"Last Holiday as a Family of 4"

    Thanksgiving 2009... it wasn't like ANY other I've ever experienced and yet it was REALLY great!

    My family lives in Kansas City, my husband's family is in rural Missouri about 2 1/2 hours away. With the baby due one week from Thanksgiving, travel was not on the agenda this year. Meanwhile, my mom decided to host our family meal on Sunday following Thanksgiving, leaving Thanksgiving Day to "the four of us." (Technically, we spent last Thanksgiving "just the 4 of us" as well... but that was because of two sick toddlers at home.)

    This was a first. We'd never had "no place to be" on Thanksgiving. As we considered the options, we decided to do something I'd never previously imagined and go out to eat on Thanksgiving Day. Being 9 months pregnant, and have two young children with very small appetites, I wasn't motivated to cook a special meal, but the idea of having someone else do the cooking and cleaning was VERY appealing!

    So, this year, we went to Christmas in the Park the night before Thanksgiving for fireworks and lights (we found the perfect spot to avoid the crowd and got into the lights RIGHT after the fireworks with no wait!)... then we "slept in" on Thanksgiving morning till the late hour of 8am, ate cinnamon rolls together and watched the Macy's Parade. For lunch, we went to Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving dinner. It was TERRIFIC! We waited 30 minutes to be seated (not bad for their overflowing parking lot - the manager of that restaurant was VERY well organized that day!). We each ordered whatever we wanted: traditional Thanksgiving for my husband, hamburger for the kids, and "sampler" for me - I am not a big fan of turkey (I'll eat it, but I don't love it). Our service was great, the food was delicious, and someone else washed the dishes!

    That afternoon, the girls napped while I read the newspaper (finding not ONE thing even remotely tempting about Black Friday - of course it helps that our gifts have been purchased and wrapped for a while now) and we watched Christmas movies as a family.

    That night, I 'wanted' to go the Plaza Lighting (tradition), but the idea of the crowds with two preschoolers and a baby due "any day" was very unappealing, so my husband generously offered to take us through the lights after the ceremony which worked out just perfectly!

    It wasn't a traditional Thanksgiving with crowds of cousins, but it was one of the nicest most relaxing family days we've had in a long time and this year, that is just what the doctor ordered!