Dooley Family Blog

January

2009-04-10T10:01:00.002-05:00

I'm still playing catch-up with my blog posts. Here are some pictures from our New Year's Eve celebration. We had a blast at the Russell's house. Thanks Clint and Jenny for hosting this fun event!
I was glad to have Rex on my team for this serious game of Star Wars Trivial Pursuit.
Even the big kids rocked the house playing Rock Band.
Daddy and Mara share a "happy new year" kiss.

December

2009-03-11T09:11:00.001-05:00

November

2009-03-10T22:58:00.007-05:00

I planned a little "get away" the week before Thanksgiving. We dropped the kids off at Grana & Papa's house in Burnet, and then went on to College Station for a few days. We had a wonderful time at our B&B, and reminiscing about our great times in Aggieland.
This is the beautiful "France" cottage at the 7F Lodge in Wellborn, TX. We loved staying here, and hope to return someday.
This lovely little chapel is also on the 7F Lodge property.
Grandma and Grandpa came over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. It was unusual for us to have such a small crowd at Thanksgiving...although there were six of us...not sure why Rex and Mara aren't in this picture. The feast was great, and of course we had tons of left-overs.

Bad...Bad...Blogger!!!

2009-03-09T09:37:00.003-05:00

I must admit that I have totally dropped the ball when it comes to updating my blog. I am ashamed that I have allowed so much time to pass since I last made an entry. Of course, things got busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday activities, but that is really no excuse. Then, I simply got out of the habit of checking my blog, and before I knew it four months had passed.

I have decided that the time has come for me to make a fresh start, and double my efforts to update our blog at least once a week. I am going to begin by playing catch-up. I want to share some highlights of events in the past four months during my absence from Blogger. Stay tuned for my "Playing Catch-Up" entries...I hope to get them posted soon.

Thanks for taking the time to connect with our family in this way.

Fall Fest

2008-10-27T10:45:00.001-05:00

The family had a blast at Fall Fest last weekend.

Our kids love to dress up. Rex was especially excited about being Anakin Skywalker this year...he grew his hair out for just this occasion. I guess his efforts paid off because several people commented that he looked just like the "real" Anakin from The Clone Wars, and he even won an award for best superhero costume. Mara was adorable as Minnie Mouse. My friend Kristy found this costume for her at a garage sale for only $1...complete with matching shoes and ears.

Daddy's band "Low Pointe" plays the festival every year. His band is made up of other men from church who like to get together every once in a while and jam. Their motto is: We play what we like, and if you like it too then that's a bonus. Their self-deprecating name stems from a reference to the name of our church congregation "High Pointe Church of Christ". The band is really quite good despite the name that would suggest otherwise.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for helping me out with the kids!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-24T11:14:00.002-05:00

Our family went to the Big Organge Pumpkin Farm in Celina on Saturday. The weather was beautiful, and we had a wonderful time. Mara really had a blast feeding the animals. She was not the least bit intimidated by them. Rex liked feeding the animals too, but didn't want to get too close to the cows and longhorns. Mara was the opposite. She wanted to pet them! We enjoyed a picnic, hayride, and the kids had fun riding the "train". We left the farm with two pumpkins, lots of pictures, and many fun memories.

Mara's Birthday

2008-09-29T17:14:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Mara's 3rd birthday this month. She turned three on September 10th, but we waited until the weekend for her party. The party was supposed to be on the church playground, but we had to hold it in the gym thanks to hurricane Ike. Rain or shine, we all had fun eating pizza and cake. The kids enjoyed the pinata, and Mara loved opening her presents. Thanks to our friends and family for making her feel so special on this special occasion!

Mara's 1st Day of School

2008-09-09T21:37:00.002-05:00

Mara attended her first day of North Texas Christian Academy preschool last Tuesday. She was so excited for school to begin, and is really loving it. She is in Mrs. Joni's class which is a combined age group of older 2-year-olds and younger 3's. I am so proud of her for adjusting quickly to this new routine. It helps that she is such an eager student since I am teaching the 4-year-olds, and my mornings are pretty hectic. I am thankful that she has had no reservations about school expectations. She is growing up so quickly. I can't believe that she will be 3-years-old tomorrow! Where has the time gone?

Back to School

2008-09-05T23:39:00.001-05:00

Rex went back to school on August 25th. I can't believe that he is old enough for 1st grade! I am very happy that he is in Mrs. Quisenberry's class. Everyone says that she is a wonderful teacher. She has the sweetest disposition, and always has a smile on her face. She actually used to be our next-door neighbor (before Rex was born). It's nice to get connected with her again.

