Days with the Dorans

I was very excited to go to Jonasen's school party this year. It is probably the ONLY time I will ever go to any of my children's Halloween school parties since, as a teacher, I am usually having a party myself. I was REALLY sore for standing for two hours but it was worth it seeing Joey with all of his friends. At the bottom is a video of the song we've been hearing for the last week... We were happy to have my parents' best friends, the Allens in town this year for Halloween. The kids have taken a particular liking to 'Papa Dave' who actually got the name 'Papa Dave' because the kids were calling him Davis (a little friend they have) and couldn't get his name right until we put a 'Papa' in front of it. Being a new Papa himself, I don't think he minded one bit. I wasn't able to go trick-or-treating with the kids this year because of all the walking so the boys took the kids while the ladies stayed back to hand out candy. Thankfu...

Jonasen was by far the most excited for Halloween this year. He wanted to be Merlin from Sword in the Stone so my mom made him a fabulous costume. You can't see in this picture but his hat is all bent at the top like the Merlin in the movie and he has on some great glasses that he loved to compliment his long white beard... (A beard that had stretched out from all the days leading up where he had to try it on...) Ali Jane knew from the beginning that she wanted to be a princess... (BORING!) Ali Jane literally dresses as a princess almost every day and she even wears her princess dresses to church. We didn't have to do much to make a special costume- in fact she was still debating on which princess dress to wear days before Trick-or-Treating... Zach was an adorable little tiger (another creation by my talented mother) which was an old costume of Joey's. We tried it on the night before Halloween and when we put the head piece on he kept saying, "No thanks, No thanks...

I don't have a ton of energy lately- my house looks like a tornado hit it, I haven't finished thank you cards that I made a few days ago, and though we went to the pumpkin patch three days ago, I have not carved the pumpkins... I was thankful that my kids didn't give me too much grief while their pumpkins waited to be carved. (Notice I said, "too" much grief...) With my lack of energy I only did PART of the job when it came to carving the pumpkins... So we started with the 'pumpkin gutting'. Joe and Zach weren't quite sure about the feel of the the pumpkin guts- so I cleaned out their pumpkins, along with the one that we got for Sean. Ali Jane on the other hand was a trooper and cleaned most of her pumpkin all by herself! She was anxious to cook up some pumpkin seeds! (Our favorite!!) Joe was creative though- Even though I didn't carve faces into their pumpkins, he stacked them and made "scare-crows" which gave us a great idea! Instead ...

Fall is by far my favorite season! I love the cool crisp air, the colors, the smells, the tastes... (pumpkin pies... pumpkin seeds... all things pumpkin!) When Jonasen was one month old we went to this locally owned orchard/pumpkin patch/farm and took some cute pics of our new family. We got some great pictures and so going each year and getting 'that picture' became our tradition! (Along with feeding goats, choosing pumpkins and enjoying warm donuts and cider!) It was a beautiful day and so we took advantage of the weather. It was hard but I managed to pop in the contacts, put on a little make-up and even get into some jeans- (no where near my regular size... don't worry!) I haven't been feeling great but I was anxious to get that picture and with such a new little guy, and living in Michigan, I knew that when a 'good-weather' day comes, you need to take advantage of it! My folks came and so did my six-month-old niece, Maddy. We tried for the pictur...

When Jeff told our family that the baby was a boy, Ali Jane was devastated! She "didn't want three brothers" and as much as I tried to prepare her for the fact that she may not have a sister, that was a lot for a little girl to take. She didn't try to hide her feelings, but things started to turn around when Sean Asher bought her a doll (named Libby- which would have been Sean's name had he been a she) and suddenly Al realized that this little guy really isn't so bad. The transformation in Ali Jane has been such fun to watch. I have watched her in quiet moments staring at her new brother, singing to him, "Jesus loves you this I know..." while rubbing his little head and reading him stories. She is such a huge help to me- getting me something if I need it and her change of heart has meant the world to me as I did feel sad for her and how she was feeling. But now I know she loves her little brother with all her heart. He is the first person she ...

