Summer So Far

Twilight sky taken from our car, driving over Causeway.

Justine after her summer theater production of Suessical! A Dr. Suess Musical. Anna and Jonathan sat in the front on the floor and really enjoyed every minute of it! It was very cute and Justine did great remembering all of her chorus songs and dance moves! JoJo rocks! Jonathan really wants to be in a play now. I hope Anna and him will be involved in one of these when they are old enough. It is at the same community center where Anna is taking dance and Jonathan will start Kidstuff music when we return from our Kansas trip. The kids and I are going along with my Mom to visit my Grandma and other family out there. I am very excited because I have not been to Kansas since the summer of 2001! Before Dave and I got married, and Justine went along with me and my brother Jason, and she was Anna's age then. Isn't that crazy? 8 years have passed, and Justine went from being 3 until 11! That sounded really smart, right? I guess I mean that I will be returning to my Grandma's house and this time, with my own little blonde 3 year old little girl in tow! And I was just thinking of how I can remember being in KS at my Gma's like in 1987 and all of us cousins being together (there was A LOT of bad hair in those photos!) and now it's 2009 and all of us cousins have all of these kids, or are grown up and married with careers like my cousin Brandi...

More pictures taken out of our moving car off of Causeway.

So this has been the big entertainment the past week or so: ice. Jonathan started freezing Lego men in cups of water before he went to bed at night, and then in the morning, he gets the cups out of the freezer, and they empty the ice shapes with the toys stuck instead into a bowl, and they let it melt. It has been very fascinating to both of them. Jonathan is holding a part of the packaging from a cell phone. He asked Dave if he could keep it last week, and he filled it up with water and said he has made a pool with a hot tub. Then he froze it.

This is where he froze a ball that was floating on top of the cup of water. Then he got the ball out of the ice, and used running water to melt the ice and to create a tunnel through the ice.

Jonathan is checking out the shapes his pool and hot tub made when dumped out of their container.

Anna froze some of her My Little Ponies, and also Jasmine, the princess from Aladdin.

This is where Jonathan was trying to hold onto the ice so I could get a picture of it but it was so cold! C'mon, Mama! Take the picture!

My little man.

Lego guy stuck in ice.

The kids and I have been sick all this week, so we have missed swim lessons, dance class, have not been able to go to the beach, or anywhere really... but they still find ways to amuse themselves. They are really so funny and smart. I love the age they are at and how they are learning to negotiate with each other and work out their conflicts. I never watch TV during the day, because the drama and the comedy that plays out between the two of them keeps me occupied and entertained. And really, they learned so much through this whole freezing and melting experiment. I was amused at how they would put their stuff in the freezer before they went to bed and then get their yellow Little Tykes chair and open the freezer up in the morning to find it frozen solid. I figured Jonathan would forget about the very first Lego man he froze, and months from now, I would pull out a little plastic cup with a Lego guy inside, and remember this summer. But my children are nothing if they aren't focused.

Today at lunch, Anna was choosing to ignore Dave and I. I told her, You have to listen to us. Daddy and I are your LEADERS. (I think I chose this phrase because we were at Burger King and they are having a big Transformers promotion.) She said, No! We are the leaders. Jonathan and I. You and Daddy are NOT our leaders. Well then! I said, Oh, yes, we ARE and you have to listen to us and obey! And then she comes back with, You can't be the LEADERS AND THE WORKERS! Where does she get this stuff?

I have been having this same struggle (You can't be a worker and a leader) with the nursery ministry... I have been coordinator since October 2007 and sometimes I just can't find a balance between being a worker and a leader. I think I am just more naturally comfortable hanging back and being a worker. But it has been very good for me, a lot of growing and stretching (like A LOT A LOT!) and I think I have done an okay job so far, and I have learned a lot. But I have struggled the most with getting myself out of the role of working with the children and into the tasks that being the coordinator requires. Some of that has simply been a growing number of children without a growing number of volunteers, and since I feel responsible for the nursery being safe and well-staffed, I just automatically fill in any gaps in the schedule. But THEN I am not able to recruit new volunteers, or get new volunteers trained and worked into the schedule effectively. Or if we are short volunteers, how do I go and lasso some up when I am one of the ones holding a baby? So I did work today in the nursery, and I was overwhelmed with stress because I was trying to help our volunteers take care of 14 babies and toddlers, and I had this big to-do list, but obviously I could not accomplish any of that because I was, well, working. I am making some changes this quarter that I think will help, and I think some recent events have finally made me get it that I need to be freed up to focus on certain tasks, and I really can't do them, because I am doing the actual work of taking care of the children, tearing down the nursery (we are a portable church). One AWESOME FANTASTIC SUPER DUPER thing is that one of my volunteers (Jacqui Dear!) that I really enjoy being around and consider a dear friend, has stepped up and is now going to split the coordinating duties with me. And two other volunteers are going to take over some of the coordinating duties one Sunday morning a month. So now, I will be free to be a leader, and not only a worker, (because as my wise little 3 year old says, you simply cannot be both!) although really, walk into our church before service starts, and you will see that every one there, leader or not, is definitely WORKING! We sweat it out there! I've certainly gotten to know a lot of people a lot better than I ever would have before, and that is part of what makes being portable a wonderful, though challenging, transition for our church.

