Days with the Dorans

I'm going to miss three! I sometimes wish that I could freeze time and keep everything the way it is - the way it feels in this moment- PERFECT! Ali Jane is now four and I can hardly believe it! She is so special to me- the day I learned I was having her, we buried my sweet Auntie Irene. Little did I know as I said goodbye to an amazing woman, another would soon enter my life! We didn't plan Ali Jane - she was the best kind of present- but I do feel badly for having her a few days after the excitement of Christmas. Jeff's family couldn't make her party because they all came down with the flu, but we had a nice gathering anyway. My family, the Harts, Melanie and Auntie Jodi and Randy were all able to help celebrate our darling Al! Daddy got her her very own guitar so she could rock out with the fellas! She did a great job and looked so cute in her new digs- fit only for a princess! (Hmmm... why isn't Joe on drums?) In the video we are singin...

On the afternoon of the 25th, we went to the Drapals to celebrate Christmas. It was a lot of fun but again the highlight had to be the gifts that the kids bought for others. My Nan loved the puffed up fish that Joe bought especially for her! And Ali Jane did great when she chose a pink manicure set for Auntie Steph! One of the highlight for the BIG big kids was playing rock band. Our audience LOVED us! It's too bad that our manager didn't get any video for you to see! Ali Jane wasn't impressed when the lead singer renamed the song "Rio" with "Ali". After our set was over Danny helped me load some music to my new cute pink ipod from Jeffy! We had a great day and it was wonderful having everyone together!

On Christmas Eve, the kids set out the cookies that they made for Santa and even some carrots for Rudolph. Zach was pretty upset that the big kids wouldn't let him eat the cookies. I think that he's still a little to young to understand Santa- but the big kids certainly aren't! This was the best Christmas ever! From up in our room we heard Joey scream, "MOM, DAD THE COOKIES ARE GONE THE COOKIES ARE GONE!" When we (Jeff, Al, Zach and I) ran downstairs this is what we saw! (We had to put a cake pan over the cookies so the dogs didn't get them.) I really felt that Joey might explode from excitement! And his excitement was contagious because Ali Jane was over the moon about everything too. Before she even opened the present that Jonasen bought special for her (a purple fairy doll from the dollar store) she ran over and squeezed him saying, "I love it Joe!" And then when she actually opened it, she ran over to give him another hug and kiss! And that is h...

My birthday is Christmas Eve. I've never minded it and in fact I have always loved my birthday- there was something special about knowing where I would be on my birthday and who I'd be with. It was sometimes hard since my birthday was easy to forget with the excitement of the holidays, but my family always put extra efforts into making it perfectly special. When I was younger, we spent each Christmas Eve in Hamtramck with my Uncle Joe, Auntie Irene and Busia. Of course my Nana and Papa were there with us and my cousin Nicole and Aunt Barb. My birthdays were so amazing as my family would count down to my birthday minute. We would sing Christmas Carols and watch the beautiful lights and everything felt so magical. I can tell I am growing up. My birthday picture has changed. Many of it's characters have passed on to a greater place. And then there are new characters. We spent the morning with Jeff's mom, sister and family- church this year was not the candlelit service b...

Every year on the 22 nd of December, we go to Saginaw to celebrate Christmas with the Dorans (and Gillespies ). This year we went on the 23rd because Jeff's mom was throwing a party for Aunt Pat! (Happy Belated Birthday, Aunt Pat!) The drive on the 23rd was crazy with blowing snow, but we made it and the kids had a BLAST with their cousins. Ali Jane was in a bit of a funk for a while because she wanted to play with her GIRL cousins and they weren't there yet! Once everyone arrived we had an awesome meal and opened presents. The kids were almost as excited to give the presents they bought (and made) as they were to receive them. Each year the big kids take the money they earn by feeding the dogs and buy gifts for each other and family at the dollar store! Jeff's mom was so excited about her gifts and Joe and Al just lit up from her reaction to them. It was awesome! The kids loved all their gifts. One of the favorites was a princess book she got from the Dorans . Both Ti...

Joe and I were cuddling on the couch enjoying a book and that made Zach really mad. He doesn't like it when I read with the other kids and so he does what he normally does and threw himself on the floor in a temper tantrum... the only problem- this time the brick hearth was in his way! I have never been so scared in my five years of motherhood! Sure- Joe tripped into our jet tub and split his lip which was a little scary- and Al managed to fall out of her highchair (I still don't know how that happened) but this was the first time we actually had to go to the doctor. Thankfully Zachy didn't need any stitches. I did have to wake him up every couple hours to check his pupils. Thankfully though Zachy is just fine- but having a shiner because of a temper tantrum isn't a very cool story (though hopefully he won't be having anymore any time soon)- so it really happened at a hockey game... and you should see the other guy!

My last day of work was actually a snow day. In addition to playing in the new foot of snow, we had a lot of fun making a Gingerbread Train. The Gingerbread Train was actually really easy to make. I got one of those box kits with candy included. I put the pieces together and then the kids had a blast decorating it with all of the candy. The kids didn't want to spend any time admiring their masterpiece! They couldn't wait to dive right in and taste away. All in all it was a blast and we got the whole thing done (and partially eaten) before Zachy got up from his nap. BONUS!

