Thanksgiving, Flatley style

It's Monday of Thanksgiving week and I still feel the excitement I felt when I was a kid.  It was always the most magical holiday.  The anticipation would build for weeks.  Months, even.  We had a family reunion with the Flatleys every August and from that date until mid November it was a slow build of anticipation and excitement. 

Thanksgiving, Flatley family style.

As I've mentioned before, my mom is one of 13, and those 13 produced 66 children.  You do the math: that's a pretty high average number of offspring, especially considering those 13 included a nun and a priest!!  So before my generation started getting married, and while my grammy was still alive, the immediate family and their offspring totaled 91.  91!  Each August my family hosted a big outdoor family reunion in Norwalk, to which the vast majority of cousins and aunts & uncles came and we spent the day eating, drinking, taking tractor rides, swimming in that odd bird bath/pool thing, just being together.

And then came Thanksgiving.  Mom grew up in Brookline and most of her sibs stayed in the immediate Boston area, so Thanksgiving was one of the two times a year we were guaranteed to hang with a ton of cousins.  Mom and Dad would pick us up Wednesday afternoon outside of St. Thomas school with the station wagon packed, luggage container on top and filled to bursting, and we'd road trip it up to Grammy's at 52 Kendall St.  As the only out-of-towners who came up to Boston year after year, we got to stay at Grammy's in the house that my mom grew up in.  It was such a special time.  The single bathroom. Those awesome photos of the 13 kids over the couch in the den.  That photo collage in the kitchen that said, "let me tell you about my grandchildren."   Grammy would cook a roast chicken and we'd sit in the kitchen and dad would make Grammy laugh.  I thought it was so cool we had to wash the dishes by hand.  Grammy would make us tea with milk and tons of sugar.  We'd walk down to the playground down the street.  (Let's not discuss the year Julie got lost walking home.)    We fought over who got to stay with Grammy in her room.

Then it was Thanksgiving.  We were invited year after year to Uncle Kevin & Aunt Cheri's house.  Kevin is the 12th Flatley sibling so he and Cheri's five were tiny and utterly adorable.  They still are - see?

Megan, Zib, Katie, Pam and Kevin Flatley

Anyway, here are Uncle Kevin and Aunt Cherie back in the day.  Couldn't you die?

Look at them!  The fabulousness!  Aunt Cherie is such a hottie!  And she is an incredible cook.  She'd calmly cook for about 20, always with a smile on her face and that adorable giggle at every inappropriate funny thing Uncle Kevin said.  We'd take our obligatory family photo,

 a Corey classic - apparently I was heading to flight school after dinner.


then we'd head over to the Pomers for dessert and some serious cousin time. 

12-1: Sorry Kristen!

The Pomers.  Aunt Peggy and Uncle Frank and their 12 kids, every one of them nicer  and more gorgeous than the other.  Their house was a constant, loving jumble of kids, food and cousins as far as the eye could see. With twelve kids everyone had a Pomer cousin to sync up with, sometimes two.  It was a BLAST. 

 Kathy Pomer, Mary Mac, Mary & Janet Pomer, Kara Mac? Uncle Jim and Aunt Peggy

 

  I love how everyone is always draped all over eachother, how evident the love-fest is.  

love the bow -me and Kathy Pomer

Uncle Brian rockin a serious 70s 'do.  Is that Frankie in the hat? 

My cousin Meg Pomer Koslowsky posted most of these pictures to our family's sharesite this week:

• Pam Flatley Keating Love this picture!

  
  
• Judy McIntyre Uncle B!

  
  
• Maureen Meyer I love Richard's expression. So cute.

  
  
• Ellie Corey Just pure awesomeness.

  
  
• Maureen Meyer I don't know how Aunt Peggy & Uncle Frank did it every year. They were terrific hosts. We ate Thanksgiving dinner at our own house and drove over to the Pomer's afterwards to say hi to everyone and it often coincided with Dad's birthday.

  
  
• Sheila Flatley Rubio We did the same Maureen Meyer. I was always so excited to head over to the Pomers.

  
  
• Julie Corey Us too. We ate with the Kevin and Cheri Flatleys. Aunt Cheri would cook for like 20. we always did our family Christmas picture there. then we headed to the Pomers for dessert, nuts, oranges, running around in the basement and pilfering from the giant pickle jar in the fridge down there, and then home movies from the previous Thanksgiving courtesy of dad Corey.