Rex has just completed his second week of school, and everything seems to be going well. He has received stamps in his take-home folder every day as well as earned several "paw points" for good behavior. I am very proud of his efforts thus far.

He lost his third tooth at school on Thursday. This was a surprise to me because I did not even realize that this tooth was very loose. The tooth fairy has been working overtime at our house this month, and Rex is really going to have a challenging time eating with such a large gap in his mouth.

Lost Tooth

2008-07-29T10:17:00.002-05:00

Rex lost his first tooth on Thursday night. It was getting very loose, and the permanent tooth was already beginning to pop up behind the baby tooth. He worked hard to loosen up the baby tooth, and even tried to get it to come out by biting into an apple...no luck.

Then, at supper, we were all sitting around the table eating when he bit into a soft piece of garlic bread. He looked up in alarm, and I could see a little blood on his bread and in his mouth where the tooth had been. Sure enough, the tooth came out in that bite of bread, and he swallowed the bite, tooth and all! I looked closely at the remaining piece of bread, and we searched his mouth, but the tooth was never found...So he literally lost his first tooth.

Thankfully, he was not upset by these turn of events. He was relieved that it did not hurt or bleed much, but most of all he was relieved that the Tooth Fairy would still be able to visit him eventhough the tooth was lost.

The Tooth Fairy did pay him a visit on Thursday night, and left him two gold dollars for the lost tooth.

My Birthday

2008-07-24T11:03:00.004-05:00

Well, I am officially 33 years old now. My birthday was on Sunday, but I got to celebrate all weekend!

I had a wonderful day on Saturday. It started out with me taking the kids to the grandparents for an overnight visit on my way to get a massage. The massage was lovely, and set the tone for the rest of the day. After that, Tim and I went to the gym. We enjoyed the pool, and then got ready for a nice evening out. We then went to see "Mama Mia", and then on to dinner at The Melting Pot. I love this place. The atmosphere is so fun, and the food is unique and delicious. I also love that it takes a long time to enjoy the full dining experience. We were there almost three hours by the time we finished our meal, but it really went by quickly as we were having such a great time.

Then, on Sunday, I enjoyed Starbuck's for breakfast before heading to church. After worship, we ate lunch at the new Cotton Patch Cafe with Tim's parents and friends from church. I treated myself to a nap on Sunday afternoon. Then, we had a great time at our small group Bible study get together. It was so nice to be back with our group after being out of town for the past month...Thanks to Clint and Jenny for the birthday cake!

I am grateful to everyone who helped me celebrate my birthday in style!

On the GO, GO, GO!!!

2008-07-18T11:35:00.004-05:00

Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted a new blog entry. I'm so sorry for letting time slip by this summer. We have been so busy that I just haven't had time to update it. I promise to do better from now on.

Here's a little recap of our fun summer...

June was packed full of activities. We started out with the kids taking swim lessons in Plano. Then, the next week we were busy with VBS. The next week we all went our separate ways. Mara stayed the week with Grandma and Grandpa, Rex went to Burnet to stay with Grana and Papa, and Tim and I flew to Mexico for our trip to Isla Mujeres. (I'll post an entry about our trip soon) We got back from our trip just in time to wash up our clothes, repack our suitcases, and head to the Barnett family reunion over the 4th of July weekend. Then, we had another special family get together with the Dooley clan this past weekend. It's been non-stop busy, but we've been having a blast!

I am grateful that our pace is slowing down a little bit now. We have gone swimming at the pool a lot this week, and Rex has day camp for the next two weeks starting Monday. It's nice to finally be settling down into a summer routine.

Kinder Grad

2008-06-09T22:13:00.003-05:00

Rex has officially graduated from Kindergarten! His school conducted a graduation ceremony for the kindergarteners on May 29th (eventhough he really had one more week of school to go). The ceremony was very cute. The children sang a few songs, and then each child received a certificate from their teacher. It was nice that Grandma, Grandpa, Mara, Tim and I were all able to attend. Rex's last day of school was this past Thursday. I was afraid that Rex might miss his last week when he became sick on Sunday night with a high fever. He ran a temperature for a few days with no other symptoms. We went to the doctor on Monday, and she also saw nothing wrong with him besides the temp. She said it was most likely viral, and would just have to run it's course. I was so sad that he was missing out on his last few days with his friends and his wonderful teacher. Thankfully, he was back to normal by Wednesday, so he was able to be there for the last two days. The class had a pizza party celebration on Thursday to mark the end of the year.

Where has the time gone? I really can't believe that Rex is old enough for Kindergarten, much less for first grade! I'm a little sad that this school year is over, but I am also excited for all the fun and enjoyment we are going to squeeze out of this summer!

