Ball Boy

Yep, that's a soccer ball on Drew's head.

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle

Walnut Room 2011

Over the past few years, we've been forced into a later and later visit to the Walnut Room, with frustrating results.  Not only have the lines been crazy long, but the supply of mugs and buttons has been depleted, leaving gaps in the much-treasured collections.  In spite of these disappointments, I have been reluctant to move up the date of this event on our calendar.  It is something we've always done much closer to Christmas than Thanksgiving.

Last year as I was chatting with a friend about the short supply of mugs, she mentioned, "You know, the tree's up by the middle of November.  We always go early and it's so much less stressful.  There are no lines when you go early."  Her words have haunted me for almost an entire year.

As we started mapping out our holiday schedule, it became clear that if we were going to get in a trip to The Walnut Room this year, we would need to go Thanksgiving weekend.  I couldn't believe how easy it all was!  We walked right up to the Walnut Room - no waiting.  We scored a table by a window.  The updated menu still promises more than it delivers, but for the first time in years, it feels like the kitchen is trying.  And there was less than a 20-minute wait to see Santa.

Welcome to the Christmas season!

Thanksgiving 2011

The 5 Ring Circus has been a little crazier than usual this week.  In order to ensure I could have Thanksgiving Day off work, I agreed to work overnights for the busiest three nights leading up to Thanksgiving Day.  I went to work at 9:45 last night, and walked back thru my front door at 6:20 this morning.  I slept for three hours before getting up and preparing Thanksgiving dinner for 16.  It's at times like this I'm so very thankful for my mom and daughters, would were able to start things in the kitchen.  I walked into the kitchen to see these three lovely ladies peeling sweet potatoes.  As the morning progressed, they moved on to stuffing, scalloped corn, and gravy.

We took a break for a little bite around 11:30:

By 2:15 we were sitting down to a fabulous Thanksgiving meal with Caleb, Julia and Lydia, Mom and Dad, Missy and Lloyd, and the Bedfords (who are moving out of state next week):

My favorite candids of the day:

H A P P Y   T H A N K S G I V I N G!

New 'Do

Kelsey donated her hair to Locks of Love today, and I'm thrilled for two reasons.  First, I think that Locks of Love is a worthy organization, and I'm always happy when any member of the 5 Ring Circus gives back.

I'm thrilled for another reason.  Kelsey's hair was long.  Really long.  As in, it's-everywhere-and-it's-driving-me-crazy long.  She was in the habit of flinging her hair as she walked thru the kitchen, and as a result I would find hair long enough to pass for fishing line all over the place.  In the fridge.  In the ice cube tray.  In the sink.

Kelsey walked over to Snip City with hair downthe middle of her back and returned home with a new look.  She walked home in the cold and drizzle, so her hair "fell" a bit on the way home, but I still think she looks adorable:

Annual Thanksgiving Foodie Film Fest

A few years ago, Mel and I established a pre-Thanksgiving tradition of cooking up a micro-Thanksgiving dinner and watching the movie Pieces of April.  We use this ritual of getting together in early November to chat about our plans for Thanksgiving, and to catch up on each other's lives (altho admittedly, we do that over the phone on a regular basis).  We've fallen into a pattern: I use this day to try out the salad I'm thinking about for my Thanksgiving meal, and sometimes I'll throw in another side dish or appetizer.  Mel does the heavy lifting of cooking everything else.  I firmly believe that everyone needs a good Friend in her life who will not only cook food for her, but will also stretch and inspire her to new culinary heights.  Mel is that person in my life.  My food's pretty good, but Mel's is off the chain.  I just love it when she cooks for me!

My contributions:  Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta with Prosciuto and Mint Garnish

Baby Arugula, Radicchio and Endive Salad with Candied Pecans

Mel's contributions:  Turkey Legs and Homemade Gravy (this was such a treat!  I love turkey legs but I never get them at Thanksgiving - they always wind up going to the kids)

Taste of Mouth-Watering Thanksgiving Sides

This whole meal was fantastic!  It's hard for me to pick a veggie off the plate above and call it my favorite.  Let's see...herbed carrots?  Always tasty.  Potato loaded with butter and garlic?  Can't ever go wrong with that choice!  Rutabaga?  Fluffy and full of flavor.  Classic cranberries?  It's just not Thanksgiving without them! Mushrooms?  Still not a huge fan of their texture, but their flavor pairs so well with fall veggies they just can't be dismissed.  And then there were the brussel sprouts.  Never been a big fan, but these were lightly fried and that changes everything.  Frying the sprouts totally changes the texture of the outside leaves. I could honestly call them tasty!

