On the road again…
We’re hitting the road today to Slidell, LA. I wasn’t asked to cook anything specifically for Thanksgiving dinner, there’s always plenty of food. However, I am bringing a batch of cake poppers for dessert and I made three different kind of muffins to take down for breakfasts while were there. I made Mihow’s Giant Delicious Pumpkin Muffins which have won me tons of favor among the teens in my life, Bakerella’s Bananaberry Muffins which I love because it gives me a small break from all of the pumpkin AND Pioneer Woman’s Good Morning Muffins which are a fall-back fave in our home. If they all make it down to Slidell without being eaten in the car? I’ll consider mission accomplished.
I’m not sure how the road trip today is going to go. We have a DVD player in the van but we only use it on long trips so that the Movies In The Car thing is unique enough to actually get some traction when you need it most. However, Wes is still only into watching episodes of Dora. Movies seem to only hold his attention for as long as one of those last. Therefore, we could end up with 1 hour of peaceful travel and 5+ of screaming fits of rage. Either way – PRAY FOR US.
I start this conversation every time I make a roadtrip somewhere: Who does the packing in your home? It always amazes me how many homes are like mine and just have a designated packer. It isn’t usually spoken out loud, it’s just understood somewhere along the way. In my house it’s me. I think it started because I would pack the kid’s stuff, therefore I had a better understanding of what all needed to fit in the back of the vehicle, so packing the car just fell on my Task List too. Who does the packing in your home? Or have you mastered the Shared Responsibility Packing that I assume is only an urban legend along with The Monster In The Closet and something called Cleaning Blinds. (What is that about? There aren’t really people who do that are there?)
Have a great Thanksgiving. If you have a recipe that is a fan fave on Turkey day, share the love here in case anyone is looking for last minute inspiration. I showed you what I was making, now I want to see yours.
I pack my stuff and the toddler’s, usually in the same bag if I can manage it, and Aaron packs his own small bag. Then he loads the car. So, I guess that’s pretty equal. If we had more kids, I’m pretty sure packing the kid bags would fall to me, so it would be less balanced… but we’re pretty good at working together. I also try to reduce the packing stress by putting the bag out in the office, open, a few days early and just sort of tossing things in as they get clean or I walk by.
I’m definitely the designated packer, packing for me, and both kids. As well as getting the cats’ food ready for the pet sitter.
Then around 45 minutes before we’re due to leave Mr. DiWriter, who has been in the midst of getting his own gear together (laptop, camera equipment) and sitting at the computer “checking the traffic” suddenly realizes it’s almost time to go and starts running around looking for his clothing, meds and toiletries. So I invariably start helping, albeit passive aggressively. “Don’t you need an extra layer? It’s cold!”
This time, I am aiming to circumvent the passive aggression stage, and pack for him while I pack for myself.
Hi, I do all the packing, always….sometimes he helps put it in the car.. but even then I often have to rearrange..
In my house, we each pack our own self. My daughters are 12 and 14 now, but have been packing themselves for about 3 years. My husband always has packed himself, and also is good about overseeing the girls when needed (i.e., “are you sure you have enough underwear? did you pack a bathing suit, in case there’s a pool?”)
We each pack out own stuff. Even Connor has been packing his bag since he was about 5. I just “double check” to make sure he remembers things like underwear and toothbrush and doesnt just pack a weeks worth of t-shirts.
We are going to my moms but bringing many of the sides to help her out. I am making Pastor Ryans carrots, Pioneer Womans green beans, a baked cauliflower dish that everyone goes crazy over, creamed cucumbers and colw slaw. And may be a pecan pie if I have time tonight. We are also making our own turkey to have for “leftovers” all weekend- using Pioneer Womans brine recipe.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Since you will be in Louisiana anyway, can you please detour to Lafayette with the muffins? I will be trying at least one of those recipes!!
My younger kid is older now, so everyone does their own packing! Yay me! I usually have to prompt them with helpful reminders though (“did you remember pants?”)
and – OMG – those cake poppers? Genius. I am making them, for sure, and soon.
I pack the bags, my husband puts it all in the car. Like you it started with mom packing stuff for kids who were too little to know what — and how much — they’d need. Somewhere along the line when my daughter got to be a teen, she started packing her own bag.
