Cotillion

It's finally here: the day I've been looking forward to (and that Little Man and Sweet Pea have been dreading). Cotillion has started!

CC loved cotillion when she did it in 6th and 7th grades. It's right up her alley: etiquette and poise and dressing up in fancy clothes. But it's Sweet Pea and Little Man's idea of torture. They can't stand wearing nice clothes, and in fact neither of them owned even one piece of the required ensembled: ballet flats and a dress for the girls, and a blazer, tie, dress shirt, nice pants, belt, and dress shoes for the boys. But I happily purchased it all.

Never before have two children needed cotillion more than these. Little Man complains if he has to put anything other than Crocs on his feet, and he won't even wear long pants, never mind a belt. Sweet Pea eats like a wild animal, spilling drinks regularly and managing to smear food on her forehead. 

Here's hoping a magical transformation is in the works. That would be a true Morrison Miracle!

Final Christmas

The holidays are officially over, because we've finished all our outings and visits and gift-giving occasions. Even the candy is gone! Our final event was a Christmas/birthday celebration at Patrick and Karen's house, where we celebrated our Christmas with them, and also Pepere and Aunt Karen's birthdays.

The kids couldn't wait to open their gifts, of course! We gave Braxton and Bryson the game Grounded for Life, which they'd had so much fun playing with our kids at Thanksgiving (plus some PlayStation gift cards so they could buy games for their new console). They gave Sweet Pea a new case for her Kindle that she'd really been wanting, and CC received a new ballet leotard that she loves. 

But Little Man thought he'd hit the jackpot when he opened his gift and realized that it was an enormous Nerf gun! The girls were groaning, but he was jumping up and down with excitement. Uncle Patrick was a good sport and even let him have some target practice.

After a yummy BBQ dinner, we played a fun White Elephant game that I'll definitely have to use the next time we have a large group over for Christmas! Most of us ended up with candy, but Sweet Pea snagged the coveted $5 bill. And everyone laughed when Little Man got stuck with fruitcake at the very last minute (although Memere took pity on him afterwards and traded).

We wrapped up the evening by singing Happy Birthday to Pepere and Aunt Karen, and then we gave Pepere his gifts: a baseball book and a new Duke jacket. It was a great day all around!

Virtual Reality

We took the kids to a cool virtual reality experience about space that we'd heard great things about. It was a way to "walk" around the International Space Station, see videos taken by some of the astronauts, and feel completely immersed in the environment.

Out in the lobby was an exhibit about a local astronaut, and a huge model of Earth rotating from the ceiling. That was pretty cool to watch! Sweet Pea was especially interested in it.

When it was time for the VR experience, MJ listened to the instructions and watched the informational videos, and almost immediately decided it was not for him. He is prone to motion sickness, and doesn't feel comfortable watching 3D movies, so he opted to wait for us in the lobby.

The kids and I headed in, and quickly realized we were way out of our element. Once we put the headsets on and began the experience, it immediately felt like we were floating in space. It took a while to realize that we could safely walk around. It was fascinating! I loved the amazing cinematography, the views of Earth, and the illusion of weightlessness. Little Man took to it pretty quickly and was walking around on his own within a few minutes. The girls held my hands, but eventually CC felt comfortable straying from me. Sweet Pea, on the other hand, did not enjoy it at all. She clung to me, very nervous, the entire time. At the end, when we took our headsets off, she had tears streaming down her face. But hey, like I told her -- at least she tried it. Now she knows, like Daddy, that she doesn't care for experiences like that.

P.S. MJ definitely made the right call for himself. All four of us said, "Daddy would hate this!" as soon as it started. It's good to know your own boundaries.

Afternoon with Alice

This year's Christmas outing with Miss Alice happened after Christmas, due to the kids' school schedule. And surprisingly, we all liked it better that way! The crowds were gone, and as Little Man pointed out, "This way we won't accidentally pick a book that someone else is getting us for Christmas." True!

But one thing stayed the same: it was a lovely afternoon. It's one of my favorite traditions! We spent about an hour browsing the bookstore, as the kids made their final selections. Little Man, firmly in his Minecraft era, picked the Minecraft Medieval Fortress book. CC picked Pretties, the second book in a new series she loves (thanks, Aunt Susan and Uncle Jon!). And Sweet Pea, the least decisive about books, picked a new graphic novel, Stand Up, and has declared she already loves it and wants to read every book by Tori Sharp. That's a win!

Afterwards, we treated Alice to a lunch at a nearby restaurant. The kids ate a ton, and we had a lively discussion despite the kids really wanting to dive into their new books. Fun fact of the day: Alice watches the show "Wednesday," which is one of CC's favorite shows!

Happy New Year!

MJ and Amber conceded defeat around 9pm, but the kids and I made it to midnight with hot chocolate, tuxedo cake, an impromptu painting craft, and a few old episodes of Modern Family. 

May we all be blessed in 2025! (And please, God, let the children sleep in. Yawn.)

Merry Christmas!

What a whirlwind day! But it was beautiful and chaotic and merry and bright.

Big gifts were silks for the girls (which they spent all day on), a 3-D printer for Little Man (which we haven't even opened yet -- I need to dedicate some serious time to it), plus Legos, sports wear and athleisure, books, arts and crafts, and so much more. I was excited to give my parents a "Family bouquet" I had a local watercolor artist paint, and the kids couldn't wait to give MJ his new sandwich press.

In the afternoon, Grandma and Grandma came over with more presents and treats (yay for Munson's hot chocolate!), and Grandpa and I even gave each other the same book! 

Then we had a wonderful meal and more cookies, and spent the rest of the day enjoying our gifts and each other's company. Even Amber got a new toy and a huge cinnamon-roll-looking cookie, which she devoured despite being sick during the night (after swiping two sticks of butter yesterday and eating them, wrapper and all).

Now we're all happily exhausted, and the kids are snoring in their beds. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Christmas Eve

Finally ... all the preparations are done and excitement is high! Memere and Pepere are here, and we all went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a lovely dinner after Mass. We enjoyed lasagna (for the adults and Little Man), Chick Fil A nuggets (for the girls), and of course Grandma's signature Christmas cookies for dessert!

Then it was back home to decorate cookies. Hey, better late than never! And this way we were able to include Memere and Pepere. 

By 8pm, the kids were in bed, and I began my death-defying trip to the attic to get various secret items. (Our pull-down attic access broke earlier this week, and I wasn't entirely sure the ladder would hold me, but it did!) Working as a team, MJ and I and my parents got everything ready for the morning, and headed to bed before Santa made his appearance.