Dinner Music

Well, Thanksgiving turned out how I expected. Our boys were the loudest and most boisterous of all the guests. Going to someone else's house was like a free for all to our guys. When they are at home there are no longer any pretty nick-knacks left in their reach. There are boundaries they can not cross thanks to the gate. Take them out of this element and all hell breaks loose! Their Aunt Peggy went out of her way to find toys they would enjoy, she even grabbed Cheerios for them when they started to throw turkey across the table at their Great Grandma! Grandma says, "where did this come from??". I pointed at Matt's Grandpa, but they didn't buy it! I was sitting next to Garhett who decided he only liked cranberry sauce. By the time he had filled up on the cranberries our side of the table looked like a crime scene! I thought to myself, "this is exactly why we aren't invited back to many people's houses!" I was sure thankful for dinner to be done! It was awesome food though, and what the boys did eat I think they liked. I barely even remember speaking to anyone else. Then with dinner over, the boys excused themselves to play the piano. They both had a great time banging on the keys. Thank goodness, this is a "child friendly" piano. It was okay for them to be playing it. After piano playing grew tiring, they both wanted to go downstairs with the rest of the kiddos. I said it was fine for them to go down the stairs because they are good with them at home. I watched Garhett make his way backwards down the steps and when he neared the bottom stair I turned away. Of course he ends up face planting on a doll stroller and cuts his nose. Now he is screaming and bleeding. I think he did that just to make a liar out of me! Now I am getting ready to leave, it has been fun but I am exhausted! On top of everything, I am still not feeling well, and my Mother and I are crazy enough to be going shopping at 2:30 a.m. Matt and I get the boys into their pj's, start the car, round up the girls, say goodbye to everyone which takes us long enough for the boys to take their pajamas off and throw them at me!

What Morrisons' are Thankful For

In asking my children what they are thankful for, they came up with a lot of the run of the mill type answers. While it is a great thing that they are thankful for their family members (near and far) and their friends, and are also thankful for having a roof over their heads and food on their plates, I really wanted to know what our younger people are glad to have in their lives today other than the usual. Alexys was very greatful to have a teacher that has been so supportive and helpful with her reading. I thought to myself, "I am also thankful for that!". Her teacher from last year and her teacher this year have turned her into an avid reader! She has flourished with the kindness and the time they have taken to show her how fun reading can be! Addysen is thankful for her new kitty. I too am glad she is here. Addy has kind of taken over Zorra and now says that she is her kitty. She plays doctor with Zorra, and the cat doesn't seem to mind. At least I haven't seen her sprinting down the stairs to get away from Addy! Apryl is thankful for her room. I think she likes the privacy it provides when she is needing some alone time. She also likes to read in her bed each night before going to sleep. Zorra also likes Apryls' room, it is a place where she can sleep without being bothered...too much! I guess with the boys being too little to tell me what they are thankful for I will just venture a guess. Knowing them like I do, I would say they are thankful for their cups when they have milk in them, they love their cats they carry around as well as their blankets, they are also thankful for Dora the Explorer and bath time. Oh, and they are very thankful when their Mother allowes them to run around without a diaper on! That last part is not necessarily something I am thankful for however! I know that there are many things in our world to be thankful for, but I am truly blessed to be able to have such inspiration, good or bad, to write about each day! Our children are the many reasons we do all things we do each and everyday. So, aside from the usual, I am thankful for bedtime!!

Mood Swings

On any given day we can experience a number of different moods at our house. Garhett is looking kind of sleepy here while Brenden is clearly upset about something. The boys' moods can change from second to second just by handing one the wrong cup. They also tend to feel a lot of concern when their Brother is crying. Garhett heard Brenden crying the other day and he ran to pat him on the back and then said to me, "sad?" I was impressed with how he understood that his Brother was sad, and tried to comfort him. Let us not forget about the three other kiddos that also have moods. Apryl is starting out with her "attitude". All in all, she is a very sweet girl, but boy does she have her moments. Alexys is also great at attitude giving, although it is not very often and is mostly directed at her Father. For whatever reason the girls think they can get away with anything when it comes to him. Often times I find myself in the middle of whatever it is they are having a disagreement about telling the girls to listen to their Dad. I know I shouldn't butt in, but I don't like them disrespecting him, not to mention butting in comes natural for me! That leaves us with Addy! She is an adorable little girl who knows EXACTLY what she wants at every moment of the day. She can be so sweet and cuddly, but do not cross her. When she is trying to be mad at someone she gives them a really dirty look. Addysen tries so hard to look mad that I always end up laughing, which of course makes her more upset. Her face just looks so cute with a scowl! When I think about everything as a whole, we are pretty lucky for how often our kiddos are happy!