  
  

Movies.  That was Joe Corey's wheelhouse.  Each year he'd take a ton of movies at thanksgiving and the family reunion, then at some point at the Pomers we'd hang a white sheet and set up the old movie projector and it was showtime.  I never wanted those nights to end.

Food, drinks, laughter, family, gratitude. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Vegas, baby

I miss my sisters.  Several of my friends here live close to their sisters and see them regularly.  I live far away from my sisters and see them rarely.    So this spring, when lamenting that we never see eachother, the littles - my sisters Julie, Jacquie and I - 27 months between the three of us - planned a trip.  To Las Vegas.  I'm really not sure why we chose Vegas.  Apparently it was my idea and all I can chalk that up to is a) I'd never been there, and b) it's relatively easy to get there from anywhere, and c) it's warm.  So the other two J's jumped aboard and we booked our flights and then, suddenly, it was time to go to Vegas.

And holy smokes did we have fun.

I planned to document all the amazing meals we ate - the food in Vegas is spectacular.  I was going to talk about the food scene and the cocktail scene and the general scene scene.  But alas, dear reader, the best laid plans tend to wilt when one is vacationing in Vegas with ones' sisters.  I was having too much fun to worry about all that and I was usually laughing too hard to hold a camera straight.  So let's settle for some general observations and a photo journal, shall we? 

Vegas:  first time there.  And probably the last.  Wow.

The positives: perfect weather, tons to do, incredible people watching, world class food, fantastic hotels, the Bellagio fountain, open container laws, the shows (I'm told.)
The negatives:  the total excess, the smoking, the sadness of walking through a full casino floor on your way to breakfast, the sleeze factor, the inappropriately dressed girls, the food & drink prices.  
The upshot:  my sisters and I would have laughed our asses off no matter where we landed, but it was awfully nice to be in 80 degree weather and the meals we ate were epic.

Friday was giddy with the fun of it all, beginning with an ill-fated quest to find CVS in which we landed in the freight elevator with ten maintenance guys,

 

 but then progressed to an afternoon of drinks, sun and constant laughter by the pool.

 A lot of drinks by the pool

Then we headed out for  a night on the town.

 

We met Mark Dowd, my sister Mary Beth's boyfriend and a very old family friend, for a drink before he headed out to a work dinner.  Of course he draped himself across our laps when we requested it.

Friday night we ate at Sushi Roku, in Caesar's Palace, and it was, bar none, the best sushi I've ever had.  My sisters felt the same way.  Every bite was epic.  So was Julie's fake birthday cake with the gigantic sparkler.

 

 That awkward moment when the entire restaurant is singing happy birthday to you in November and your birthday was in August.

Saturday we blissed out in the Aria spa.  It was the most relaxing day I have ever had.  Seriously:  eucalyptus steam room, hot stone bed meditation room, incredible robes, multiple hot tubs, outside private pool, cucumber water everywhere and the world's most incredible facial.  We all got one, thanks to the surprise gift card from our adorable husbands/fiancee, and we decided we emerged that night looking at least ten years younger.

Saturday cocktails were spent at the Chandelier bar in the Cosmopolitan. They have a bar perched within the lobby's four story chandelier.    It is overpriced, touristy and absolutely beautiful.  And it was the best damned cosmo I've ever had.

 My favorite picture from the weekend.  Our album cover if ever we record one.

Saturday night we ate at Mon Ami Gabi.  We wanted to sit outside and watch the Bellagio fountain, but it was a two hour wait.  Instead, we got tucked into a corner and were waited on by Francois, our very French and very adorable waiter.  We split an arugula salad with grilled salmon, a kale salad (bad, but he didn't charge us),  roasted brussell sprouts and a steak au poivre that was to die for.  Incredible crusty bread, delicious red wine, and another fake birthday celebrated with chocolate.

 That second awkward moment when the entire restaurant is singing happy birthday to you in November and your birthday was in August.  But look at these sisters of mine: aren't they gorgeous?

In between these two meals was a lot of drinking, a lot of time at the pool, and a LOT of time laughing. We lounged in our room every moment we could, because it was spectacular. We inexplicably felt compelled to dance every time we got in the elevator.

 We gambled a little bit.  We really sucked at it.  See?

And we ended it right where we started: drinks and laughs by the pool.  

Why oh why do we live so far apart?  I love you littles.

