After a wonderful Christmas Eve evening at Nicolle's (Nicolle's special bean soup, tortilla soup, Aaron's butter chicken, and Nicolle's chocolate pecan pie, and a nap on their living room carpet), we drove back into town and while the kids were getting ready for bed. I brined the bird.
Next morning the kids dived under the tree and ripped open their gifts (Evan is very careful with the wrapping and tries to undo it without a tear). While Jo and Aaron were fixing pancakes and bacon for breakfast I browned the lamb in the oven and put it in the slow cooker and washed the brine off the turkey and tossed it in the oilless frier on the back deck. Carol and Nicolle and Michelle and the kids arrived from New Braunfels with more gifts. More chaos though all of it in a nice way.
Because it wasn't 14 degrees Fahrenheit outside the turkey got cooked in time (and two hours before dinner because I was still a bit gun shy from Thanksgiving in Nebraska). I popped it in the oven to keep it warm and the rest of dinner resolved itself around us. Guests arrived bearing food. In all eleven adults, twelve kids and Zenia asleep on a pillow.
The kids ate outside on the deck. We dined at the kitchen counter and dining table. I tried to stay up and chat but finally threw in the towel and wandered off to nap. When I woke up hours later the party had moved to the living room. Zenia was still asleep (though I supposed she must have woken up and been fed and then gone back to sleep). The kids were running around in the back yard and on the trampoline and watching movies.
When it was time for Carol and the New Braunfels contingent to head home we sang Happy Birthday to Grandma. Evan sang it over again in Spanish. Then he sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. And then he turned and asked for dinner. We said "But you've already eaten dinner".
"But that was lunch". So we fed him leftovers and pie.
Next morning the kids dived under the tree and ripped open their gifts (Evan is very careful with the wrapping and tries to undo it without a tear). While Jo and Aaron were fixing pancakes and bacon for breakfast I browned the lamb in the oven and put it in the slow cooker and washed the brine off the turkey and tossed it in the oilless frier on the back deck. Carol and Nicolle and Michelle and the kids arrived from New Braunfels with more gifts. More chaos though all of it in a nice way.
Because it wasn't 14 degrees Fahrenheit outside the turkey got cooked in time (and two hours before dinner because I was still a bit gun shy from Thanksgiving in Nebraska). I popped it in the oven to keep it warm and the rest of dinner resolved itself around us. Guests arrived bearing food. In all eleven adults, twelve kids and Zenia asleep on a pillow.
The kids ate outside on the deck. We dined at the kitchen counter and dining table. I tried to stay up and chat but finally threw in the towel and wandered off to nap. When I woke up hours later the party had moved to the living room. Zenia was still asleep (though I supposed she must have woken up and been fed and then gone back to sleep). The kids were running around in the back yard and on the trampoline and watching movies.
When it was time for Carol and the New Braunfels contingent to head home we sang Happy Birthday to Grandma. Evan sang it over again in Spanish. Then he sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. And then he turned and asked for dinner. We said "But you've already eaten dinner".
"But that was lunch". So we fed him leftovers and pie.
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