Apple Turkeys, Pajamas, Two Dinners, and Scrubs: The Best of Thanksgiving

Up until the week of Thanksgiving, I wasn't quite sure how I would pull the whole thing off. I was scheduled to work Tuesday night and Thursday night, and Aiden's birthday was Wednesday. This year it was only to be me and the boys for Turkey Day. Lyndsay decided to stay up in Utah to save the gas money and to stay focused on her classes, since she'd be home in a few weeks at the end of term anyway. I knew I'd have to do something, and the boys were looking to me to make it happen. I assured them there would be food.

After I woke up on Wednesday afternoon (having worked Tuesday night), I scrambled to get Aiden's birthday festivities accomplished. (More on that in a separate post.) Once cake was eaten and dinner was cleaned up, I did what Thanksgiving prep I could. That included baking the pies (I only did pumpkin this year), baking the rolls, and laying out the bread for the stuffing. This is a yearly tradition that my mom always did the night before Thanksgiving.

Before going to bed, we lay out the bread (one loaf per pan of stuffing desired). I only made one batch this year.

By morning, it's pretty stale and ready to be torn up by the children. Conor got the job this year.

Then I add the onions and celery that have been sautéed in butter, the herbs, salt and pepper, and enough chicken broth to make it moist. Into the oven it goes. (Or, into the bird, but I didn't do that this year.)

Simple and delicious.

I also only cooked a turkey breast this year. Since it was just the three of us, and we only like the white meat anyway, it made sense.

While the food was cooking, we watched Christmas movies and the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special. Then we did our other Thanksgiving tradition dating back to my childhood, and made apple turkeys.

The kids never outgrow it. Poor Lyns missed out.

Dinner was ready around 2pm, which is when we like to eat our big meal. We talked about our blessings and Conor made several toasts, which is his favorite thing to do at meal time. We ate contentedly, even though we were only three. I love these boys and I was not going to miss a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving with them, even if I was missing my other children and feeling stretched thin.

Just the basics this year, but all the good stuff. During dinner, I realized I was still in my pajamas. Oh well. I suppose that was a compromise worth making.

We worked together to get the meal cleaned up, I took a nap for about an hour and a half, then got into the shower and got ready to leave for work.

Thankfully, it was a pretty quiet night on the unit. One of the nurses was kind enough to bring a full Thanksgiving meal for us from Trader Joe's (her husband works there). Around midnight, we carved another turkey and enjoyed another delicious meal.

I love the night shift! I got to eat one turkey dinner in my pajamas and the other in scrubs! That's how to do it!

Really, I count my job and my new friends as some of the biggest and best blessings of this year. I can't believe how lucky I am to love what I do and to truly love all the women I get to work with. Their friendships have been a balm to my soul and a steadying force in my life when other things are rocky. This year, they helped turn me into a real Labor and Delivery nurse, and I am so grateful.

I marvel at how God balances our lives. He cannot prevent the trials and the pain we must experience, but He always makes sure we have hefty doses of blessings. His loving kindness has been so apparent to me this year, once again.

Preparedness: A First Aid Kit

I've been meaning to do this post for a year! I put this super first aid kit together last year during my Spring Break after getting the inspiration from this blog post. I took the boys to Walmart and we started shopping! I love the way a tackle box can organize everything and make it easy to access supplies in a hurry.

Let me give you a tour!

Opening up the lid, I have all sorts of emergency supplies right on hand:

I have tools, like a stethoscope (I keep my good one at work, but I have this one here, plus another one in my car's first aid kit), and a digital blood pressure monitor (plus batteries). I keep my other blood pressure cuff in my car's kit.

I keep cleansing and disinfecting liquids up here: hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, betadine, eye wash, antibacterial cleaner, saline syringes, and then also aloe vera gel and petroleum jelly.

 Also tucked on top in this top compartment I have hand warmers, an ice bag, goggles, an emergency blanket, and a sling.

On the right side compartment on top I keep some tape, a tourniquet, some gauze, cotton balls, and a few saline syringes (which could be used to flush wounds or eyes).

On the left side is a digital thermometer with extra tip covers (what if I'm helping a group of people?), some bandage scissors, and a pen light.

With the lid closed, there are two other compartments on the sides.

On the left I have some glucose tabs and some sore throat lozenges, as well as my CPR mouth shield and an emergency airway.

On the right I have N95 respirator masks (which block out viruses and other airborne pathogens) and then some lighter face masks which are good for short time periods. I also keep gloves here for quick access.

Opening up the front compartment there are three cases.

The first case is for fever and pain. I keep my good temporal thermometer here, children's and adult's pain medications (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin), a mouth/dental pain kit, an ice pack, and dosage syringes.

The second compartment is for allergies, bites, and stings.

I keep bug bite/sting treatments here, along with seasonal allergy meds, and Conor's Benadryl and Epi-Pens (which I also keep in my car and my purse.)

An extra inhaler and even a snake bite kit is kept here.

The third case is for tummy and bowel problems. Antacids, anti-diarrheal, stool softener, laxatives, motion sickness, indigestion/heartburn medications, plus clean up and disposal supplies.

On the either side of the tackle box are two other compartments that I keep basic first aid supplies and wound management supplies in.

Plus, next to the case, I have a disposable gown and some other face masks slid into the space.

Also, some moleskin, which can be a lifesaver! (or at least a foot saver!)

In this case I keep a variety of sizes of bandaids, plus latex-free bandages. Also, different kinds of tapes, gauze, steri-strips, wraps, antibiotic ointment, and liquid bandage.

All of that slides right in!

On the other side, (sorry this picture is blurry!) I have other first aid supplies.

Cotton swabs, a razor, alcohol swabs,

a lighter, electrolytes, tissues, an Ace bandage, sutures,

 a scalpel, tweezers, scissors,

and some sterile gloves tucked on top.

 Having this kit brings me such peace of mind. Everything is gathered into one place, is organized, and is portable. There are a few other things I'd like to get (like a blood sugar monitor, for example), but I think it's pretty comprehensive overall.