Thanksgiving and wine

In case you've been under a rock, it's that time of year where we all get to heap our plates full of food and glug down a couple glasses of wine. For some people, I guess that could be every day, but for me, it's Thanksgiving!

I have many, many things to be thankful for every day of the year. Maybe some day I'll make a list worthy of sharing. But in the meantime, we're doing our usual hosting duties for Thanksgiving, so I have some cooking to do.

I will be doing my "no-fail" turkey again this year, as well as baking a couple of pies with my vodka crust recipe. I will also be wine shopping. Although I couldn't drink for many of the previous Thanksgivings we hosted (I was pregnant or nursing for 4 years straight), I was still the unofficial sommelier. I have a few favorites that pair well with turkey and the flavors of the season.

Whites:
Chateau Grand Traverse Riesling -- I try to drink Michigan wines but don't always love them. This one, on the other hand, is one of the best pairings with turkey I have ever had. Slightly sweet contrasted with the sage and herbiness, mmmm.

Covey Run Riesling -- If you can't get the Michigan riesling, this is the next best. Again, the slight sweetness greets the Thanksgiving table flavors wonderfully.

Big House White -- I didn't feel like I could have an all-riesling list because it might turn some people off. This wine, Thanksgiving or not, is my favorite white wine I've had in a long time. Beware, it's dangerous. The first time L and I tried it, we drank the whole bottle in a sitting! That never happens, so that's saying something. A steal with mass appeal.

Reds:

Echelon Pinot Noir -- Appeals to all wine drinkers, from serious sommelier wannabes to occasional wine drinkers. Smooth with nice flavor, accommodates Thanksgiving flavors perfectly.

Beaujolais Nouveau -- Not always a great pairing with Thanksgiving (the earthy French flavors tend to be subtle), even though the timing of the varietal's release coincides. I haven't tried this year's yet, but I have read that the French are particularly pleased with this year's harvest. Might be worth uncorking.

Really, you won't go wrong with any pinot noir at the Thanksgiving table. Many people espouse the rule of white wine with poultry, but the strong flavors of Thanksgiving lend themselves to pinot noir so well. Make sure you at least try it. Or do like we do, give lots of choices at the table, and let everyone share tastes!

What are you serving at Thanksgiving? I'd love new suggestions to share at our tasting table.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Face value

Peanut is 2 1/2 now and, among other recently acquired talents, knows how to speak her mind. She has begun to articulate ideas and thoughts that address the big picture of life -- not just toys and food and silliness. As with every child when they reach this point, what she has to say is pretty interesting.

She started preschool a couple weeks ago, and I have never seen a child more ready for preschool. It is as if this is where she has belonged her whole little life. She loves it beyond words.

The other day, she was talking to me about one of her teachers, whom she has liked since we've been taking Jellybean to preschool. She was telling me a story about something Miss Amy (not her real name) likes to say. Then, she paused for a moment, looked me in the eye, and with more innocence than I thought any single person could conjure, she said, "Miss Amy has a dark face."

I was at the same time surprised, offended and endeared. Miss Amy is a person of color, and we had never discussed that previously. As I was taking mental inventory of how to respond, Peanut continued.

"[Other teachers] Miss Jane, Miss Kathy and Miss Diane have light faces. You and Jellybean and me have light faces. But Miss Amy has a dark face."

She was clearly very proud of her analysis. She awaited my response, sweet-faced and genuine. I could go no other way than the honest route. "You're right, Peanut. Some people have dark faces, and some people have light faces. But we're all the same kind of people."

All I could think after that was how I wished it could just be that simple. Because of so much history and wrongdoing, we as a society (and a world, in many ways), can't just notice someone's color and move on. Maybe we should take a cue from the 2-year-olds and start looking at the world as it is now -- pack away our judgments and walk forward, knowing what we know but not using it.

The end is near

I can feel it coming on. I sense its presence just around the corner. The very thing that has kept me sane for almost the past 4 years will come to an end soon. Life will never be the same once it does.

What am I talking about? Nap time. That glorious hour (or two) that allows me to do the things around the house that I want to do, not dictated by anyone under 4 feet tall. The down time I require to maintain my social skills by talking to friends on the phone or neighbors. That daily appointment with my DVR to crank through all the shows I need to watch. The productive window during which I can crank out assigned writing. All of it is slipping through my hands day by day.

