Grooming Little Boys to Become Men

Over the past few months I have been giving a lot of thought towards what kind of men I want my sons to be. I spend all day with my boys. My husband works days but when he is home he spends as much time as he can with the boys trying to teach them things about being men. Mike is a great man and I know my boys will be just as great. While he is away I try to teach them things as well. Just today I spent some time showing Jordan how to clean the bathroom. Then we moved onto the laundry. I just wanted him to sort the clothes. Finally he was to put away his clothes and make his bed. I'm not trying to make my boys into girls but I think it is important to teach boys how to take care of themselves. Yes they may someday have a wife who will take care of them but I feel they need to self-sufficient also.

Jordan was asking me why he was having to do all these chores. I explained that I feel its important for a guy to know how to do his own laundry, dishes and keep himself clean as well. I told him that no girl wants to come over and see her boyfriend in his house that has dirty clothes all over the place, a sink full of dirty dishes and he smells because he hasn't bathed for a week. He just laughed. I make my boys bathe everyday during the summer and every other day during the winter. Jordan and eventually Conor need to learn the basics. We've been teaching Conor how to pick up his toys and he loves baths so that's an easy one. I will eventually teach Jordan how to use the washing machine and to do the dishes by hand in case he doesn't have a dish washer. Another thing I think is important is cleaning up after yourself. Especially spills. Just the other day Conor spilled some juice on the floor and went and got a hand towel without me even knowing he'd spilled it in the first place. I only found out when he came and handed me the towel. I have two wonderful and smart boys. I hope someday they find a woman who will take care of them but in the mean time they'll be caring for themselves.

The ending of one chapter, the beginning of another......

I am 30 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I have a little over 2 months until I will begin a new chapter in my life. I am about to have a little girl. I already have two boys so this is going to be so different. But I am also looking forward to the changes. Last December Mike and I decided that we should try to have another baby, our last. We discussed the possibility that we could end up with another boy but decided in the end to give it one more shot at having a girl. I got pregnant pretty quickly after we made the decision.

I went to the doctor for my first ultrasound with my mind set on it being a boy so imagine my surprise when she told me its a girl. I was shocked, happy, nervous and skeptical all at the same time. At that moment right there I made the decision that after having this child I would for sure be having my tubes tied. I took Mike the ultrasound photos right after I left the doctor. He couldn't believe it. Later that evening when he got home we sat down to discuss whether or not we wanted to leave open the possibility to have any more. After a little bit of talking we decided together that we didn't want to leave it open.

This is a big deal I know. Its the closing of a big part of my life. As I sit here typing the baby is moving around like shes doing gymnastics in there and I think to myself I will never have this feeling again. As much as I don't like being pregnant the movement of the baby is most amazing. I also think to myself that it will be nice to not have to worry about getting pregnant. There are down sides I know but for Michael and I this is the best choice for our family. I have a few reasons for not wanting anymore children. I want to finally lose all the weight without the thought that 'whats the point if I'm just going to get fat again having another child?' We want to get to the point where our kids are grown and we can start to "grow old" together, do things as a couple. I want to focus on the ones I have. Plus I think this is probably all we can afford in the long run.

I am enjoying the last few weeks I have before she arrives, napping when I can, getting the house ready, just relaxing with Mike and the kids before we have a baby in the house. I am also enjoying the feeling of being pregnant. This decision also begins a chapter in my life, one that will be exciting and frightening all at the same time. Our family will feel complete. Mike, me, Jordan, Conor and Emma. I look forward to all the things that we will do and experience as a family and I hope you all will join us on the journey.

Morrison Camping Adventures 2010

Camping. I never went as a kid. My dad worked away a lot and my mom is not the outdoorsy type. Mike decided that we should take a camping trip to Keystone Lake. I got online and found out all the information about where to go and how much it costs to camp out in a tent. We decided to go to Walnut Creek State Park. Located near Prue Oklahoma its really pretty. It didn't take us long to get out there and once we were there we unloaded the car and started to set up camp.

It wasn't difficult to get the tent up although we discovered the other tent was broken so we all crammed into one tent. Which wasn't to bad, I slept on a blow up mattress with Conor and Mike and Jordan slept on the floor next to us. After we got the tent set up Mike started on dinner.

We decided to have hot dogs for dinner since they would be easy to cook over a fire pit. Just as we started to cook dinner I heard what I thought was thunder. The wind started to pick up and sure enough it started to rain. Luckily I had put the cover over the tent by that time so we could sit in the tent and be sheltered from the rain. Although it was very hot in the tent we tried to make the best of it. It wasn't too long before the rain quit and we were back to sitting out in the chairs. We even walked down to the water to check it out to see if we wanted to go swimming. We decided not to in the end.

