Still Alive

I did it. I roasted a turkey. Ok...I put a turkey in the oven and watched it for hours and it came out done. Cooked. Roasted. Dry, but not a smidge of salmonella to be found.

Our friends came over with their two boys around 4:00pm. I had been standing since about 7:00am. I don't know how mothers and grandmothers have been doing this stuff forever! I was exhausted. And I wasn't even cooking everything. Beth brought a ton of food. Her husband even had to go home twice to bring back everything we needed. I still felt like a fairly good hostess. The table even had the "good" china on it. First time I've ever used it. God, I'm a dork!

The four children (all between the ages of 2 1/2 and almost 5) managed to throw more toys and make bigger messes than one might think are possible, BUT they had a blast.

I'm very curious, in a completely awestruck way, as to how people entertain for large numbers of people on a regular basis. How do they do it? Are they given special genes for this sort of thing? I was not and for the first time felt like my mother. I was nervous and tired and kept reassuring people that I was fine. As a child, I distinctly remember avoiding my mother whenever she was preparing for a dinner party. She would be a basketcase. I hope I wasn't that bad. But I probably was. I think the four screaming children and the intermittent crashing sounds really set the holiday mood. The really funny part was that the four adults tried everything in our power to use our manners, create polite conversation and ignore the noises from the basement.

Beth was amazing. Patient and true through the whole meal. Wielding super mom powers over all the children. Taking lovely photos of the kids table.

I'm thankful for friends, family and my new home - Utah.