Thanksgiving 2013

It was Thanksgiving in Ohio this year, and for the first time in forever, everyone was going to be there!  The Stegmillers arrived on Saturday, so by Tuesday morning I wasn’t surprised to read a text from my sister that said, “Molly needs some kids to play with…she’s bored of grown-ups!  Hurry up!”  I relayed the message to Sam, to which he replied, “I’ll pray for Molly.”

Due to the outrageous ticket prices at Thanksgiving, Annabelle did not have her own seat on the plane.  Fortunately – and oddly – there were about 6 empty seats on the plane!  We took over to 2-seater rows all to ourselves.  Thank heavens we did – 21 months is a bit old to be a lap child.  And the way-past-bedtime arrival time failed to produce restful children.  Instead, toddler learned to latch/unlatch her seatbelt and lock/unlock her tray table, while preschooler decided he wasn’t much interested in the iPad that night.  Doh!  But we made it, and were all frozen just walking through the jetway.  Good thing mama packed the jackets on top of the suitcases!

As the frigid temperatures were showing no signs of rising, there was still snow on the ground on Wednesday morning.  Sam had not forgotten about his fun in the snow at Christmas last year, so he was eager to go “sleighing” and shoveling.  He was willing and excited to get bundled up.  Never wanting to be left out of something that Sam is excited about, Annabelle let us bundle her with confused anticipation.  I’m glad she did – she had fun out there!  Of course she lasted less than half the time that Sam did, but I was impressed that she stepped outside the garage at all.  And hats off to Papa for taking them – Mommy and Daddy had so much fun watching them through the window!

What do you think of their outfits?  Stylish and on-trend, no?  Considering the grand total I spent on what you see on them, I say they look great.  They are both in hand-me-down jackets, Chris’s snow pants from childhood, Sam’s hat, gloves and boots were gifts.  I only purchased Annabelle’s tennis shoes and hat, but even that is handed down from Sam.  Fortunately Molly’s snow outfit was pieced together as well.

Thursday Morning – The Flying Feather Four Miler.  Picture me wearing 3 pairs of pants (running capris, black stretchy pants and lined wind pants), 3 tops (running tank, running long sleeve and hooded fleece), a hat, my hood and a pair of gloves.  The start was at least a half mile from the parking lot, so we waited in the cars as long as we could – we weren’t the only ones.  We were chilly waiting for the start, but a bit of bouncing and a bit of excitement helped.  And then we were off!  By the end of the first mile I wasn’t even cold anymore!  I wasn’t exactly removing a single one of my layers, but I wasn’t cold!  My dad and I ran together and finished in a time that we were pleased with.  As we waited for the others (Chris was a bit behind us, followed by the group that opted for run/walking), things started to change.  Turns out maybe we did sweat a bit, and we were getting very cold very quickly.  By the time we turned for the cars my hands hurt.  By the time we got to the car they hurt badly.  If I’m honest, I think they weren’t all the way back to normal for several hours after returning home.  But I’m glad we went – a fun thing to do on the morning of the feast.  Can you believe THOSE words came from me – running and fun?!  HA!  And we are all very thankful for Gommy’s willingness to stay home with the shorties so that they didn’t have to turn into popsicles!

Don’t the girls look adorable in their matching outfits?  Kristen ordered the shirts off Etsy and I think both will fit again next year.  I made the tutus (Annabelle’s still fit from last year!) and we both happened to pack brown leggings!  At one point Molly had taken her tutu off.  I asked her where it was and she said, “I took it off because it was hurting me…But thank you for making it for me!”

In the kitchen it was “cooking by committee.”  I set my alarm to get my primary dish done before the race – I am always assigned to mashed potatoes.  I did the mac ‘n cheese for the kids and spinach salad just before meal time.  Kate was on sweet potatoes and brie, Kristen on corn crap casserole (that’s what they call it!) and grocery.  Gommy headed up the turkey, stuffing, gravy, green bean casserole, cranberries and roles.  And the pies, but I mean she had tons of help with those, and none of the helpers tried to steal the cinnamon sugar mixture for the apples OR ended up with bowls of it for their desert afterwards.  None of them.

We all ate too much, and my grandparents were even able to join us for the big meal!  Well, maybe the kids didn’t eat too much, but we didn’t mind much since they were at their own table.  That’s right, our first official kids table!

We had a grand plan to attempt the zoo lights on Friday night.  Our experience with horrific crowds and a temperamental two-year-old two years ago inspired us to get our tickets ahead of time.  But we wanted to use my membership to the Houston zoo to get a 50% discount (it saved $50 for all those tickets!), so we had to go to the zoo to get them.  Since the zoo is 4 minutes from the house, we did just that.  And then we walked in to see the gorillas, because they would be asleep by the time we got back.  It was weird and deserted and felt like a creepy amusement park from Criminal Minds, but we had fun.  Sam wished that he had worn socks and gloves for our “quick car trip to get tickets,” but Mommy shared hers.

We all bundled to the hilt AGAIN to face the crowds that were apparently scared away by the cold.  We had a fantastic time that night!  We met Santa, decorated cookies, watched the musical light display around the lake.  We visited the manatees and the fish aquarium, and yes my daughter cried when we made her leave the fishies.  That girl and her animals – pointing and ahhing at every one she saw.  We ate a civilized dinner, the kids and grandparents rode the carousel.  After walking through some Small World-type Christmas displays and seeing the biggest bats I’d ever seen, we found the tiger and her cubs we’d visited over the summer.  My how those babies had grown!  But Annabelle could not stop announcing to everyone around that the mama tiger was “NighNigh!  NighNigh!” over and over and over again.  Such a successful and fun night!

Saturday, after a quick shopping trip to get new clothes – I mean, support small business Saturday – it was time for the OSU/Michigan game!  Quite the nail biter, but fun to watch it in Ohio.  Sad that the Stegmillers were on a plane and missed most of it!  Out to dinner that night and then pack it up for our early Sunday morning flight.

The week brought many group bath times, lots of football watching, and more pots of coffee than I can count.  Many trips to a beauty salon staffed by shorties, feeding dollies and chasing each other.  I love Thanksgiving!