In 2003, we began our tradition of taking a family pic for our Christmas cards. As the years have gone by, the pictures have gotten harder and harder. From squirmy kids to getting everyone to actually look at the camera. My mom is the photographer and this year between each picture, Zachy ran to her lap to review each picture. He said "cheese" in each of the pictures- the problem is when he says "cheese" he doesn't actuallly smile. Jonasen is always easy to take pics of, Ali Jane on the other hand, not so much. She pouted most of the time. She finally sat still when I let her hold the blue and white butterfly pens that Ms. Sheryl got me for Christmas- My babies are always near.

Holiday HUGS this year was fun- Daddy & Zachy even made it- but we were late because we had to change a dirty diaper (and outfit... sigh). This is a wonderful time for us to make ornaments for our angels (Drew & E), and for our angels (Joe & Al) to make ornaments. It was great seeing so many friends. We missed a lot of you other HUGS families who weren't able to make it though- When's the next dinner, ladies?

This was the second year the kids were in the Hearts & Hands Christmas program. It's always interesting to see what actually will happen. Last year (if you read my blog) Al spent most of the time looking at her nails. This time she just stared into space. We did see her occasionally mouth the words though. Jonasen however was very excited! While he really can sing in tune he really wanted to make a joyful NOISE for God and no doubt He must have loved it! When I picked up the kids from school on Tuesday I was told that they were asked to be Joseph and Mary and both said no. Ali Jane didn't surprise me. Jonasen however did- after his stint in that commercial last summer I felt like he was a born actor. When I asked him about it he said, "Well mom, I want to be a wise man instead." When I told him that there weren't any wisemen in the show he said, "O.k.- I'll be Joseph then." Whoops- someone else already was standing in as Joseph... I told him ...

My favorite holiday-hands down- is Christmas. I love watching the faces of my kids light up when they talk about Santa. Now of course they know the "real" reason for Christmas and I still chuckle when Ali Jane prayed, "Dear God, today Joey pushed me and Santa saw, but I forgave him." (From the mouths of babes...) I was thrilled to see that the "real" Santa was again at the mall and watching the kids interact with him was so cool. Memories of Jonasen asking Santa for a blue present came flooding back to me- Santa: "What would you like in the blue present?" Joe: Just a blue present. And then there was the year when I was in the pic with the kids- sitting on Santa's lap- a screaming Al in the picture. This year was fun. Watching the kids carefully tell Santa what they wanted. (Joe) A planet hero. (Ali) A purple flower (whatever that means). I know that Santa will come through for them. Zach had fun too. He became a little irritated toward the e...

Our Thanks- giving break was such fun! I felt like almost every moment of it was jam-packed with some activity. On Sunday, Jeff and I took the big kids to see the group, "Gemini" at The Ark in Ann Arbor. The kids love the Gemini CD and it was so fun to watch their faces light up when they took the stage to sing the, "Hello" song. Joe was a little perplexed when they changed one of the lines in the song to, "In Ann Arbor, they say GO BLUE!" That's not the way they're supposed to do it, but we thought that Papa would love that new line! The concert also had other guests and story tellers so the kids only heard 3 or 4 songs from Gemini. That made them pretty angry- I should rephrase that... That made ALI JANE pretty angry. She had an almost full blown meltdown because they didn't sing, "The Cat Song!" And the lovely mother that I am... I snapped pictures. I'm saving them because they may come in handy one day.

We had a busy weekend after Thanksgiving. Clearly one of the highlights was Gavin's birthday party. We are great friends with Gavin's folks and were excited when we heard that this year, his party would be at the Bowling Alley. We were wondering how the kids would do (this being their first time bowling) and as usual they began the afternoon shy and hiding behind our legs. Chris tried to get a kiss or at least a high five from A.J. but didn't have much luck! It was a blast watching the kids bowl. Poor Joe (being a lefty) held his ball with his left hand and managed to throw it from the right side of his body. I don't know how he managed but he did and even threw a spare! Daddy was very impressed noting that he beat all the kids that were bowling on that alley. Speaking of Ali - Ali Jane did great, too. She had fun and did pretty well. At first she would throw her ball and then run back to the safety of me or Jeff- but soon she was more comfortable and enjoying the af...

So I'm going to toot my own horn- and the horn of my friend Chrissy! Last January (motivated by the the show, "The Biggest Loser", we started our own "Biggest Loser" at our work. We each chipped in 30 bucks and were weighed every two weeks or so to see how we did. The "Biggest Loser" (by percentage of weight lost) won. We had a blast and as a group we lost a lot of weight. I would have taken home the top prize if it hadn't been for Jared... He beat me by one pound- (Jared- I'm still waiting for the lunch date...) Here we are almost a year later and I'm still down 15 pounds! It feels great and though I put on about 5 after losing E- I'm still fitting into my new sized clothes. This year LLE is still doing "Biggest Loser" but I'm not in it. I do participate though with the yummy salad lunches and this year took my friend Chrissy to the Turkey Trot! Dan mentioned it to me- and so we joined he and his pals and had an absolu...