Days with the Dorans

Jeff makes fun of me a bit... I didn't always go to Open Mic Nights when it was just him but now that Joe's doing them with him, I don't miss them. It helps when they are on the weekend though- like this one. Then I do go and see my hot hubby! Dave couldn't make it so it was just "Jeff and Joe." Andy's is is Holly and it was PACKED! It was such a busy place and super friendly and I swear you walk in and it's like there's no covid. No masks, no nothing... I still had mine on but I think I was the only one. I took if off once I got to our table and I got a beer. Joey showed me how to put snapchat on my phone so I could see where it was on a map with these cute emojis (even though he told me that his is usually turned off). The guys were great and I took videos of all the songs they did HERE and also put together a shorter video with highlights HERE . I do love that they take pictures though so we also found these gems!

There is no worse call to get probably than one telling you your kids have been in an accident! Thankfully no one was hurt but Ali (our driver) was pretty shaken. The weird thing is she had called me Monday because the roads were bad and there was an accident where a car spun out and nearly missed them. Well this time, it was Ali who hit a patch of ice and couldn't stop in time. I just felt horrible for her but as we know accidents happen. She was able to drive into the parking lot and report it to the police officer on site (the girl she hit actually kept driving and didn't stop and Ali was stopped at the light. The huge bummer was that while she drove it to the parking lot, it would not drive again. We had to have it towed (not cheap) and then realized that we had to total it because sadly it's not worth fixing. Even more sad probably is that cars are SUPER hard to get due to covid and if you can find one they aren't cheap! We just need to remember that this could hav...

I love listening to this kid play. I don't think I ever shared THIS cover on the blog. I like it better than the original. I think this artist is more talented too! ;-)

I am soooo excited to see Ali take the stage again! Musicals are back on in WL and Ali tried out for Hello Dolly and got the "Dance Captain." What that basically means to my understanding is that she is up front a lot and helps others learn the dance too. I so with Joe and Z would have done it (no luck) but then again I can focus just on my girl. My mom was one of the photographers for the show so I got lucky and was able to see some pictures and she even snapped some videos! I can't tell you how nice it is to see Ali shine on a stage again!

  I'm glad to see that Z is still playing some kind of soccer. He didn't want to try out for WLN but thankfully his old coach/ team still does indoor in the winter.  Thankful to be able to watch and that he can get out and get some exercise in these crazy times! It's hard to take pictures in here but I can try for some video...

  I was so excited to have a half day on the 18th. I actually found a doctor for ME that I like and am working on taking better care of myself. While I was excited for the half day, Fender was MORE excited. When I got home, Marty greeted me and I wondered where Fender was. I ran upstairs and opened Joey's door to this! Fender bolted out of the door and ran downstairs.  I sat kind of in awe. Fender has some serious anxiety- partly maybe because he was a covid dog, partly because he had a hard start to life. He's on meds and we go weekly to the vet to work on this. I couldn't be mad at him because I knew what happened. He got in Joey's room, the door closed behind him and he panicked! By the time I came downstairs, Fender was fast asleep. Clearly he had a good workout emotionally and physically. Poor guy. Poor mom who has to figure out if we can afford new carpet (we can't...).

  Living the dream... On one hand Covid is running rampant and I get emails like above every day On the other hand, I am reminded of the good things about this job like the flowers that were delivered to me from Sienna and family. Trying to focus on the positive below, not above.

A highlight of Christmas is the kids trimming their tree but come January, it's time to take it down. And while they put decorations UP, I'm the one who has to take them DOWN. It's a lot of work. HERE is a video of all the ornaments on our family tree. So many memories from over the years! Until next year!

I am so proud of Sean! I was so worried about him when he started playing the clarinet. There was a long time there where it felt like he couldn't get it to make ANY sound but now he is a little composer!!! HERE he is playing his first composition called, "March of the Clarinets."  And by the way, whenever Fender hears this song he perks up and starts "singing"~ even with the recording! It's pretty hilarious!