You never realize how much you use your abdominal muscles until you have them cut!! I've had four c-sections now, but somehow have forgotten the pain of recovering from one. Every move, sneeze, cough has me burning in pain! I also never really realized how much I laugh- how much we laugh as a family!!! Tonight it was Jonasen who had my scar burning! He is raising money for his school's PTA's "Fun Run" and because I've been a bit busy, I forgot about the pledges until today... (pledges are due TOMORROW!) So I had him call up local people, his Nana, his Papa and his Uncle Dan. He got in touch with his Nana and did a wonderful sales pitch... (Though my folks are happily married, I had him call my dad's cell too- just because he did such a good job calling my mom.) My dad and brother were at a football game so both of their phones went to voicemail. During the call Joe listened to my dad's voicemail and whispered, "It's Bob?" I rem...

We were very happy keeping Zach behind bars as long as possible. He had never tried to crawl out of his crib and I figured, "What's the rush??" When I came home from the hospital after delivering Sean, the toddler bed was put together and the crib was moved into what will be the baby's room. (I literally do NOTHING to prepare for babe- so our house is in a bit of a shambles right now...) All of the kids have been sleeping in Zach's room because in addition to Zach's crib, there was a double bed. Jonasen is excited to be sharing the big room with Zach and Ali Jane (not wanting to be away from the action) has been sleeping in there for the moment as well. As for Zach and the toddler bed. It went well! He went right to sleep and I have to admit having them in the same room makes it easier for books, prayers and singing... I did have to laugh though when Ali Jane woke up a couple nights ago to tell me that Zach wasn't in his bed...

What a wonderful day in our life! 95 years ago on this day, my sweet Grandpa Jonasen , whom I was so very close with, was born. 34 years ago, his son was taken to heaven. It was such tragic day in my family's life- but perhaps one of the reasons I had the relationship with the Jonasens that I had- Perhaps the reason that I named my first living son after them. It was a day of such heartache... what JOY to have the day be a happy one, yet again! I did not sleep well the night before the delivery. My mind raced with the ' whatifs ' that have plagued it in the past- and as soon as I found myself drifting to sleep, it seemed it was time to wake. Jeff and I went to the hospital and took my last 'pregnancy pictures'... (Don't worry- you will never see them- the last thing you want to see is a pregnant gal in a bra- tummy hanging out... and YES- with the PUPP rash and scratch marks surrounding it.... ugh!) It was a relief when I saw my dear friend, Donna. A ...

Since 2004, we've been going to the Walk to Remember at our local hospital to remember Andrew (and now Baby E). It is a wonderful event. I usually bring my mom and the kids. (The day has been a bit too emotional for Jeff which is completely fine...) It begins with refreshments then we walk to the memory garden where there are bricks with all of the babies' names. Poems are read and then the names of each precious life that was lost too soon. As this is happening, the families place a little memento on the 'Mother Tree' to remember their babies. As that is happening music is playing in the background and then we all send our balloons to the heavens. It has been very emotional in the past- watching them disappear amidst the fluffy white clouds... This year was dreary and rainy, and I was running late. My body was tired and so I said to my mom- "You know I will never miss this event, but I don't think it will be an emotional one this year- which will be good!...

So perhaps it's karma... No one wants to hear how well someone has it... And I'd say we had it well! Jonasen and Ali Jane were great sleepers! They slept through the night at 8 weeks- and so I told other moms what I did... blah blah blah- And then came Zach... and six MONTHS later, he slept through the night. Karma? My kids have always been so healthy- doctor visits were to check in on weights, catch up on shots, collect stickers and pencils- and sure I talked about it. And then Joe got the flu- not once, but twice... but the others were healthy... My kids never got fevers... Karma? Is it my karma? We have had sickness in our house since Joe's birthday. The day of his party, we found out he had an ear infection. Antibiotics. Zach had a fever... and then the flu... and then an ear infection... and then he finally went back to 'school'... and then he got a fever.... AGAIN! But not my girl- she remained healthy as a horse! No fever- the little girl had never ...