Thanksgiving 2009

We enjoyed our first Thanksgiving holiday in Nebraska, and also as a family of four (!). I spent the better part of two days making everything, but it was all delicious. And, if I may say so, very yummy.

We have forgone the traditional turkey because we're not a big enough family to merit an entire bird- and turkey leftovers are only good for so many days before they become a chore to eat. AND, I don't know how to smoke a turkey like my dad- he's the best! So, instead we roast a duck. This year was SO much better than last year because I'm not preggie, so everything actually smells good! I'm really happy with the way the duck turned out. So, here's what I did- just in case you want to make one too:

Rinse in cold water and dry with paper towels. Pierce skin all over with a fork or sharp skewer.

Make a rub with about 2 t salt, 1/4 t pepper, 2 T orange zest. Rub a dub dub the bird.

Roast on a rack in a shallow roasting pan at 350 for about 2 hours. Every half hour, baste with the orange sauce that usually comes with the bird.

You can stuff the bird. I made a Whole Wheat Apple Orange Sage stuffing. It was FANTASTIC, and I'm not really THAT into stuffing.

Anyways, this is the end result of the stuffing:
And the end result of the rest of the duck.
Of course, no feast would be complete without Jaquay Potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, glazed carrots, martinelli's and rolls and for dessert, pumpkin or apple pies!

During the course of our dinner we do a thankful ABC wherein we take turns going through the alphabet finding things we are thankful for. It is sweet to count our blessings this way.

And now, I need to go prep for the Ward Christmas Dinner. It's gonna be delicious!

Oliver's photo shoot

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood- and with the sunlight streaming into my room- which was clean, incrediby- and a sweet happy baby, I just had to take a photo shoot!

My sweet little Oliver.

Such a sunny face!
I love it when his eyes smile too!
And when he crinckles up his nose...

But even a baby can only do so much!
Okay, one last push-up!
My baby is now 6 months old! Where has the time gone?! He is an "independent sitter" now! I can't believe how fast this time has gone. I love you, Ollie Bear.

Cute James sayings

We were singing the "pick up clean up" song a couple of days ago and at the end, James said: In the name, Amen. Apparently, we needed to close our clean-up session appropriately.

Also, "trick-or-treat" turned into "purple treat!". I think it got him more candy because every single house just LAUGHED when he said it.

And, we're reading Llama Llama, Red Pajama- but James calls it " mama mama red ma mama". Which we think is also cute.

Thomas the Tank Engine is "Tom-a-dis"

and the piano is "pammo"

I was just remembering that about 1 year ago, James said his first word! What improvement a year's time makes!

And you were right. He talks so much now, I actually ask him to be quiet. Just thought you should know.

Halloween and some Yum

This halloween I had EVERY intention of making James a new costume! But you would not believe how hard it is to find just SOLID red footie pajamas. Seriously. I looked everywhere. Even on eBay. Nothin'. James WAS going to be Dash Incredible- because he IS that fast. Instead, he went as a chef. Again.

Oliver, on the other hand, was VERY easy to figure out! An ear of corn. We're HUSKERS now.

Can you see our pumpkin? Drue wanted to carve something for James that he could read- and ABC was something he could easily identify- so there you go (said in greek accent).

As you can doubtless see, I did not get into the costume experience, and neither did Drue. This is weird for me because I've dressed up for Halloween for every holiday up until this year.

But it's tough being a mom of 2. So, maybe I can get something together for net year. Although, to be perfectly honest, I'm not about to make a great costume for my post baby body- too expensive... and probably not flattering- which is what I'm all about right now.

And now for something completely different.

I made this for dinner last week and it looked so DARN good to me, I had to take a picture. That salad is a French Warm Goat Cheese with Mustard Vinaigrette Salad. SO yum! Salmon and roasted savory sweet potatoes. I'll even share my recipe if you want it...