Thanksgiving 2014

Shawn's had all week off of school. It's been nice to have him around. (I'm sure the day will come when I look forward to having the kids return to school, but that day hasn't come just yet.) We didn't schedule the week full of lots of special 'days-off' activities - we had some, but it was nice to have a chance to relax a bit.

Raj took Shawn to Dadaji's to hang out for a little while before they all came back for our feast. Lilly stayed home with me and we held a small dance party while I chopped, mixed, and roasted. (Having a double oven made it a lot easier than in past years!)

The Thanksgiving Feast menu:  Green bean casserole with sausage popovers Cheesey corn casserole Creamed spinach (one of Raj's favorites) Stuffing with sausage in the crockpot Garlic mashed potatoes Sweet potato bake layered with marshmallows (I left out the cashews though) Roasted veggies Wild rice blend with cranberries  Cranberry sauce (from a can) Black olives Turkey with gravy
	There was hardly room for our dinner plates! It's good to send plenty of leftovers home with Dadaji.

To initiate the meal, Shawn read a Thanksgiving poem to us. It was the first time Dadaji heard him read. Shawn beamed with pride. (It was cute to watch him practice reading his lines in anticipation of his reading debut!) 

"Gobble, gobble!
Who is that?
Turkey Gobble big and fat.
Gobble, gobble!
What did you say?
Meet me on Thanksgiving Day!"

	Poor Lilly must have overdone it at our mini-dance party earlier because she only lasted long enough to take a bite or two before she just couldn't hold her eyes open any more. She napped through dinner and woke, still a little sleepy, just as we were clearing the table.

Though Raj was still eating and had a fork mid-way to his mouth to take a bite, Dadaji was anxious to get back to his house and go to bed. (I'll never understand his sleep schedule and need for sleeping pills.) Raj had tried to convince him to stay at our house for the night, mainly so he wouldn't have to drive back & forth, but he wouldn't accept the invitation. Raj finished his last few bites before his dad insisted on going home. By the time Raj returned from taking him home, we had cleared the table, packed up the leftovers (aside from what we sent home with Dadaji), washed most of the dishes, set the dishwasher to run, and got the kids into pajamas. After a long but enjoyable day, everyone was ready to crawl into bed.

As Shawn said at bedtime, "Mom, we have a lot to be thankful for! Don't we?"

Yes, we certainly do.