December recap project

It's been so long since I wrote anything here that the Blogger interface has changed, and I was redirected to a new site. (!) I guess I should go look at my blog and make sure it hasn't grown up while I was away. Should I check for mature content?

Well, we are growing up in real life, too, and when I'm not here it means I'm watching it all happen. Some people are much better at multi-tasking, and I dream of being one those kind of moms... in fact, the other day I thought, I always thought I would be doing this mothering thing in a much grander way, like writing books, or who knows what. I'm not really sure what made me have those self-aggrandizing thoughts, but I was struck (again) with the humility of this mothering job, and how much I (apparently!) need more of that humility.

I'm already behind in the December photo project, although I do love it. The downside of that project for an unfaithful blogger like me is that once I actually make it here with a photo every day, I want to chat! So perhaps the December Photo Project is for regular bloggers who need a break from wordy posts during this busy month, a category in which I obviously do not fit. So I will word it up as long as I can in the month of December. Word it up. Hmmm. Surely there's a better way to say that. So maybe instead of pictures, I will try to make up for my lack of posting during 2012. Unless I disappear, which means someone needed a diaper change, spelling test, or dinner.

Let's start with a Thanksgiving recap, because...I brought my camera to our Thanksgiving celebration. We planned to host a meal here, and invited a few small families. My sister-in-law tried to invite several families, none of whom needed a place to spend the day. So we joined forces, and then a few days before Thanksgiving another good friend decided to join us (which added 9+ people!). So, in the end we had 19 children and 12 adults, making for a delightfully festive day. 

 These cute printables came from Amanda's Parties to Go...an Etsy shop that offered free Thanksgiving printables.The activity placemats were a hit with all the kids, and kept them busy while the adults were finishing up the last of the prep work.

 Since I have to stay away from gluten and additives and preservatives, we had double of most foods and invited another family with similar allergies. We bought a pastured turkey from a local farm, and brined and cooked it using Pioneer Woman's recipes. Most of my the Pioneer Woman recipes adapted well to being gluten free. I made a pumpkin pie from Elana's Pantry,   and felt just as stuffed as everyone else at the end of the day. 

So much to be thankful for!