Our Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a nice day, for the most part. We slept in a bit, watched Elmo's Being Green (or as Audrey calls it "Elmo Greens"), and had breakfast as a family. I decided that I would bake something for Thanksgiving to bring to my husband's aunt's house where everyone was meeting. But, I didn't want to bring my good baking stuff since I figured it would get lost and never return. So we picked up some cheap foil cake pans at the local store the night before. I was making pumpkin spice cake, which I made before (so good) with a chocolate ganache.

Here is my assistant enjoying the pumpkin flavored whisk. Honey got the spatula and didn't look nearly as cute with his bed hair so he didn't get his picture taken.

She's too cute. And she didn't get any mix on the chair... even though she got it all over herself.

So here's how my cakes baked in those cheap foil pans turned out...

They both fell! Not because of too much air in the batter. Not because the heat in the oven was too low. Not because they were jostled too much. Nope. They fell because those cheap-o pans didn't circulate the heat and the inside wasn't cooked. Reasons why it's the pans' fault: They cooked for more than the needed amount of time, I've cooked it before without an issue in my own pans, the edges were about to burn. Who wants black edges and a barely cooked inside?Lesson 1: Don't buy the cheap-o pans from the local store. They will fail you.

So what did I do?

I destroyed it. Well, I ripped off the cooked portion, tore it up, and turned it into a trifle. We didn't have any cream at the house, so we picked some up on the way to the dinner. I just layered it in. I forgot to take a picture of it afterwards.

Lesson 2: Make trifles from uncooked cakes. Or lemonade from lemons. Your choice.

In an effort to capture this day, Auds and I took a picture together. My little camera has a pull out screen so you can look at yourself for self-portraits. That's what she's looking at in this picture. I look as tired as all get out, so please excuse that. She looks cute though, even if she isn't looking at the camera.

Can you guess who got the baby ready? If you guessed my husband by the looks of the unbrushed hair and the pumpkin batter still on her face, you'd be correct!

Here she is with her best friend Dolly.

And that's the extent of the pictures I took. I completely forgot that I brought my camera with me when we got there. Audrey was adorable eating her dinner... and I didn't take a picture. She was adorable stealing her cousin's toy trucks... and I didn't take a picture. She was adorable stealing the dog's toys... and I didn't take a picture. Oh well. We had a good time with my husband's side of the family eating, talking, watching our team win the game.

Then it was time to visit my husband's father. He's in a nursing home because he has had serious brain issues (his brain bled and caused his brain to collapse) that have left him in need of 24-7 care. Usually it's not so bad visiting him. He asks the same questions over and over and over and over and over.... but it's livable, if slightly frustrating. That wasn't the bad part of his visit. No, his roommate decided that our visit was the perfect time to engage in... well... some "personal time" if you can fill in the rest. I am still traumatized. His roommate is also not fully there and probably didn't even realize that there was company. Not to mention the fact that my father-in-law decided to decorate his side of the room with his underpants. *sigh*

But, aside from my trauma that will leave me unable to visit him in his room again (outside is fine, the dining hall is okay, the room with the big tv and Wii for old people is perfect, just never his room) we had a nice evening. Audrey passed out in the car and slept until the next morning. She's not used to such rich food. But it was adorable. I probably should have taken a picture of that... but I forgot. :)