Mayflower Meatballs

   For the past two years, I have been so surprised that I haven't blogged about Thanksgiving 2020. (I suppose when I do blog, I tend to prioritize the medical information.) Technically it was another "Thanksgiving Friday" since I had to work on the holiday, as well as many others because our squad's schedule just kept landing on Thanksgiving, but that did mean we always got Christmas off. And I did like getting to watch the Macy's Day Parade at work since we didn't have cable. We also celebrated "Thanksgiving Friday" in 2019 with one of my best friends, Alex, who I used to work with.

   My parents came over in 2020, and earlier in November I had worked with Emma on making cute name settings that I saw on Pinterest to spruce up the table a little more. That year we ordered the sweet potato puffs from Honey Baked Ham, along with a few other things we normally order, and wow! We sure ate all of those quickly! We debated getting them again last year, but maybe my parents actually paid for them the first time and we didn't realize how expensive they were, or they didn't have them in 2021? I don't remember. But they sure were a real treat two years ago.

   Emma and Grandpa! One thing that I always love watching when my parents come over, is Michael showing them all of the latest stuff he has been working on. In the photo he is talking about a small 3D printer he has. They are consistently impressed with his projects, and my dad can often be heard saying, "That is so cool!" That is a big thing Michael has definitely been missing this past year, while we have been living in apartments. He doesn't have all his fun tools and equipment to stay busy with hobbies and side projects on the weekends. (It has now been 11 full months since we moved to Sarasota!)

    My dad and I worked with Emma on some physical therapy - doing sit/stand/ pull-ups while wearing her AFO's that she got in January 2020, which are different -and smaller- from the KAFO's she has now (summer 2021), which also support her knee area, and come all the way up to her thigh).

    The mouth watering aforementioned sweet potato puffs!!!

   Cute turkey treats that my mom had made the day before with my nieces/ Emma's cousins, Peyton and Helena. I hope one year we can have Thanksgiving with them too! I actually talked to Michael and everyone this morning, and I'm really hoping it works out that this year is that year! :) For Thanksgiving 2020, the only thing I made was super easy/instant mashed potatoes, so I really wanted to step it up and impress Michael and myself  by cooking everything for our Thanksgiving last year. It was only the two of us eating in our apartment at ShoreView, but it was still a good amount of food. I was proud, and I plan to do more this year in our new house!!

   I have a video on my phone where she was rocking hard back and forth on her unicorn rocking horse (behind her). Since she was on the hardwood floor, when she did that, the unicorn would slide forward an inch each time. Below is a "scam photo" of Michael and I standing in front of the food that we didn't make or cook much of. My mom brought some things from home, two hours North, including her sweet potato souffle that I love so much because she adds an orange extract I think? I've never made it, but if they are all able to come down for a couple days this year, I definitely want to make all of her recipes together. I love her stuffing too, but Michael says that is hard to do. I hope I'll get to find out! :)

I'm pretty sure I made two hand cards for Michael's parents too.
And mailed it to them so they would feel included.

   You can't dare to end Thanksgiving and merge into the next season without some delicious pie! I think one of the first Christmas things I watched was a short series called "Merry Happy Whatever" on Netflix, since one of the main characters on the show was played Ashley Tisdale. Well, would you look at that.. another Ashley Tisdale reference, ha! But over the past couple of years I have tried to watch a lot of Netflix and Hulu Christmas originals to really stay in the spirit. Sometimes Michael will watch them with me after work or on the weekends. 

   >> Here is the link for our Thanksgiving in 2016 with my parents, cousins, aunt, uncle, and Grandpa, the month after I found out I was pregnant with Emma!! Hooray!! Her nickname was "Chip" at that time, since we didn't find out her gender until mid-March 2017.

   So, as kind of a Thanksgiving segway into somewhere we went two weekends ago (July 30th, 2021), we took Emma to IKEA for the first time! I'm pretty sure it was her first time, even though there was one in Orlando too. I just wanted to go for fun, and to finally try their famous Swedish meatballs, but Michael had a specific item to pick up, so we made it a family outing. 

   My favorite part is always seeing all of the small "apartments" that they put together that you can walk through. It's fun to see the different styles they set up as well. I took some pictures of things I liked to use as ideas in my areas of the house later. Emma liked how everything was in close quarters and almost pulled a picture frame off the shelf! Eh, it was cheap looking one anyway, haha. 

   We have no idea how much longer Emma will keep sleeping in her crib. She rolls around a lot in her sleep, so she still needs to be "caged in" for her safety. This bed is really cute in my opinion, but she needs one that has a railing at least ten (?) inches high all around, above the mattress. I'm sure someone makes that, although I'm pretty sure Michael bought all of the pieces while I was pregnant, and her crib actually converts into four different stages all the way up to a twin size bed. Something like that.

   After finishing the whole top second floor area, we got lunch, splitting the meatball lunch meal. I liked the meatballs a lot and even commented that (here's the segway note finally!) they make me think of Thanksgiving. "We should really have meatballs for Thanksgiving this year." Michael said they were good, but didn't seem that amazing, and that he likes the ones he gets from Publix better. Then the next day he bought those meatballs from Publix: Cooked Perfect brand, Italian Style. I tried a couple the other night and they are very good and did taste just as delicious, if not better than the ones at IKEA. Just like Thanksgiving! :)

   The thing that Michael wanted to go to IKEA for was long curtain tracks. He has a specific idea of what he wants to go over the windows in the kitchen and living room area, as well as in our bedroom. He has described it to me a couple times and it sounds really pretty, but I am more of a visual person, so sometimes I need him to show me a picture to really understand "the look" he is wanting. He got six tracks as well as four little bags of curtain clips. Emma was more than happy to hold onto one of the little bags until we got to the check out register.

   Since Emma is always drawn to bright lights, I kept hyping up the Lighting section for her, telling her there was a whole area full of lights just for her! It was quite underwhelming with lots of small lamps. This one little aisle was the only part where she looked up. It was a fun trip though.

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   While I'm at it, I might as well show off these proud skills that I was just bragging about for our 2021 ShoreView apartment Thanksgiving, or I'll regret that later too! They make me smile pretty nicely just looking at them, but pretty much any Emma pictures and videos do. I did some food prep the day before and had the windows and patio door open because the weather was so nice! I was laughing with my friend Lindsey via text about the hilarious "fold in the cheese" episode of Schitt's Creek, and then just had to watch that episode. I had music playing then later FaceTimed with my mom and niece, Helena, while she helped me with her delicious macaroni salad recipe that "doesn't really have a recipe. You just wing it," she laughed. The next day was much warmer so we left the windows closed. 

   Although we don't have cable, Michael was able to find a live stream video on YouTube of some guy at the parade. It was decent quality and we watched the first hour. I pointed out the horses to Emma and then Michael and I laughed when we saw a few guys several yards behind the horses with big shovels.. putting those shovels to use. Haha! Emma had her hip spica cast (for seven weeks) from her corrective leg surgery at the time, and you can see a few more 2021 Thanksgiving pictures at the end of << that post.

I made a healthy banana bread with different kinds of nuts, plus chia seeds for breakfast.
And below, I made sure to stay organized on all the cook times and when to take the food out.

Another thing I love that my mom makes is deviled eggs. I can eat so many of those!
So can Michael, so I definitely had to put them on the "menu".
I like adding a sprinkle of thyme to the top of mine for fanciness.

   We enjoyed warm pie and cinnamon apples, followed by a sunset walk along the Manatee River. One of the Christmas movies Michael and I enjoyed together during the season was a romantic comedy on Hulu called "Love Hard". I'm looking forward to seeing all the new movies they have out this year!