The Day Before

As I write this, the turkey is cooling, having just finished cooking and I am experiencing major Turkey Anxiety. Did I put the digital probe in far enough? Is it okay that it only took 5 hours to cook instead of 6, like everyone said it would take? It reached the required 160 degrees, so it did get done, right??? Will I be sending all my guests home with Salmonella?

Dennis played here all day as I worked on the last minute cleaning. I never did get to my bedroom because there were just so many other things to do. And despite my best intentions to make the cornbread tonight, I put a turkey in the oven before I realized that, hey, a turkey takes up the whole oven... The floor cleaning robots ran ALL day long, and Dennis enjoyed running back and forth between them and watching them work. The picture shows him hiding under his high chair and watching the mopping robot (an iRobot Scooba) scrubbing the kitchen floor. God bless their little robotic circuits because they worked all day in between battery recharges and did such a nice job on the floors!

Dennis was ecstatic to see the Gallmans arrive tonight to help with last minute preparations. Dave helped David hang the sheetrock in the front room, and Ellen helped me with the table decorations. Dennis and Chloe played frantically for the couple of hours before bedtime, messing up his room as fast as I could clean it and scattering Little People and accessories as far as the eye could see. They kept laughing and giggling at each other and running down the hallway after each other. Ellen and I were totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cuteness exhibited!

And let's not forget today's nativity adventure. A shepherd, sheep, and sheepdog arrived in the mail today to add to the set, and Dennis could barely eat his lunch for his excitement over the new additions. I found the camel in his crib at naptime, and I have no idea how it got there. And, a frog has joined the nativity scene. He appeared midday, a little plastic bath frog that's the same size as the nativity characters. I'm so glad that amphibians are represented now, and maybe they'll spread the Good News to the other toys in his room.

In 24 hours, Thanksgiving will be over and done with, and I can relax a little!