Workin' It!

Our family is made up of quite a few pranksters. There is always someone looking to pull a prank or a joke on someone else. The people involved with the joke go to elaborate measures to help each other out and pull off the funniest pranks. At any given moment there could be someone waiting around a corner or standing outside the bathroom waiting to jump out and scare the other person. Believe me, they scream as loudly as possible to ensure the "prankee" has to use the bathroom again! Matt and I play jokes on them when we are camping also. I know most of you have already heard about the "alien" prank we pulled on our oldest two. I have also put a rubber band on the spray nozzle and asked the girls to grab me a glass of water. To their surprise the water is spraying them in face, and for a few seconds they can't figure out why! This is one our favorite jokes! We also have another running joke in the family. Whenever someone is unfortunate enough to be the last to get in the house or the car, they have to do a dance before we let them in! The pictures are of the girls dancing in the mountains so they could regain entry to the car!! This makes me laugh so hard each time that I end up crying! And, it has to be a GOOD dance. We have locked each other out of the house so many times that now you not only have to dance, but you also have to run around the house or dance on the neighbors driveway! Weather has never played a factor in being locked out either. Snow and rain only add to the humor of the situation, for the people inside anyway!

Bright Ideas

Well, I've officially had my bright idea for the day already. Sometimes it is good to get those out of the way early. We started the day off with our car not starting, always nice. My automatic remote start thingy didn't want to start the car. As it turns out neither did my key! Okay, so not really a big deal, we knew that we were getting close to needing a new battery. I call my husband and ask for advice, seeing as how I still need to get Apryl to school. (Lexy is home sick with a cold) He thinks that I can just go ahead and take the battery from our other vehicle and switch them out! I actually think about this, and then decide to give it a shot. NOT happening!! I can't do most of what needs to be done to get this battery out. The bolt holding the battery in place just won't budge. I know my husband is thinking I am just being a girl, but I have the blisters to prove that I tried all I could to get that bolt to turn! All the while Matt is trying to talk me through this over the phone and it is also pretty cold outside. So, in the end he sends my Brother over and eventually Ty does end up getting the batteries moved and my car is running again! Now I can get on with my regular scheduled events. Bath time is the first thing I tackle. The little people love bath time. I let each of the pick out a few toys to take with them, and I notice Garhett is carrying a miniature watering can. My first instinct is to take it from him and distract him with another toy. For whatever reason I think again, and now I am agreeing with his choice?!? Big mistake, huge! (Pretty Woman) I left them alone for a minute to grab towels and their clothes, and when I came back in the bathroom you would have thought Garhett was bailing water out of a boat with the amount of water that was on the floor. Needless to say, the towels I was holding weren't enough. Here is the kicker, I gave the watering can back to him! I think my brain must have been deprived of oxygen while I was sleeping last night. My second trip back to the bathroom, it was like a flood. My pants were wet above my ankles! Garhett is sitting in the tub saying, "uh-oh". I was thinking, "my ass 'uh-oh'!" So, that was the end of bath time! I think I used 7 or 8 towels just to soak up the water. That is all I need, more laundry!!

Oh Boy!

I like how Brenden is still trying to talk even with his mouth full of popcorn! That is indicative of their personalities, B-man is more forward and outgoing while G-man is more laid back and content to observe. Although, when it comes to figuring out new things, Garhett still seems to be the first. He can work his way through most of his daily problems. Now, thank goodness for the shirts that snap at the crotch, or else he would be naked all day long. He has yet to work himself out of a "onesie". I am running into a problem myself because of his wanting to not wear a diaper, I have to make sure I have clean snapping shirts each day. Each morning they get up, the first thing Garhett does is start undressing. Brenden will at least stop when he gets to his diaper. So, because of this behavior I have started potty training Garhett. At the rate we are going, he will be three before we are done. It is an entirely new ball game when it comes to getting little boys out of diapers then it is girls. My guys are still too short to stand on a stool and reach the toilet. (by short I meant their height!) Because of this, they are sitting on the potty. However, this angle gives them a straight shot at the wall in front of them. I was in the bathroom with Garhett yelling to Matt, "do I need to push "it" down??" He just laughed and ultimately was no help. This is exactly the reason I decided to potty train them at separate times. Just a few weeks apart, my hope is that Brenden will want to do what his Brother is doing. We have a small break coming up next week with no school and I can stay at home all day and try to really focus on Garhett using to the potty. He has the lingo down, now to just get the motions down!

