Thanksgiving

Before those gathered at my table for Thanksgiving dove into their meal, I thanked them all for being here and told them how much I love to be able to host a holiday meal. My introverted mother-in-law who does not like a crowd explained with a bit too much enthusiasm, "Oh good!"  Sounds like someone is a little too eager to bestow hosting duties on the next generation.

I really do love hosting Thanksgiving, or any holiday for that matter. I enjoy catching up with friends and family I don't see regularly and making more memories with those I do see more often. I take pride in planning the menu and decorating. And most of all, I'm thankful for the traditions I can create for my children.

Our Thanksgiving was "small" this year with only 12 people. That may sound big to some, but when my immediate family accounts for seven seats at the table, 12 isn't all that big. The advantage of having "only" 12 is that we all fit around my dining room table.

We tried something new this year by having dessert at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house two blocks away. We called it a progressive Thanksgiving dinner.  Part of our party went ahead to set out the dessert spread and let their Goldendoodle, Watson, get it out of his system to jump all over everyone and steal their shoes. (That only kind of worked.) The rest of us stayed behind to clean up, which meant there was nothing left to do when we came back home to put the kids to bed.

Grandma Nan, Kiera and me

Our au pair Nina's first Thanksgiving

I always have grand decorating ideas, but rarely pull them off. But this idea worked! A adorned a burlap runner with six feet of garland, clementines, little pumpkins and candles.

Yes, Legos and Minecraft made it on the list of things to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving

I spent another Thanksgiving right where I wanted to be, in my home with my own little (big) family and friends. I didn't those who had to get on a plane, or even drive a few hours.  Sure hosting is a lot of work and I began cooking over the weekend, but in a lot of ways it was pretty relaxed and I had a lot of help. By the time Thanksgiving morning arrived, if you had gotten a peak at my dining room, you wouldn't have believed that in less that three hours, I was going to be hosting 14 people, yet it all came together. 

Chris' Aunt Ginny showed up early to help (and brought her own apron), because in her words, "Thanksgiving dinner is a team sport!" She provided both color commentary and cooking trouble-shooting over the couple of hours it took us to prepare all the dishes.  Followed not long after Ginny,  Chris' parents marched in our house with a folding table, eight chairs, table linens, a turkey in a giant roaster and a large crockpot full of mashed potatoes.  It didn't take them long to transform our dining room to seat 14.

My chef partner, Chris' Aunt Ginny

Dan and Nan graciously provide the turkey so this vegetarian doesn't have to.

We had a lot to be thankful for at this Thanksgiving.  Our au pair, Celina, who has done a wonderful job of taking care of our children these past couple of months, joined us for her first American Thanksgiving.  Our friends are adopting a seven-year-old girl and this brand-new family of three also joined us.  It was incredibly special to be part of their first holiday together.  And lastly, are the two newest members of my family.  While Kiera and Matteo don't yet understand how truly thankful I am that I get to call myself their mom, that made this Thanksgiving so special for me. 

Kiera and Matteo loved all the food (except for pumpkin pie!), but perhaps Matteo ate too much turkey.

On Black Friday, instead of going shopping, the kids and I headed into the woods.  The Minnesota state park system waived its entrance fees for every park in the state on Black Friday and asked people to "opt outside".  We finally dug out all the boots, snow pants and winter coats for the kids and I was relieved to discover that no one had outgrown anything from the previous year.  We went to Fort Snelling State Park because it's so accessible given its location right in St. Paul. I didn't go with any agenda other than to let the kids roam and spend time outside and that's what they did.  Even though we got less than two inches of snow yesterday, they were happy to stomp around in the snow, make snowballs and scrape snow off fallen tree trunks.  Snow truly is magical. 

Send kids into the woods and I guarantee they're going to collect sticks. 

Thankful to Those Around This Table

I was so excited to have the honor of hosting Thanksgiving this year. I love big family gatherings and I got more than a bargain with 15 of us around our dining room table...and three cards tables lined up at end.  The result was a dinner table that stretched from the dining room to the other end of our living room.  It was cozy, but we all fit.

Once table was set and our guests seated, everyone was anxious to dig into the turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole and all the other Thanksgiving foods they look forward to enjoying at this annual feast.  But first I asked everyone to say what they were thankful for.  Oliver was one of the first to answer the question.  Because of this picture I had found earlier that week among a pile of artwork he brought home from preschool, I anxiously awaited his answer. 

"I'm thankful for Dad," he began, then paused, but finally finished with, "and Mom."  Whew!  Glad I made the cut!

Soren happened to be next and his answer was the same.  This shouldn't be a surprise since he copies everything Oliver says, but I at least have him officially on the record (with 14 witnesses) as being thankful for good old mom. 

As my turn approached, I looked around the table and saw what I was thankful for looking back at me.  I'm thankful for those who help me take care of my children.  For Marcel, who took a chance on our family and left his home to help us with our kids, for Uncle Andy and "Papa Danielle" who babysit on a moment's notice, for Liula who continues to be a part of our lives even though she's not our nanny anymore, and Grandma Nan and Grandpa Dan who are our back-up childcare and whose three-week commitment to taking care of Oliver and Soren means we aren't going to be schlepping them with us to China.