Welcome Home, Brien!

For the last 6 months, Brien has unfortunately been bouncing between the hospital and a rehab facility because of repeated UTIs, weakness, and digestive issues. And although we always hoped he'd be able to return to the independent living home he's lived in for at least the last 40 years, the determination was finally made that he will not regain the independence and mobility that he needs to go back. So we needed to find a new permanent home for him.

Although we were sad that he had to say goodbye to the friends and staff he loved as family for all these years, there was a silver lining: Brien could move closer to us! So we set about finding him a good nursing home in our area.

After a fairly comprehensive search, we landed on a place that fit our needs: a skilled nursing facility, recommended by a consultant, that accepts Medicaid, and had an immediate opening for him. Amazingly, it's so close to our house that we can walk there! That's not why we chose it -- it was the best of the options that checked our boxes -- but it was a very happy coincidence! 

We moved Brien as soon as we returned home from our cruise. Because he is confined to a wheelchair now, he required special transportation. He was sitting like a king the whole way!

Now he's set up well in his new home. We brought the kids over to help decorate Brien's half of the room with pictures on the walls, little trinkets, and a fun comforter on his bed. He had a roommate who was pretty loud (yelling during the night, unbeknownst to us), and Brien wasted no time asking for a different roommate. I was proud of him for advocating for himself! Now he has a new roommate who is very quiet.

One of the nice things about skilled nursing facilities that accept Medicaid is that the government requires them to provide activities for the residents. Multiple times a day, Brien has arts and crafts, music, games, and even visiting performers like magicians and choirs. There's a parlor where he can hang out with other residents to watch TV, and a dining room where he shares meals. A visiting doctor, dentist, podiatrist, and stylist take care of all his needs right there. And there are in-house physical therapists who already have a game plan for him to continue working on his strength and independence. First on our list of priorities: regain the ability to get in and out of a car, so we can take him on outings. 

"I think I'm gonna like this place," he tells me every time we see him. And fortunately, that's often -- MJ and I are able to visit multiple times a week. It's so close, we can easily swing by just to check in, or talk to his nurses or social worker in person, or have lunch with him. Grandpa and Grandma stop by often too. And we've submitted Amber's vet records so she can visit too, something Brien is very excited about!

I am so thankful for many things: that this move went smoothly, that Brien is close by for us to visit, that he is part of our lives, and that we can include him in so much more from now on. It is such a blessing. 

Superbowl Sunday

MJ, Little Man and I would prefer the 49ers to win, but our Swifties disagree!

Life Lately

Between the kids' activities, the elementary school PTA, the middle school PTO, and finding time to work out and learn tennis, I haven't been updating the blog much. But here's what we've been up to lately:

Sweet Pea made straight A's on her report card, so according to Morrison Family Rules, she earned a donut from Krispy Kreme. She picked one of the new heart-shaped donuts, filled with cookies and creme filling, and topped with cookie crumbs. She gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up.

In related news: CC must start over in her quest to earn a trip to Universal Studios by getting straight As for four quarters in a row. She did not get all As on her report card this time -- she earned an 89% in Social Studies. "It's not fair!" she whined. "I tried my best!" But then I showed her in PowerSchool how she had three missing assignments in that class. "Having missing assignments is the exact opposite of trying your best," I told her.

Little Man and I finally got one of his Christmas gifts up and working: a robotic quarterback. It's pretty cool -- it shoots a football surprisingly far, and you can program it for different directions and distances. He's been having fun with it out in the yard, and I love watching his intensity.

Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/Gj7HtiV6Mmo

The monkeys had a rather extended wrestling session last weekend. It went on and on, and MJ and I just watched with amusement as they rolled around like puppies.

CC continues to altar serve every Sunday she can. She's learned how to open the Roman Missal to the right page for the priest, and has been helping train new servers (including whacking their hands when they fidget during Mass!). I was able to sneak this picture of her helping prepare the altar before Mass the other week:

MJ and I keep doing our thing. MJ is hopefully that he can transition into a new, less stressful position in the next few months, so we're crossing our fingers that happens sooner rather than later. And we're all looking forward to heading to the mountains next month for a little break!

Playdate

Sweet Pea and her former gymnastics bestie, Emmy, have been pretty good about keeping in touch since Sweet Pea quit gymnastics (and then Emmy switched gyms). We had Emmy over the other day for a playdate, and the girls had fun making push pops from a kit Sweet Pea got from Santa. They turned out really cute, and they were so delicious!

I hope these sweet girls always stay friends.

Army-Navy 2023

We didn't go to the game in person this year, because Foxborough is hard to get to and we didn't want to deal with transportation hassles. But we were all jazzed up at home! Even Amber got into the spirit ...

