I never remember to take photos at Thanksgiving, I don’t know why. This photo above was the only one I have of the food. We made classic turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. I roasted brussels sprouts. My mom brought sweet potatoes and rolls, my brother and his family brought pies and his macaroni and cheese with wheat pasta. My aunt brought the yummiest bean dip and green bean casserole. It was a group effort this year, and I really loved that.

The only new recipe I tried was this Baked Ricotta with Lemon and Herbs. With all the heavy food I thought the crowd might appreciate a light (but still cheesy!) snacking option. It was a hit, definitely going into the rotation.

We didn’t go into the city for the balloon inflation this year. It snowed around the city, and it was freezing and pouring rain around here. Which was a bummer, but what are you going to do?

My mother-in-law and stepfather-in-law came over from the UK for Thanksgiving this year. They’ve come once before and seem to enjoy this most American of traditions. Including dancing with H while watching the Macy’s parade.

Side note: H was out of school all of Thanksgiving week with an ear infection. It seems to be a pretty reliable occurrence that the longer she’s out of school the more rascally she gets. Especially when there’s a lot of excitement happening. She’s been home for a full week, and bedtime has been more of an event than usual. We’re off for two weeks for Christmas this year, so hold on to your hats! I am going to have to plan many field trips to wear her out completely.

H spent a lot of time with her cousin while the grownups are dinner; they are 2 months apart and completely adorable. And also, they only wanted to eat cake.

Yes, we cut her hair. I’m a little behind on posts, I’ll have to catch up this week.

Also, I burned my arm taking green bean casserole out of the oven. There are worse Thanksgiving injuries, but it still smarted.

We had a great holiday weekend. I’m ready to kind of put Thanksgiving aside, though, and move on to Christmas planning. It will be another big feast in just a few weeks. We’ve decided to skip our holiday party this year. Back-to-back holidays with hosting duty, plus the general craziness of the past few months, have me wanting to enjoy some quiet family time the next few weeks. I love Christmas, and I don’t want to feel burned out by the time it arrives. So, focus on family this year.