Days with the Dorans

After Ali Jane's amazing dance recital last June, she told me that she would like to take Ballet, Tap and Tumbling this year. I was very happy that she decided to take tap (my favorite dance) and after watching the girls tumble, I knew why she would want to learn~ the dancers were so very talented! Ali's studio had a 'taste' of these classes (as well as Jazz) earlier in the month. During one of the classes, the Goose decided to come with me to watch his sis dance. At first he was very attentive, but (all together) the class(es) lasted an hour and a half and I don't know a four year old out there that would attend for quite that long to his sister's classes. Z found my camera (which always seems to be in my purse) and we took pictures of each other. This was a life saver! It was then that I decided to take some video of Ali Jane's tumbling class... after all, this is the very beginning~ and before I know it, she could be like those big girls doing fli...

One of the best things about summer is meeting up with old friends! Today we had a great reunion with my parents' good friends (Papa Larry and Grandma Judy) and their daughter (Jen) and LOTS of Logans (Jen's kiddos). When talking about the day, Ali Jane first said she didn't want to go and play with all those boys, but then I reminded her that poor Brooke was also surrounded by 3 brothers so she should go and keep her company. Ali Jane spent a lot of time in the water. She and Joe kept up those skills from up north and it was great to see them swimming and floating on their backs! All of the kids had a great time in the water (and they seemed so independent)! Jen's kids have grown so much in the year and Kyle was not nearly as timid in the water as I remember from years past! Many of the kids went on wave runner rides (Ali Jane went 50mph), and we all had some beverages, snacks and just caught up! I didn't eat too many snacks (and I don't think anyone el...

We knew that our kids would be later in losing their teeth because they were later in getting them. The three Bigs all cut their first teeth a little after age 1, and Sean didn’t cut his first tooth until 15 months! Joe has had a loose tooth for weeks but hasn’t been working it the way many students I have had do (with bloody kleenexes making crazy faces bending teeth that hang by a string... ugh). We tried giving Joe 'harder' foods like apples and such but would only eat them cut up which defeats the purpose (of losing a tooth while biting a hard apple). While up North, we got taffy in hopes that it would help Joe get that tooth out. The kids were having an evening treat of taffy after getting their pajamas on and suddenly Joe comes to me with a mouth full of blood (he didn’t even notice the blood) saying, “I LOST MY TOOTH! I LOST MY TOOTH!” He was holding a piece of brown and white colored taffy and sure enough there was the tooth smack dab in the middle of the c...

Friday was our last full day Up North. The construction workers had moved down the road a bit so we all got a nice full night of sleep. We had a lazy morning (though Jeff got his run in and then later I got my walk in) and the Bigs enjoyed being allowed to watch cartoons (one of the highlights of vacation for them I imagine). We packed up and decided to go north to Charlevoix. Again, it wasn’t a long drive (for a good nap) but we decided if Sean needed a nap he could sleep in the stroller. We found a place to park, lubed up the kids with sunscreen and were on our way. The harbor there was nice but Jeff and I decided we liked Elk Rapids’ better. Still it was fun looking at all the boats. I told Jeff when we win the lottery and get a place up north (which would also include a huge boat) we could name it “Our Other Classroom”. One of the boats was called “The Boardroom II”~ I don’t think I would change my classroom for the boardroom even if it would mean I could afford a beautiful bo...

No one slept well last night, mostly because they were repaving US-31. They began construction at 6:00am and while the Doran kids do get up early, they do not get up THAT early! After breakfast, we loaded up the troops and headed to a children’s park downtown. It was right on the water and had swings and play structures. Sean pretty much just walked around in the sand which was a great little workout for his little legs. He also met a little friend and they talked in baby talk a bit which was very funny (reminded me a bit of when Joe and Al used to speak in code). It was getting warm but since we didn’t have our suits with us, we headed ‘home’ to get our suits and go to the lake in front of my folks‘ condo. We all went swimming and had a great time but soon Z was having a tantrum and that was our cue to go back and get the Littles some much needed rest. When we got back the walls were rattling from the construction workers so we knew that there was no way that t...

My folks own a condo Up-North in Elk Rapids, Michigan and so in hopes of keeping summer going a little longer, Jeff and I packed up the kids and were on our way. The drive was great- shorter than I remembered - but that didn’t stop the Bigs from asking every five minutes if we were “there yet?” Thankfully the Littles slept most of the trip and I did go back and read a chapter of Prince Caspian to the Bigs which helped a bit. Somehow we managed to avoid showing a movie the entire trip. I don’t know if we’ll be so lucky on the return trip. Once here I realized that I didn’t have swim diapers and suits for the Littles so I was off to K-mart. Unfortunately, the main road is under construction which was quite frustrating and was the reason it took me MUCH longer than I had thought it would. The Bigs were all dressed and ready when I got home and Z was ready to drop trow and put on his new suit. We were at the pool moments later and the Big 3 didn’t waste any time getting into ...

