Days with the Dorans

It has been a busy spring. Every weekend it seems there has been something going on- T-ball, birthday parties, church, stuff for work... I have had no time to actually work around our house. I look at my flower beds and it has been killing me that not only are there no flowers in them, but they are also full of weeds and no where near ready for planting. So today we finally had nothing on the agenda for the day. I got a walk in and then spent hours pulling weeds and raking leaves from under some of the trees that we missed in the fall. Zach came out and helped me. He had his rake and was so proud to be helping- (and he actually did a good job!) It wasn't long though, before he found a friend- a paterpillar . (aka a caterpillar) With all the excitement, Ali Jane also found a caterpillar (named Angelia) and the two of them had fun talking to their new friends. I felt a little bad for Zach's paterpillar . He held on to him pretty tightly and pet him with his other hand as...

One of the hardest things about being a working mom is that I cannot always make fun functions at the kids' schools. This year was especially hard because I had absolutely no days to take off because of the birth of Sean. Thankfully (like with the Mother's Day tea) my mom saved the day. She was able to go up to Joe's school and snap some pictures of him in action on his first Field Day. Field Day is one of the best days of the year for kids. (I know this because I am a teacher.) It's a time to get outside, play games and have fun with all your friends. It's obvious from the look on Joe's face that it was a great day for him too. My mom said it was fun to watch him with all of his little buddies. The only problem was my dad didn't go so my mom also had to bring Sean. Sean was NOT as excited about Field Day as Joe. It didn't help that he was a little 'off schedule' due to waking up an hour earlier than usual that day- or that it has been EXTREMEML...

1. Would you rather host party or simply attend a party? Attend for sure- and I'll probably be late... 2. Tell us about the most memorable party you've been to. Easy! Our wedding! The food was WONDERFUL and the dance floor was always packed. We had many compliments that it was the best wedding people had been too. (I thought so too but then, I was the bride so I don't think that counts...) 3. What is one thing you hope for in the after-life? I hope for nothing- I look forward to thanking God for blessing me far more than I ever deserved and reuniting with people I miss- on the top of that list my sweet Andrew and Baby E. (I guess that's more than one thing...) 4. What do you enjoy most about sunshine? The blue skies that surround it! I love looking to the heavens and seeing blue- blue and white fluffy clouds! 5. When you attend a bridal/baby shower, do you prefer to bring your own gift or chip in with others to buy a larger gift? Bring my own. I also like pitching in ...

In my line of work, I meet a lot of parents- and they fall along a pretty long continuum... On one end is the parent who does... well nothing... and on the other extreme is the parent that does too much- afraid to let their child fail- the parent who comes in to save the day- always... I like to think that I am somewhere in the middle. I trust my kids' teachers. I trust their doctors. And at the end of the day it matters not that my children are at the top of their class, but that they do their best and are good, respectful and happy people. Like I said... I'm somewhere in the middle... until yesterday... We go to a pediatric practice with a lot of doctors. My favorite doctor (Dr. P.) calmed my "first time mama fears" when another doctor told me that Joe was too thin. Though I was worried by what she told me, Dr. P told me "Scotties have Scotties and Great Danes have Great Danes" He looked at Jeff and I-obviously "Scotties"- and put my fears to re...

This morning I woke up to the sweetest cooing and babbling- Since it was the weekend, I enjoyed laying in bed just listening. Then I heard giggles and full blown laughter and when I went into Sean's room, I saw all my little sleepers! That's right- Sean is now a sleeper! YEAH! For about a week now (minus one bad night) Sean has slept solid from 8pm until I wake him in the morning before work! I was afraid to say it out loud or put it in writing for fear that it may be a 'fluke,' but it appears he's got this new 'skill' down! I read a great book called ' Babywise ' when Joe was little and he was sleeping through the night by 8 weeks. Ali Jane (who came only 15 months later) also slept through the night at about 8 weeks. But by the time Zach came around a few years later, I had forgotten what I did with the Bigs and it was much easier to just wake up and nurse him in the night-I had no time to read a book! It killed me- but it was about 6 months unti...

