Thanksgiving 2011

"The Year Things Didn't Go As Planned, but Worked Out Anyway"

The family decided to have Thanksgiving at our house again this year - since my parents' house is on the market, and we weren't sure what would be going on there, it seemed easier for us to host.

The original plan:
1.  Mom and Dad would come on Tuesday, and I would send the kids to school on Wednesday and help them cook.
2.  Rest of the family (Curtis/Kristin/Chris and Sheila/Robert) would come Wednesday afternoon/evening.
3.  Finish the meal Thursday morning.
4.  Spend the rest of the day eating and watching football.
5.  Aggies would win (well, that part might have only been in my plan...).

On Monday, Mom got sick.  It looked like she would be still be contagious by Wednesday, and with Will being so prone to respiratory issues, she didn't wanted to risk getting him sick and had to stay home.  So, enter

Plan #2:
1.  Dad would come on Wednesday and do the dressing.  I would still send the kids to school on Wednesday and spend the day working on sides/desserts/cleaning/etc.
2-5.  No change

At around lunch time on Tuesday, the school called saying that Will had thrown up twice and needed to be picked up.  Sick again.  :(  This also meant he would have to stay home on Wednesday.  Amount of food to be prepared was pared down, so

What actually happened:
1.  On Wednesday, Will and I naively drove to Honeybaked Ham thinking I'd pick up a ham for Thursday.  Got there about 20 minutes after the store opened, and the line was at least 50 people deep out the door.  Didn't even get out of the car and just headed to HEB for a ham and the rest of the groceries.  Picked Claire up and fortunately both kids napped well, so I made a pecan pie, got the sweet potatoes baked and the sweet potato casserole assembled , made cornbread for the dressing, and baked a chocolate pudding cake.
2.  Dad and rest of the family came.
3.  Dad and Claire finished the dressing, and everything else went much more smoothly that I imagined.  We actually sat down to eat within about 10 minutes of when I planned.  The new recipes (sweet potato casserole (I reduced the sugar by half) and sauteed green beans) were hits.  SUCCESS!
4.  Spent the rest of the day eating and watching football.
5.  Aggies blew it.  Big time.  But, that was not a big surprise considering how the rest of the season had gone, and I could at least be happy for my husband that his team won.

We scaled things down, no one was stressed, and we all enjoyed our time together.  On Friday, those of us who were left visited some missions (Will and I joined them after a visit to the doctor), took naps (yay!), and relaxed.  Overall, while we missed Mom and were so sad she couldn't be there, everything else turned out wonderfully.

Claire and Will on Wednesday prepping for the game


Claire and Dad making the dressing


Playing Claire's new fishing game - her treat for being such a good listener over the weekend.  :)