One Maid A' Milking

Dance Party '08

Effectively working off 20 of the 20,000 calories I consumed.

I think I hear Susan calling.....

I'd have to say stuffing and dark meat top my favorite foods on Thanksgiving, but I've also never been one to shy away from apple pie or the legendary Grandpa Mahony Whiskey Sour (which is honsetly responsible for most of the children in my extended family).

Throwing down the proverbial gauntlet, however, was my neighbor Joan who somehow managed to ring the doorbell just as we were about to begin the engorgement.

What did she decide to drop off??

Essentially, a bathtub sized bowl of Pumpkin Mousse topped with ginger snaps. It was absolutely delicious.....just ask my husband, who I caught rolling around in it that night while he thought everyone was in a tryptophan coma.

Turkey Bowl '08

The Highlights:

1) The teams were divided by the redheads and the non-reds, which, at least in our family, means pretty balanced teams even when a certain nurse defers to the cooking as her ready excuse for not participating....this year.

2) O and her cousin Drew learned how to tackle. Which is exactly what they did to each other during the entire game, regardless of team or period of play.

3) Some of us were showing our age....

4) My neighbor, who also happens to be a volunteer ambulance driver, never kept us out of his sights, certain he would eventually be needed.

5) Aunt, shmant, Mad Max is a capital pass interferer.....which is exactly why I HAD to trip him....often.

Turkey Decorating Contest

Since my gifts lie outside the realm of the kitchen, I left the heavy cooking to the pros, and designated myself as MC for the evening. In addition to providing my adult guests with plenty of late night trivia pursuit competitions and alcohol, I made sure the little ones never had a dull moment....or, at least I tried.

The results of the 2008 Turkey Decorating Conest:

Most Turkey-ish: Olivia
Most Gobble Gobble: Drew
Most Disturbing: Max (who made interesting use of some electrical tape)
Most Glamorous: Abigail (and a vat of glitter glue)
Most Colorful: Ellie (and every paint color I had, plus some I am not sure was actually paint)
Most Creative: Grace and her rendition of the turkey-pilgrim hybrid
Funniest: Paul and his labeled turkey, "Farty McFart".....oh, to be in middle school again.

Thanksgiving: The Afterglow

So the tornado that is my family effectively swept through my house in celebration of Thanksgiving, and the only things left in their wake are a few mysterious carpet stains and loads of laundry I made no attempt to do.

Needless to say, it was one of the best holidays yet as the occasions for us all to get together (or for both my brothers to be on the same continent at the same time) is extremely rare. In honor of our festivities, the rest of the day will be a veritable highlight reel of our weekend.

Starting tomorrow, the Christmas countdown begins......