Another thing this week: I quit the gym. I decided that Curves does not work for my schedule, and because of their limited hours and complete lack of childcare, I just can't get my workouts in there. I really like walking and yoga better anyway, and I could go to 9 yoga classes a month for the same price they are charging me to um, never go there. Maybe it seems dumb to quit the gym when you are at your fattest weight EVER (seriously, I am chunkylicious, as you may have seen on Facebook this week!). But I just could not take the guilt anymore: I should go to the gym, I'm wasting money... And it is so far from my house! I am also thinking of dropping one of the two classes I signed up for this fall. I don't want to be gone two evenings a week, especially as Jonathan makes the transition to full day kindergarten. I am halfway through my online class that I took this summer, and it is going pretty well. I like online classes, but I am a little annoyed at how much they force you to actually read the textbook. Without teacher lectures or any sort of classroom, you become very textbook dependant. I have my midterm tomorrow night, before I leave for Kansas in the morning. I still can't believe I am going to Kansas on Tuesday! I had no intention to travel this summer, but I am excited to go. I just need to make Dave a giant vat of pasta sauce before I go to sustain him while I am gone. And study for my midterm (haven't started that yet, uh-oh). Pack all the suitcases. Finish up several other tasks for nursery before I leave. Try to do that silly thing we all do where I try to get the entire house clean before I go. Meanwhile, I am trying to recover from this awful cold! Anna and I are both on Z-paks and I was up till 3:30 last morning coughing my head off. Lovely. So, summer so far, has been both fun and challenging. I am happy that the kids have been able to spend so much time with their cousins. I am happy that they have been able to be so active in the pool and at the beach. We had a great visit from my Uncle Leroy and my new Aunt Sue, then my fabulous BFF came from North Carolina with her boys. Then of course, Dave and I took off for our fabulous trip to Amelia Island, and then back here for this week of sickness, and then now we are off to Kansas for a week. All the while we are praying and waiting expectantly, hopefully, so excited, for our baby niece Dooley to be born. She may make her arrival pretty soon... Jennifer is being so strong and she has made it past 32 weeks and her health has held fairly steady, although we know her condition is very serious. My mother-in-law Jane came down from KY to Savannah to stay with Jennifer through her bed rest and hospitalization. I think she is staying until the baby is born. We continue to pray for Baby Girl Dooley's safe arrival and the health and well-being of her Mom, Jennifer, and we appreciate those of you who have been praying along with us.

SO that is our summer so far. We hope you all are having a lovely, happy, and safe summer!

Amelia Island: Best Vacation EVER!!!

We went to Amelia Island last weekend. We stayed on a condo on Fernandina Beach. Dave arranged the trip for my 29th birthday. My Mom kept the kids for us, and we had a wonderful, fantastic time. I was thinking of what a blessing our marriage is, because even though we are coming up on our 8th anniversary, I think we were more excited to leave for this trip, and we had so much more fun than when we went on our honeymoon. I think we have grown up considerably (Lord knows I have) and we love to spend time together even more know, especially since alone time is at a premium with having the two little ones. It was the best birthday ever! I barely even thought about how 29 seems SO close to 30. We stayed at a very nice condo that Dave arranged, and we also rented bikes to ride around, which was fun, although terrifying a little for me. I thought riding a bike was something you never forget how to do??

We went on a really fun, fun, fun kayak sunset kayak tour, and it was a lot harder than we expected it to be, but pretty exhilirating. We almost got sucked out to the ocean in the end when we were trying to make it to the boat ramp in the dark. One of the members in our tour group had to be towed back because the current sucked him out towards the ocean. It was VERY dramatic! The kayak tour was awesome, if you ever go up there,check out kayakamelia.com The tour guides are great and lots of fun. Totally worth the money! Made us want to buy a kayak. Here are some of our favorite pictures of our trip.

