a bag and put it in the oven first thing. While preparing all of the sides, the two burners on the right side of the oven stopped working. As did the back left burner. P-e-r-f-e-c-t....
We also went for a walk Saturday morning. With "Dexter's Friendly Troll", I decided to tell Baby the story of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". In between running to the next sign with her (I never won because we know how Baby will react, but she honestly gave me a good run for my money), I told her the story of the mean troll who waits underneath bridges to eat people (and goats) who *trip, trap* across them. We even crossed the six foot long bridges that run over small streams. When we headed back, we went to cross the same one again, and we were tiptoeing across, when I thought it would be fun to throw my troll voice and ask "WHO'S THAT TRIPPING OVER MY BRRRRIDGE??!!" The look on Baby's face was PURE TERROR! I never thought she would actually fall for it, but she did, and she took off across that bridge like her booty was on fire! I felt kinda bad.....
But when we got back to the "friendly" troll, I told Baby to pose in front of it, and she obviously takes my story more to heart than what the sign says....
So I guess in retrospect, we really made iced tea out of lemons (if you know me, that makes TOTAL sense). If nothing else, as I've told the kids, it will be a Thanksgiving to remember next Thanksgiving when we're doing everything as it should be done <3
Thankfully though, the kids still come home like Canadian geese, always following the homing beacon. Well actually, only Ethan and Rebecca and the babies came home this Thanksgiving. Hannah was forced to work (or lose her job), Glo was obviously busy being a missionary, and Mark and Allison were spending the holiday with her family. But really, what more do we need at this stage of our lives than grand babies?? ;-)
The night the kids were to arrive, John and I headed out to pick up our turkey. A couple of weeks earlier, while driving from Dexter back to Ann Arbor, we had seen a sign for fresh turkeys at Wing Farms. We called the number and put our name on the list despite being told that the turkeys were selling for $5.00/pound. I don't know how John allowed us to do that when Meijer had them for $1.79/pound, but let's just call it a #ThanksgivingMiracle.
So, "Mr. Wing" called us Tuesday morning and told us that it was first come/first serve beginning at 5:00. I imagined some kind of line down Dexter Ann Arbor road, but it was more like a full parking lot...and a whiskey warehouse!
Yes, Wing Farm was selling their turkeys out of the back of a pick-up which was conveniently parked in front of an open hanger that appeared to hold barrels of whiskey. There was even a bar on the side! I NEVER would have imagined such a thing, but there it was.
I told them that I wanted a 16 pound turkey to which the guy responded, "I can't explain the science of the thing, but for some reason, turkeys are much bigger this year. All the hens are 20 pounds, and all the toms are 30." A 20 pound turkey in my piddly little apartment oven??
A man headed back to the pick-up and started combing through the bags of fresh turkeys. We were invited to step up to the bar to "do some socializing" while we were waiting. Yeah, I didn't really want to socialize with the beer belly, bearded country men at the bar for more than one reason, so we said we would just stand and wait. The 30-something mom with two kids said the same :-). Finally, I heard "I FOUND ONE", and our man marched over with a 19 pound turkey. Hmmmm....
The babies arrived that night, and we were SO HAPPY to see them! Mark and Allison were driving up the next day, and I had tempted Mark with "Brown Wednesday", a sale day at Vault of Midnight for subscribers. Seeing as I'm currently registered as "Gloria Kennedy, box 721", we were ready for the deals. So Mark and Allison said they would meet us there so that I could get them the deals.
Melt my heart, every time Baby sees any of us for the first time, she comes running and throws herself into our arms. I think she saw Mark before any of the rest of us did!
Because there was also a sale on merchandise, Poppie told Baby that he would buy her a Pusheen. Boy, talk about a DECISION!! She went back and forth on which one she wanted, Poppie went back and forth, but finally she settled on one: a UNICORN Pusheen!
Mark took full advantage of the sale on comics,
and no trip to Downtown Ann Arbor would be complete with heading into Cherry Republic for SAMPLES!! Baby discovered Cherry Pit Plinko :-)
So, Thursday dawned gloomy and worrisome for me. A couple of days earlier, I had told John how much I wish I could just have extended family for Thanksgiving. You know, like, my mom. Well, knowing that she wouldn't say "yes" but wanting to get the credit for asking, John sent her a text, inviting her over.
