I survived... and it was brilliant!

We all had a very lovely two-days-after-thanksgiving Thanksgiving meal! Dinner went over like a treat but for me the most memorable was the thanks the everyone gave for their year...

Cameron: I'm thankful for my friend (he gave Adam a hug)
Katy: I'm thankful for people to look after me
Callum: My little brother
Cassie: Lewis
Giselle: Baby ben
Patrick: That Monica is still alive (..we nearly ate each other preparing the meal in the final stages)
Pauline: That everyone is happy and healthy
Me: My family

plus many many many more. I am only sorry that I didn't write this post last ngiht as it would have been lovely to record them all ( i am getting old so i forget things now and then). If anyone reading this can remember what they said please let me know and I will add it on here.

Everyone cleared their plates, Thansk to 'Cod' for gorgeous macaroni cheese that became part of our meal, it was handed from person to person as a I remember each dish being passed from one to another at my families celebrations growing up.

Thanks to the kids who behaved so well and to everyone for coming to celebrate this meal of togetherness with us.. we thoroughly enjoyed it.

We played the longest game EVER of Articulate, the drink may have had a bit to with that.

Dare I say.. See you next year???


yes Monica the "most disorganised person i know" pulled it off(Thansk Patrick for all your help), despite

-boiling the ham for nearly twice as long as recquired
- forgetting that there was a turkey in the oven
- ummm Are those potatoes supposed to have mashed themselves?
- OH "£$%&", I forgot to buy the vegetarians some 'meat' and only remmebered when the guests arrived (thanks patrick for that quick trip to SPAR for veggie sausages)
- finding YAMS in the oven the next day when they should have been served last night


So what, Jamie Oliver wasn't cooking.... I was!

As for today... Go Penguins Go! http://www.gopenguins.co.uk

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

thanksgiving gaffs

Well my thanksgiving isn't until tomorrow. I'm guessing I have got some leeway as I am i a country where thanksgiving isn't even celebrated! Well.. first my Turkey, It is a 8.6 kg (I still haven't gotten used to kilos so could not tell you what that may be inpounds off the top of my head..) bird. let me tell you, refrigerators in this country are NOT made for big Turkeys, or for a LOT of stuff. So it had to go outside in the cooler with ice to defrost. Ok...day one checked it, frozen solid, day two same, day three same , day four, took the ice out, day five still frozen solid.. either weve got a great cooler or mother nature is not cooperating! I had to take it out of the cooler and into the fridge so it can defrost. Makingthe stuffing now and the turey nck is still frozen solid! Right we move onto the green bean casserole, I could not find any canned greenbeans at Tesco.. WHAT!!! I mean they are not unusual., they said they have not carried them in awhile.. I was shocked. I could cook fresh but can't be bothered so I surfed through a variety of supermarkets until i found canned grean beans. Next, french fried onions for the top.. umm no one has them, what am I going to do?? Well I'll just use bacon bits instread.. or as my mom suggested crumbled up potato chips to give thema cvrunch. umm no. As a last ditch attempt I went to an international food store yesterday and found something similar to the onion crispies, in the Indian food section. I can't read the label but it tastes the same. Pies, pumpkin pies... there's no Libbys here people. I had to cook fresh pumpkins, peel and freeze a few weeks ago when they were about. I spent ages seiving pumpkin to make pureee as my blender broke! I made pastry, no frozen ready-to-bake-crusts-in-the-little-foil-tins here folks. My pies came out great.. only one exploded so I have five left woo hoo. (Did I mention I have 27 coming over for dinner).

Thats where I am up to....I'l let you knwo how it all pans out!

Kids are great ... they have been a big help today. Carys has been busy takign out every toy she owns and strewing them roudn the hosue and adam's bedroom floor resembles the beaches of Normandy ala WWII. Never mind the fact that every spare bit of floorspae will have a body sleeping on it tomorrow night. I'll let you know how it all turned out.... if I survive!

Church

Carys thinks it is the greatest thing ever invented. I am not sure why the word Church creates such joy for one and such fear from another, not to mention indifference from their father. Adam immediately tries to weasel out of going, Carys jumps for joy, and me left tryign to get everyone ready to get out of the hosue on time.