Bulletin Board

2008-05-29T17:00:00.002-05:00

April was Mara’s month on the two-year-old bulletin board at church. This board is posted in one of the main corridors of our church building, and it is used to highlight pictures of the precious two-year-old children in our congregation. A coordinator organizes the rotation of the board, and notifies the parents of when it’s their child’s turn. Then, the parents have the responsibility of decorating the board, and removing the pictures at the end of the month. It was a lot of fun searching through our files of pictures, and selecting the ones for her board. This process brought back so many wonderful memories! The tough part was narrowing the pictures down to the few that would be posted. As you can see…I squeezed as many pictures on the board as possible.

Soccer

2008-05-26T11:10:00.004-05:00

Rex's spring soccer season ended last weekend. Rex went out with a bang by scoring a goal during this final game. We were very excited and proud of him. After the game, the team had a party at the park where the boys all received trophies. Thanks to coaches Leo and Greg for all their time and effort with the Wildcats!

Mother's Day

2008-05-16T13:30:00.002-05:00

I had such a nice Mother's Day weekend. The weather was beautiful, and I had a lot of leisure time...which for me is the best Mother's Day gift of all. Sunday was a great day. After church, we went to Joe's Crabshack, and ate lunch outside on the deck. It was an ideal choice because we got to enjoy the nice weather, and the kids loved playing on the playground. That afternoon, we went for a walk in our neighborhood park. It was a banner day for the kids...two playgounds in one day! Then, we ate a picnic supper beside the pond. I love alfresco dining! I feel very blessed to have two beautiful children and such a sweet husband who made my Mother's Day so enjoyable.

Field Day

2008-05-14T09:44:00.002-05:00

Rex had field day at his school this past Friday. He had a blast playing the games. I really liked the way the games were organized. Children in grades K-2 played in the morning from 9:30-11:00. The children were divided into groups of two and then paired up with a fifth grade helper. The helper chaperoned and assisted the participants as they moved from station to station. There was no required rotation. The children could freely choose which games and stations they wanted to visit. Each station was set up with two lanes so that the pairs could line up opposite each other and compete against their partner…so it was still competitive, but low pressure. Rex’s favorite game was some race involving water (he did this before I got there to take pictures), but I know he really had fun with the potato sack race because he went to that station twice!

Bye! Bye! Nursery

2008-05-08T14:39:00.004-05:00

Well, the time has finally come to make over the nursery. Tim and I (with the help of our mothers and my grandmother) lovingly decorated this room before bringing baby Rex home from the hospital over six years ago.

We invested a lot of time and money creating our babyland. I bought the bedding from Rockinghorse Designs in Canton. Then, I searched all over the Dallas area to find complimentary fabric so that I could make the covers for the chair and the curtains. Grana, Nanny, and I all sewed the cushions for the glider and ottoman one weekend at my grandmother's house in Burnet. I made a pattern for the curtains and sewed them myself. Tim built the armoire and also a bookshelf (not pictured) with moon and star cut-outs that matches the stenciling on the walls. We painted the walls by making stencils out of transparency film in the desired star, and moon shapes. (We added the pink spirals later when we knew that a little girl was on the way.)

We decided to allow the children to sleep together in the same bedroom so that the extra bedroom could be used as a toy room/guest room. This really worked out great, but I had the extra challenge of making the room look both masculine/feminine and baby/toddler friendly. Luckily, the crib bedding had some pink accents, so we added the pink spirals to the wall as well as a pink cover to the changing table. I got Rex's twin bed from my grandparents. It had been stored away in an old shed for many years. I stripped the varnish off and painted it white. Then, I was fortunate enough to find yellow and blue moon and stars sheets which coordinated well with the room's theme, and a yellow/blue comforter to match. It all worked well together. Best of all, the children worked well together. They have a very close friendship, and I think sharing the room has been a big contributing factor...sniff...sniff. This is a bit of an emotional transition for me.

It's time for a change though. Rex now has a new loft bed in the once playroom. I am in the slow process of trying to convert the Americana decorated guestroom into a Star Wars themed room for him. I have removed the crib from the nursery, and Mara is now sleeping in Rex's old twin bed. I found some adorable bedding for it at Target, and plan to decorate her room in a shabby chic motif. It's fun to finally be creating a girly room for her. I'm so glad that the kids shared the nursery, but I did miss out on making her baby room adorably feminine. Stay tuned for pictures of the transformed rooms, but don't hold your breath...it might be a while.