Jellybean has been skipping a nap here or there for a few months now. Some weeks she sleeps 6 out of 7 days, and some weeks she sleeps 2 out of 7 days. Every day, I still make her have an hour of "quiet" time no matter what. I say "quiet," because some days it is anything but -- bordering on boisterous, and I end up going in to shush her a couple times during the hour. There is no rhyme or reason as to when she sleeps or doesn't sleep. Some days I'll leave her room and think, "No WAY she sleeps today," and 3 minutes later: silence. For an hour and a half. Other days, I've run her ragged in the morning, and she's falling apart at the seams, and yet an hour into quiet time, she's chipper and ready to roll.

Peanut is still a consistent napper for the time being -- I hope she remains oblivious to Jellybean's activities, or that could be blown too. I have played defense a few times for Peanut, attempting to snuff out Jellybean's noise before it wakes Peanut. Mostly successful so far.

I know in a few years, I'll look back and feel like the era we had napping kids lasted about 10 minutes. My friends with older kids feel that way. But for now (and the past 4 years), nap time is a mainstay of my existence. Without it, I almost don't know who I will be. Stay tuned, some day you'll see.

What's on your playlist?

Just recently, I got inspired to create a new music mix for the kids and I to listen to. I hadn't made a new one for a while, so I had fun brainstorming different songs that L and I already had in iTunes.

Don't get me wrong -- I love some of the kids' music that's out there right now. Dan Zanes and Barenaked Ladies are probably the ones I can listen to the most without having annoying earworms at all hours of the day. As I've talked about before, some is better than others, but sometimes I just want to hear something a bit more mature.

I made a couple CDs two years ago or so that included Jimmy Buffett, the Beatles and Bob Marley, plus a selection of showtunes. Those are fun, and they're still in regular rotation. (Side note: If we're out somewhere and hear any of the aforementioned playing, one of the kids will invariably say quite loudly, "This is MY music!" Always garners an amusing response from surrounding adults.) With this CD, I was striving for musical variety -- styles, decades, etc.

So here's the latest playlist. You would probably be surprised to know which songs are their favorites.

Dancing Queen, ABBA
Walk Like an Egyptian, The Bangles
If I Had $1,000,000, Barenaked Ladies
Stand by Me, Ben E. King
Let's Go Crazy, Prince
The Tide Is High, Blondie
Take the Money and Run, Steve Miller Band
Wide Open Spaces, Dixie Chicks
La Bamba, Los Lobos
Iko Iko, The Dixie Cups
Grease, Frankie Valli
Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis
I'm Yours, Jason Mraz
Mother Nature's Son, Sheryl Crow (from "I Am Sam")
Livin' la Vida Loca, Ricky Martin
Hey There Delilah, Plain White T's
Blackbird, Sarah McLachlan (from "I Am Sam")
Supersition, Stevie Wonder
Soak Up the Sun, Sheryl Crow
But Anyway, Blues Traveler
Everyday Is a Winding, Road Sheryl Crow

Help me start my next playlist: What songs do your kids like?

Coming down off the sugar high

We had so many Halloween activities this year, it seemed more like Halloween week than Halloween day. Was it because the actual day was a Saturday, or was it because the kids are at the age that we have more things we can do?

Although it was a bit hectic and tiring (the girls were visibly fatigued by the time we actually went out trick-or-treating), we really did have fun. I overcame my costume cynicism with Jellybean when I saw how much she was enjoying being a princess. And Peanut just loved telling everyone that she was Dorothy and her dog was Toto.

I put the candy onus on the girls so that I didn't have to decide if I should buy candy I liked or didn't like -- that really is the true Halloween conundrum, in my opinion. You're darned if you do and darned if you don't. So the girls picked the bags of candy at the store, which they thought was an important responsibility.

We had a pumpkin-carving and pizza party at preschool a couple days before Halloween. Then we had a costume party at preschool with lots of fun activities the day before. On Halloween night, we trick-or-treated early on so that we could get back home to greet most of the neighbors at our house. The girls loved opening the door to see what costumes would meet them on the other side.

It was a happy Halloween, but we were all equally happy to head to bed that night and be done with the festivities.