An Adorable Turkey and a Delicious Duck

This year there were just four of us for Thanksgiving: Pablo, his brother Zeniff, P J, and I. The morning was pretty lazy and laid back.

P J fell asleep while watching the Macy's Day Parade with me. He's going through this thing lately where we doesn't want to be flat on his back. So we've been propping him up and he's happier with that.

Earlier in the week I took some time to make a turkey out of PJ's hand and foot prints. It took some skill to get those outlines since his hands are usually fists and clenched. But I managed to get them and the resulting turkey is ADORABLE!! I "laminated" it by just putting packaging tape over it on both sides and cutting around the edges- I want to keep this cute little poultry bird forever, haha.

 Pablo came home from work at 5 and that's when the real cooking began! We had mashed potatoes, corn, bread rolls, stuffing, gravy, and duck. Pablo and I saw the duck while out shopping the days before and decided to go for it. We've never had it before and saw it as a culinary adventure. It was good! 

Duck is different from turkey in that it doesn't need to be cooked all the way through; kinda like a steak. When we cut into it it was pink and juicy. I like my steak medium rare so I picked up some of the pinker pieces while Pablo grabbed ones on the cooked side. It turns out that barely cooked duck is the best way to eat it, since Pablo's cooked pieces really started tasting like liver. All in all, it was a big hit and very tasty!

And as a side note- Pablo ate, and loved, my sweet potato dessert! Which is so awesome because in the four previous Thanksgivings I've shared with him I've never seen him even touch the sweet potato dishes. I think he tried it this year just to please me and was pleasantly surprised. What can I say? I owe all the credit to the terrible, yet soooo yummy, combination of butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows:) 

Every year has come with blessings in which to give thanks, and this year is no different:

-- I am so very grateful for my husband, JuanPablo. With everything we've been through this year, I have found myself leaning on him more then ever. Not only has he taken the weight, but he's lifted me up :) 

-- I am grateful for family. My parents, my brothers and their families, and my sister. I am grateful for Pablo's family and the love and support they show me. And I am grateful for my own family--I have been blessed with a handsome and healthy son and my best friend to share eternity with.

-- I'm grateful for my faith and the strength it gives me. Being a new mom and awaiting replies from graduate programs to plan where we will live next year has been a little scary. My knowledge and faith in personal revelation and the gift of the Holy Ghost puts my mind at peace. 

-- And I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a mother. I would not trade the responsibility for anything less. I know that there are some who maybe haven't been able to be parents yet and I do not take the blessing of motherhood lightly. 

"It is not HAPPY people

who are thankful,

it is THANKFUL

people who are happy."

 

Now that the fridge is devoid of Thanksgiving feast leftovers, the tree is coming up and we are ready for Christmas! This is my first Christmas with no snow and no cold weather. I think I could get used to that ;)