Thankful and Tired

What a long past few weeks it has seemed for me. First, Bryan was gone for the work week, then he was back but we think got the flu and was down and out for another week, then Thanksgiving and solo cooking the dinner, and then gearing up for my work trip to North Carolina, for which I leave tomorrow. I’ve had a LOT of time with the girls and I’m honestly needing this short break before the holiday season is in full swing. It will be a whirlwind of a trip for me, a long distance to go for only about 48 hours but it will be good for me to see the headquarters and meet everyone else in the engineering department for United Rentals.

So rewind, yes, Bryan got sick after his trip for work. He started feeling bad about two days post travel and hours after a Reese and Lottie sleepover at our house. He spent all of last week home from work and in bed but fortunately by the time Thanksgiving dinner came around he felt better, good enough to sit at the table with us, but still severly lacking his normal energy. We had beautiful weather on Thanksgiving day and I had prepped most of the items ahead of time so I took the girls for a walk down to the park for a little bit before Sarah and Lottie came over and we had our big meal.

For Thanksgiving dinner this year I stuck to the basics; turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sautéed green beans, and dressing. I decided this year to break down the bird before roasting it as I wanted to try sous viding the breast like I do with chicken and so I did that for the boneless skin-on breast and roasted the remaining parts in the oven. Everything got the same dry brine the day before. I really liked this method both for flavor and tenderness but also for not having to carve a smoking hot turkey out of the oven. The breast came out super moist and tender and the seasoning was great. I also had the whole carcass to make a stock, which I did the day before right after breaking down the turkey. The stock for the dressing and gravy came out great too and the meal was good enough in my book. I really miss having a collaborative Friendsgiving or more people to share the cooking with but it was still actually enjoyable. Sarah brought over wine and a delicious apple pie that we finished the night off a la mode style.

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet to be honest. Friday was a super rainy day so I stole away with Reese during Brooke’s nap time to go down the street to get our nails done. This was relaxing and fun to do together and Reese’s came out with rainbow glitter and flower details on her big toes and thumbs. The rest of the day was spent at home. Saturday was at least gymnastics day for Reese so she was able to get out of the house after appeasing us by watching the whole UM vs. OSU game. Victory! Brooke took a good nap during this time so I stayed home with her to do some cleaning/studying. And Sunday was a beautiful morning so we left early in the morning to go to the Seattle Center Playground for some time. The slides were still a bit wet early in the morning so we played at the playground for a short time before going for a walk to marvel at the fountain for a bit and just enjoy the sunshine. We headed back home to drop off the girls with our nanny Katie because Bryan and I had tickets to the Seahawks vs. Raiders game. We needed some time just to us and I needed some time apart from the girls. It was a great game, going all the way to overtime, but unfortunately the Seahawks let a player break free and run the full length of the field for a touchdown which lost the game for us. We headed back home, picking up barbeque from Woodshop on our way to finish out the weekend.

This week we have unexpectedly been greeted with some snow. Nothing is sticking but it’s made for an adventure nonetheless. I couldn’t bike the girls Tuesday morning so we bussed/walked instead and I think Brooke found the snow super interesting. Then Tuesday night the power went out for some unknown reason. Fortunately we had already had dinner and our baths so we were just sitting down to a movie when it happened. However, when the power came back on, around 9 pm, I think it surprised Brooke and this led us to having a midnight party in Brooke’s bed where she did not think it should be sleep time and I spent three hours awake trying to get her asleep. I’m quite tired this morning and have an early wake up tomorrow to head to the airport so it is an early bedtime for me tonight.

I’ll be gone the next two nights and then back Saturday night, just in time to celebrate Brooke’s 1st birthday party both at home and out with friends. I cannot believe she is already a year old, although I can because her personality has really been coming out lately. Off to Greensboro for me. Good luck to Bryan and the girls!

Chelsea