Thanksgiving Fun

On our way home from preschool on Monday, Caleb asked what I did during his absence. "I picked up a turkey  at the store." I replied. 
Silence in the car.
"You mean a real one?" asked James.

I looked in the rear view mirror.
"Yes, a real one. But it's not alive anymore," knowing that they pictured a bird fully feathered, wandering around our basement. 
"Well, where is it?" 
"In the refrigerator, in a box."
Silence again.
"Mom, who killed it and how?" inquired Levi sincerely. 

James turned to him before I could answer, "The Farmer, Levi...with a rake!" He said it with such certainty that it was a little alarming. 
"No, no James!!!  countered Levi, "I think it was the butcher with a knife!"
Caleb stayed silent and looked contemplative and sad. 

Hmmm,...this conversation was getting a little disturbing; I mean, how did they even know about killing or knives or anything like that!? Weren't they supposed to live in my bubble I've created for them?!  :( 

When we got home, three very determined men were scaling the tree in front of our house, sawing it down, branch by branch with a loud chain saw. This tree had been marked for weeks; we knew that it was an expiring tree that had to be taken down, but I wasn't expecting it to be today. 
 The sight of them sawing my tree up made me shutter. The boys stood in awe and sadness. 
Talk about butchering up a turkey, and now this?! I know it was a dying tree, but still, watching these men hack away and butcher up our tree limb by limb seemed barbaric in this moment. 
My boys were truly being thrust into the real world this afternoon. As soon as they were done the man came over to me, shook my hand and told me the other tall tree in my yard was dead and that he should come back and saw that one down too. I reluctantly agreed and he painted a big green X on it and drove away. 
So much for the dream of living in an old growth forest. 

I walked inside, a bit depressed that my yard was going to be treeless. James and Levi followed me in a bit sad as well, but Caleb? Caleb, as usual, decided to turn lemons into lemonade . He was perched proudly on top of the remaining tree stump, singing his heart out ("Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I'll love you tomorrow!"), preforming for all the neighbors and stray cats. He had a huge grin on his face, for he declared that he had a new stage. 

Earlier that day the boys had their preschool Thanksgiving party. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without homemade pilgrim hats and colorful paper feathers. 

Preschool forever in my heart

I volunteered to help out with it because I so want to soak up this final preschool Thanksgiving experience.

 

 I helped serve their "feast," little rolled turkey lunch meat, dishes of mandarin oranges and pumpkin spice mousse. It was a sight to behold, all those little preschoolers eating together in a civilized manner on their beautifully decorated table. 

Last week I coordinated Evie's Thanksgiving party for her class. One of the Mom's made cornucopias out of ice cream cones, filled with all sorts of candy. I read the class "The Blessing Jar", which encouraged them to recognize the blessings in their own lives, and we then made blessing jars of our own. 

Pin the tail on the turkey!

Aw, these years!! These sweet sweet years of classroom parties, years when they actually WANT Mom to be there with them. 
So innocent in their childhood lives, that even hearing of a turkey's death brings despair. 

John had to be in NYC for work a few days before Thanksgiving. He ordered the turkey weeks ago but I had to go pick it up with instructions from him to "have it chopped." 
"How do you want it chopped, Ma'me?" the butcher asked me.
"Um, in pieces." 
John is truly the Captain of Thanksgiving. I feel like he trains the entire year for this one day. It's his marathon, his big event, and he takes it very seriously.
 He wanted the turkey chopped into sections because he had several ways in which he wanted to cook each part. Experimentation. 
Culinary adventure.
 The works. 
This is what it excites him. He will settle for nothing than the best. 
Will this be the year he masters Thanksgiving?!

I participate by preparing my traditional sweet potato casserole. It's a pretty basic recipe but everyone says they look forward to it. It's the kind of thing you can only eat once a year. 
I kind of want to make it in the middle of July sometime, just to see if people are still as excited about it. 

I gave Evie and Levi the task of skinning the sweet potatoes for me. It turned out to be a messy amusing task, but they eventually got the job done. 
Caleb sat in the corner making little paper turkeys to decorate our table.
James, well he lingered around the Chef, requesting the job of "taste tester" of all sweet things. This boy knows his place in the world. 
The day of Thanksgiving arrived, and we started the morning out with our annual "Friendsgiving". One of the greatest blessings in my life is living so close to three dear family friends. Showing up in pajamas, John unveiled his new TV downstairs and we had on the Macy's parade along with some simple breakfast and coffee. Our adult conversation covered topics such as the "best vacuum cleaner brands" and  "why mini vans are the way to go". We had no idea who any of the pop singers were on television. We laughed at ourselves when we realized that we are fully immersed in suburbia family life and we've become "those people" we vowed we'd never become! I love it.

Later in the day was the finale! The Thanksgiving feast! We had John's parents, his brother, Rob, wife, Melissa and their two girls and his Aunt Mary. 13 people in all! 
This year I nixed the kids table. I extended the table to include everyone. I set everyone with "real" plates, and "real" cloth napkins and "real' silverware. It was a sight to behold. It didn't seem too long ago when we were hurriedly eating Thanksgiving dinner while I put the boys down for their nap! 
Or being completely and utterly exhausted by the end of the day that I was spinning. This Thanksgiving was so so different. The cousins played so nicely together. The boys sat politely at the table. We watched a movie as a family and everyone paid attention and enjoyed it! I felt relaxed, joyful and really really grateful. 