Thanks, Mel, for the inspiration!

Celebrating Six

The year Erin was in third grade, she and I dashed from her AYSO playoff game to church so she could be flower girl in M and Bre's wedding.  In the short span of half an hour, Erin transformed herself from tough jock to gorgeous flower girl, and she did such a good job of supporting our friends as they vowed to love, honor and cherish each other forever.  Six years later, they are well on their way to happily-ever-after.

We consider M and Bre to be almost family, and I couldn't think of a better way to honor their anniversary than to cook a fabulous meal just for the two of them.  I served six courses, one for each year:

Bruschetta with goat cheese and fig compote, garnished with proscuitto and mint

The second dish was so beautiful, and I forgot to capture it!  Both M and Bre were impressed with the Tower of Roasted Red and Yellow Beets with Chevre Cheese and Pistacchios.

Third course was Carrot-Ginger Soup with Chili-Chive Butter and Roasted Peanuts, served with "Seeduction Bread"

Fourth course:  Chopped Salad with Sherry-Vinegar Dressing and Crumbled Blue Cheese

Main Dish:

Grilled Lamb with Honey and Macademia and Herb Crust
Wild Rice Pilaf with Orange and Ginger

Steamed Broccoli

Sixth Course:  Dessert
Homemade Cashew-Caramel Cups
European Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles

M and Bre ate at our dining room table by candlelight, just the two of them.  It was such fun to spoil these two!  After more than two hours of eating, they opted to stretch out on the couch in order to enjoy dessert.

I had a lot of fun putting this anniverary dinner together, but honestly, this was a collaborative effort.  Erin helped me with food prep this morning.  Baird grilled the lamb this evening.  Kelsey and Drew helped to transform the house from the home base for the 5 Ring Circus to a place worthy of an anniversary dinner.



AYSO Last Hurrah

The 5 Ring Circus has been continuously involved with AYSO soccer for the past 12 years.  Today marked the end of an era: our last child's last AYSO game.  Drew's team, the Neon Eagles, took a tough loss in the second round of the playoffs, going down 1-2.

We are still a soccer family, as Drew will continue to play for the Strikers and Erin still plays for OPRF One.  It just seems a little odd that our AYSO days are over.  It's another one of those winding-down-an-era things that seems to be happening a lot this year.  This one caught me by surprise, and made me a little wistful.

Thanks, Oak Park AYSO, for all the wonderful memories.

Suppertime Silliness

I truly love our ritual of family suppertime, but I must admit that there have been points over the years when I wondered if it was truly worth the effort.  There have been times over the years when our family dinner table was, well, wildly challenging.  Some nights there were battles over food (what in the world is that?  Whatever it is, I'm so not eating it!).  Some nights there was a child or two who made it very clear he/she would rather be someplace other than our table (Why do I have to sit here and eat?  I want to go outside and play!).  At times bad manners needed to be corrected (For crying out loud, sit up straight and chew your food - don't just put your face to your plate and shovel it in!  You were not born in a barn!).  I would often fantasize about the kids getting older and sitting around the dinner table, chatting about what happened to each of us that day, and actually engaging in lively conversation about a broad array of topics.  Now that the kids are 16, 14 and 11, occasionally my fantasy comes true.  We sometimes discuss politics, current events, the modern American mentality, or a recent sports event.  Sometimes the talk turns to a particular issue of faith or the interpretation of a passage of the Bible.  I truly love it when these kinds of discussions break out around our dinner table.
More often than not, however, there are nights like tonight, when complete silliness breaks out.  These instances sneak up quickly and they're totally "you had to be there" family moments that I wouldn't trade for anything.  It's usually toward the end of the meal, and the silliness always invokes a hillarious response, such as Drew falling off his chair laughing, or Erin laughing so hard after she took a sip of water she's got it coming out her nose.
Tonight we had baby carrots as part of our meal, and Kelsey initiated the silliness when she turned a carrot into a witch's nose...

Then came the mustaches...

The girls' antics brought a healthy dose of laughter to the end of the meal.  And yes, Drew was rolling on the floor with laughter.  As we got up from the table there were smiles all around at the lighthearted nature that had descended on our house.  Have I mentioned how much I love the atmosphere around our family table?  It's why I'm so passionate about gathering our family for good food, good fun, and good laughs.