Dave is actually driving in this shot. I am so bad about wanting to constantly take pictures. My birthday breakfast at my favorite place, Jack and Diane, in the downtown district. It was recommended to us by a man we dubbed Crazy Beach Guy. He was down at the beach early in the morning, ready to give us tips and pointers about how to spend our day. He was actually quite helpful, once we got past his craziness. If you stay near Main Beach when you go, look for him. He is very helpful and he always has a large styrofoam cup in his hand of what we can only hope is just coffee. At Jack and Diane's, I ordered the Jack and Diane, which is cornbread pancakes covered with real sweet cream butter. Heaven on earth. So good, the best thing I had to eat all weekend! And they played all Keith Urban songs, all of my favorites. I felt like it was special, just for my birthday, but I do know that the world does not ACTUALLY revolve around me and my birthday. We skipped lunch but went to Mexican for dinner. I had an excellent margarita, it was perfection.

At Jack and Diane's.

I love this picture. He was thinking really hard about something. At Kingsley Plantation.

Downtown, we stopped to say hello to some friendly fish outside a shop.

We had a nice time at this Farmer's Market. We bought a bag full of sugar plums, which were delicious, and a super refereshing mango peach smoothie.

Me enjoying the smoothie.

My birthday eve, on our kayak tour. I did okay, once I stopped trying to paddle it like a canoe. It was really fun.

Me at Fort Clinch. There was a park ranger there dressed up in Union blues, and he answered questions as if he was still in the Civil War. He never broke character, and we don't think some of the other tourists there realized that he was just pretending. It was pretty funny.

This was the loooong Fort Clinch State Park Pier that we could see from our condo's beach. Crazy Beach Guy said he had walked down to it the other day, but it was three miles away, so we decided to drive. Which was a good thing, because we had record high heat that weekend, and we only made it halfway down the mile-long pier before we gave up and turned around.

This dog was named Joy. I loved, loved, loved her. She was a big sweet bear and one of the nicest things about my birthday.

Could not wait to drop the kids off at my Mom's and escape, but then we were also really glad to get back home on Sunday afternoon. Here's me and my Jonathan.

Back home with my Anna Banana.


Some more highlights from our trip:

I took this picture of Dave by holding the camera straight over my head (can you see my hair in the foreground)? I love this picture.

We kayaked until we got to this beach, Little Talbot Island State Park, and stayed to watch the sunset, and eat chocolate chip cookies, which were REALLY GOOD COOKIES. And it was a good thing, because we had not eaten dinner, and the whole tour got very off schedule, and we did not wind up back at our cars to go back to our condo until after 10. I am not sure we would have made it without these cookies to fortify us!

Us at the pier. We are so happy, in spite of the fact that it was INSANELY HOT. I have never felt heat like that in my life. It was so beyond normal June weather, in my opinion.

Waiting to get on the kayaks. Aren't we so cute?

On the beach, early morning, in front of condo.

Dave's best sunset picture from the kayak tour. Love it! Thank you, honey, for a wonderful birthday! I'll never forget it!

Running Record

So for my Assessment in Early Childhood Education class, I had to sit down for 15-20 minutes and write down everything my study child (Anna) said and did, without making judgements or comments, trying to be as objective of a recorder as possible. This is called a running record. I have to go back in later and add in my comments/notes on the other side of the paper, and then I have to write a summary of comments to go along with it. But I thought this was pretty funny. I think everyone with kids should pick a time and just record everything they do and say for about 10 minutes, especially when they are completely engrossed in their play and ignoring you. I honestly don't think my kids realized I was at the table or paying any attention to them. It was pretty funny what went on while I wrote.

June 14, 2009 8:35 PM Recorder: Jamie Dooley
Child: ANNA DOB: 12/22/05
Setting: Anna and her 5-yr old brother Jonathan are at table creating people with Play-doh, using the Play-doh tub as the body, and adding various details such as hair, face, arms, legs, etc. with Play-doh.
J. drops his tub of Play-doh on floor. A. gets down from chair and picks up play-hoh from floor. A: Hey, you pick this up now! A. hands him the play-doh. J: Thank you. J. gets down from chair and looks in his craft bin. J: I need scissors to cut hair and my scissors aren’t in my bin. J: Anna, I can’t find my scissors and I want to trim my Play-doh hair. A: You can share my scissors, Bubba. J: OK, thanks. Waits for a minute while Anna continues to use scissors. J: OK, But I don’t want to share, actually. Can I have them? J takes scissors from A’s hands. A screams and says NO! But J has scissors and A starts to work on mixing Play-doh colors together instead. A says to her Dad, Can you open this please?
Dad does not hear her. He is working on computer. A: I want to mix the colors together! J: No, don’t mix the colors together! A: We not at Nona’s, Bubba! Mama don’t care, she said it okay! Anna again asks Dad to open Play-doh. He does not hear her. She screams at him loudly and flings the play-doh across the table. Dad says, Anna, you need to say please and ask nicely! She takes the open play-doh, and starts to mix the 2 colors together and roll them into little worm shapes. J: My boy has alien hair! It’s cool! J crashes his play-doh person into A’s Play-doh person. A: Hey! Don’t do that Bubba! I am making a grandma! I am making her hair and I am cutting her hair! I don’t want to play fighting! J: Where are your eyes, then?