The Music Man is Back! I found Joe's CD!!! He is back to playing the music over... and over... and over... and of course he has also captivated his sibs . Ali Jane has joined her performing brother and turned into the 'dancer' of the show. Of course Joe set up his stage and speakers so we won't have to worry about not hearing the music... (oh joy!) And in case you're wondering WHERE I found the CD... it was on the counter under a book that one of the kids had placed there.... grrr ... a place for everything and everything in its place... I guess we'll have to work on that. Lesson learned!

Even before he and Andrew were born, Joe and his brother would go crazy anytime I was singing or there was music on (-which was a lot!). When Jonasen was a toddler, he used to 'drum' beats using anything he could get his hands on- markers, pretzel sticks, paint brushes... It was clear early on that he would probably do something with music- perhaps he was just born with it- taking after his namesake on piano, his daddy on guitar or perhaps carve his own path with his drumsticks. I look forward to seeing what God has in store for his 'musical' future. For quite some time now, Jonasen has been talking about what he's been doing in music- and this wonderful music that his music teacher, Mr. H, has been teaching them about called, "Carnival of the Animals." This made me smile because I knew exactly what he was talking about having taken some music education courses in college. Joe would sing us some of the music at dinner. Not only does he have an ear ...

A friend of mine has a great blog and I have been reading her post (every now and then) her answers to a dozen random questions. I find myself enjoying reading her answers and thinking about how I would answer each question. So today I decided, "Why not?" So I am answering the random dozen questions. While I don't know who reads what I write here (unless they comment) I figure my children, and grandchildren and maybe even my great-grandchildren can read my fun answers one day (in the blog books I get made) and know some fun random things about me, so here goes: 1. What is one really fast, know-by-heart "go-to" meal to fix in a pinch? This is easy! My husband is the cook in our family. (He's actually quite good!) When someone asked him when he started cooking he said, "When I started dating Laura!" (He had no choice I guess...) But there are two things I know how to make that don't take measuring and I know by heart... Cold Spaghetti Salad and...

Life has been crazy busy lately- yesterday the Bigs had a T-ball game. By the time I got home from work it was 5:00 and Jeff literally handed me Sean and was off to his church meeting. After nursing Sean, I made dinner, (Mac-n-Cheese and fish... yummy combo I know...) fed Sean 'food', made sure the Bigs had all their gear, changed diapers and loaded everyone in the car by 5:45. It was a dreary day. Rain was in the forecast and I had a sick 3 year old. Yes. Zach is sick again. I am hoping that one of these posts soon will have answers to why Z always seems to be sick. This time it is the croupy cough and snot but thankfully no fever. Because it was raining, I grabbed "The Princess & the Frog" movie to play for Z during the game in hopes that he would stay sitting and not want to join the Bigs in the rain. (Thank goodness for that DVD player I DIDN'T want in my car!) Zach surprisingly sat and watched the entire movie and didn't want to get out unti...

Though I preach that we all have choices- everything we do is a choice and we cannot control others- only ourselves- I didn't really think that that applied to my children- and that I (as there mother) had loads of control. After all- on the whole they are pretty well behaved little people. I remember THE moment I realized that in the end, it was my children who made the choices and that I had absolutely no control (really) in the end. All I could do was just model, teach and PRAY that they would listen (and do what I wanted)... Ali Jane was about 2 and had been going on the potty months before when Joey had gotten "potty power". She suddenly refused to go and when I asked her about it she looked at me, plain as day, and said, "Mommy. I like my diapers. I don't WANT potty power." As frustrating as that was- I gave up and realized- she'll go when she goes. Thankfully about a week later she decided she liked her underwear better... (phew) Zach ...

Jonasen and Ali Jane have beautiful scrapbooks that I made for them documenting their first year. Zach has a (yes ONE) page. And Sean... well nothing. My blogging has pretty much replaced my scrapbooking because the books that I print at the end of the year are so nice, and I treasure the words and stories as much as the pictures behind them. I was going to be good and write updates on Sean at each month (like I did his sibs in journals and videos) but I have been pretty bad lately. At his six month check-up, Sean amazed us! Our kids have always been peanuts (though not really looked it)- and Ali Jane was never even on the weight charts! Sean though is measuring perfectly average! He was in the 50 th percentiles for both height and weight... and when it comes to his head... well- I believe I wrote about that before with Zach. Our boys just have big heads . I think this is a trait that comes from the ' Drapal ' side- sorry boys- at least you got your daddy's hair!! (And...

