Days with the Dorans

On Friday, the kids were very excited because a package had arrived at our house. They knew who the package was from and their patience was certainly tested when Jeff told them that they'd have to wait until after soccer practice to open it. It was especially hard for the middles because I meet Jeff and the kids at soccer and bring home the middles and Sean after Ali Jane's practice. This meant they had to wait another hour until Joe's practice was over. We read a lot of books, and got on pajamas while waiting for Joe and Jeff to get home. Somehow during all of that, Ali Jane and Z bumped heads and Al got a horrible bloody nose. She was so upset, but when I mentioned that Joe and daddy were getting home soon, she soon calmed down in anticipation. Each year (for just about every holiday), Grandma Doran sends the kids these amazing packages filled with goodies and her DELICIOUS homemade cookies and treats! Our kids absolutely LOVE getting Grandma's packages and it is h...

Now that I have been teaching first grade for 31 days (to be specific), I feel like I am finally ready to tell the world how it is going... I am exhausted! I have yet to make it out of my classroom and down to the teacher's lounge because I feel I don't sit down. I eat my turkey sandwich and popcorn while replying to emails and trying to organize myself (changing grade levels is exhausting in itself). As a teacher, I have always been a counselor, nurse, disciplinarian, parent, cheerleader and actress (and yes unfortunately, sometimes marriage counselor), but the younger the children, the more animated you have to be (and creative) in order to get them to really buy in to what you're selling. There is a lot of pressure that goes into being a teacher- not just because of those horrid standardized pieces of garbage the government makes the children take, but this is it- your one shot- you have one year to infect your love of learning into 22 little minds. One year to make a di...

When Joe was just a month old, we went to a nearby pumpkin patch and had our first 'family' picture. Since then, we've taken one every year and it has become somewhat of a tradition. We go during the week when it is less crowded, in hopes of getting a good pic without too many people in the background. So Jeff brought the Bigs after school, I picked up the Littles and we met at the patch. My folks came too (which is how we get the family picture). Ali Jane was dressed for ballet but she wasn't fully dressed because she had no smile! That's right... it has also become a tradition of sorts that during pictures, Ali Jane gets upset and pouts... It reminds me of that first picture I took of all the kids together (after Sean was born) in the hospital . I don't mind that our family pictures tend to have someone 'off' in them... it just adds to the story. This time Ali Jane was upset because as we were going to find a place to sit for our fami...

Head over to Linda's Blog to check out her Random Dozen questions (minus #4). Repost your Random Dozen and share in the fun! 1. Is there a word which you initially mispronounced? Were the circumstances in which you made the faux pas embarrassing? By the way, that's not " foax pass." (I know you know that. Just jokin ' with ya.) The only one that is coming to mind at the moment is " Karmanos " (the cancer treatment center). The memory garden at the hospital is adjacent to the Karmanos lot and I would tell people where it was. One day my mom heard me and corrected me on the pronunciation. I also now remember that I pronounced Hermoine (Harry Potter Books) like Des Moines , Iowa (Her- Moines ). That was of course before the movie came out with the correct pronunciation and the only people that heard me were a bunch of second or third graders, so I wasn't too embarrassed. 2. How do you feel about the use of texting shortcuts and trends? (ex: ...

Our life can feel so busy. This week Jeff had to miss his meeting at church on Monday because he had Parent/Teacher conferences, on Tuesday he had hockey, today he had Parent/Teacher conferences again (he's done now), tomorrow is ballet for Ali Jane and Friday is soccer for the Bigs ... (sigh) By the time I get home (5 ish ) we eat, play and now that the Bigs are in school, we do HOMEWORK! I seriously wonder how anyone with kids has time to watch TV. As it is, I DVR the Biggest Loser and the news and don't always get a chance to watch them! Ali Jane was thrilled that she got to practice her numbers today. Of course we read each night, but to have a 'paper' to do like Joey made her so excited. I noticed that she was making her 8s incorrectly and when I tried to show her, she flipped out! I have to admit I knew this day would come because I see myself so much in my sweet Ali Jane. Anyone in the world could coach or teach me- Except my parents... I was a nightmare for t...

On Saturday, my little boy turned one (And my Grandpa Jonasen would have turned 96)! It is hard to believe that it has been a year already since I delivered Sean Asher! He has grown into such a little personality and I just love how he has completed our family so perfectly. I smile at the dinner table when we're all talking about our day and he adds his own babbling two cents, complete with dramatic pauses and intonation. He certainly is a Doran ! Sean's birthday fell on a busy day, but for some reason, I chose to have his birthday party on the day of his birthday- Jeff thought I was crazy for not planning it the following weekend. I figured we would celebrate anyway, why not invite the whole family? In the morning, I took the kids and met my mom at our hospital for the Walk to Remember and Jeff had his graduate class until 3:00. There was also some football game going on which everyone was excited to watch. Sean fell asleep when we got home after the excitement of the ...

On the second Saturday in October, I will always be at the same place... the hospital where my children were born- all of my children. And each year I remember those children that no one sees at the hospital's annual, "Walk to Remember." Each year we have refreshments, write the babies' names on balloons and walk to the hospital's memory garden. This year Joe wrote Andrew's name on his balloon, and Ali Jane wrote 'E' on her sister's balloon. Each family gets an ornament for the 'Mother Tree' in the garden. When the babies' names are read, a member of the family adds their ornament to the tree. This year, Joe was more interested and I showed him where I have been putting Andrew's (and now E's) ornaments. It seems each year he understands more about his brother's existence, and with that understanding naturally comes more questions. We work through it together and I am so thankful that at this point in time he sees Andrew as...