This will be the first Christmas where all three of my little ones, Mookie, Princess E and Mr. J will actually be aware of the holiday, well, not just Christmas, but the other holidays too, thanks to PBS and Arthur.
Here are just a few tidbits of what my genius children have said over the past few weeks.
The neighbors on the street turn on their Christmas lights for the first time. Mr. J. who is 2 going on 22 runs in the office to tell me excitedly, “Mommy, Mommy, come quick! It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas!” So of course I run out and look out the window and say “Wow! It is Christmas, isn’t it!” Then, he goes on to tell me in no uncertain terms that he wants a race track with Thomas (The tank engine) on it. Mind you, he tells me this every other day, so I’d better get to ACMoore and get that track set!
Princess E informed us that there was a difference between Hanukkah light and Christmas lights. “Christmas lights are on the house. Hanukkah lights are on the trees and bushes.” Thanks E for letting us know the difference. I thought they were all Christmas lights all these years.
I’m listening to a story from Mookie about Francine who is Jewish and doesn’t celebrate Christmas. And is Hanukkah more important than Christmas because Muffy doesn’t think so……..wait a minute, these aren’t children in your class, these are characters from Arthur. Arrgh! And I was listening too, thinking,…I don’t remember any child named Francine in his class….well maybe this was in the lunch room….. talk about a duh moment.
Oh, and our new dog, Blossom, rhymes with possum. This will be her first Christmas with us. I hope she doesn’t try to chew on the tree! For a five year old dog, she sure loves to chew….and is good at it too!!
This is going to be some Christmas! Have a merry one y’all!
I first heard and saw this video at a MOPS meeting, and I loved it. Now, this new version with the “lyrics” really bring home what we say as moms all day!
Planning an easy Thanksgiving dinner can be stressful because this is one of the holidays where it seems that the focus is on the food and table presentation. Certainly we all understand the history of Thanksgiving and that we are giving thanks for what we have, but most of us, especially the moms, understand that it can be all about the food! Creating an easy Thanksgiving dinner can take the stress off you and the family as a whole so that you all can enjoy the holiday.
If you are planning a Thanksgiving dinner, it goes without saying that you should plan and prepare in advance. Sometimes this is difficult to do, especially when the grocery stores sales usually begin the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Take note, that in order to have an easy Thanksgiving dinner, you should keep yourself as stress free as possible! This is where careful planning and simplification come into play. Prepare yourself, however, for the fact that even with careful planning, there are always several last minute party preparations that you will have to do.
Grocery Shopping:
If you have not all ready completed your shopping try to do so MOnday or Tuesday evening. If you truly want to have a stress free, easy Thanksgiving dinner, DO NOT by any means try to go to the grocery store, liquor store or any other store on Wednesday afternoon beyond 1 pm. Schools usually are half-day that day and some workplaces close early. And always, remember to go to the store with a list, which will prevent last minute trips to the QuikCheck
Decorating:
Keep it simple, keep it low key for your easy Thanksgiving dinner - remember, the key word here is easy! A nice fruit bowl/basket and some candles placed in strategic places (lit or unlit) will give you the ambience you need. You may also try using candle warmers with tarts to give an olfactory boost to your celebration.
Preparing Ahead:
You might want to prepareome of your foods and side dishes early. While you can prepare a number of dishes in advance, there are some that need to be made at the last minute. Perhaps you would like to prepare fresh salad or serve a cut cheese/fruit tray. These, by design would have to be done the day of. If you don’t mind heating and eating and you have plenty of gravy, it may be advisable to cook your turkey or ham or other main dish ahead of time. Side dishes can be prepared or even purchased in advance and heated in the oven or microwave before serving. In this way, the pressure is off for cooking the “day of” and you can merely reheat your dish. An easy Thanksgiving dinner preparer knows how to take the shortcuts.As dinner is eaten, heat your pies in the oven.
Cleaning:
Again keep it easy. if you don’t have small children, you should be able to do a “deep cleaning” ahead of time and merely do a quick vacuuming the day of your easy Thanksgiving dinner. However, as one who has three small children and a dog, I don’t stress about how immaculate the house is or is not. In fact, immaculate house is not even in my vocabulary.
I hope these tips help you pull off your own easy Thanksgiving dinner. And take it from someone who had takeout Chinese food one stomach-flu ridden Christmas - it’s not about the food, it’s about whose there.
Oh, and you may ask, how do I pull off my easy Thanksgiving dinner? I buy it from Eden Gourmet in South Orange!
Come on, what else did you expect a goddess to do??
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The neighbors on the street turn on their Christmas lights for the first time. Mr. J. who is 2 going on 22 runs in the office to tell me excitedly, “Mommy, Mommy, come quick! It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas!” So of course I run out and look out the window and say “Wow! It is Christmas, isn’t it!” Then, he goes on to tell me in no uncertain terms that he wants a race track with Thomas (The tank engine) on it. Mind you, he tells me this every other day, so I’d better get to ACMoore and get that track set!
these aren’t children in your class, these are characters from Arthur. Arrgh! And I was listening too, thinking,…I don’t remember any child named Francine in his class….well maybe this was in the lunch room….. talk about a duh moment.