A: Who are you, you have crazy hair? A. rolls her eyes and points at her brother’s creation.
J: Why don’t you even have a face?
A: I couldn’t make a face! J smacks her grandma person with his alien person. J: Oh No! My face got dirty with your face! A tries to pick off the pieces of Play-doh that transferred onto J’s Play-doh person. A then picks up another piece of Play-doh and starts to separate it into pieces and roll them on the table. A: I need better hair. I need rolly hair. A. takes playdoh and places it on her play-doh person’s head.
J: I made you an arm, Anna! A: Good, now we can shake hands! A and J take their play-doh arms and shake hands with them. A returns to cutting her play-doh up and then moves the scissors into her lap. J: Hey! Anna’s scissoring her legs! A: No, I not! I just pretending! J: Let me have them! Let me have them! A: NO! J: Fine, then I will take your lady! He takes her lady and moves it to his side of the table. J looks at the two figures and says: You don’t have any arms or legs or face! And I do! A looks at the two figures for a while, and then takes her Play-doh person back to her side of table and says: Can you shake hands? Pushes her figure towards J. A: Ok, shake hands! A. then takes large piece of dough and places it on top of her figures head. A: I made strong hair for mine! J: Is your hair supposed to be big? A: Yeah, I have big hair. Can we shake hands? I made a hand. J. does not respond. Anna rips off all the dough from her figure and says: I wanna make a new guy! Daddy, can you open this for me? He opens it for her, hands her the tub. A: Can I please have the lid too? J. looks at the new tub of play-doh and says: Purple, purple! Please can I have a whole bunch of purple? A: Sure. A gives him some. J: I want more! He reaches over and takes it from her. A: Hey!


J: I’m just going to take it! You have to share! A: I’ll be there in a minute! Walking in the water, walking in the water, she sings. A is pretending with her figure. J: You’re a crazy person, Anna. You’re a crazy person! You don’t have anything on you! (J is noticing that she has taken all the play-doh off her figure and is just using the empty tub to play with.) A: I don’t care! A. drops figure to side, goes back to playing with lumps of dough on table. A to J: I made another slide! J: Oh, good slide! J and A make small pieces of dough into little figures and send them down play-doh slides. The slide breaks. Both: Oh, no! J: It’s okay! It still works! It can still slide. A: Yeah, it’s okay It can work. J: Where does this slide even lead to? A: It lead to a different slide! I’m going to rip mine up so I can start again. She reaches for Play-doh. J: Do I need hair? A: Yeah, he needs hair. J: No, I don’t! A: You silly! Yeah you do! J: Oh, no! A worm just plunged into my eye! A: I will help you! Take worm away!A picks up scissors again. A: I’m gonna give mine a haircut! J: I wanna give mine a haircut! A: NOOOOOO! J takes scissors away. A: Ok! She tries to take scissors out of J’s hands. J. grabs them back. A:I NEED THEM! A. puts her face in her hands for a minute and stares at her brother. Then she picks up more play-doh and says, “I will make a hat instead.” She makes a hat shape and puts it on top of her Play-doh “grandma’s “ hair.
Stop recording: 8:50

One Clean Kitty

Back home again! She slept curled up like this the whole first day! She still can't use her back legs very well, and she can't sit very well. I am not sure if her hips or her bum hurt, or what! Like when can finally lower her body down to lie down on the floor, she extends her legs straight out behind her.

At the hospital.

So here's the story...