It is odd for me to be writing a blog in the middle of the day (not late in the night after everyone is in bed...) but then again, today feels like an odd day~ My folks' took the three Bigs to see the Smurf Movie and so Jeff and I had a day with just one child at home (I can't remember the last time that happened). We went shopping for my brother's birthday and then out to lunch. We weren't quite sure how Sean would do not having a nap but he was great. Many in the restaurant where we had lunch were looking over at him and smiling. I don't know if it was when he sat down and immediately folded his hands to pray or when he started to dip his grapes in ranch dressing (ewwww...). He was picture perfect and we had a wonderful afternoon. We are now home and Sean is sleeping, Jeff is reading and so I am finally getting around to an update on that littlest Doran! There is so much to say about Sean so I decided to tackle one 'current event' (or events) of sort...

The other day Jeff was mowing the lawn while the three Bigs were outside playing. I was inside with Sean when I heard some screaming and then Joe showed up (rather calm) inside saying he had been stung by a bee. The screaming continued and so I made my way outside to see what the commotion was. Z was standing near the kids' play structure like a statue while Ali Jane was making a break for the house. As I got closer to him I could see tears streaming down his face and bees all over his shirt and shorts (mother of the year I am not for this one!)! I panicked and scooped Z up in my arms and rushed him to the house swatting bees the whole time. They didn't seemed phased by my 'shooing' and so I peeled Z's clothes off of him outside, carried him inside with nothing but his undies and rocked him in my arms and kissed him over and over again apologizing. It was hard to tell how many times he had been stung because he was so worked up (and it is kind of hard to eve...

Now that we are both teachers, it is nice to know that our birthdays (Jeff's and mine) will always feel like they are on a weekend (Jeff's being in the summer and mine being on Christmas Eve). I am NOT a morning person nor am I a cook but because I love my husband, I woke up early to make blueberry and vanilla pancakes for him and the troops. I think the kids were all shocked that I could cook and that they were so yummy! The kids all made great cards and Joe decorated the place with signs and crowns for everyone (though they mostly just fit the dogs who weren't too thrilled to be wearing them). Jeff got to open his gift early since he needed to use it. I got him the Cadillac of coffee makers. It was quite pricey but it was something he really wanted and since I am the cleaner (he is the cook), I will appreciate this baby because there is nothing to clean! No pots- filters or anything. The bonus is it also brews loose teas (so I get to use it too... I'm NOT a ...

Proof the middles still sometimes need a nap!

Yesterday my Nan turned 93 years old!! I haven't really written about her in a while on here, so seeing we just celebrated her, it seems like a perfect time for an update! She lives (literally) at the end of our neighborhood so the kids and I walk down there for quick visits -usually 10:30- noon (when she has lunch) which allows us time to visit and because she goes to lunch she isn't sad about us leaving. She's been in good spirits lately, but she still gets 'confused'. When we visited while Sean's leg was in a cast, she must have asked what happend to his leg 20 times! After a while, poor Joe just said, "OK, I hurt his leg Great-Nan! I feel bad about it! Stop talking about it!" I explained to Joe that she forgets really easy and I learned that rather than go through the whole story I stopped at, "he hurt it on the slide." To celebrate her birthday, we picked up Nan and headed to my folks' where Dan, Steph and their kids were for a cele...

As I have mentioned before, I sometimes wish I had a video camera on me at all times~ mostly so I can capture the funny things our Goose says. It is hard to always express the tones and inflections he uses in mere words, but in the end I know that they will drum up my memories years later when I read them. It just so happens that tonight I had a camera on me. I have been noticing that Sean seems to be changing each day. I sometimes am bad at just the 'everyday' updates. I feel like I have neglected many of the 'firsts' Sean's had these last few months- from funny things he does to new words he says each day. I was attempting to get some of his cute new phrases on tape when one of those "Goose" moments happened... and thankfully I had my camera not only on me, but running... I was trying to capture Sean saying his sweet, "Goodnight" when I overheard Z tell me that I was 'breaking his heart'. This all was because I didn't want to ...

Like summer's past, we've spent a lot of time at my folks' place at the lake (whether or not they are there...). The summer can get busy though so the first time the kids went tubing, I actually wasn't there. Jeff took the kids to the lake and my mom got her camera out to document the first 'trip' of the season. The Bigs were anxious to get on board and Z decided to give it a whirl too. Last summer he had tried it out and though they went (REALLY) slow, it still wasn't the thing for him so he spent the summer as the 'spotter' in the 'fast boat'. This year they did make it around the lake at a 'normal' speed, but as you can tell by the look on Z's face, he much prefers to be the spotter. Yesterday we were back at the lake and this time I got to be one of the spotters. Z was already in the boat~ instructing me what I needed to do (mainly to hold on TIGHT). So another year and Z isn't quite ready for tubing... Perhaps nex...