A Bundle of Myrrh

It’s 8:30, the babies are in bed or downstairs, the kitchen is clean, I’m jammied up and I just ate a big piece of apple pie avec ice cream. Today went beautifully! There were times I thought it was all about to implode, an Ephy meltdown, a charred pie (thankfully still good) and seeing the kitchen after supper. These are the moments I wonder to myself why I keep doing this every year?!

But each year it seems to get a little easier. We get through the hairy times with most of our hair still there. The big girls get more eager to help and that help is actually help most of the time now. I want this day to be habit for me so our traditions are laid down. When the babies get excited about something it gets me excited to make it happen for them. So I’ll keep doing this. I made a few small changes this year that I think really added to the ease of the day.

Things to remember next year and repeat are:

1. Prep breakfast and any thing that will keep well on Wednesday. The morning went so smoothly. I’m so glad I mixed up the egg and sausage casserole and made banana bread the day before. Breakfast time can be stressy time here.

2. Try to start the day with a clean kitchen. So helpful to start fresh, all the dishes ready to be dirtied instead of needing to be cleaned before you can dirty them.

3. Have some games, crafts, books and shows ready for the babies throughout the day. Lily made place cards for everyone, Clara made napkin rings. We watched some of the Macy’s parade per my childhood tradition, nerded out to some Pilgrim documentaries for kids, watched this corny show and of course Charlie Brown. Then after supper there was a bit of Thanksgiving bingo.

4. Supper feast, NOT lunch hour feast! So much nicer to have the entire day to prepare the turkey and sides. We were ready to eat by 4:30, which brings me to the next tip.

5. Eat an early supper. Be done by 5 or 5:30 to allow clean up and time to sit around with the babies, read or play a game before banishing them to bed.

6. Minimal menu. A few easy favorites; Box Mac&Cheese, Cornbread Dressing, Rice, Cranberry Relish, store bought Pie and frozen Yeast Rolls. Easy peasy Mama needsy!

7. But don’t forget veggies! I’m glad I had some fresh broccoli and celery on hand to add to our starch with a side of starch.

8. Clean as you go, even if that means running the dishwasher twice. Empty it before supper so it can be loaded and done after.

Oh and spend the entire day in your pajamas.

“They all wait for You
To give them their food in due season.
You give to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.”
Psalm 104:27-28

A blessed Thanksgiving to you all!

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 27th, 2014 at 9:08 pm and is filed under Holiday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.