On Friday night, we had an emergency at our house. I was going to paint the dining room the next day, so Dave had taken all the curtains down and we were washing some of them. At the end of the load's cycle, Dave went out to the garage to switch the load over from the washing machine to the dryer. He came back inside a minute later, as white as a ghost and I could tell something was really wrong. I knew both of our kids were okay, so my first thought was that something bad had happened on the porch and I assumed it involved the cats and the raccoons. I went out in the garage with him and I found why he was so freaked out: our cat Sabrina was in the washing machine when he opened the door. She was soaking wet, in there with all the curtains, and hyperventilating. We went through a flurry of yelling at each other: what do we do? what should we do? I don't know! I don't know! Then I said, get me some towels! We got her out and brought her inside. I tried drying her off but I was afraid to hurt her anymore. She had blood coming out of her mouth and her breathing was very irregular. Jonathan was crying and saying, Is my cat going to die? I just told him, I don't know, Jonathan. I don't know what's going to happen. I did not want to lie to him about it, because I was pretty sure myself that she was probably not going to make it. She had gone through an entire wash cycle, with all the water and the spinning! Even though it was 10 PM, I called my neighbor Jamie, my cat expert and dear friend. She gave me the number of the animal hospital and the location. Dave called the place and told them we were coming. He carried her to the car, and I sped off to the animal hospital. I kept my hand on her neck the whole time, and her breathing and pulse was getting more and more shallow and irregular. I blasted the heat the whole time (didn't know what to do, thought I would try and keep her warm!), and drove a little too fast. I called my sister-in-law Meredith, and she was so funny, she said, What are you calling me for? Take her to the vet! She did not understand that I was already in transit, but was just freaking out and needed to talk! I parked at the hospital and carried Sabrina inside in my arms. I had a moment where I almost laughed out loud because she smelled SO fresh and clean. In all of the years we've had her, I don't think she's EVER had a bath, and to go from that to smelling like Clean Burst Arm and Hammer Detergent... The ER acted the way you always expect them to act when an actual human is sick and in need. They actually MOVED quickly. I swear, you could walk into an ER with an ax stuck in your foot, and they would give you the same bored look. We never even saw the waiting room, they just whisked us right back and a tech and the vet were by our sides immediately. They took her temperature, and it was way below normal, so they wrapped her in heated towels and put her in this warming cage. I had to explain what happened (and God love them, they did not act judgemental towards me at all! )

Sabrina let out a giant meow when we first walked in, and I was so happy to hear that sound! They told me she had to stay overnight, and the vet said that he believed she was probably going to be incredibly lucky, but he would have to see how the night unfolded. He had never encountered this before, and seemed incredulous that she had survived, especially in a front loading machine. He said a few things probably saved her: we had not used bleach, which is very caustic, and we had used cold water, not hot, and because it was curtains we were washing, we used the gentle cycle. We kept the phone by the bed Friday night, and did not sleep very much or well! In the morning, we were so happy to hear that she was going to be coming home! The vet said she had to be kept inside, right near her food and litter box. Umm.. she's an outdoor cat. But not anymore! We have been treating her like a princess every since she got home. She has made dramatic improvement since yesterday, and seems to be able to use her back legs better. She was really pitiful all day Saturday. But Dave bought her a really plush bed, and she has finally used the litter box. She kept going to the door to be let out. And I think it must be nice for her to just have her own food and water, and the water is not dirty from having raccoons wash their nasty hands in it, and she does not have to share her food with whatever possum or raccoon or stray cat comes along. And her fur has never been so shiny and soft. I know she went through a horrible ordeal, but still seems to love us all just the same. When Dave went to pick her up at the hospital, he had her cat carrier, and she wanted to get in it right away! Normally the cats hate their carrier, but I think she was smart enough to know she wanted to go home. Now Jonathan is thrilled that he finally has a pet. She is even perking up enough to play string games with him (you know, he dangles and she bats at it with her paws). Now if we could just bring a few birds and squirrels inside for her to try and kill, she would really be in heaven! But the funny thing about Sabrina is, she has just gone back into being the same sweet cat she's always been. We adopted her when she was at least 4 from the shelter, and she had just been dropped off there after hours. But she was just a great cat right from the beginning. I guess almost losing her made me realize how much I do really love her. She is the sweetest cat and so good with the kids. No matter what she goes through, she seems to have nothing but love to give.