She said yes. And that she would bring pies.
I think Rebecca was the most sensitive to how I was feeling as Thursday morning progressed. We all kept expecting that she would cancel last minute, but she did not. So, we got our ginormous turkey all prepped the night before with herbs and onions in a bag and put it in the oven first thing. While preparing all of the sides, the two burners on the right side of the oven stopped working. As did the back left burner. P-e-r-f-e-c-t....
Also, a couple of years back, my mom became a vegetarian. She's lost over 50 pounds and looks great...but hasn't bought new clothes so everything just hangs on her. Since she couldn't have turkey, she brought her vegetarian meatballs.
In the end, my mom came. She didn't talk to me particularly, but she was very pleasant to have. Of course, Brother cried through most of dinner, and Annie wasn't too happy that macaroni and cheese wasn't on the menu, and my mom declared my dinner pretty good but "simple". We talked afterwards, ate some pie, she pet our dogs and cats, and she left. So glad that the ONE Thanksgiving she accepts our invitation, we're living in a two bedroom apartment....
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| This is one of the only pictures I have of my mom. |
I felt complete and utter relief. I had survived it all. I got a babysitter for that night (yes, Thanksgiving), and we headed to a movie. We saw Knives Out.
The next morning, we decided to try our hand at Black Friday shopping. Ethan and Rebecca came with me bright and early, and John stayed home with the babies. It was really fun, mostly because we knew where we wanted to go and went there, and we were home by 10 a.m.
That night, we decided to drive to Michigan International Speedway and see Nite Lights, a HUGE light display. Little did we know (from the year before) that on certain nights, there is a Christmas train, and SANTA makes an appearance! We couldn't have timed it better!
I guess this is the first year that the babies haven't screamed when put on Santa's lap. As Rebecca pointed out, if she'd known they were going to be so good, she would have dressed them appropriately! ;-). I just want to know why Brother will go to a weird looking man with white facial hair, and he won't come to any of us!
It was so fun going to see the lights with the babies! We put the car seats in the back, Baby sat in my lap in the front seat, we rolled down the windows (it was remarkably warm), and Brother stood in the back seat. They LOVED seeing everything they could see including, for Brother, trucks and helicopters! And at the end, with the HUGE display for the 12 Days of Christmas, we sang each verse of the song and by the end, Baby was happily singing with us, including the *brrrrrring!* with Poppie after "5 golden rings" ;-)
We played games (KitTen included), most of which I won (take THAT!), and we watched Michigan lose yet another game to Ohio State.
We also went for a walk Saturday morning. With "Dexter's Friendly Troll", I decided to tell Baby the story of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". In between running to the next sign with her (I never won because we know how Baby will react, but she honestly gave me a good run for my money), I told her the story of the mean troll who waits underneath bridges to eat people (and goats) who *trip, trap* across them. We even crossed the six foot long bridges that run over small streams. When we headed back, we went to cross the same one again, and we were tiptoeing across, when I thought it would be fun to throw my troll voice and ask "WHO'S THAT TRIPPING OVER MY BRRRRIDGE??!!" The look on Baby's face was PURE TERROR! I never thought she would actually fall for it, but she did, and she took off across that bridge like her booty was on fire! I felt kinda bad.....But when we got back to the "friendly" troll, I told Baby to pose in front of it, and she obviously takes my story more to heart than what the sign says....
And as promised, we took Baby to the playground at the end...but only after I told her that if she asked me about it one more time, we would NOT go. Yeah, she's pretty dang good at taking to heart what we threaten ;-)
Sunday came, and we sure didn't want anyone to go home. We left after sacrament meeting so that we could get home and get everyone on their way, but not before taking Christmas pictures. I had decided that morning that Brother needed his "do" done, but not having any hair gel (have I mentioned that I am SO TIRED of not having any of my stuff), I used the only thing I could find: AquaNet hair spray. If nothing else, it held through church and through pictures! ;-). These are just two of my favorites!
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