Thanksgiving plans for us are still a bit up in the air. Between son#1′s wife being due any day, and a last-minute visit from her aunt, I don’t know if I’m hosting a full dinner, or just bringing things to their house. But it will all settle out.
One of my traditional Thanksgiving items is “Impossible Pumpkin Pie.” It’s one of those Bisquick recipes where you put the pumpkin, eggs, bisquick, milk (I do powdered milk, since my homemade pumpkin puree is very runny), sugar, etc. in the blender, pour it in a pie plate, and bake. I’m not a fan of mixes, but this is one I make an exception for. I use an old booklet I got years ago, but this looks like it might be it:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1937,157166-231206,00.html
It’s supposed to make its own crust, and I guess it does, but it’s not an obvious thick flaky crust — which is OK… there are always plenty of other starchy high-GI items on the menu.
Another tradition is homemade rolls. Now that I have a bread machine I use it to make the dough, then simply shape them, let them rise, and bake.
I pack EVERYTHING except my husband’s clothes. I’d still love to know where that shirt Wes is wearing came from! My luck, it was probably a gift or hand me down.
I pack mine and my daughter’s bags and my husband packs his own. I’m the designated car packer. I have a better understanding of what needs to go where and what needs to go on top (so something doesn’t get broken or squished). Also, it’s my SUV we usually take so I’m so used to it being “mine” and I don’t share well LOL!
Good luck on the drive! I don’t envy you — glad we’ve only got to go 30 minutes down the road!
My go-to holiday recipe is my aunt’s sweet potatoes. Let’s see if I can remember off the top of my head …
2 15-oz cans sweet potatoes, drained
1 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp butter (though I recently made it without butter for some vegans at my office and it came out just fine)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cinnamon
Mix all together, spread in a casserole dish, and top with chopped pecans. Dot raspberry jelly evenly over the top and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or till the jelly gets all melty — just be careful not to burn the pecans.
It’s like dessert, and SO EASY. It’s the only way I’ll eat sweet potatoes.
I pack myself and the kid, but my husband packs himself and puts the bags in the vehicle. He thinks he’s the only one capable of doing it correctly. Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!
In my house Mum packed the suitcases, and Dad packed the van.
I would say I do the majority of the organizing what we need to bring but my husband always packs/loads the vehicle (sometimes too soon in my opinion).
My husband is brining and grilling the turkey following Alton Brown’s recipe (but it may have to finish in the oven because the temperature in MN is predicted to be 15 on Thanksgiving). I am making Nigella’s Mushy Peas which my famliy loves so I hope the rest of the crew agrees.
(And and of course since I’m a Canuck we did all that Thanksgiving stuff 6 weeks ago but I really need to decide what kind of birthday cake I want for Thursday
)
I pack the bags, he packs the car. It is an unspoken agreement and seems to work well for us.
I pack for myself and my daughter (toddler), my husband packs his stuff and loads the car. We’re a pretty good team, I don’t think either one of us feels like we have to do more than the other. We take turns cooking or cook together. He’s pretty awesome all around. Happy Thanksgiving!
Love cake poppers! We call them cake balls in my house. I’ve only made them once… for a baby shower. And only once because, well, you know how good they are… I tried to copy and paste a photo but it wouldn’t work. Sorry!
I hate to break it to you but my family shatters the urban myth.
The chore of packing starts about 2 days before we leave. This involves laundering all of the clothes in the hamper. That job doesn’t land on anyone specific, just whoever happens to be home from work first.
Then, the night before we are supposed to leave we go through the clean, folded, laundry together (hubby and me). We decide which clothes to bring for the kids together and then work on our individual items. Then, while he’s packing the clothes into the suitcases, I’m gathering all the necessary toiletries and medications.
It’s a good method. It works for us, since we both work out if the house full time.
I’m happy if I can get the husband to pack his own damn bag without my help. I definitely pack everything for baby and I, and then get pissed when half way there he asks about something I didn’t pack and gives his opinion that I should have. Actually, to be fair, after a few “feel free to bring that next time” pissed off responses, he has curbed that dramatically. She’s only four months, so I guess I should give him a little time to figure this out.