Handling the holiday juggle

My family is descending upon our home in a few short days, and I confess that I am just not ready.

My planned "cleaning day" off from work was spent deep cleaning - "cleaning the mess that was hiding," as I told my oldest. Junking out, finally, those "sort boxes." Shredding a few reams' worth of paper, held on to for who knows how long. Yanking out children's clothes of every size. And sadly, reorganizing my house.

You can't tell.

Right now, I'm in the "darkest hours are just before dawn" phase of my clean-up, just as my children's and husband's colds have now been shared with yours truly (who's still getting over a sinus infection in her own right).

And of course, we're approaching the easiest of guest-hosting scenarios. Planning dinner for seven isn't a simple task. I'm trying to balance my idea of what Thanksgiving dinner should shape up like with the wants of my family. The first time I hosted Thanksgiving, I asked my family members what was the one dish they had to have. My brother alone can eat a package of Stovetop stuffing. My mother can't live without marshmellow-encrusted sweet potatoes. And my daughter has requested, of all things, pumpkin tarts...and hot dogs.

Me, I confess, I've gotten out of the habit of eating out of a box. We really like making our own foods, baking our own breads. Yet there's only so many burners on the stove, so many hours in the night.

So if you were me, what would you choose? What are the must-haves? What can I live without? Help me decide. The clock is ticking!