Deck the Halls with *Fools of Jolly*

So it's Thanksgiving. And I just wanted to first of all, send a Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends. We miss you all and hope all is well.

We have a standing rule in our house... No Christmas talk, music, or movies until AFTER Thanksgiving. We want the kids to remember that Thanksgiving is a special day where we celebrate the things we are grateful for, not just another day on the countdown to Christmas Presents. The holidays can officially start tomorrow. Today is for remembrance. And you might be asking yourself, "If there's no Christmas talk until tomorrow, then what's with her title?" Well, I'll tell ya....

See, we vote about our holiday meals. We want the preparation to be easy for Mommy, and the final result to be something everyone is happy with. This year, since Daddy isn't working tonight, Eli and Mommy wanted turkey. Daddy and Sissy, however had their hearts set on ham. At first, Eli agreed to compromise. We could have ham today, and turkey on another day... as long as I made stuffing and carrots today. OK, I could handle that. So then we went to Costco for our monthly bulk grocery trip.

Did you know that you can get this amazing kettle corn fried turkey breast from Costco? I had a fantastic idea when I saw that turkey breast for our everyday Thanksgiving meal. But then I went to the grocery store to get the non-bulk groceries, and I made another fantabulos discovery! Did you know at the grocery store you can get a small ham that serves like 2-3 instead of 5 plus? PERFECT! So today we had ham, turkey, green beans, carrots, southern style smashed sweet potatoes, stuffing (or dressing, whatever you call it) with gravy, honey rolls and deviled eggs.

Yes, it was actually pretty easy. I made the pumpkin pie first, and while that baked, I boiled eggs, then made the sweet potatoes, turkey, ham and stuffing next. While those were in the oven, I made the deviled eggs. After the oven was emptied, while the turkey rested before I sliced it (ham was pre sliced), I made the gravy and baked the honey rolls. And just so ya know, when it comes to cooking, I'm a cross between Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee. 30 minutes and Semi-homemade. Most definitely no Martha's at this house!

Anyhow, so back to the title... and the whole point of this post, aside from saying Happy Thanksgiving. When Eli gets full, you know the food is good when he says he has to throw in the towel, and then throws his napkin onto his nearly empty plate. Today, Eli threw his napkin down, leaned back and said: 

"Mama, that was Deck the Halls with Fools of Jolly perfect! Happy Thanksgiving!" 

May your day be full of blessings and may you always find reasons to be thankful!

SMOOCHIES!!