Bluebonnet Festival

2008-04-25T10:06:00.002-05:00

Here are a few more pictures from our weekend in Burnet. We all had a lot of fun at the Bluebonnet Festival. The kids loved the parade and the carnival. I really enjoyed seeing so many friends and family. Small towns are great that way. I also loved the airshow. It was my first time to go to an airshow, and the planes were very impressive. I think the kids and I are hoping we can participate in the festival activities again next year. Thanks Grana & Papa for a great weekend!

Weekend in Burnet

2008-04-21T17:35:00.004-05:00

Sorry it has been a while since I've updated the blog. We have been busy this month. Tim had his semi-annual paintball retreat in East Texas last weekend. The rest of us took advantage of the long weekend (Rex had a school holiday on Monday), and went to visit Grana & Papa in Burnet.

It was a beautiful spring weekend. We enjoyed the sunny weather, but the wind made things chilly at times. We went to the Bluebonnet festival on Saturday, church in Marble Falls and visited great-grandparents on Sunday, then out to Lake Buchanan on Monday before heading back to McKinney. It was all a lot of fun.

Uppercase Living

2008-04-03T10:03:00.006-05:00

Our bathroom shower...the "D" is navy, but the flash of the picture makes it look a little lighter.
Over the cooktop in my kitchen. The decoration really matches the navy tile well, but the picture appears lighter.
I put this monogrammed tile on a stand and placed it up on the decorative plant ledge in my living room. I just took the picture on the floor to show the image close-up.

Words are so powerful, and even have the ability to change our attitudes and influence our behavior. I have wanted to add some decorative lettering (specifically scripture passages from the Bible) to my home decor for a long time. That's why I was so excited when my friend, Kristy, recently began a home-based business called Uppercase Living.

This company offers hundreds of ready-to-order design expressions that can be color customized and applied directly to walls, etc. They also provide custom design options on their website where you can work with various colors and fonts to create the exact design you desire. This is how I made the "Dooley" tile. The expressions have a finished artistic look much like the appearance of painted-on lettering with the added bonus of being removable without damaging the wall or surface where it has been applied.

I am getting ready to host an Uppercase Living party for Kristy at my house tonight. I know it will be a lot of fun, and I plan to order a custom design (Deuteronomy 6:5) for my living room. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about Uppercase Living or you may wish to visit their website at http://www.uppercaseliving.com/ .

Easter Fun!

2008-03-25T16:45:00.005-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend in Burnet. On Saturday, we went to my cousin's ranch for an Easter bash. We had a great lunch, and then hunted Easter eggs. After that, the kids did a pinata, and got buckets full of goodies. Rex and Mara had a blast! The kids hunted eggs left by the Easter bunny early on Sunday morning. Then, it was off to church in Marble Falls, and then back to Burnet for a traditional Easter lunch. I felt very blessed to celebrate Easter with so many family members. We were also blessed with nice weather for the drive back home to McKinney on Sunday evening.

Rex's B-Day

2008-03-18T00:09:00.002-05:00

What a fun time! Rex turned six on March 8th. We began his birthday celebration with breakfast at IHOP on Saturday morning. The kids ordered "Who Cakes"...pancakes topped with blueberry syrup, mini chocolate kisses, and with a pink sucker on top...this is a special item on the menu in promotion of the new Dr. Seuss movie. They were the perfect birthday breakfast food. Then, Rex had his birthday party on Sunday at The Zone. The kids had a blast bouncing, climbing, sliding, and fighting with the jousting poles. Then, they enjoyed pizza and cake followed by games. It was a fabulous weekend!

Snow Fun

2008-03-10T14:56:00.004-05:00

Click the play button above to watch a video clip of Mara making a snow angel. It's too cute!

Here are the pictures from snow storm number two of last week. Talk about wild weather! We were playing in snow on Thursday, and didn't even need a coat by Sunday. It has been a lot of fun though. We all enjoyed playing in the winter wonderland.

Giant Snowflakes

2008-03-07T16:55:00.002-06:00

The snowflakes were massive yesterday afternoon. I've never seen such huge flakes of snow in my life. It really was a beautiful sight. Enjoy the video clip. I will try to post some more pictures of our snow fun soon.

Crazy Weather!!!

2008-03-05T23:53:00.002-06:00

We've had some insane weather here this week. Sunday night it was 68 degrees at 8:00pm as we drove home from our Bible study. 24 hours after that it was snowing a blizzard in my yard!...okay a slight exaggeration. But seriously, our yard was totally white by the time I went to bed on Monday night.

Rex's school had a two hour delay in start time so he had a great time in the white stuff. He was as cold as a popsicle when he came in from playing in the snow, but said, "That was a blast!" He has been wishing that it would snow all winter. I am so glad that he got the chance to play in some this year. I think he might have had an ulterior motive though because he asked me if Santa would be arriving soon. I think he was hoping that he might get to celebrate Christmas again if only it would snow and Santa would make a return trip to Texas...Talk about wishful thinking! I informed him that it would be some time before Santa would pay us another visit.

I'm really glad that Rex had the delay in his school day because otherwise he would not have been able to play in the snow. There was not a snowflake to be found by the time he got home Tuesday afternoon. Today (Wednesday) has seen beautiful weather. I did not even wear a jacket because it was so sunny and pleasant, but they say that change is on the way. It is supposed to rain and turn cold again tomorrow. They are even saying that it might snow again!...Like I said...CRAZY WEATHER!

My Adorable Kids

2008-02-21T22:56:00.003-06:00

My friend, Leslie, tagged me to share ten things about my kids. So here goes…

1. We named Rex after his grandfathers. Tim’s dad is Rex, and my dad is Phillip. I love family names, and Rex Phillip seems the perfect name for our son. Of course, it is not without some downfalls…such as when the pharmacy gets confused about which Rex is filling a prescription. Once my dad heard me say, “Rex Phillip” to Rex when he was misbehaving. My Dad’s comment was, “Great! Rex only gets to hear my name when he is getting in trouble.” What can I say? It’s an imperfect world.

2. On the other hand, Mara is not a family name. Many people assume that her name is a reference to the Mara of the Bible, but that was not the inspiration. “Mara Jade” is a character in a Star Wars book by Timothy Zahn. She is a Jedi who ultimately marries Luke Skywalker…Very Geeky…I know, but we love the name.

3. Rex is very dramatic and loves to pretend. He has a box of costumes, and constantly wants to dress up in the different outfits. In September we took him to see his first musical, “The Lion King”. He loved it, and ever since he has wanted to star as Simba in the show. He wears his lion costume and belts out the songs when he watches the video…I don’t have the heart to tell him that he is probably too pale to ever be cast in that role, but who knows, maybe Broadway is in his future.

4. Mara is our little cover girl. She was featured in a recent issue of the “Rite Up”. This is a periodical that Scottish Rite hospital publishes to update its patrons and patients of hospital news. The hospital has recently created a center for clubfoot research, and used Mara’s story to help publicize the event. Mara was born with unilateral clubfoot. (Her right foot was curved in and rotated over…resembling a golf club). The Ponseti method was used to correct her foot. She wore a series of plaster casts for the first two months after birth, and since then, she has worn a brace to maintain the correction. She continues to wear her brace each night, and her foot looks great!

5. Rex is extremely social (much like his daddy). He loves to go and do. He especially enjoys our weekly small group Bible study because he gets the chance to play with some of his best friends.

6. Mara is my independent child. She is only two-years-old, but thinks she can and should be allowed to do everything that her six-year-old brother can do. She likes to do things her way, and often gets upset if I try to assist her. She wants to do it herself!

7. Rex is my little fish. He loves to swim! He is a natural swimmer, and has enjoyed the water ever since he was a baby. I am eager for summer so he can frequent the pool and lake once again.

8. Mara loves to sing. She especially enjoys Christmas carols. “Deck the Halls” is her favorite, but “Jingle Bells” and “Rudolph” are tops too. She also likes to sing songs from her Cradle Roll Bible class as well as songs that she has heard on her favorite Noggin TV shows.

9. Rex and Mara both love spending time with their grandparents. Grandma & Grandpa live close to us, so the kids get to see them on a very regular basis. Mara goes to their house to play almost every Wednesday, and sometimes the kids get to spend the night there while Tim and I have a date. It’s wonderful! Rex and Mara usually visit Grana & Papa for longer stretches since it is about a four-hour drive to their home. Rex especially loves to spend weeks at Grana & Papa’s house because they have such a nice, big yard, and Rex loves to play outside. Weeks at their home are usually filled with lots of fun activities plus playtime with the cousins.

10. Rex and Mara currently share a room. Before Mara was born, I decided that it would be good for the kids to sleep in the same bedroom so that our extra room could be used as a playroom. This sleeping arrangement has worked out perfectly. Luckily, Rex is a sound sleeper because Mara can really snore! I believe that the combined sleeping space has contributed to the wonderful friendship that Rex and Mara have. However, I do plan to convert the playroom into Rex’s big boy room later this year.

Tag...Meriann...Your turn!

Tagged

2008-02-11T12:20:00.000-06:00

I’ve been tagged twice! Two of my blog friends have challenged me to reveal more about myself with posting lists on my blog. I am going to start with the “Meme List” that Kelly first tagged me to do. So here goes…

Complete the phrase with the 1st thought in your head:

I know.... I still have a lot to learn.

I believe... that Jesus is the Son of God, and that he died on the cross to save me from my sins.

I fought.... a lot with my sister when we were kids, but now we are great friends.

I am angered.... when insurance companies that profit billions of dollars each year deny claims for necessary medical care!

I love.... my family and my friends!

I need.... dates with my husband on a regular basis.

I take.... Rex to school every morning by simply walking across the street. It’s great to be so close to his school!

I hear.... Mara saying new things almost daily. You never know what is going to pop out of my two-year-old’s mouth.

I drink.... Caffeine-Free Diet Dr. Pepper.

I hate.... paying almost $3/gallon for gasoline!

I use.... E85 (Ethanol) fuel in my van whenever possible. It is cheaper and better for the environment.

I want.... to extensively travel the world someday, and learn to speak Spanish.

I like.... almost all foods with the exceptions of liver, ham, green peas, peanut butter, radishes, beets, and a few others.

I feel....happy when I think that spring is just around the corner.

I wear.... jeans and tennis shoes as often as possible. I like to be low maintenance and comfortable when it comes to clothes.

I left.... Texas A&M too quickly. I wish I had taken a little more time to enjoy my college years. I loved being a student in College Station, and those four years went by so fast.

I do.... volunteer work at Rex’s school.

I hope.... that my cousin, Ramona, will be cured of her cancer.

I dream.... that my children will grow up to be happy and healthy.

I drive.... a black 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan Minivan just like the stereotypical soccer mom. It is a great family car. It has a built-in car seat, and uses flex fuel, has 150,000+ miles, and the best feature of all is that it’s paid off!

I listen.... to all different types of music (Contemporary Christian, Top 40, Light Rock, Classic Rock, & Country)

I type… a lot of emails and posts on my blog.

I am ... excited about our upcoming vacation to Isla Mujeres!

I wish.... all my family and friends were joining us on our trip.

I regret.... some of the less-than-brilliant financial decisions I have made in the past.

I care.... for children with special needs. I feel that working with the special needs population is what God has called me to do, and I plan to return to teaching Special Ed. when I go back to working full time.

I should.... go to the gym more often.

I am.... 32 years old, but feel just like I did when I was 21. It’s strange to realize this phenomenon of feeling younger than your actual age, but I guess it is better than the alternative of feeling older than you actually are. I pray that never happens to me.

I say.... “settle down” and “stop running in the house” numerous times each day to my kids. Sometimes I’m like a broken record.

I wonder.... what my children will be like as teens and as adults?

I changed.... my mind about becoming a teacher. I use to say that I would never teach school, but I discovered that it was a good career for me after all.

I cry.... when I get angry or during sentimental movies.

I lose.... my keys in my house all the time because I don’t always put them in the same place when I come home. I really need to improve on this.

I leave.... too much housework undone. (Another area that needs improvement.)

Yea! Finally finished with this task. Believe it or not, completing this list was harder than I expected. My turn to tag, and I choose Leslie and Meriann.

Back to Isla Mujeres!!!

2008-02-02T22:48:00.001-06:00

I am so excited that we are planning a return trip to Isla Mujeres in June! I booked our airfare this week, and we got an amazing deal from vivaaerobus.com. This is a new charter with daily flights from Austin to Cancun starting in May. I am now trying to decide which hotel I want to stay in. There are many good options on the island. We stayed at the beautiful Avalon Reef Club last summer courtesy of my parent's timeshare membership, but will be at a different hotel this time. I think that planning the trip is almost half the fun of the whole experience. Looking forward to spending time in the warm Caribbean will certainly brighten my mood on these remaining cold winter days. Feel free to join us in paradise. We want all our friends and family to feel welcome to experience this wonderful island destination with us. Let me know if you are interested, and I'll give you more details.

Rex's Surgery

2008-01-31T10:03:00.001-06:00

Everything went really well on Friday with Rex's surgery. He was such a little trooper, and very brave through it all. I was so relieved that the weather cooperated, and we didn't have an ice storm to contend with. We had to be downtown at the Children's Pavilion surgery center by 6:30 in the morning! It took a couple of hours to do the pre-op stuff, and then they took him to the O.R. around 8:45. He was out of surgery about 20 minutes later, and came to us in the recovery area about 30 minutes after that. The whole process was very quick. We left the hospital around 11:00. As you can see by the pictures (sorry the quality is so poor...we forgot our camera and had to use Tim's phone to take the pictures), Rex was all smiles through the whole thing. He did not complain of any pain or discomfort (except when they took out the I.V....he said, "ouch!"), and thankfully the anesthesia did not make him sick. Thank you for your prayers!