My Week in Facebook Status Updates

Friday JUNE 12th:
Jamie Smith Dooley: Also, one more thing: I have to do this assessment for my class, where I record everything my children say and do for a certain period of time, and try to be completely objective and not make any judgements or assumptions... And I think that today (since I woke up feeling paranoid that my children are "out to get me") is not the day for objectivity. I am feeling VERY subjective when it comes to my children today!
Jamie Smith Dooley: loves her children dearly but does not understand why when it is 90 something degrees out they can possibly still want to snuggle. We are all 3 wedged together on 1.5 squares of couch. I am all hot because I just had to cut Jonathan out of a laundry hamper he got himself stuck in. IN SIX MORE DAYS Dave and I are outta here for our three day getaway! I can make it until then. Right?
Jamie Smith Dooley:
OK, America: deep breath. You can do this. You can handle the switch from analog TV. Jonathan is concerned that we don't have an attenae because of all the endless reminders and preparations on TV! I told him because we don't have to worry about it! And he said, well the TV told me to be worrying.
Jamie Smith Dooley is tired.
Thursday:
Jamie Smith Dooley: WHATEVER!
Jamie Smith Dooley:Doesn't it seem like it should be Friday night? I seriously thought it was, until I looked at the clock and saw Thursday.
is going to watch Paul Blart with Dave and then The Office. Right now we are watching Smallville even though we have not watched it in years and can't follow one bit of it!
just thinks bedtime should be now, this day could not possibly have four more hours in it.
Thursday afternoon:
Plan: Deliver Avon, get lunch, go to Lowe's to get paint, go to Drs appt in Palm Bay. Reality: Delivered AVON, got to Chick-fil-a when Jon started vomiting (quite skillfully into an empty newspaper bag... major puking and not a drop in my car!), no lunch, got home in about 6-7 minutes (took Hollywood to Eber to Minton, and yes, I sped a little, because newspaper bag was full) cancelled my Dr. appt on way home.
Thursday AM:
bought walkie talkies for Anna last night (princess so she can play with Henry when he comes this week!) and she said, Now I can be like me teachers at school. You know, when they say my name to each other? She is referring to car loop pickup. She is making Jonathan call her Mrs. Dooley (Prounounced Dewey)because she wants to be like Mrs. Smith(one of her teachers)& Mrs. Choo-choo-rol-o the director of her preschool!
Tonight's wake up call involved Anna falling out of her big girl bed into her toddler bed. She did not get hurt, thank goodness! All of her fancy pillows and stuffed animals must have braced her fall. She did not really even wake up, just doing a little half-hearted cry in her sleep, which, to me, sounded SUPER loud. I jumped out of the bed and flew into her room! Now I can't go back to sleep! (3:14 AM)
WEDNESDAY
If Dominoes.com says that your pizza was put in the oven by Larry at 9:27 PM, DO NOT TAKE a bite of it at 9:43 PM. My mouth is burnt!
Jamie is wondering what good a Facebook username will do. How will that more easily direct friends and family to my profile than my actual name and photo? Please explain.
Not counting today, only EIGHT MORE DAYS until Dave and I ESCAPE!!!! I think we will drop the kids off at my Mom's at 4 AM that morning. What do you think, Honey???
I will never eat Slim Jims again. Seriously. (this is in regards to the tragic Slim Jim factory explosion)
only had one wake-up call last night but it was just at 5:30 and a request for ice-water. Not too bad!
TUESDAY
OK, the firecrackers seem to be quiet. Both of my children are asleep. Tonight will be the night where I will finally get some sleep. I am praying that I will go to bed now and not wake up until at least 7 in the morning. No peeing the bed, change the sheets, feverish and needs Tylenol, crying and needs Benedryl for huge skeeter bites, no crazy birds trying to attack my cat who is crying hysterically at window. Shhh!
Jamie Smith Dooley: is trying to think loving thoughts towards her neighbors with the fireworks. I am sure they have a really good reason, or maybe this is just their annual head start on July 4th. Normally they start fireworks before my birthday and keep them going until after the 4th. Jamie H. I love you, don't know what I would do without my normal neighbors (you and Mike) to balance out my more interesting ones!
Jamie Smith Dooley: has had a surprisingly delightful day!
Jamie Smith Dooley: is hoping she gets packed up, everyone sunscreened, gets over the causeway, gets down to the beach, unpacks her stuff, and stays for at least a half hour before thunderstorms roll in. 30 minutes, that's all I'm asking for... If I get 4 kids down to the sand, and all unpacked, and then the thunder comes right away, I might throw myself down in the sand and have a fit. Not really, but the thought will cross my mind.
up since 4 AM with a very hyper feverish Anna. Tylenol, ice water. Ugh. She is like on super speed. Fever's not too high and she seems to feel OUTSTANDING!!! I am sooooo tired! Then Jonathan woke up and came into our bed... must have had bad dream? He never does this anymore... So I am out here on Facebook with crazy girl Anna.
MONDAY
Jonathan is trying to figure out what age he will be when he can get a gerbil, drive a car, when T and Anna will be able to drive a car, and how old Justine will be when he can get a gerbil. Also, how old will he be when Justine drives a car, will he be old enough to have a gerbil? I am thinking it is too late for all this math.
is starting to plan a trip to Kansas. Gonna bring kids to see my g-ma/pa, aunts/uncles and cousins. (Brandi! Julie! Must see you!)
Anna started running a fever this afternoon and I have one too and I am achy (achier than usual) and chilled.
I have finally made up my mind: I really don't like Jelly Belly jelly beans, or any other jelly beans. I have been trying to decide this for a very long time (like 20 years!), and I have made a decision. I hate them, all of them.
ONLY 10 MORE DAYS UNTIL DAVE AND I ARE OUT OF HERE! for an ENTIRE weekend, leave Friday AM come back Sunday night! (just in case anyone wants to rob our house!) I'm not counting today!
is so tired from her wierd, sleepless night but also has the strongest urge to scour her house and clean out closets. It's like I have all this frantic cleaning energy in my mind but my body is too tired to act on it. So I am going to go watch SuperWhy with Anna instead.
Why am I awake? Why am I watching the Steve Wilkos Show? Why did I wait to find out if the dude was lying? They ALWAYS fail the lie detector test! Sigh.
SUNDAY:
How many more days till school starts again?
is listening to Dave and Anna deliberate over the Chinese takeout menu. Chicken and Brocoli combination platter with steamed rice and wonton soup for kids... General Tso's chicken for Dave with steamed rice. Vegetable lo mein for me.
is playing The Backyardigans game with Anna and Dave. Jon is over at Trystan's for a boys only play date.
SATURDAY:
thinks her frantic, frequent status updates are reaching the level of near-obsession and may require a psychological intervention of some sort! Might need to go on one of my Facebook fasts.
FRIDAY:
thinks she will attempt to go to bed now. I am very tired. I am praying that I won't fall asleep only to wake up 10 minutes later to a vomiting child. I would rather just stay up all night than to have to keep waking up. My beloved is so going to need to go get me a grande nonfat latte from Sbucks tomorrow. (David, you are my beloved. Althought I am sure that was obvious.)
is in for a very long night: 2:35 AM and still not asleep. For past hour, Jonathan has been thrashing around and crying in his sleep. He says his tummy hurts and he feels like he is going to throw up... I am hoping that he just ate too much junk food at Nona's house tonight or something, but I know there are tummy bugs going around... Gave him Tylenol and Benedryl hoping to help w/pain, unstuff his nose (allergies).
has a very bad headache and can't go to sleep, even though sleep is what I need to do to make the headache go away.
just watched big Dooley and lil Dooley catch a moth that was in the house. It was pretty cool. Now Jonathan is staring at it in his bughouse instead of watching his movie.
had a happy evening with her Uncle Leroy and his delightful girlfriend Sue (they are visiting my Mom from Texas.) Friday evening
Jonathan just caught one of those rare "two-headed lovebugs." He is so very proud. I wonder if we should call the Smithsonian or something? A bug with TWO heads? Wow!
Friday afternoon, June 5th