We all tried to lay down about 10pm, Conor was having too much fun and didn't want to lay down and I was too hot to care if he did or not. I laid on the mattress while Mike sat out in the chair, the air was cool from the rain and we had a decent breeze off the water. But of course it started to rain again. So we zipped up the tent and tried to go to sleep. I faded in and out, camping is not for pregnant women, but for the most part I had a good time. It was really humid and because I was so sticky I opted to just sleep in the clothes I had on rather than try to change into something else. Plus the only place to change was the bathroom and it was bug central. The toilets were clean but there were bugs everywhere, crickets, spiders, beetles, grasshoppers, you name it it was probably in there. I had to flush the toilet just to get rid of the bugs that were in it, I didn't like the idea of sitting on the toilet with bugs jumping around in the bowl, what if one jumped on me? I shouldn't complain at least I had an actual toilet to use.

Around five in the morning I was woken up but a very loud rustling sound. By then the rain had quit and we had the door to the tent open for a breeze. I sat up and asked Mike if he heard that. He popped up and looked around. Then he says "Oh its just a raccoon." I look out my "window" and sure enough there's this little raccoon staring back at me very close to the tent. Mike zips up the tent and I hear the rustling again. I realize at this time that the raccoon has gotten ahold of the bag of chips we had sitting up against the tent. This is a brave little raccoon, we had the bag of chips laying up against the tent right by the door. For about 10 minutes  hear rustle, rustle, crunch, crunch, then nothing. I decide hes gone onto better things and I try to go back to sleep. I find out in the morning he took the bag and ripped a hole in the bottom to better access the chips. I guess he didn't see they were already open. (LOL)

Around six I decide to get up, Jordan is up also, Mike and Conor are still sleeping. The sun is peaking over the water and I'm so uncomfortable I don't care what time it is. I got out of the tent and sat down in one of the chairs. I start to look around wondering where the little raccoon went off to. As I'm looking around I see three trees across the street full of some kind of bird. I then watched more of them fly overheard and land in the trees. I asked Mike later and he says they're turkey buzzards. As I sit there I can hear all kinds of sounds. I hear an owl, a woodpecker, a variety of birds and of course flies buzzing. I can also hear geese flying overhead, it was neat to watch them land in the water in an amazing formation. As I'm sitting there I see the turkey buzzards spreading their wings. At first I thought it was two males telling each other "hey this is my tree" but Mike said he thought they were warming their wings in the sun which made sense considering they didn't start it until the sun was all the up.

Mike and Conor don't get up until around 7:45. By then Jordan and I are starving. So we open up the doughnuts I brought and start tearing down the campsite. Mike and Jordan take down the tent, I start folding blankets and loading up the smaller items and Conor plays in the dirt. It doesn't take long to get everything loaded up and we're on our way. At this point I have never felt more disgusting and I smell bad. I call first dibs on a shower and off we go. Since we're not that far from home we get back around 9 a.m. I immediately head for a shower. I send the kids up to their room for a nap so that Mike and I can lay down.

All in all it wasn't too bad for my first camping experience. It was would have been nice if it hadn't rained but hey this is Oklahoma. I really enjoyed hearing all the birds. I would have liked to go swimming but that's alright I'm sure we'll do this again. I didn't even mind the raccoon. I was actually amused by it. I look forward to going again. Although next time I think Id like to go in the spring or the early fall. I don't mind the heat but not when your almost 8 months pregnant!

Nesting

Nesting. Something I really hadn't thought about before today. This is my third child and I think this is the first time I have really noticed that I have entered the "nesting" phase of pregnancy. Lately it has been really bad. I look around the house and I am disgusted. Its not that the house is really filthy its just very disorganized. Maybe its just the nesting feeling I'm having I'm not sure. I have a routine down when it comes to the housework. I clean the kitchen everyday, wiping off cabinets, the stove and doing the dishes before bed. I sweep, mop the floors and vacuum three times a week. I clean the bathrooms twice a week and do the laundry at least twice a week depending on what needs to be washed. But there's other things that I feel aren't up to my standards.

First of all the kids room is in dire need of organizing. Jordan is really good about keeping his room clean. He picks it up and puts clothes away but there are toys in there that I know they don't play with so its time once again to go through them and donate what they don't play with. Thankfully we'll be moving out of this house before the baby gets big enough to have her own space so in the mean time I just have to manage one kids room. So today I decided it was time to go out to the shed and dig out the futon frame so that I could get Jordan and Conors bed off the floor. It makes the room look more organized and clean. It was a booger to get out and figure out how to put it together but Jordan and I got it together and the room already looks better.

