(43-125) WHAT Was I Thinking?

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I now can say that I know MOST certainly, why Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday.  And the reason is... because the cooks will require the three whole days afterwards, to recover from all of their hard work.  Now, I know what you must be thinking; "Paige, Thanksgiving was last week, and you didn't even cook; so why are you bringing this up now?"  Ahhh, why, indeed!
If you'll recall, in "You Know It's Love When..." I explained that I had decided not to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year; because in Thanksgiving's past, I was the only one in our family who had any interest in the traditional fare.   Well, while we were at Thanksgiving dinner; Luis and the kids actually consumed quite a bit of food that is typically associated with Thanksgiving dinner, including turkey; which they previously had shown no interest in. So, being the kinda wife and mom that I am; I suggested that I would buy a turkey breast during my Sunday grocery shopping and make it with a couple of side dishes for dinner one night.  Everyone seemed to like this idea; so I added all of the necessities to my grocery list.

Well, on Sunday I went to Sam's Club after the gym, and they had whole turkeys on sale.  I figured that I could just make a whole turkey since the prices were so good; and I looked for the smallest one that I could find.  I thought that an 18lb turkey for $12.50 was a really good deal; so I started to defrost it, and I planned to make it for dinner on Monday.

While the kids and I were having lunch yesterday, we were watching a DVR'd episode of "Diners, Drive-In's and Dives," and Guy was showcasing Thanksgiving foods.  One chef had used an oven bag to cook his turkey; and since I'm a BIG fan of the oven bag (I use one to make pot roast, and sometimes brisket;) I thought this was the way to go.  I searched my cabinets, because I remembered that one time I meant to buy large oven bags and I'd bought the turkey size by mistake, and I was pretty sure that I still had them in the house; and I did.  I set the bags some place that I would remember them; and I felt content that I had a great plan to make my "little" Thanksgiving dinner on Monday.

I tried to plan everything just right.  I took my lunch break late in the afternoon today, so that I could use my time to prepare the turkey.  I don't think that I'd say that this was a big mistake; however, I felt extremely rushed; and that wasn't very comfortable for me.  I would have to estimate that at least two or three times during the course of the turkey preparation I  uttered out loud, "What was I thinking," as I raced the clock to get the bird cleaned, dried, seasoned, into the bag and then into the oven; but alas, I DID IT; with time to spare.

It wasn't long before my house had that wonderful roast turkey smell; and since it's particularly cold in Phoenix right now (about 52 degrees today, and we're expected to be around 36 tonight;) the warmth from the oven was delightful.

I picked up the kids from school, finished working for the day, filled out some paper work for Luis' doctor's appointment tomorrow; then went to Safeway to buy mushrooms for my stuffing and sour cream for the mashed potatoes. As soon as I got home, I began preparing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and stuffing.  What was that I'd said about making them a couple of sides?  Well, I guess if I was going to do it; I was going to DO IT!  Go big or go home; right??

When Luis and Nicky got home from Nicky's soccer practice; Luis commented that the house smelled sensational (OK, maybe sensational wasn't his exact word; but I just love the alliteration.)  Nonetheless, he paid me some compliment, and it made all my hard work worth it.  We all ate our not-so-typical Monday night dinner; and although it was lovely to have; I definitely thought to myself; "I need a rest!"

I KNOW from experience how much hard work preparing a Thanksgiving dinner is; so why I thought that I could attempt it on a work day, during a week night; I have no idea.  I think that it is very safe to say that when it comes to preparing a whole turkey and all of it's accompaniments;  one should venture to do so when you have an entire day free and then a day to rest to follow.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-20) What A Mom's Gotta Do...

During my big thank you talk with my kids yesterday, I compared how I feel when I'm writing to how Lyndzi feels when she's drawing.  I think that I MAY have mentioned before that my Lyndzi is an absolutely BRILLIANT artist; and yes, I know that most moms think that their kids are great at one thing or another; but trust me when I tell you, my girl's got TALENT!!  Lyndzi is a multi-faceted artist - not only can she draw; she also sculpts and paints.  Lyndzi pays exceptional attention to detail and her vision is way beyond her years.   She's won prizes for her artwork and been featured in our school district art show; and at the tender age of 8 she PRIDES herself on being an artist.

When Lyndzi was 5, I wanted to collaborate with her on a children's book.  I had her do a couple of drawings but we never seemed to get it off the ground.  Since we were talking about our artistic passions yesterday, I proposed that Lyndzi might draw some pictures for me to use on my blog from time to time.  Lyndzi really liked this idea; and though I thought that I had made it clear that I didn't know EXACTLY what I was going to have her draw or when; apparently I was mistaken.  When Lyndzi got home from school, she told me that she had told her teacher that she was going to draw some pictures for my blog today and she was VERY excited.  Not wanting to let her down; I explained that I wasn't sure what I was going to blog about today, so I asked her to draw me a picture of me with a crown on my head; since I am The Queen of EVERYTHING.

When I got home from running some errands; Lyndzi presented me with her picture, and although it was quite good; it wasn't what I had asked her for.  Lyndzi was visibly upset and I tried to comfort her; but she needed some time.  She continued to draw until dinner and when we were done eating, she asked if she could talk to me in private.  Lyndzi shared that she had REALLY wanted to draw a picture for my blog and that she was sad that I wasn't going to use any of the drawings that she'd done earlier.  Lyndzi spoke openly and with a maturity that surprised me; so I wanted to address her disappointment with the same amount of honesty and sensitivity that she displayed.  I told Lyndzi that now that I'm writing my blog everyday I'm never really sure what I'm going to write about unless I have some crazy story to tell; so it made it difficult for me to ask for drawings ahead of time.  I explained that she had misunderstood my request and that even though I REALLY want us to work together SOMETIME; I wasn't sure exactly when we would.  Lyndzi's eyes filled with tears and I felt terrible; so even though I'm a writer, first and foremost I'm a mom - so I decided to put my other blog ideas aside for today, in order so that I could incorporate Lyndzi's picture into my post.
I told Lyndzi that she could draw whatever she wanted; but she just put far too much pressure on herself and she was unable to create anything that either of us felt I should use.  The situation worsened as bed time approached and she hadn't completed a drawing for me.  Lyndzi (who is not typically a crier) cried for the second time tonight and her sobs were heartbreaking.  Lyndzi was upset because she thought that her teacher was expecting to see her picture on my blog, and because I had spent my evening writing a blog about her and her art and I now had no art to share.  She knew that it had gotten too late to do another drawing and that the entire situation had turned into something uncomfortable and unpleasant.  And then she uttered the words that I've more or less been saying to myself for days; "I didn't know that something that was fun could be this hard."   The difference is that I'm 43 and she's 8; and I can take the pressure because I chose it; and IT'S WHAT I WANT; so for now I'm going to do what any good mom would do and tell you how much I LOVE my daughter and how I don't regret writing this post about her fantastic art while I have nothing to back up my claim.  Oh trust me; Lyndzi's artwork WILL appear on future blogs when it's the art that she produces from her heart and her soul and it's bursting off the page.  In the meantime we'll just chalk this one up to a typical day in the life.  To a mom doing what a mom's gotta do...
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING