Throw It Up for Thanksgiving!

Today was a Thanksgiving like no other. The Littlest Nguyen greeted us at 3 a.m. with an upset stomach, and he was out of commission for most of the day. There were a few minutes, however, where he donned his turnout gear in an attempt to put out various fires in the house. Although he would not stand for taking off the gear to pose by the Thanksgiving turkey, we did persuade him to at least wear a headdress atop his helmet! Chi sailed through breakfast and Cranberry-Pear Bellinis, produced a magnificent apple pie (with which he won my heart nine years ago, by the way) during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, but by noon had been stricken by the nasty tummy bug. He was down for the count but emerged after dessert looking much better. I spent day cooking in the kitchen with Ben, which I loved, and cleaning up the nasty stomach bug, which I did not love. Ick. It was really a race to see whether or not I could finish dinner before coming down with the tummy bug myself. So far, so good. I did manage to produce the best turkey I have ever made, and the First Little Nguyen and I ate by candlelight while the Second Little Nguyen sat on my lap eating dry Cheerios. Poor Chi...he didn't even get to enjoy it. They are all the best little blessings I can imagine having, though, and that's why Thanksgiving 2007 Part II will take place tomorrow! This time, I hope it is sans that nasty tummy bug and with my Three Nguyens. It was special eating with my two little boys this evening, but it was awfully lonely without Chi.

Really, I must find some humor in the events of the day. So, let's see what I come up with:

The Top Ten Things I Am Thankful for This Thanksgiving:

• 10. Cranberry-Pear Bellinis


• 9. "March of the Penguins" on Animal Planet...the First Little Nguyen and I watched this amazing documentary this evening


• 8. A small plastic trash can who was the Littlest Nguyen's "Best Friend" today


• 7. Two happy dogs sitting in front of the stove


• 6. A walk on a beautiful fall afternoon


• 5. Mom's Marshmallow Cranberry Salad (if you don't already know what it is, you will never understand)


• 4. Apple pie and Pumpkin Spice coffee


• 3. Benjamin's new appreciation for bruschetta!


• 2. Dodging projectile vomit all day long!


• 1. A healthy family at day's end