Hanging Together

Our three littlest people spend all day together. So far, they get along rather well. There are times when Addy gets very upset however, due to her Brothers taking her things. She carries around a back pack that has her most prized possessions in it. This back pack is meant to hold maybe ten toys, but Addy has that thing packed to the brim. In the back pack you can find anything from a Polly Pocket doll with her clothes and a few friends, to a hunk of plastic cheese. She has furniture for her dolls and she also has 3 or 4 horses. Collectively, this is her "stuff" as she puts it. And, she does play with all of it. At dinner time I have to call her in to the kitchen so she can clean the table off. When she is playing with the boys, they are usually chasing one another down the hallway, or jumping on Mom and Dad's bed. Both games seem to end when someone gets hurt, unfortunately. They all like many of the same shows, they like to play games with Mom and color together. Brenden and Garhett are more often than not done with coloring before Addysen because they have thrown their crayons somewhere and can't find anymore. I get to enjoy sitting and reading a book with the three of them, it's like my own little pre-school class! Addysen is becoming such a great big sister, she calls the boys "son" or "fella". When they fall, she always tries to help them up, she will say, "let me help you sonny." It is a riot to watch the three of them playing together. They are crazy and loud! I suggest to visitors, bring your own ear plugs!

Morrison Movie Night

For quite a few years now we have been having Family Movie Night at our house. It is a nice way for all of us to wind down after what has usually been a hectic week. The movies are always kiddo friendly and so are the snacks. Fridays are the night that we make an easy dinner, and might even allow the kids to eat in the living room. Last night I made frozen pizzas, which our kids love. I am not sure what makes kids love frozen pizza so much, but they all asked for more. Then we had the usual movie popcorn. They like the popcorn with lots of butter. I bought these really great popcorn tubs for each of the little people, at the time I thought it was such a great idea! After last night, I realized that when I am shopping for the younger kids I need to think about how each item will affect my OCD. At first they did sit. They say long enough to get the movie going, and watch a minute or two. Then they both needed to change their seating positions. Keep in mind they are trying to maneuver over and around the blankets and pillows on the ground. Apryl and Lexy like to make a giant bed on the floor with every spare blanket and pillow they can find, normally okay! I was trying to sit and not freak out, watching their little feet trip over everything in their paths, all the while attempting not to spill their popcorn! When you have one boy following the other, he ultimately ends up stepping on and smushing the popcorn his Brother spills. Trails of popcorn now show all the places each little guy has sat. Every time someone else comes into the living room, the sounds reminds me of the mess. So, instead of relaxing like a normal person, I can only focusing on the POPCORN! I end up having to remove everyone from the bed of blankets in order to take them outside and shake them off. I also enlist my husband to sweep the floor before we can resume our relaxing movie night! My poor children were looking at me with those big eyes in shock! I can tell they are all hoping they never act this neurotic when they have kids! Ahhh....with the mess gone I could once again carry on with the evenings plans. Now, if they would only sit still!! :)

Brainwashed

I know this picture represents a proud moment for my husband, but lets be honest, the boys have no idea why they are wearing those shirts. All our little guys know is that their Daddy gets very excited whenever they are decked out in certain sports attire. Now this can include football gear of course, but our guys were born to be Yankee fans as well! (according to their Father) Matt waited an agonizing eight years before having a son, now that he has two, the three of them sit and watch sports A LOT! Yes, he spent many hours watching sporting events with his girls and "teaching" them which teams they should like. Along with that, he taught them about the teams they should dislike! Apryl has been primed since she was about 18 months to say terrible things about the Red Wings, Patriots, oh and let us not forget that other team, the Red Sox! Same goes for Alexys. Now, he has Addysen, our three year old telling everyone that the Red Sox stole her candy. Then she will go on to say that the Yankees got her candy back from the mean Red Sox, which are often called the Red Sucks! I understand how exciting it is to share ones passions with their children, but there must be a point at which we allow them to make up their own minds! God forbid our children ever start to like the Buffalo Bills or the Dallas Stars, they may never be allowed back in the house! I do however appreciate the time he spends with the boys during their male bonding Sunday Football Days! Now I have to go, the boys are so close to getting "Go Broncos" down!!

Early Risers

Today is one of those days when you are ready throw in the towel at 7:30 a.m. Why my boys were up at a quarter to six is completely beyond me! I could hear them in their room bouncing in the bed and yelling, "ma-ma!!" When I finally pried my eyes open and realized it was still DARK, I thought, "you have got to be kidding me!" When little people wake up in the morning they don't take their time getting out of bed and on the move. It's not as if the boys crawl into bed with us and doze off for another 30 minutes or so. They wake up hungry, and totally re-energized. "Na-na, na-na!" they yell. Both boys must be practically dehydrated when they wake up since I can not make a move that is not headed in the direction of the kitchen to get them some milk. When their morning snack is given out, they then bring every blanket they own along with their cats into the bedroom and sit...for two seconds! They are both shouting, "show, show", man they can repeat themselves over and over. Then they are playing with the window, and then the blinds, which I am surprised are still hanging! The boys are up and down and in and out of the bed so much that I have no choice but to send them into Alexys' room! I will say, "go see where Lexy is!". Poor Lexy! As soon as they see her head even move, they are asking her to play Wii! It makes me laugh because what they are putting her through, I have just experienced. I have said to Matt, "I will give you a thousand dollars if you get up with them!"

