Thanksgiving!

This year we hosted our first ever Thanksgiving in our very own home! I am delighted to say that it went off without a hitch!

Mom came down Wednesday evening to help me prepare. I had tried to "brine" the turkey, but had an unfortunate situation with the "turkey bag". It really didn't matter though, the bird came out excellent if I do say so myself!

I was responsible for the: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and bundt cakes. The bundt cakes were easy- I ordered those in advance from Nothing Bundt Cakes (so good) but the rest was up to me. For the stuffing, we made Stove Top for inside the bird (it was the fall back) and then I made from scratch my very own Paula Dean apple/cranberry stuffing! It was SO good! Mom, Dad, Andie, John, Joyce, and Jared all came over for Thanksgiving. Aunt Mary and Uncle John came by for dessert as well.

my veggie tray

Mom, Aunt Mary, and I went shopping Friday morning. We started at the mall at Midnight (that's right)! We hit up Bath and Body works first, then headed over to Toys R Us. While we got into the store, the checkout line was like 3 hours long. At that point, mom and Aunt Mary went over to Old Navy while I got in line at Game Stop. I sat at Game Stop for 3 hours talking to a very nice woman who was in line for the same item I was. Finally, at 6:00am they opened and I got my item for Aaron! After that we hit up Best Buy and Ulta. I have to say, the stores were very well stocked even with their heavily discounted items, it was a great shopping day!

Thanksgiving is upon us!

So tonight I braved the madness- really there was none, and went to the grocery store to get the last of the items we'll need for our Thanksgiving celebration!

I bought a MSG Free, Gluten Free Turkey (for Aaron's family and well for all of us), the items I need to "brine" (yes you heard me use a cooking term!) the turkey, and ingredients for stuffing recipe I found from the lady who's name escapes me (lady who uses a whole lot of butter). That's right, I'm also making stuffing (read not from a box!)

Mom's coming down Wednesday evening to help me "prep" the bird, and then Thursday it's all me... well and mom.

The countdown is upon us.... let's hope that I don't:

A) Burn the house down
B) Give us all food poisoning.

Thanksgiving- Yes, I can!

With babies on the horizon (hopefully) and me being the OCD freak I am (I own it and wear it well) I (I could say Aaron and I, but let's face it, he's the go with the flow one) decided that we should start organizing our holiday traditions this year. I really don't want to be lugging around pack-n-plays, swings, bottle warmers, etc, all over the place on holidays and not get to spend equal time in the home that I grow more and more attached to daily.

So, our first rough draft to try this year:

- Thanksgiving at our home (for lunch so we can still stop by Robyn's to see everyone). This also allows mom, Andie (if she's game) and I to go shopping on Black Friday in Phoenix, with far more variety in shops.
- Christmas Eve with Aaron's family (we're both off so we're going to spend the entire day with them from morning through church in the evening)
- Christmas Day (Morning) in our home. So we can enjoy our Christmas together, breakfast, and just relaxing.
- Christmas Day (afternoon/evening) we'll head up to my parents house and enjoy Christmas dinner and festivities with them.
- Day after Christmas (shopping with mom, spending time at the folks home).

So, that means Jenn is responsible for organizing Thanksgiving. This morning, being the planner I am, I figured out my game plan (thanks Michelle for your helpful tips on how to figure out Thanksgiving):

- Aaron & I: We will do the Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (I am a mashed potato master!), and two Nothing Bundt Cakes (one in Pumpkin Spice, one in Marble) (and anything else not picked up by others, like Cranberry's, and um maybe more sides?)
- Mom & Dad: Green Been Casserole, veggie type tray, pumpkin pie, and my special chocolate cream pie.
- Aaron's Parents (if they chose to come): um anything else I'm forgetting?

I already ordered the bundt cakes, and will be looking for a Turkey here in the upcoming days.

Hurray for feeling like this is a "can do"!