TheMorrisonFamilyBlog

 Fifty-seven percent of all coffee is consumed at breakfast. Thirty-four percent is consumed between meals, while thirteen percent is consumed at all other meals. During World War II, Nescafé became so popular that the entire production of its U.S. plant (about 1 million cases a year) was reserved for military use only. Bach composed the Coffee Cantata in honor of the drink. Beethoven was also an avid coffee drinker, preferring a blend made from 60 beans per cup. In the 1700s, a French naval officer, Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, stole a cutting from the King’s coffee tree in Jardin des Plantes in Paris and took it to the Caribbean island of Martinique. Fifty years later, there were an estimated 18 million coffee trees there. In 1997, no less than 100 billion cups of Nescafé were drunk worldwide. That’s an average of more than 3,000 cups per second. A coffee tree takes about 6 years to produce its first “cherries.” The beans themselves are the stones of the coffee cherries. The word ‘c...

 My fifteen-year-old is always "after" me about living "GREEN". I'm proud of him for encouraging me. While I support Mother Earth and want her to be safe and happy, I have a problem with being "GREEN." Bash me if you must, but here's my "life" experience on this subject. Back in the 1990s, I was absolutely Green...I used cloth diapers, and I boycotted the companies that were harming "Mother Earth" by cutting down the rainforest and doing all those "mean" things to Planet Earth. I used glass bottles. I cleaned with vinegar, eliminated bleach, carried refillable water bottles, and mended the same pair of jeans until there was nothing "original" about them. I followed the kiddos and hubby around, turning off the lights; we walked as often as possible. We used the reusable cloth bags when shopping. I volunteered to clean up highways. When my mother called and said we weren't using shampoo with polypropylene ...

Gosh, the more I experience mommy-dom, the more I find I love it. The Princess is the mighty SIX! She was the beauty queen for the day. She went to the beauty parlor for an "Up-DO," then Charlotte the Great added a splash of "Princess" with a sequined baby blue dress. She wore a crown and enjoyed a pinata and barbeque with her family. My little man, when asked, "Are you a big boy?" replied, "Like Daddy." Then, after a moment of thought, he raised his arms above his head and announced, "I'm huge!" Indeed, he is. My other little beauty queen says she loves me "infinity squared," and I'm her "best mom." My oldest has followed through on getting a "grown-up" job and doing well. He tells me he's had "no attendance issues." Whew! The actor is busy enjoying summer and making friends as he prepares to enter HIGH SCHOOL! There is no greater joy than to watch a child grow from someone so incapa...

 This Fishful Thinking Mood Music Activity ROCKS! What a perfect day for a new activity. It is snowing outside and the children have been inside claiming to be fighting off boredom. I announced that we were going to be FISHFUL THINKING and enthusiasm TKO'd our "boring day". I made a sign for our activity...   My stellar sign! Then we talked about music. WE love music at our house ! I used the radio and CD Player to play several songs and we talked about how they made us feel... 1.) Polly Put the Kettle On--made them feel like they should do something. 2.) Johnny Android, "Ball Jar", made them feel happy and miss their brother. 3.) Michael Buble, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" made them feel happy and like they wanted to get up and dance. 4.) Bon Jovi , "Wanted Dead or Alive" brought sadness. 5.) Elvis Presley, "Jailhouse Rock" made them feel "energy" 6.) George Winston's Thunderstorm brought yawns of tiredness. I ...

 As you all know, I'm an Ambassador through RepNation for the Fishful Thinking Program. One week ago, I made a fleece Goldfish and explained to my family that we needed a name for our new "fish"...everyone contributed and then we voted and the winning name was "Cheddar". Everyone wanted to know why Cheddar had been created, and I shared with my family that I had read an article from the Fishful Thinking website on Pausing for the Positive, and it inspired me to create an activity for our family. "Starting tonight Cheddar will be looking for positive things he can help you do. Maybe William left his matchbox cars in the middle of the floor, whomever has Cheddar might want to pick up the cars for William secretly and leave Cheddar on top of his car case. Then William and Cheddar will start their adventure by finding something positive to do for someone else. Then, at each day's end, we'll talk about Cheddar's Good Deeds. We'll talk about what ...

 The Week 3 Challenge of Pepperidge Farm's Fishful Thinking Program was to work with your child to decorate a box that is kept on the table you eat at regularly. Keep a stack of index cards and crayons and markers next to the box. Two or three times a week, ask your child to write down or draw something good that happened, something good they saw or heard, remembered or accomplished. During a meal once a week, take turns pulling a treasure from the box and reading it aloud. Today was the perfect day for this. The weather could not decide if it wanted to be winter by sending falling snow or just being cold. Either way it was too muddy or too cold to play outside, so we talked about the things in our day and our life that were "good". Things like the smell of the cookies baking. When family comes to visit. Playing outside, a friend comes to join the fun. Our family. There is certainly an abundance of "good" in our lives. We searched the garage for a box worthy of ...

 My life is a chaotic comedy. There are days I wonder if the ride ever stops? Today, I made time for myself. I decided to take a "Beauty Detour". No..lol...it wasn't a pampering at a spa, but just a few minutes for me to reflect on something inspiring. Something beautiful. Something just amazing. My moment of peace took my detour to be about my children (perhaps because they were fighting in the other room!). My 19-year-old he wants to influence the world with his music. It's his passion. He is content "hiding behind" the guitar and letting someone else lead. His face is animated when he plays sculpting into distorted figures of pain when he plays a soulful blues and then transforms into raised eyebrows, a smile that lights up the stage and stars in his eyes when he plays his favorite upbeat song. I have a soon-to-be 16-year-old son. He is random. His likes and dislikes change like the day into night. He is going to be a Director, or it's his dream today...

 I'm always amazed at how rapidly Cabin Fever sets in after a few delectable days of Spring are followed by the falling of fluffy white misery. This morning we awoke to SNOW! It's Spring Break, and there were moans from my five and 3-year-olds who had thought playing outside with friends was on the agenda. As they sat, moping in slumps of sadness, staring out the window. I suggested they suit up and head outside to build a snowman and collect snow for some snow cream . Immediately, my five-year-old set in on how "hard" it was, and she "always falls." I remembered reading about the Block Building exercise on the Fishful Thinking website and immediately said, "I will help you, and if you promise to put forth the effort, I know you can help make an amazing snowman." We suited up and went outside. It was cold, but we were a team on a mission to build a snowman. I packed three snowballs and showed each one how to roll and pack their ball. After a few mi...