Finally i am doing an update!
we all woke up at a decent hour enough for me to crawl out of bed and have my first cup of coffee before the craziness started.
as i was coming down the stairs ALL the kids came running
at me.. ELFY IS BAAAAAAAAAAAACK.
yes, Elfy returned to have thanksgiving with our family. Elfy came with tricks and a letter.
the letter stated for the children to clean up their act, stay nice and respectful to each other, listen to Mom and Dad. then he decided to take an erasable marker- drew on ALL my photographs. ALL. people had beards. eye patches, my poor lion had alien ears and antenna's. my mirrors had little elfin doo dads everywhere.
pictures? Nope not a one. mostly because my woobie was put away into my room. and i had no idea where my cell phone was.

Sorry yet i am sure you can imagine... Elfy was hanging behind my lion picture HOLDING the marker. the jerk didn't even the decency to HIDE the evidence.

Well the letter must have gotten to the midgets because this happened:

they took the cleaning up your act statement literally.
one full can of pledge, and a very strong smell of lemon later i have a clean house.

this elf may come in handy after all....

the time has come to start the FOUL. the kids were way too excited. I had just purchased a roaster and had no clue in how to use it. directions? yeah they were there.
in went the ugly monstrosity of a bird. covered and let it go.. started on every other thing we needed. the Thanksgiving parades were on. Kids wanted to watch the Chicago one, instead of the Macy's!! at 9am Jen and family started a new tradition of playing football. i declined since i had to cook so Tom took the kids and met them out. i don't know how long they were gone because i had my music, dancing around the kitchen cooking, and cleaning up as i went along. did i mention i had my cider?? yep went from wine to cider in a blink of an eye.
side note here. I HAVE... MUST... NEED, to ensure i wash dishes as i use them.. i don't know why it's an OCD thing with me...
then the light bulb happened...
I totally forgot about the turkey BREAST i bought! **facepalm** go running around the house trying to find it. I have a small fridge in the basement to help.. Nope not there!

back upstairs moving everything around. PHEW! there you are! rub this NASTY thing down throw it in the oven... Oops. thankfully it was early enough it would be done by dinner time
next thing i knew the door was opened and 3 frozen children and wounded husband came walking/stumbling in... the kids were very excitingly chattering about the fun they all had and how Dad is old and fat and can't keep up..

they CRACK ME UP!! i guess Tom had pulled several muscles during TAG football. I guess Chris took Jen out and found herself on the flat of her back. Hearing all the i was even MORE overjoyed i stayed home cooking, cleaning, drinking.

after everyone took warm showers they were more the willing to help!

zack was my sous-chef. Meg played D.J. to keep the party ROCKIN! Matt? well he was... Being Matt. watching TV or whatever it was to keep him out of the kitchen.
As Zack played Chef Ramsey telling me it needed more salt, or "YOU DONKEY IT'S COLD" we were getting things done SO EASILY! laughing, dancing, playing, joking around, next thing we knew it was time... ALL of the food was done at the same time....
I'm getting good at this...
turkey was literally FALLING apart in the roaster. GEESH that cooks QUICK! the breast was done too!
then was the:
creamed spinach
Cheesy potatoes (which are now called Zack potatoes) i think they are called funeral potatoes?
Parm encrusted squash
stuffing - first time it came out PERFECTLY! this was my 3rd year making it totally by myself 3rd times a charm!!! i was SO DELIGHTED!
smashed potatoes (we're Irish remember)
DONE!
my SIL/BIL came and brought pies galore, and German potato salad (way too much vinegar for me.
My Mom had 2 hams, green bean casserole
corn
sweet potatoes
a couple of desserts...
of course BREAD! lots of rolls and stuff.

gettin ready to CHOW DOWN!

Lex was trying his darndest to get any scrap of food...

all i can say was.
YUMMMMMMMMMM oh MY GLORIOUS FOOD it was delish! first year ever
everything came out PERFECT! i was so happy! I wasn't tired, i wasn't in the mood for murder, it was PERFECT!
after dinner Tom and my Mom do the clean up...

there were enough leftovers for a second and a third thanksgiving! by Monday of that week if i even saw an inkling of Thanksgiving food i was going to be

Yet i was MORE then happy with having all the desserts...
made plans with my Mom to do our black Friday shopping. we were going to leave about 4:30am to hit the few stores needed.
Black Friday
so i went to bed pretty early woke up threw some comfy clothes on and OFF WE WENT! first stop? Toys R us! they didn't have what i needed nor were the sales what i wanted. i had a plan.. ONLY buy what i needed and only if it was the black Friday deal. I gave myself a budget and i was going to stay ON IT!
Toys R Us wasn't great i did get a couple of things. then to Target. Here is where i found most deals and most of what i needed!

after a looooooong time i finally pulled my mom OUT and off we went to petsmart.
had AWESOME deals!!! i am not telling what i bought of course. you have to wait until Christmas like everyone else....

then was the big one.
Kohl's
Mom wanted to get the kids/Tom and I - clothes and who am i to argue with her?
shopping bags FULL to the rim i have to get her out of this store! she is shopping like she has millions!

i was a bit silly at this point and found almost everything and anything funny. i was in DESPERATE need of coffee. lots and lots of caffeine. Starbucks it IS!!! thank GOD. as i am singing and dancing in line yes others were staring i received my heaven in a cup we were on our way HOME!!!
I had to get back to try and nap before my job #2 started! able to get home more then enough time to take a quick nap!
didn't get home until 1am from job #2 since they were open over 24 hours and it was a WRECK! i can say it glistened when we were all done with it!
So there you have my Thanksgiving weekend! it was a HOOT!!!
looking forward to next year when the kids will be even more inclined to help!
Next up? I allow Christmas decorations.