Second of all our bedroom needs to be cleaned and organized. It seems to always be messy. But that's one door I can close so I don't stress to much about it. That's the next room I will conquer. I need to de-clutter alot of the house. We are limited to space since it isn't our house but I think I can get it where I want it to be before the baby gets here.

Its hard to explain the "nesting" feeling to those who have never been pregnant. I didn't even realize that's what I was feeling until I was reading a recent email from Parents Magazine. I like to be organized, clean and orderly. It doesn't always happen when I want it to but I think for the most part that the house is clean and tidy on a pretty regular basis. I like to have the housework done in the morning before I leave for the day and if I have nowhere to go I have it done before Mike gets home. I don't ask much of him because his day job is so hard. As I look forward to the next few weeks of "nesting" time before the baby gets there I have to stop and think about all I need to get done. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed but I know that I can get it done. I will be prepared when she gets here and things will be wonderful!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

We've all heard the saying before, rain, rain, go away, come again another day. Rain. It can be cleansing, destructive and productive. I find days when it rains hard because there aren't too many free things to do indoors and it makes me sleepy. But then I think what can we do when its raining indoors at home. So I get together with the kids and we think of ideas. We could play a game together. We could watch a movie together. We could color or draw. We could read. Right now since we've had a somewhat busy day the boys are resting in their room and I'm resting in mine. This can mean take a nap or just lay in their bed. They can even play.

A little thunderstorm every now and then is nice. I love to hear the thunder and see the lightening as long as I'm not out in it. There's something about watching a good storm. When I look out at the sky I cant help but wonder what the Great Flood was like. Seeing all the rain rise and rise as the days went by. I can only imagine what it was like for those not on the Ark. I myself have never been in a horrible storm. I live in Florida most of my life and never really saw a hurricane, and Ive lived here in Tulsa for 17 years and Ive never seen a tornado in person. Gods wrath with weather is amazing and scary at the same time.

So on days like today when I'm inside contemplating what to do I think maybe I should just sit back and enjoy the time I have inside. Its quiet and I know that in 11 weeks it wont be. God gives us the rain. I should be thankful and I am. I am thankful to God for all things no matter how small. Including the weather. Just something to think about considering its probably going to rain most of the week. 

Brothers

Brothers. A bond I will never understand. Jordan and Conor are brothers. Even though they are 6 years apart they are very close. Jordan is so protective of Conor. Conor really misses Jordan when he is not here. Now we're about to have a little girl in the house. I had sisters. I know the bond between sisters, that I understand. But boys are different. They show emotions different, they play different, everything seems different. It will be interesting to see how a little girl affects their dynamic. I hope they will embrace her and all be close as they grow.

I know the strife's that siblings can go through. The things that can come between. May it be something small or something big they can rip families apart. I myself have seen it with my Mom and her sisters. They are no longer as close as they were when they were younger. My sisters and I haven't been as close as I would like in the past few years but hopefully motherhood will bond us once again.

The bond of brothers goes back to the beginning. Brothers doesn't always have to mean blood brothers. Jordan and Conor share the same mother but different dads. I have never used the term "step-brothers", I feel they are brothers, that's it. I love to watch them together. They have so much fun together, watching movies, playing with their toys and going outside. I love to hear them talk to each other, especially now that Conor is talking more and more. I love to check in on them at night and see them sharing the bed. Its so cute.

My hope for their lives is that they will remain close. That they will never forget the bond they have.

Mid Summer Madness

Here we are, July, mid summer. I haven't accomplished all I thought I would have by now, but hopefully the next few weeks will bring more productivity. I like being home with the kids, being able to get out everyday if I want or stay home and just relax. As I prepare for the birth of our third child I keep wondering how I am going to manage it all. Having a toddler, newborn and homeschooling for the first time. But I have a little bit until she arrives so in the mean time I am trying to enjoy just being able to take my time in doing things. I have a schedule on the house work so I make sure that its done before Mike gets home. Ive been trying to take the kids somewhere at least every other day. We've been going swimming a lot lately and they really love it. I've also been spending time online looking at ordering Jordans school curriculum for the upcoming school year. I have to say I am more than a little excited about getting the books and getting his schedule ready. I also have lots of ideas on mini field trips we can take throughout the year.

I have also been working on my For Ladies Only business, booking parties and getting my 'kit' ready. I love these parties. They are loads of fun and I can make more in one night than I can in one week at a part-time job. Plus I have the added benefit of being able to still be home during the day but still make money to help out with expenses.

Summer, I love summer. I like the heat even though I may complain, I find it easier to cool off than to warm up which is why I hate winter so much. The only really nice thing about winter is snuggling under the covers with Mike. I love sunny days, I do so much better in sunlight. I'm looking forward to the next month or so before school starts and the baby gets here. A time when I can take it slow and relax when I want.