One of the highlights for me was the pie raffle. As always, we seem to have at least five different pies for dessert. This year, the cousins made a smaller, individual pie out of the remains of the other pies. They had the brilliant idea of "raffling off the pie" to one lucky cousin who could enjoy the entire thing for themself. Who do you think won it?! 
Caleb. 
Needless to say, he was absolutely thrilled when his personal pie was set before him. He sat requested ice cream on top of it at least three times and refused to give up his position long after everyone else retired to the couch. 

James on the other hand was absolutely devastated he didn't win the coveted pie. Eventually I was able to convince him that having as many slices as you want of any pie you want at the table was just as good. Yes, I do permit my kids to indulge in as many slices of pie as they want on Thanksgiving. And they do take advantage of this freedom. 

At last we all digested on the couch, watching Toy Story. It really was a wonderful Thanksgiving, and of course, we ended the day with Christmas Pajamas! I like to commence the long anticipated Christmas season with festive sleeping attire. I hear by grant permission for Christmas music, Christmas decorations, Christmas movies and all things Santa related. 

This year, actually as I write, Gramie and Grandpa treated all six grandkids to Portland's Singing Christmas Tree production downtown. We loaded those kids up in their Expedition and bid farewell for a few quiet hours. The car was electric with excitement and I'm eager to hear how it all went. During our kidless afternoon, John and I were able to get downtown and enjoy lunch at Portland's top ramen soup spot, Marukin Ramen with Rob and Melissa. A real treat. 

Now to Christmas! 

Darker days, colder nights and sweet memories

There just have been too many pumpkin smiles to count this fall. My love for pumpkin patches and all things pumpkin certainly took over our lives this past month as my family and I traipsed around various farms and fields in search of the most perfect pumpkins and vilest looking gourds.

One particularly ambitious afternoon I managed to wash, gut and carve all three of the boys pumpkins in one sitting as they hovered over my steady sawing and directed all my incisions. It depleted all my focus and determination for the next week, but nonetheless, I did it.
When all was said and done, I felt like I accomplished a day's work in one afternoon. Before me sat three different pumpkin faces, two batches of roasted pumpkin seeds (one burned black..so I guess that doesn't count...) and two loaves of pumpkin bread.
Now to clean up the mess.
I'm going to need some candy corn.
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With the time change now, it really feels like fall.
Darkness penetrates large portions of our days. The hardest part is getting used to after school in the dark. By 4:30, the kids are wandering around asking for dinner and I'm asking for bed!

Gone are the long afternoons at the sunny pumpkin patches and cow train rides.

Cow train magic!  A Patton Pumpkin Patch tradition!

All aboard!

Pumpkin magic

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In other news...Evelyn lost another front tooth. She came into the car recently after school and casually commented that she pulled out another tooth during class. Hmmm. Why does a child who supposedly is terrified of her wiggly teeth at home suddenly decide to yank them out at a school?!

I have some theories here.
1. She waits until school to pull it out because she gets more recognition and a prize
2. She sees her friends at school who have this really cool techie watch. It reminds her how much she wants to continue to save up for that watch and decides that pulling her teeth is easy money. 

Teeth. The new investment strategy.

Another curious decision in our household recently has been our boys sleeping in boxes. Levi and James  decided one night to forgo their beds and instead sleep together in a rather large shipment a box. 
It was all giggles until they realized there were one too many people to get comfortable. 

The rain held off for Patton Trick or Treating 2018. After a somewhat blustery and cloudy Halloween day, we were delighted that by night fall we could walk the neighborhood without carrying an umbrella or running for cover.

Iron Man, Captain America, Flash and Miss Kitty Cat were able to satisfy their sweet tooth and journey through the neighborhood, dodging dark shadows and creepy house cats. 
 We had a large trick or treating caravan this year; in addition to our family of six, we had John's parents and my mom! Those kids sure have a fan club!

Yes, my Mom came for a weeks visit, staying just long enough to trick or treat with the kids. She was able to see Evie's last soccer game (and trophy ceremony) 

Another trophy for showing up

She spent an afternoon at the pumpkin patch, played countless hours of make believe and "Mother May I", sat in the back of the car, and listened to Evie as she practiced reading her chapter books. 

A definite highlight for Evie was that my mom and I helped out in her classroom  on Monday. Evie was so ecstatic to see us both. She ran right up and gave Grandma a huge hug, holding both of our hands as she walked proudly down the hallway. This kind of excitement for Mom and Grandma at school will only last so long, so we are going to embrace it!

Overall, the fall has been wonderful. 
I find myself pausing a lot during the day and noticing the beauty because it is just so magical. I never want the changing seasons to be something I zip past. 

One day my family and I  were walking in the woods and there was a fallen log among leaves. I stopped right in my tracks because the colors were just so stunning.  The wood and leaves looked like they were electric, glowing radiantly. I simply couldn't take my eyes off of this. Pictures don't do justice. 

SO Onward, onward we march...toward darker days and colder nights... and handprint turkeys and little pilgrim hats!  

James is already excited about the pumpkin pie.