Mary and Joseph

2008-01-29T16:48:00.000-06:00

Mara and Rex were playing together this afternoon. Mara put a blanket over her head and pretended to be Mary. Rex came and told me that Mara was Mary, but I misunderstood him. I thought he said, “Mara is married.” I then said to Mara, “You’re married? Who is your husband?” Without hesitating she said, “Joseph”. That’s when Rex explained that he had told me she was “Mary” not “married”. I must admit that I was very impressed that my 2-year-old daughter knew that Joseph was Mary’s husband. She really is a smart little girl. Now if we can only apply some of that intelligence to potty training. =)

Super Rex

2008-01-24T09:31:00.000-06:00

Rex is modeling his new Superman costume. He earned this costume for good behavior at school. He receives stamps from his teacher in his daily folder for good behavior. Then, we put stickers on a chart on the refrigerator each day he gets a new stamp in his folder. The chart has 25 boxes, and Rex gets to choose a toy ($25 or less) when his chart is full. For some reason (not sure where he got his inspiration) he wanted a muscle chest Superman costume as his reward. He was very excited to wear the suit. He kept walking around the living room pretending to punch things, and saying, "this suit really does make me strong...it really does." I'm glad that he earned his reward before the weekend so that he can play with it as he recovers from his surgery on Friday. Rex is having a new set of tubes put in his ears and his adenoids removed tomorrow. Please pray that all goes well with this procedure.

Who should I vote for?

2008-01-17T10:02:00.000-06:00

I am not an aspiring political scientist, but I do like to make an informed choice when it comes to voting. I pride myself on being an independent voter, but sometimes I have a hard time knowing which candidate would best represent my personal views. That's why I was intrigued by a website that I discovered on someone else's blog. http://www.selectsmart.com/president/2008.html This site has a simple survey where you can input your preferences, and then it generates a report that compares your choices to all of the presidential hopefuls. This allows you to see which candidates are most and least compatible with you on many of the major issues. I hope that you might find it helpful as I did.

High Five

2008-01-16T21:25:00.000-06:00

When I went to get Mara out of her crib following her nap this afternoon, she was all excited about her shoes. It took me a few seconds to figure out what she was trying to tell me, but it all became clear when I noticed that her shoes were on the wrong feet. She had obviously taken off her shoes, and then put them back on her feet all by herself. She even managed to fasten the velcro on her own. I was very impressed, and praised her saying "good job". She then said in a most adorable way, "High five, Mommy!"...and put her hand up in the air for me to hit. It was too cute!

Girlfriend Time

2008-01-11T09:00:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun this past weekend with my girlfriends in Tyler and Canton. There were six women in our group (all from our small group Bible study). We drove from McKinney to a beautiful condo on lake Palestine. We spent Friday night there, then went to First Monday in Canton on Saturday, then back to Tyler for Saturday night, and finally home on Sunday. We had a blast just visiting. It's amazing how much we can talk when given the chance. Having no husbands nor children around to distract us gave us ample opportunity to gab. I think I went to sleep around 3:45 a.m. on Friday night and 1:30 a.m. on Saturday night...or should I say Sat. & Sun. mornings? Either way, it was very late, but well worth the sleep deprivation to have such great talks with my friends. I am so blessed with such loving Christian sisters. I talked so much that my throat was completely hoarse by Monday. My only regret is that I forgot to bring my camera. Oh well, I'll just have to be sure and take it next time. I can't wait to go again!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T22:10:00.001-06:00

Wow! It's hard to believe that 2008 is already here. This past year has just flown by for me. 2007 ended well for the Dooley's. We had a wonderful Christmas holiday with our family. Rex and Mara had so much fun with their new toys on Christmas morning. Then we all enjoyed visits with our grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Everyone had fun playing with Tim's new toy (Rock Band). This is always such a fun time of the year...Can't wait to see what's in store for us in 2008!

