RSV

Yea, I know it's a common thing, but I've been able to avoid my kids getting it much. However, Peter was diagnosed with it today. Last night I could tell he was rattly and wheezy when he went to bed. In the middle of the night, he woke a couple of times quite hysterical. The second time I had to cuddle him for a while to get him to go to bed. Have you ever had the urge to cough for someone? That's how I felt. I could hear SO much junk rattling around in his lungs. Who needs a stethoscope?
So, today I went to see my Dad, our doctor, and he confirmed Peter's lungs sound crummy. They did a chest x-ray but it doesn't look like he has pneumonia. My dad said Marie probably isn't far behind, because they slobber on the same stuff. Luckily, his oxygen saturations are still about 90% on room air. I just have to hope for nothing worse.

coffee creamer

I have discovered that this stuff is pretty useful even if you don't drink coffee! I heard from a friend that this is what she uses to flavor instant oatmeal. I've always struggled to flavor oatmeal on my own so that my kids would like it. I'm not as picky, and so I was OK with my bland oatmeal. However, they refused it before. So, this flavored cream works great! I also put a little in some waffle batter, and that was quite tasty as well! Who knew?!

Piano lessons

I was inspired by my sister who has a son 6 weeks older than Richard when I realized she was teaching him to play the piano. I always see what she's doing and think, "Why didn't I think of that?!" I always feel behind. She's an awesome mother and one day I hope to be more like her.
Anyway, I started teaching Richard to play the piano on Tuesday. He's excited, which is promising. He's doing about as well as you can expect and I hope he continues to stay excited.
We were discussing quarter notes on Wednesday. Yesterday, as a review, I pointed to a quarter note and asked him what it was called. He replied "A coin note." :)

Results

1 respectably good turkey (thanks for everyone's help)--not too much leftover
tons of potatoes left over
2 dozen rolls left over
way too much gravy left over
one serving of salad left over
8 adults fed
7 preschoolers fed
5 toddlers/babies present
Fun night that I didn't have to get a babysitter for...

Sounds like success!

Turkey

I've never cooked a turkey. I've never had to. However, Scott won a turkey at the Turkey Shoot, which is some kind of shooting competition he went on with the Varsity Scouts back in November.
So, I don't want to waste it or have it sit in my freezer forever. I'm cooking it on Friday and having a party with some friends to help eat it.
As I'm having friends over, it would be nice of my pride weren't totally shattered by a poorly cooked turkey. Does anyone have any recommendations? I've read some tips on-line and the easiest method for now seems to be cooking it in one of those turkey bag things. Let me know if you've had any experience with those.