Sweet Pea was at her Nutcracker performances all day, so it was just CC and Little Man watching with us. But we made more noise than you'd think four people could make, screaming down to the exciting final seconds. Amber was barking like crazy too! But we WON!!

The coolest part about this year's game is that they honored 3rd Infantry Division, the unit MJ and I were a part of. And specifically, 3d ID was honored for the initial ground war in Iraq, in which Matt and I both participated! It was so awesome to see the division patch and colors on all the jerseys and game swag. I  definitely have to buy some!

After singing second, we headed to Ben & Jerry's to eat ice cream for dessert. We sang the fight song in the car all the way there, several times in the store (in front of plenty of other people), and all the way home. What a day!!

Welcome Home, Daddy!

For the first time in years, MJ had to travel for work this week. He was gone from Sunday until Thursday, and boy did we miss him! CC welcomed him home with a lemon cake (that had 5 yellow frosting dollops on top, for the five of us).

Baking Bread

The girls have been begging me recently to make bread. We've made banana bread before, and pumpkin bread, but they wanted to make real bread with yeast and kneading. So finally over the weekend, we did it. 

It turned out delicious! And we had plenty to have as a side with quiche for dinner, and again to make homemade garlic bread with for our spaghetti and meatballs, and with our shrimp scampi. Yum!

Playdates

Having playdates with friends is the best way to celebrate having a day off from school!

We had six kids here, and it was happy chaos (which is the norm around here anyway!). Sweet Pea had her friend Mackenzie, who did art with her and practiced cheers. 

Little Man had Levi over, who brought a complicated Star Wars board game, and enjoyed playing Little Man's new Star Wars PlayStation game. 

And CC had her friend Aviva, who is moving at the end of the year, so CC is determined to spend as much time with her as possible!

Life Lately

We've been getting back in our groove after the holidays. I finally got the Christmas decorations packed away, and organized all the new toys and activities that were acquired over the holidays.

We took the kids to see their first movie since Covid: Puss In Boots. (Thanks, Pohls!) They loved it and haven't stopped quoting from it ever since.

The kids spent their Christmas money, including this lovely new set of adhesive nails that CC picked:

And we've been keeping warm when the cold weather rolls in, like Little Man when he makes his own sauna by curling up in his blanket on top of the heating vent, and letting it inflate around him like a hot balloon:

There have been art projects galore, including this one that Sweet Pea did (thanks, Aunt Susan and Uncle Jon!):

And as always, there have been plenty of giggles, like when the kids wrap up in their blankets and play "Burrito" or "Worm Wars."

Stay warm, everyone!

Grandpa's New Knee

This week, Grandpa had knee replacement surgery, so yesterday we stopped by to bring him some treats and some love. Happily, he's recovering well and hopefully it won't be long before he's back to his old self!

Hair Dye

Sweet Pea and CC got that itch again, and begged me to dye their hair. 

This time Sweet Pea was the one with the super vibrant color (Shocking Blue), and CC's is much more mild (Mystic Heather). But they're both really happy!

CC finished just in time to go on her big date ...

Dinner Visitor

The other night we were getting dinner ready when Sweet Pea yelled, "Snake!" and pointed at the front door. Excitement and pandemonium reigned, while I repeatedly yelled, "Indoors or outdoors?!?"

Once we figured out where it was, we were all fascinated to watch it. I can't believe Sweet Pea spotted it -- it was curled up in the wrought-iron scrollwork in the transom above our front door. Perfect camouflage for a black snake! 

Over the next hour, we tracked it as it slowly moved across the front of our house. Now it's out there somewhere, doing its job ridding the neighborhood of rodents. Snakes are pretty cool.

Little Friend

Jon and Susan gave each of our kids a wonderful stuffed animal when they were born, and soon thereafter I bought a duplicate of each one, in case one was ever lost. When the girls got older and realized they each had two special guys, they wanted to have both to play with. But Little Man, for whatever reason, never really formed an attachment to his bear, Bumby. And somewhere along the way, his second Bumby was lost. But he never really seemed to mind or even notice.

Then last August, Little Man had that orthodontic device placed in his mouth, to keep him from sucking his fingers. And all of a sudden, he couldn't soothe himself the way he had since he was a baby. And who did he turn to, when he was in his big-boy bedroom all by himself at night, with no fingers to suck? Bumby. So at the ripe old age of 9.5, he became extremely attached to Bumby.

A month or so ago, he became really disturbed at the fact that he didn't have a second special guy, like the girls did. So I searched the internet high and low to find one -- which, of course, isn't made anymore. But thanks to Ebay, within a few days we had a second Bumby in Little Man's arms.