Brand New little Men!!

This morning was haircut morning, and the boys were overdue! I missed seeing their cute little ears, and even the back of their necks. Getting their hair done is always so much easier for them since they know their hair stylist rather well! Both boys sat very still and let Aunt Debby work her magic! Dad wanted a complete buzz, but I protested a bit because I wanted to be able to "style" their hair a little more, only cool styling of course! So, we met in the middle and they received a fade, new term for me. That way there is still hair on top that I can spike and make them look tough! As if they aren't scary enough with all that cheese cracker drool running down their faces! I think they also loved all the attention they received from the other ladies in the shop. Addy also had to get her bangs trimmed. She can not go to Aunt Debbys' shop without getting something done to her hair. Typical girl at a salon! I am always amazed how much difference there is after the boys have had their hair cut. It almost transforms them into different little people. I know that I am totally biased, but they look rather handsome! After haircuts we all ran into Target for a few things---and we bought the guys underwear! Nothing fancy like the girls would have picked out, but I made sure not the call them panties again! My husband was mortified when I said it might be time to buy the boys some "boy panties"!! Okay, I have been putting panties on my little girls for ten plus years now, and I just need to get used to saying UNDERWEAR! :) Little butts looks so cute in those underwear!!

Brendens' Madness

As I am typing this, I can hear the boys upstairs in their bed crying and screaming. Actually, it is probably only Garhett that is crying due to his Brother throwing his blanket and his cat out of the bed yet again!! Brenden waits for the exact moment I leave the room to get up and start picking on Garhett. He will watch the door and try to see if he can tell if I am still standing outside. I swear the instant he hears my feet move, he is up and doing something he shouldn't. Nap time used to be my saving grace, my time to sort of re-energize and maybe get a few chores done. Now, I am losing an entire hour due to the antics of my littlest guy!! He is full of Tom Foolery!! I have noticed lately that when they are out in the living room, Brenden has started tossing Garhett's favorite toys over the gate. This way G-man is upset and gets to play with nothing until someone can reach it for him. When I discipline B-man, he looks at me with his big eyes, and wonderful smile, and everything I intended to do gets all jumbled up in my head! Now, don't get me wrong, Garhett has his moments as well, it's just that lately Brenden has been the front runner of trouble makers! Addysen has even started calling him a Crazy Nut. She will ask me throughout the day, "why is he doing that Mommy??" I usually don't have an answer as to why he does most things. I tell her that is what boys do! It is funny to have my three year old concur about the strange behavior of her Brother or Brother's! For a Mom who had little girls for a decade to suddenly be immersed in the worlds of two little boys is totally life changing. They are just that different! I am happy to have the change, they just have to wait for me to catch up!

Trick-or-Treat!

I have to admit, our kids looked pretty darn cute. Once again, we were fortunate to have GREAT weather for trick-or-treating! For the past few years the weather has been really good. I wonder every time Halloween is approaching what will the weather be like. There have been so many Halloween's where you can't see the costumes the kids are wearing because they have to wear coats over the top. I can remember one year in particular when my camera froze and would not work because it was so cold out. When it is that cold out we try to talk our kids into going home, but the thought of missing out on candy is too much for them to quit. Those are the years when the neighbors feel bad for the kids and end up giving them twenty pieces instead of one or two. This year though, our boys helped themselves to the candy. They would both walk up the door and practically push their way in. Anyone who crouched down to their level was bombarded with four little hands grabbing as much candy as they could. I'm not sure the boys even know what it was they were grabbing, if someone was going to let them have something, then they were going to take it! The three little people did great with the walking. They all took turns riding in the wagon. Brenden went through three candy bags due to him dragging them on the ground. When we would go to a house, we would also have to ask for a new bag! Then we have the people who are fascinated with twins and have to ask questions. So, that made trick-or-treating a little longer. We also had a few people who thought it was funny that we dressed them up as twins! Alexys made sure they knew it was because they are twins. Addy had fun also. She liked the houses that had pets outside. She didn't want to leave one home because she was petting the cat! All in all, everything seemed to go pretty well. Thanks to our helpers the evening was a success!