Days with the Dorans

 We try to include ALL the members in our family game nights! I have to say that the dumb crack in my phone (camera) is really starting to drive me nuts. I think Norbert is a bit of a cheat... I love that he comes out with us though!

Ten years ago my friend, Jared, turned 30. Ali was afraid of him so I took this picture of her, printed it out 30x, and put it around school. Now he's 40 so we reenacted it. I'm not sure she's still scared of him but there is a good chance... 40 of these pictures went up around LLE. Fun stuff!! Next time I post this, he'll be 50 and Ali Jane will be (gulp) 24!!!

After the incident where I did the Heimlich and it got all that attention, I got a few more calls to get awards for my "heroic act." This one was from the City of Wixom (where I teach). I bribed Al, Z and Seany to come with me (Joey and Jeff were busy) and told them this would be much faster than the Teacher of the Year thing since I was told I'd be first up and get an award and go home. When we pulled up (an icy night), I saw news vans and I hoped that perhaps there was some scandal and that's what they were there to cover- but nope! It was me... I bit my lips to try to pink them up since I knew my mom would say something (she's so funny- it's a joke now). She came to see it too! I was given two awards and after them I was asked to say a few words which I did and you can see it if you click  HERE . Although it seems a bit odd to me still- I do think it's good that teachers get GOOD press. I do hope I communicated that I'm one of MANY who do...

We've had a record number of snow days- Sometimes it was due to snow, sometimes it was due to EXTREME cold temps and sometimes it was due to ice. I hate that winters don't seem to be like they used to. Our outdoor time was often limited with the cold temps and I don't know the last time we had a good old-fashioned snowman going! I couldn't even really get on the Bigs' cases for not heading out. I am glad the Littles got a little sun. This mama snapped a few pics from the warmth of our house! Poor Marty doesn't even like picking up his paws in this nonsense!

 It's still sometimes weird that I don't see Al dancing- that we aren't going to her studio 4 nights a week and that we now get to eat dinner with her. I'm thankful for what dance gave her though~ and love that she still has these great friendships! She and I met up with Julia to watch the girls. I have to say that I REALLY miss hanging with that girl! She was my first friend at TDS- I know it's hard to believe but I'm not super outgoing when it comes to my kids' activities so Julia and I became fast friends and I'm glad she took me in! I love that Am still texts me too. I love that girl! We also got to see Al's other dance friends who are still there. They did a great job and it was fun seeing all the costumes and being totally surprised! At intermission, Al was able to pop out and say hello to the girls which was great because as soon as that show was over we were on our way home (a plus for sure). Wishing these stars all the best...

So my job is hard- like everyday I am making crazy decisions that will impact the lives of humans- but today I could have REALLY messed up but thankfully I didn't. I had a little girl who was choking- I mean NO AIR- she couldn't even cough... Thankfully I did the heimlich and it worked! I was worried I hurt her ribs but I felt like better to hurt ribs than the alternative. Soon after I texted my family with shaky fingers... And yes! You read that right... While sipping on my second vodka drink (because yes- I was still a mess when I got home), I found out that a news station was coming to my house to do a story on what happened. That moment I wanted to forget about, I couldn't- and the girl who doesn't like all that attention- sure got a lot. I heard from my college roomie (Mark) on the west side who heard about it and Grandma said it made the news in Saginaw too. So crazy! Here are some pics from my 15 minutes... Let me be clear though... If Ellen wa...

Been so busy lately but so glad we got to go see and celebrate JoJo! So lucky to have great friends! Whenever we get together with these friends there's always great food, sweet treats and of course lots of cards! Wishing JoJo a wonderful birthday!!!

 It is fun to be recognized for hard work and as I mentioned in a previous post THIS letter that a parent (I figured it out- it was Mrs. Hinkleman) wrote me was very sweet. Tonight was the night to be recognized by the board. There was a flu flying through LLE so some of my favorite people weren't able to come but a lot of my favorites DID come. Dave and JoJo brought over balloons when I was gone too which was just like them- I need to be more thoughtful like they are. I went out with coworkers (as is our tradition) and enjoyed eating, drinking and catching up. Even though I work with these people we're so busy during the day we often don't get time to just catch up.  Matt is so sweet that he even met up with us later. He had a Union Meeting so I totally didn't expect him to come. Not only did he come (which was a gift in itself) he brought me a super nice card with a gift inside.  We went to eat at Uptown so I even ran into Joey which was super cool. He ...