Got up with the kids and got everyone ready for the day. Headed out for a 9:30 appointment for my hair and stopped at the food store for an item that Fresh Direct (food delivery) didn't have for a recipe next week.
Came home and my husband went out to help his sister move some furniture, so I had the kids all to myself.
Lucky for me we made our backyard as pleasant as possible knowing we'll likely be caged in it for the next 18 years. We added a little fountain in the hopes the soothing trickle would cut down on the screaming, added some lights to our pool and most recently outdoor speakers for music. We have it turned to the Billy Joel station the past few days.
I basically kept the laundry going for 6 hours and here and there straightened up their messes, but for the most part enjoyed sitting on the deck watching them. The big boys did arts and crafts and went in the pool to play dolphin and a million and one other pretend games my oldest came up with. The baby threw my blackberry in the fountain and ate some berries off the ground that had ants on them. It is never dull.
At one point I freaked because I saw a worm, so my protectors came over to investigate. My big boy was holding the other two back from hurting it saying "it's a living creature, don't hurt it", my middle one was bending his body back and forth singing "I'm a wiggly worm" and the little one was pointing at it saying "ant! eeeewww!".
I asked the kids what they might want for dinner -- I didn't put anything on the dinner menu schedule because I figured we were "staycationing" so would go out for dinner, but I wasn't in the mood to drag them out. I suggested cornish hens for something different, but my big boy said we should get a big turkey. Sounded good to me since I am still on my Fall kick, so we grilled a turkey. I found a recipe on Allrecipes that I tweaked.
It was awesome.
Grilled Whole Turkey
Ingredients
12 pounds whole turkey
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
Prepare the grill for indirect medium heat.
Place turkey breast side down until skin is golden, then put turkey breast side up in disposable heavy-duty roasting pan.
Put root vegetables of your liking around turkey - I put carrots, sweet potatoes and a quartered onion.
Mix together the water, bouillon
powder, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning and paprika. Pour over turkey.
Grill until the internal temperature of the
thigh reaches 180 degrees -- my 12 pounder took almost 3 hours.
Remove turkey from grill and let
stand 15 minutes before carving.
I took the pan drippings, skimmed the fat and put in it a saucepan. I mixed 1/4 cup water with 2 TBS of corn starch and poured into drippings. This gravy was so delicious that my oldest was trying to put the gravy in a cup to drink it -- it was that good.
I didn't mind making such a big turkey for all of us because as soon we bought it I started to make plans for it.
Get It Done Tip: Whenever we buy a big piece of meat we usually roast or grill it and then break the leftovers up into Ziploc for future meals. Today's leftover turkey was split into 3 Ziploc. One had meat and leftover gravy as an emergency dinner if I am too tired to cook one night. The second is going to be turkey noodle soup which will be a week's worth of lunch for me. The third batch will be for a turkey casserole one night in the future. Make sure to make plans for it otherwise it might go to waste.
After dinner my middle son came to me three different times to deliver a flower to me. He does this every so often - he is so sweet.
After dinner I cleaned up while my husband bathed the kids and got them ready for bed (my husband kicks #ss - more on him another day). I then ran out to visit my mother-in-law for a bit.
Came home a little after 8 and straightened up the kid's craft closet which has been driving me nuts with stuff falling out of it. I basically threw out a bag of stuff and that helped a bit. My husband kept telling me to stop and that he would do it tomorrow, but I don't want us to clean when the kids are awake. First off it is near impossible since they are always hanging on me and second I would rather spend time with them instead of focused on something else. So, I moved quick and now it's done.
Tomorrow we are invited over to a friend's house for dinner, so all I have to do is make appetizers. House is in ok shape, so when I get up I will just put away the ten tons of laundry and then maybe we can spend the day playing with the kids.
I didn't mind making such a big turkey for all of us because as soon we bought it I started to make plans for it.
Get It Done Tip: Whenever we buy a big piece of meat we usually roast or grill it and then break the leftovers up into Ziploc for future meals. Today's leftover turkey was split into 3 Ziploc. One had meat and leftover gravy as an emergency dinner if I am too tired to cook one night. The second is going to be turkey noodle soup which will be a week's worth of lunch for me. The third batch will be for a turkey casserole one night in the future. Make sure to make plans for it otherwise it might go to waste.
After dinner my middle son came to me three different times to deliver a flower to me. He does this every so often - he is so sweet.
After dinner I cleaned up while my husband bathed the kids and got them ready for bed (my husband kicks #ss - more on him another day). I then ran out to visit my mother-in-law for a bit.
Came home a little after 8 and straightened up the kid's craft closet which has been driving me nuts with stuff falling out of it. I basically threw out a bag of stuff and that helped a bit. My husband kept telling me to stop and that he would do it tomorrow, but I don't want us to clean when the kids are awake. First off it is near impossible since they are always hanging on me and second I would rather spend time with them instead of focused on something else. So, I moved quick and now it's done.
Tomorrow we are invited over to a friend's house for dinner, so all I have to do is make appetizers. House is in ok shape, so when I get up I will just put away the ten tons of laundry and then maybe we can spend the day playing with the kids.
PS - I forgot to note yesterday that the baby said "love you" for the very first time -- to his great-grandmother. It was the cutest!
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