Time Travel and Turkeys

Remember how I was so firmly resolved not to gloss over anything significant for my girls?  Well, feel free to label me a hypocrite for the five hundred and seventy-sixth time (I’m guesstimating)   Because our Thanksgiving was wonderful and aside from my whacked-out passionate plea to help me help people, there have mostly been crickets around these here parts.  So, let's do a bit of time travel, shall we?  Everyone call up Doc Brown and remember to buckle yourselves up tight in the Delorean when he gets there to pick you up.  

For starters, we had our thanksgiving a few days late. On the actual day you Yanks were stuffing your bellies and moaning over distended bellies, I had been alone with the girls for the fourth consecutive day (I know—we’re whiner babies) and ordered delivery pizza with some friends…which ended up being an hour late…while the children dissolved into hypoglycemic puddles because there was no room in my fridge full of defrosting turkey for things like “real food”.  It was lovely.  One for the scrapbook.  Luckily, John rode in on his white stallion the next day and we eventually held a Thanksgiving feast that would make any American proud. (There was a recording of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade playing in the background for Pete’s sake)  

As a part of the Schweighardt clan, we have become used to the festive insanity that thrity-something bodies in one place can create during the holidays and while our gathering was a bit smaller (my oven, God bless it, could never have survived the load of a Schweighardt thanksgiving) was every bit as lovely and joy-inducing as any other family holiday we’ve had.  And that says something—my people celebrate Pie Day, after all. 

On Saturday, while most of you were decorating your trees or recovering from Black Friday shopping, we had several people from John’s work over and some good friends of ours who we *shockingly* actually didn't meet through the UN were also able to join us.  In the end, my countertops were groaning from the load of delicious food and the walls were bouncing with happy conversation and raucous laughter.  The girls were spoiled beyond belief and our friend, Dave, was actually able to perform the miraculous feat of getting Audrey to voluntarily leave the sofa to play with him. Meanwhile, Bailey ran amok with her Best buddy, “Tiana” (also known by her parents as Ilana) and fell in love with anyone who tried to tickle her or hang her upside down by the ankles.   There was wine and cookies and pie...Dave and Tia donned matching aprons and did the dishes.  (I didn't want to let them leave...ever.) As the night waned, Audrey came out of her shell and asked to sit with Marcy while Bailey propped herself on the lap of Marcy’s husband, Nathan, to give him the full experience of watching football with a two-year-old ("Who's the bad guys??")  It was a top night with great people.  

 

See why I pulled out the flux capacitor to make sure that didn't get lost in the Christmas madness? I guess I did save a little respect for the Turkey after all...

p.s. photo credit for the first two pictures goes to the Ashers--also known as Tiana's parents.  They both know how to work some magic behind a camera.