Thanksgiving Day 2023

David helped me prep the chili board for lunch!
Grandpa made the green pozole and Gramma made the red chili.
It was a hit!
The 1,000 piece puzzle finished at 12:15.
The next 1,000 piece puzzle started at 12:50!

Friends of ours—Scott and Wendy—also joined us this year as she was visiting from Seattle and they didn’t have other plans! She loves Thanksgiving and cooking so she brought most of the sides to go with Tom’s smoked turkey and smoked ham!

Thanksgiving tip? Gravy in an insulated pitcher! Pourable plus it stays warm!

Dinner is served!
We were all gathered around the kitchen for grace…and I looked over and both dogs were in the circle with us!
Three drinks going at once (water, rum punch, and wine)!
Helping clean up!

The evening was spent watching football, playing cards, puzzling, and visiting!

Let the family festivities begin!

We excitedly volunteered to host the Schwalm side family thanksgiving this year—Filipeks usually host in Atlanta but they’ve recently downsized and didn’t have room. We had plenty of room for everyone (most even stayed with us—kicking the kids out of their rooms of course)!

Everyone had varied arrival times, but by Wednesday afternoon everyone was here! It makes my heart so happy to see my kids having fun with their cousins.

Puzzle #1
A little rest in some downtime.

Dinner for 21 is served! Charcuterie that takes up our entire kitchen island!

Cousins
Even family ends up gathering at the bar…I think we need stadium seating!

I got this puzzle from Amazon Vine and it was a big fail.

We thought we were missing pieces after our first edge-piece sort so sorted again. And then again when we only found one additional piece. And a third time just because we couldn’t believe it. We talked about not even doing it, but it really was a fun and somewhat easy puzzle so we continued.

And this is what we ended up with. I didn’t even count the missing pieces because it was so crazy. Not just a piece. Not just an edge. But a ton of random pieces!! Sooo disappointing!

Needless to say it got a 1-star review.

There’s a first time for everything.
I’m guessing herein lies the issue: China.

This might be the last puzzle.

I think this is the last puzzle that I am buying and we are attempting as a family.  Puzzles are just one thing that I would absolutely love to be able to sit and do with my family…but as I’ve mentioned before, Tom hates them, Owen really doesn’t like them, and Katie is okay for a short amount of time.

We have done smaller puzzles (I’ve posted pics recently) but it’s a trade off because Katie loves them but they only take 5-10 minutes. I’ve bought all of 8 or so of the ones she loves (of which Owen will tolerate doing 1-2 of the smaller ones).

I guess maybe I need to look at more options. We don’t have to do them but just in watching Owen try, I get really frustrated because he (mostly) has zero sense of spatial ability or sense of color. I watch the pieces he tries and he’s trying to put a round knob into a long skinny foot. Like huh? Didn’t you learn how basic shapes fit in kindergarten? Why is this different just because it’s not a triangle or a circle? And trying to put a white piece where it’s clearly black. I thought he was just being stubborn so I asked him if he really couldn’t tell or if he was just being silly and he said he couldn’t tell. If I’m to believe him…I just can’t even…?! I mean I guess I know people have those issues, but it just seems so weird because nothing else in his life shows that issue. So I want him to keep trying puzzles to get better at the spatial thing.

Maybe in the next house if I had a separate room to do them in…but there’s no good place here. That said, I rarely have the time.

But one cool thing about this puzzle is that it came flat and put together and we had to make the box! So Owen did that!

Puzzle life lesson #momfail

So—SURPRISE!—my family has stopped helping. I expected it but it’s still annoying. 😂 🤷🏻‍♀️ I get it. They only want the easy parts but life isn’t always easy and I’m trying to teach them that sometimes they need to just power through. They’re not having it. #momfail

Anyway. This is how I do puzzles when it’s getting towards the end—all like-shaped pieces together. Am I the only one that does this? It makes it sooo much easier to find what you’re looking for. (I also kinda want to sort by colors but I’m letting that go.)

Are you yay or nay on the whole puzzle sitch?

Gramma Jean is here so it’s puzzle time!

Tom hates them, Owen doesn’t love them, and Katie likes them but not enough to sit and finish a big one. And I enjoy them…and only do one when my mom visits!

So Owen generally has zero interest in helping with a big puzzle but he was all about the little ones tonight! (The emoji puzzle is from the Bingo Basket Katie won at William Halley ES in 2017!)

Almost done…

These mini puzzles are more Owen’s speed. They are really fun to do.

Welcome to today’s hell.

A gift to Katie from a well-meaning aunt. While Katie does love puzzles, of course she doesn’t have the attention span for this (hell, I barely do) but she really wants to color it. If it was up to me I’d just throw it in the trash (well I’m not an idiot, I’d give it away). But guess who will end up doing it all?? Her face just about sums it up for me too. 😂

#whowantstohelp
#idonthavetimeforthis
#puzzleparty
#ihavewineandmargaritas
#whendotheygobacktoschool
#thisauntisonmyshitlist

A friend is going to come help Friday.