Fields of Green: Round Two

Thanksgiving night was a lot of fun. We slipped over to our friends' house for some of the Raven's game, which was a special spontaneous treat. Honestly, is there anything more fun than a spontaneous hang out with friends? It feels like sneaking out, what with the jammied kids and a baby who should have been in bed. I don't think I paid one bit of attention to the game, but maybe it revved up my "game on" for some Black Friday shopping.

My mom and I hit a Wal Mart near us at 10:30 and got a few great deals. We actually really enjoyed it. I thought it would be kind of awful, shopping that late with crazy people. Everyone was so nice, though. I think there's just something about the excitement of shopping when you should be sleeping and knowing you can go home to leftover Thanksgiving desserts that makes everyone so full of good cheer.

I hit even more sales early in the morning, took the sick cat to the vet, then high-tailed it to Mom's for Thanksgiving #2. I tried not to pass out while watching part of a movie, but I probably drooled a little since I could barely shut my mouth from the tiredness. In spite of that, I still made a couple of side dishes and we even snuck in a family Christmas card photo shoot. Boo-ya!

When we finally sat down to eat, waves of tiredness flowed through my veins. I was just excited to sit still and eat. The baby was sleeping when we sat down, and I said, "Bet you anything the baby wakes up just as I take my first bite."

We didn't even make it that far. I had just plopped one scoop of potatoes on my plate when I heard, "WAHH! MAMAMAMA!"

I shoulda really bet on it! It was ok, though. I'm glad Sweet Pea woke up in time to enjoy some Thanksgiving with us. She really liked our gluten-free stuffing. So did I. I think most people would be perfectly fine eating just stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie at Thanksgiving. At least I would. Even the gluten-eaters agreed that the stuffing was incredible.

(In case you're wondering, we used this bread and my great-grandma's recipe. I don't know why it's priced so high on Amazon; it's usually the cheapest of the gluten-free store breads. It makes a terrible sandwich bread, but it was amazing for stuffing. The only thing you need to know about making gluten-free stuffing is that you'll probably need to about double the amount of liquid your recipe suggests.)

When I think of all that I am thankful for this past year, I can't help but dwell on the joy that these precious little people have brought to our lives. I have the most wonderful nieces and nephews, most of whom I don't get to see often, but all of whom made me want a baby of my own just because they are all such great kids. I knew our own had to be precious if she was going to be related to her sweet cousins. Boy, were we right.

When dinner was over the adults wanted to watch a Bourne movie, so my mom set the girls up with cartoons on the floor with the computer. I didn't think Sweet Pea would sit and watch something that way, but I was wrong. That kid will do anything to be like her big cousin. She'll also do anything for ducks, which the cartoon just so happened to feature. My baby loves to quack like a duck.