Right this Minute

Right this minute, I'm at my Mom's. Mutton the shi tzu is curled up at my feet. Anna just brought me a package of Scooby Doo Mac N Cheese from the pantry, requesting me to make it. Trystan came in and asked me, Is Anna allowed to be naked, with just her shorts?" This is her new thing. She thinks it is ridiculous that she should have to wear a shirt when T does not. I tried to explain that girls always had to wear shirts to keep their business private, to keep our boobies covered. She rolled her eyes at me and said, "But I don't HAVE any boobies, Mama! I'm not grown-up." I had to take her off the webcam the other day because she kept lifting her shirt up to flash Uncle Cory and cackling hysterically.
Trystan is riding a trike around the house and Justine is trying to enforce a nap time. Or rest time. She is trying to motivate him to rest by saying they need to rest up for their trip to Sea World tomorrow. Jonathan is taking this much more seriously than T, even though he is NOT going to Sea World today. Anna is hanging off my neck as I type this, saying, My mommy, my mommy, in this awful baby talk thing she has picked up lately. She got down and is riding the trike, and saying, "Me ride bike naked." (She KNOWS how to speak properly! I am trying to just ignore this phase, but I have to admit it is getting under my skin.)
Trystan is concerned because I have been wearing Justine's headband all day. I think he is worried that I am trying to steal it. He just finally asked, Can I have Justine's headband back? I gave it to him because I am tired of him staring at it all day and making me feel guilty. Let me just say, when I stole it, I thought it was my Mom's headband. Now he is putting it over his eyes and saying he is Cyclops.

I really like this... A LOT!

My friend Amanda forwarded this to me in an e-mail. I really like it A LOT! I don't think there is one of these that I disagree with.
Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written." My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it com es to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose li fe.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Erin Corcoran to Sotomayor: Don't answer any questions.

"An aide to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor told her "don't answer any questions" as a CNN reporter was trying to get her opinion on Newt Gingrich."
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/06/03/aide_to_sotomayor_dont_answer_any_questions.html

The aide with the brunette bob and glasses is my sister-in-law, Erin, who actually works for Senator Mikulski, the woman at the end of the video who says: "We're not gonna have any loose lips sink this ship."

