Cat-Sitting

Our neighbors went out of town for the holidays and we offered to watch their cat.  It was a lot more fun than I was expecting!  I've never had the smallest desire to own a cat (except maybe when I was little)- all I can think about is hair all over the furniture, but Dusty was a lot of fun. (and short-haired :D)

I was amazed at all the places he fit- behind the washer and drier was one of his favorite places to go.  (maybe to get away from the two obsessed children?)

exploring in his favorite room- the junk craft room

Peach loved to follow him around and pet his soft fur.  She only poked his eye once ;)

I was amazed with how tolerable Dusty was of The Frog's constant need to take him places- usually boxes.

Peach loves to walk around "talking" on my phone.  If I didn't know better, I'd think she really was.  Her gibberish is amazing!

Dusty liked to watch what Jay was playing

And try to grab at his player. It was really funny.  (for me... Jay got annoyed)

Dusty and Peach helping to put up Christmas decorations

The 3 kids are watching some cut scene from a video game.  Must be intense...

I can't get enough of this girl, and she can't get enough of her "bankie"

Thanksgiving!

We went to my mom's for Thanksgiving this year.  It was kind of a small crowd, only my parents and my little family.  When we got there, The Frog asked, "where are my friends?"  (talking about his cousins)  It was sad to tell him they weren't coming, but we still made enough food to feed the whole group :)

I attempted my grandma's rolls.  They were good, but not as good as hers.

My mom made the best stuffing I've ever had- from the Test Kitchen Cookbook.

Roasted hubbard squash,

Waldorf salad (I forgot how pleasant this is!  My mom used mayo instead of whipping cream this year.  I think I like both ways!)

I decided we should have a sweet potato casserole, since it's traditional (for Iris), but my family doesn't usually serve one.  It was pretty good, but everyone agreed, it almost tasted exactly like pumpkin pie, so a bit redundant.  I might try them again w/out sugar in the potatoes, and slicing them instead of mashing them.

Turkey, mashed potatoes and 2 kinds of home-made cranberry sauce.  (now do you know why I tend to over-do it? I get it from my mom...)

My mom alllllways makes pumpkin pie from the Libby's can, but this year tried the Test Kitchen recipe.  I like Libby's better, but maybe that's just because I grew up with it...  It was still great though!

We've had a lot of pumpkin pie around here lately, (and Iris isn't a huge fan) so I also brought the Pioneer Woman's blackberry cheesecake.  It was good, but I thought it was too dense and very thick- I noticed after that she calls for a 10" springform pan, and I have a 9".  The simple topping was great.  I think I might try lowering the sugar in the cake and using plain yogurt instead of sour cream sometime... I'll report back.

Here's the crew- minus me (behind the camera.)

Happy Thanksgiving!