Volume

I grew up in a girl world.  Six girls, to be exact. 
Everyone swam for at least part of our childhood, and most of us stuck with it through high school.  So we were eaters (as any swimmer or parent-of-a-swimmer knows, one follows the other.)   But having two teenaged boys has caused me to adjust my view of what "eaters" means.

These boys can pack it in.

I went to Target after work on Friday because we were, as is usual by week's end, out of food.
Like this:

I bought cereal.  I bought ten boxes of cereal. And four gallons of milk.  And a ton of snacks.

And they will be gone by this Friday.

There was a time when my people looked like this:

Small, cute and manageable, with small, cute stomachs to match.  We'd go out to dinner and the three of them would split an entree, or they'd get three cute little kid meals.

Now?  They are full grown, lovely and amazing people.  With full grown appetites to match.

We go out to dinner and I get a normal sized meal (as does Corey) but my boys, they go for volume.  All three of them. Doug bikes downtown and back most days and is a large dude at 6'2".  Noah has one of those metabolisms that is the envy of the world: he cannot seem to eat often enough or at a high enough volume and he is a tall drink of water.  Dylan is my most active kid - with football practice every day in fall, then basketball practice every day in winter, then more basketball in spring, plus biking to school every day and hanging with a bunch of guys who like to do stuff outside.  These people can EAT.

Whenever either boy has his buddies over, which I LOVE, it is truly like a swarm of locusts descends on and devours the contents of my pantry. 

My boys eat cereal for breakfast  every morning, I pack them a lunch, then they come home from school ravenous and ready for a snack.  I used to freak out and worry that a big snack after school meant they wouldn't eat their dinner.  No.  Problem.  In fact, they need it.  They're starving and most days they have something going on after school and before dinner so getting a quick calorie hit in the afternoon is critical.  They eat a big, home-cooked meal then come down for a bowl of cereal every single night before bed. 

I used to buy only healthy cereal.  I used to buy only natural peanut butter.  I used to buy whole grain fig bars and pirate's booty.  The problem is, you can't buy that stuff in bulk and bulk is what I need.  They are great eaters:  they all love fruit and vegetables and eat a balanced meal every night.  So I've sort of thrown the white flag on the rest and, instead, offer them solid meals, lots of bread and a high volume of snacks.  Including these:

Our favorite, "mom's super deluxe".  It's a milkshake, really, but it's filling and has protein and minimal dubious ingredients and it gets the job done.

 Start with some milk.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or yogurt, a banana and a couple tsp of chocolate syrup.  I ran out today, so put in a little hot fudge sauce.

 add a tablespoon or so of peanut butter

 Add a few ice cubes then blend it up.  

You can add extra protein powder or a few nuts in there to bulk it up even more.

 Super Deluxe

Other favorites; nachos, quesadillas, cheese & crackers with fruit,   peanut butter & banana or apple slices with peanut butter.  Popcorn is surprisingly filling and actually has some benefits, but it really should be made the old fashioned way, which can often lead to the smoke alarm getting tested.

Then, a couple hours later, I make the family a hearty meal and call it a day.

Until they come down for a bowl of cereal at 10.

Last night's menu:

Turkey Meatloaf, Sweet Potato Fries & Veggies

 Saute 1-1/2 cups minced onion & 2 cloves minced garlic in 2 Tbsp butter  until onions soft, 

about 5 min.  Let cool.

 In a large bowl mix two packages ground turkey with

 2 eggs

1 cup breadcrumbs

4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

salt & pepper (about a tsp each)

 Add the cooled onion mixture and mix well.

 Divide and place in two loaf pans

 Add some ketchup to the top

 Bake for an hour at 350.

 Sweet Potato Fries

  Peel & slice sweet potatoes into steak fry-sized pieces

Toss with olive oil, kosher salt & pepper

Spread on baking sheet so they're not touching

Bake at 425 for about 30 minutes, turning midway.

Then, if it's been a really long day or week, you can make yourself a Cosmo.  It's my Friday ritual.

1 part fresh lime juice

1 part cranberry juice

2 parts triple sec or Grand Marnier

4 parts vodka

For two drinks I use 1 jigger each lime & cran, 2 jiggers triple sec, 4 jiggers vodka.

Add to a cocktail shaker with crushed ice.  Shake for 30 seconds.  

Pour into a cold martini glass.  Ahhhh.