Carys sings hymns (although she makes up her own words) and 'reads' from the mass book. Adam does his best to find alternative ways of kneeling so his 'legs don't get tired'. this usally involves sitting on his ankles, bum, perching on the pew, indian -style -halfway- under- the -pew contortion. I have no idea why. Carys doesn't kneel, she just stands, but she's three.. Adam's eight and is old enought to understand what's happening and why we do the thigns we do. He goes out with the childrens servic and only joins me for the last 15/20 minutes of mass. I am afraid to ask after his behaviour in the kids mass... maybe its better that I don't know.

I encounterd my first of many 'i don't know' moments with regards to religion. Adam asked the question how a chicken was created. Patrick started on evolution theory while I was content to say that GOD made them. Adam's curiousity then had him questioning human origins and thereby ensued an evolution vs adam and eve debate. I am going down one road while Patrick is going down another. I forsee many more similar moments in the future.

togetherness

I'd been doing alot of thinking this year and have decided on working onthe togetherness of our family. In the UK, Christmastime is the big FAMILY do of the year... I however will be stuck at home on my own this holiday season. Well... Christmas day and boxing day will be filled with laughter and cheer... but the days folowing will be filled with tearing my hair out and tryign to get my UNI work doen because It is due onthe 2nd of Jan.

Soooo.. IU decided to have a thanskgiving dinner. Yup... this will be the first time I have celebrated the holiday in years! I am getting really excited. I have printed off thanksgving crafts for the kids to get stuck into and have started doding the shopping. I hope all of Patricks family can come up so we can do soem of the togetherness. It is so often that family can live completely seperate lives and forget the importance of what family is and family means. Well this is my interpretation anyway. I am well aware that not everyone looks on the instituion of family in quite the same way.

My next project is Christmas Carols with the neighbours in turnign our neighbourhood into a community... but that is for another post.

The kids are sleeping... I am waiting for I'm a celebrity get me out of here to start....

A bit Shameful really....

I have JUST sewn on Adam's troop badge to his cub scout neckerchief! Adam has been part of the scouts for nearly three years now and I have only just managed to sew it on!!! I am sooooo pleased that I never lost the badge.... and even more so that he now has it firmly affixed! This is not something to be proud of.... had I done it when I was supposed to (on joining in 2007) then I may have kept onthe straght and narrow.. sewing badges on as he's earned them! But noooo.... Here's to a new 2010!

Carys has reinvented the word tantrum. You only have to THINK the word no and she's off. Feet stamping, arm swinging, arm folding and flinging oneself to the floor are all the rage at the moment. It must be a school thing... maybe.. :-). She's mighty precious!!!

Adam is getting taller!! Believe it or not.. it's true!! The boy is 8.5 months old and is now OFFICIALLY too tall for size 5's! Lenght... not width.. Roll on 6's!!

pumpkin bread

I have now made my pumpkin bread!!! I cooked the fresh pumpkins we used at halloween and froze some for thanksgiving pies! I am having a traditional thanksgiving dinner on the 28th for all of the family. I can only hope they like the variety and tradition and maybe we can do this as an annual thing. I have explained to the kids what thanksgiving is but they don't really understand why we are celebrating when we do not live in the USA. I will continue to try!

We had a new MAP young person move in yesterday. She is female... and is 17 years old, i am a bit nervous as this will be the first female we will have living with us .. our previous young people have all been boys!

Our spare room is now gone again... so we will have to be creative in putting up people once again!

Tent in the garden in Ocotber????

Joy

DSC05223, originally uploaded by the_stakes.

There is nothing more lovely than little outbursts of JOY from your children. Despite it being freezing.... Adam thought it was the perfect time for a little dip!

I however, am very annoyed with the sea! I ate some mussels in a lovely white sauce yesterday only to find myself up all night with Food Poisoning!

Halloween 2009

DSC05522, originally uploaded by the_stakes.

The revelers! We pillaged the neighbourhood enmasse! Trick or treat.... not many smelt feet! I was asked by several people what my costume had to do with Halloween. In the UK it would seem, halloween is all about withces, ghosts, and goblins. I am determined that our family dress up as a bowl of fruit next year. That'd sure give them something to talk about!

Halloween 2009

DSC05503, originally uploaded by the_stakes.

Blogging break. Lazyitis more liek it. ihaven't kept the blog updated for awhile. Every time I thought about it I decided to put it off unti tomorrow.
Anyway. This was Carys on Halloween. She is wering her brand new glasses which we picked up that morning. We have become a family of four eyes!