He was promptly named Fizzy, and Little Man is rarely seen now without both Bumby and Fizzy. Little Man plays very elaborate, imaginative games with them, and sleeps holding onto them both tightly. I just love it.

Fizzy is currently a lot fluffier and softer than Bumby, but it's only a matter of time before he's equally worn from love.

Fun with Color

It's apparently that time again -- when Sweet Pea and CC want to dye their hair. And to my surprise, they wanted to stick with the same colors again.

(I think CC's hair would be super cute spiked up in a fauxhawk, à la Pink, but so far she hasn't gone for it.)

Sledding!

Just as we returned from our snowy adventures in the mountains, it actually snowed at home! This is a rare occurrence, because many winters, we don't even see a flake. So we had to take advantage and head to our neighbors' backyard to sled down their hill (with Mia, of course!).

CC's New 'Do

CC has been begging me for months to have her hair cut "like a boy's." I struggled with that, because her personality is so girlie and feminine. But ultimately I decided that it's her hair, and she can have it cut however she likes (within reason). 

She had her first "real" salon experience -- I took her to my salon, and she got a shampoo, scalp massage, and the whole works. The stylist was very good, and talked to her the whole time, making sure he was doing exactly what she wanted. She loves it!

"I look like Fraulein Maria!" she exclaimed. Or Peter Pan. Or a boy. But hey -- that's what she wanted!

It's definitely not the look I was envisioning when she first began asking for short hair, but I'm glad she's happy.

Army-Navy Game

It didn't go the way we hoped. But it wasn't from lack of spirit coming from the Morrisons!

But we still love our brave old Army team. We'll beam 'em next year!

DEVASTATION

It's been a rough last 24 hours. Yesterday, we found out that CC's teacher -- who she adores -- is being reassigned to another school. Today was her last day. CC has been crying almost constantly for 24 hours now. Her class is being dispersed among the other 5th grade classes, so in addition to grieving her teacher, she's also grieving the class that she's been part of for the last six weeks.

Yes, we are focusing on the new friends she'll make, how we've heard such wonderful things about her new teacher, and that she already knows some of the kids in her new class. But right now, it's hard for CC to see past her heartache. And my heart breaks for her, my sweet, sensitive, anxious little girl.

I had just dropped her off at school for her final day with her old teacher, when I got a phone call -- Sweet Pea's gymnastics coach is moving to Miami in two weeks. 

Double whammy.

So two days in a row, I had to greet one of my daughters after school and break the news to them that a loved, important teacher in their lives was leaving. It has been awful. Sweet Pea cried almost as much as CC, although at least she gets another two weeks before her coach moves. And it's unfortunate timing --  her coach will leave just one week before Sweet Pea's first meet of the season.

This is a big decision point for us: what do we do? That coach was Sweet Pea's entire gymnastics world. She loved her, and I trusted her with Sweet Pea. Once she's gone, there's not much holding us to that gym. We might well switch to a different gym, one with a more robust competition program and a larger coaching staff. The next month or so could bring huge changes. We will all hang on and hope for a safe ride!

Life Lately

We've been doing pretty well lately, getting back into our school groove. The kids are enjoying school; they like their new teachers; and I am adjusting to peace and quiet in the mornings followed by the chaos of after-school activities in the afternoons.

Little Man has discovered a love of cooking, which I'm more than happy to encourage. He has become our official tortilla maker for Taco Tuesdays.

CC: Ew. I don't want any tortillas if he cooked them!
Me: Fine. You can have a taco salad instead.
(pause)
CC: Please pass the tortillas.

Sweet Pea continues her intense gymnastics schedule. She practices 16 hours a week, and complains that there isn't more! Her meets (pending Covid numbers) will start in November. She might skip a level this year, but that decision hasn't been finalized by her coaches yet. I am looking forward to a one-on-one Zoom with her head coach in the next few weeks, where we will learn exactly how she's doing and what her season will look like.

Meanwhile, CC has started on her year-round swim team and loves it. 

"I'm so glad I found a sport that I really love!" she told me recently. "And I'm so good at it!"

Well ... that's debatable. But I replied, "The important thing is that you're having fun, and staying healthy!"

Lastly, we love going back to our pre-Covid weekend routine: watching Army football games with Grandma and Grandpa. Last Saturday, the girls made molasses cookies with Grandma while we all cheered the Army team to its third win of the season. Go Army!

Apologies

Little Man's apology note to CC after a hard day yesterday ...

I made him include two complements, and these were the best he could come up with.