It's been a long time coming... When Jeff and I were married we talked about having four children- we didn't realize that when we speak of four children now, we always add the words "at home." This was my first Mother's Day with four children at home- and it felt like it... (I was tired!) Jeff was the worship leader today at church and they practiced early, which meant that I was on my own this Sunday morning to get the troops to church. This really isn't anything new, but with Sean being sick lately, (ear infection and we think the teeth are coming down too) I have been exhausted. The Bigs were actually quite good and a huge help with the littles - but Zach (who is usually such a momma's boy) was crying for his daddy! At that point, I felt like crying for his daddy too! The good news is that we made it to church on time. I always like going to church on Mother's Day. My dad (normally not a church goer) joins us in church and he also always gets flo...

There are many occupational hazards to being a teacher... can't use the bathroom when you have to... if you get sick or have sick kids, you can't just leave work... and when your child has cool things going on in school... well, you will probably miss many of them because you are taking care of other people's children. Joe learned that last occupational hazard yesterday. He couldn't understand why I was unable to go to the Mother's Day Tea/Celebration at his school. I tried to explain to him that they have all been sick and I had no time to take off because of maternity leave - all hard to understand for a six year old - so I finally told him I couldn't go because my boss wouldn't let me! (Sorry boss!) The good thing is that my mom saved the day (as she SOOOO often does) and went Jonasen's kindergarten celebration for mothers in my place. Thankfully she took her camera too and told me how wonderful the day was! (I think she was a little glad that she ...

It was a GREAT day! I was a bit worried early on... Jeff had his first master's class this morning, my folks were out of town and Jeff's mom called to say that she wasn't going to make it either- so I was SOLO getting everyone ready and out the door... I was just praying that it wouldn't rain! (and it didn't!) The picture of Zach and Sean watching the game is misleading... that lasted about 5 minutes- and then I spent much of the game with Sean on my hip, while pitching balls to Z so he could hit them with his bat. Then Z decided that he wanted to play on a nearby slide... so he had a bit of a tantrum (for about half the game it felt like...), but I didn't mind- I was there to see my favorite players- and I did! The bigs were both so excited about their game! They loved getting into their uniforms (even though they could pull their socks up to their underwear because they were so long) and they were in the car for quite a while waiting for me to get Sean. ...

We perhaps had the busiest week we've ever had... Monday- doctor apts , Tuesday- t-ball practice & kindergarten round-up, Wednesday- Maddy's birthday party, Thursday- Joey's best kindergarten friend's party and Friday... well Friday I had hoped would be a day to stay home and relax- (after a full day of teaching of course...) Jeff and I bought Tiger's season tickets with my dad and brother and I had tried to sell the tickets for the night but since no one was interested... we decided last minute to load up the kids and head to the city to watch some ball! It was the perfect night for a ball game and the B igs were so excited! The people who sat in front of us LOVED listening to Ali Jane... She knew all the players by name and was asking about 'the count' and using other ball terminology . Al was quite chatty and the woman in front of us said it was a great game because she was learning a lot from our Ali Jane! Jonasen too loves his baseball and w...

It is hard to believe that it was a year ago that my niece, Maddy, was born . I remember so well holding her in my arms, mere hours old and wondering what the future would hold for such a special little girl. A year later I can tell you that my brother and sister-in-law have no idea what other parents go through... Maddy is perhaps the happiest and sweetest little girl I have ever seen! She reminds me of how sweet Jonasen was at that age- she is always smiling and rarely cries. She is so happy and content all the time. Though she isn't walking yet, I imagine she's close. While she looks EXACTLY like my brother did when he was that age (I should get a picture and put them side by side), I think that she is going to be blessed with her mama's beautiful hair! (lucky girl!) Some curls are already taking shape! Maddy had a busy day and so I think was a bit tired at her party (though I heard she had a second wind after we left and LOVED the chair she got from Great-Nan... I con...