The Day After Thanksgiving

Today is a nice day, isn't it? Jesse gets to stay home from work. We get to eat leftovers (and pie!) all day long. The sun is out. And as much as we hate Black Friday madness, we needed a new TV and did our shopping around online, and only had to spend about half an hour in a single store this morning to get what we wanted at a great price. (Happy early Christmas, Becky and Jesse!) And seriously, Black Friday is so insane, isn't it? I just saw a headline and read the story of a Wal-Mart employee being trampled to death by frenzied shoppers. It's such a sad world, sometimes. :(

Then again, Alex just fell asleep, laying on the floor, in the middle of playing, which he hasn't done since he became mobile. So again, today is a nice day, for me at least.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was so yummy! We're very much enjoying the leftovers. I wish they could last forever. And thanks to Brightonwoman, who reminded me to not just throw away my carcass. It's currently sitting on the stove, simmering happily and turning itself into delicious broth. Our turkey turned out great. Emily and my sister Melissa expressed curiosity about the brining method, and yes, it's a fantastic!! We used it last year, too, and I'll be surprised if we ever try anything different. It turns out so incredibly moist, and it's so easy to pull off! All you need is a bucket and a meat thermometer to do it right. You don't have to worry about basting, or wrapping in foil, or anything like that. Even with the prep you need to do before hand, it's the easiest system I've tried, and virtually fool-proof.

There were only a couple rough points in my day:
1) During the last 10-minute crunch-time before food, where I have to cook about 4 different things all at the same time (without ruining any of them), Alex decided that was the time to go completely haywire and frenzied with tears and screaming. I shooed Jesse out of the kitchen to take care of Alex, but sitting down and holding him wasn't helping. Alex was frantic. And you mothers out there probably know what it feels like when your baby is screaming like they need you desperately. Only, I had four things to do at once and couldn't stop to switch with Jesse. I was already stressed out from self-imposed pressure of not ruining the food. So the stress of my baby screaming made me snap. "JESSE! Stand UP with him!!" I practically growled right along with the yelling. (And for the record, yeah, he did calm down almost completely just by Jesse standing instead of sitting. I hate that baby trick.) But as soon as I could step away from the kitchen I took Alex, and he nursed happily and just about fell asleep, while Jesse cut the turkey. Thankfully, it was easy to calm back down with the frantic cooknig and the screaming baby taken care of, and I think Jesse understood my stress, and he accepted my apology easily. Dinner was happy after all. ;)

2) I didn't get my turkey nap. :( It looked like everyone was poised to take a nap all at the same time. It would have been so lovely and perfect. But Jacob started bouncing off the walls. Jesse went out of the front room and laid on the couch while Jacob entertained himself. But then Melinda got up to use the bathroom and then decided she wasn't tired anymore. And when Alex wouldn't settle down long enough to close his eyes, I stuck him in the crib to play until he was more tired, and I was just about to doze off when he got upset. And still wouldn't fall asleep, even when I tried nursing him more and snuggling. So, off to the front room we all went. And Jesse stayed asleep. Until the kids started making too much noise, then he retreated back to the bedroom. I sure envied him, right about then. But I slept plenty well last night, at least.

A few of you practically demanded to have my pumpkin pie recipes. I'm happy to oblige!! I can't remember where I got these, anymore, so I can't credit their sources, unfortunately.

Eggnog Pumpkin Pie

1 can (15oz) solid-pack pumpkin

1 ¼ cups eggnog

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

¼ tsp salt

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, eggnog, sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

Pour into pastry shell.

Bake at 375º for 60-65 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate until serving.

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp sugar

1 ½ cups whipped topping, thawed

1 Keebler "Ready Crust"® Graham Cracker pie crust

¾ cup cold milk

2 packages (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding & pie filling

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

Directions:

1. Whisk together cream cheese, 1 Tbsp milk and sugar. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread on bottom of crust.

2. Beat ¾ cup milk, pudding mix and spice in mixing bowl with wire whisk for 1 minute. Whisk in pumpkin. Mixture will be thick. Carefully spread over cream cheese alyer.

3. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or until set.

4. Garnish as desired. Store in refrigerator.

*May substitute 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves in place of pumpkin pie spice.

Now, the only thing left to do is decide where on earth to put up our Christmas tree, and hopefully get around to it sometime this weekend. I'm afraid Alex is going to pull it down if we put it anywhere remotely within his reach. I was dead-set on putting it outside on our porch.... but I think I've changed my mind, and I'm hoping maybe he'll just play with the branches instead of pulling it over. We're going to have to do some furniture rearranging to find a spot for it, though. But I can't wait for the Christmas decorations!! I've already been listening to my Christmas music this whole week. :)

Oh, and P.S., Mom: Yes, the punch we made is just a variation on the Wilcox punch. :) Jesse's family does something very similar and calls it "flu juice". We just kind of combine what we like of each of the two variations!