I love this video, how Erin steps forward so quickly and speaks into Sotomayor's ear. This is just how Erin is, she just takes charge! What a great role model for my little girl Anna to have!

Words from Jonathan today

10:30, outside by the car, loading up to go run errands and get lunch. Jonathan spots an ant-like creature crawling on my sideview mirror that could be an antlion. With complete disregard to my schedule that I am trying to keep, he keeps the ant in sight while Anna runs to get his bugcatcher from the porch. I am a little irritated that they are both mesmerized by this ant on the side of the car, when I am simply trying to get them inside the car! And why can't they use that kind of teamwork to be helpful to ME and not just in situations like this? But I swore today that I would keep my patience ALL DAY LONG so instead I expressed concern that this particular ant looked like it could sting and also looked like it might be able to fly. (Which to me, stinging, flying bugs are the kind to be avoided at all cost!)

Jonathan turned to me and said, "Don't worry, Mama, I am a dangerous bugcatcher!"

11:30, at Chick-Fil-A, eating lunch (we had the chicken). We had met a very cute baby, about 6 months old, at the cash register. He was over sitting in a highchair with his mom, who looked very young and frazzled, and I was keeping an eye on him because he was trying to eat the plastic placemat that Chick-Fil-A provides (to keep kids from ingesting germs that may be on the table, but in this case, the placemat was far more of a potential danger than the germs). The mother got up and ran outside to get something out of her car, leaving the baby in the highchair, completely unattended, and still munching away on the placemat.
Jonathan looked at me with a very troubled face and said, " Um, Mama? Who is in charge of that baby right now 'cause his Mom just ran away to the parking lot?"
Good question, little buddy, because to me, I can't think of ANYTHING important enough that could be in the car...

11:45, at Chick-Fil-A, sitting on the bench at the indoor playground. Jonathan shuddered, and I said, "What's wrong, Jon?"
He said, "Oh, I just have the creepers on my 'cause I catched that kind of ant, that kind I think was a lionant."
He is so funny! He works up all his nerve to catch these bugs, even though they are giving him the creeps hours later at the memory of it!

"It just goes by so fast..."

My stepdad Ed said this to me during his last week on Earth. He was looking at Jonathan and shaking his head in disbelief at how big he was. He looked at me with sadness and wonder in his eyes and said, It just goes by so fast... you just don't know. Ed conveyed so much to me with these words. I've thought about them countless times since. I was sitting on the beach today and I was thinking of how fat I am and how miserable that makes me and how I wish I weren't so fat so I could take off my clothes and go play in the water with my kids (not naked, IN MY SWIMSUIT). I wished that I wasn't so self conscious, and that I did not care about other people thought. I wished that I had not gained so much weight since last summer...and then I thought about how every summer since I was probably about 7 I have sat on the beach and had this same inner dialogue, this same silly conflict. The waves look so fun and refreshing, but I am so weighed down, thinking about what I look like, and what others must think of me... I want to get up but I feel glued to my towel with self-conciousness. I looked over at my daughter, Anna, today, and I was stunned by how beautiful she is. She was playing happily, totally focused on her play, completely unaware of her own body. I watched her walk with so much confidence and poise, and I thought, What a gift these years are! Years where you are free of all this thinking and negative self-talk about your own body. Years where you don't think about your thighs when you walk down to get a bucket of water from the ocean. Years where your swim suit can be so far up your rear, but you don't care, because you don't really see why you should even have to wear clothes anyways... And I sat there, sweating in my clothes, wanting to take Jonathan down to play in the waves, wanting to splash in the surf with my niece Justine. And then, as I watched my two little ones play with my niece and nephew, Ed's words came back to me: It goes by so fast... And I realized: What a gift ALL these years are! How foolish, how wasteful of me to sit on this beautiful day with my beautiful family right in front of me, and to focus on my self and my physical body. Someday my physical body will begin to fail me, and some day it will give out completely like Ed's did. It's inevitable. And what will I think? Will I lie there and look back on all those happy days in the sun, where I sat, in a prison of my own design, and think of how I failed myself, how I failed my kids, how I cheated myself out of a chance for joy? It goes by so fast... meaning childhood, meaning life. How dare I waste one minute in my selfish self-pity? My body works. I'm healthy. I took my coverups off, played in the waves with my niece, got sand where the sun don't shine, got a sunburn, and forgot about myself for an hour. I turned off the nasty voice in my head and made some memories instead. Today was a victory for me.