Santa Picture

2007-12-17T23:02:00.000-06:00

We took the kids to the Bass Pro Shop to visit Santa. This was an ideal place to see the big guy because there was virtually no wait. Plus, they have such a cool set-up for Santa with a vintage looking sleigh complete with all nine reindeer! Rudolph poised to leap over Rex's head.
Mara had fun pretending to feed Rudolph.
Ho! Ho! Ho! ...Santa says, "hello".
The picture turned out pretty good. Mara was happy, but was not feeling generous with her smiles. (I'm just glad that she's not crying)

C.T. Eddins Elementary

2007-12-13T09:54:00.000-06:00

I am so excited that Rex's elementary school, C. T. Eddins Elementary, was named a National Blue Ribbon School this year. It is a great accomplishment. The school is one of only 14 elementary schools in the whole state to receive this recognition. His school did a lot of special things last week to celebrate their status. The kids had Blue Bell ice cream on Monday and Friday was blue hair day...just to name a few. We went to a Pep Rally in front of the school on Thursday night. It was all a lot of fun. I know the pictures are a little dark, but you get the idea. McKinney Boyd High School Cheerleaders
Scott Johnson Middle School Band
Rex & Mrs. McClellan
Rex & Riley

(Riley & Rex are both in kindergarten at Eddins, but have been friends since they were babies in cradle roll class at church.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-30T15:08:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful time last weekend in Burnet for Thanksgiving.

We enjoyed a traditional dinner with turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings at my grandmother (Nanny's) house. Rex was privileged to sit at the grown-up table.I was very thankful to have both of my grandfathers and my Dad share Thanksgiving with me.
Yummy! Dinner was delicious. Tim and I really enjoyed the whole weekend...lots of food and football (especially the A&M vs. t.u. game). Whoop!
Mara had fun in Nanny's little rocking chair. It's just the right size for her.
Grana loves to read Rex and Mara bedtime stories. Our family is truly blessed, and we have so many reasons to be thankful. Praise God for taking such good care of us!

Locked Out

2007-11-29T15:00:00.000-06:00

Mara and I had quite the adventure this afternoon. I went out into the garage to get something, and when I tried to open the door to get back into the house I was horrified to find that the door was locked! Mara had managed to punch the button lock to the garage access door. This doorknob is tough to turn especially when the lock is engaged. Mara tried to open it for me, but was unsuccessful. I then opened the garage, went around to the front door, and tried to get her to open it for me. The front door was deadlocked, but I thought she might be able to turn the deadbolt so that I could get in. I coached her through the door for quite a while on turning the lock, but it was no use. She wasn't able to unlock any of the doors for me. What to do? What to do? My two-year-old has locked me out of my house! I don't even have a cell phone with me to call for help. Luckily, my neighbor was outside loading furniture into his car. I was able to borrow his cell phone to call Tim at work. Tim was then able to call his parents who live only 20 minutes away, and they have an extra key for our house. Thankfully, Tim's dad was able to immediately come to my rescue. Mara was fine through it all. She was happily playing with her toys on the floor of the living room when we finally got the door open. I think she was relieved to have me back inside the house, and she was even more excited to see Grandpa. What a hassle! I've learned my lesson. From now on, I'm keeping a spare key in the garage for just such an emergency.

Our Little Monster

2007-11-13T20:07:00.001-06:00

Mara is such a mess! She is really starting to get mischievous. Rex picked these fangs from the "prizes" at Chuck E Cheese last weekend. Mara just had to give them a try too. She gave us all a big laugh with her new grin. She talks all the time now, and we are constantly amazed by the things she says. For example...We were shopping in the toy department at Wal-Mart last week when Mara pointed to a stuffed dog and said, "I see a dalmation." It took me a moment to process what she had said because I would have expected her to say "dog" or "puppy", but to say "dalmation" really took me by surpise. She is also getting a bit cheeky. Sometimes she will walk with tiny baby steps when she knows I want her to come to me quickly...such as when we are going through the front door, and she knows that I am waiting for her to enter so that I can shut the door behind her. She also does this when I want her to go to the changing table for a diaper change (not her favorite activity..nor mine). She walks regular speed until about five feet from the table. Then, she starts with the baby steps just to push my buttons. Where does she get that from? I blame Tim!

Trunk or Treat

2007-11-05T09:46:00.000-06:00

Rex and Mara had so much fun at church on Wednesday night. First, they got to wear their costumes to Bible class. Rex dressed up as Jango Fett (he is a bounty hunter from Star Wars). Mara dressed up as Raggedy Ann. After class, we participated in "trunk or treat”. All the children went to the parking lot where adults gave out candy from the trunks of their cars. This was a fun alternative to "trick or treating" in our neighborhood. It was special to be with our church friends. I gave out candy from the back of our van while Tim escorted our kids around the parking lot. There were so many cute costumes! Mara's Raggedy Ann costume was a big hit. I took a picture of her with Ms. Sherry (one of our children's ministers) who was also dressed as Raggedy Ann. I am grateful to Ms. Sherry and Ms. Deneen for organizing this activity because it was a very fun night for everyone!

Mara, my adorable Raggedy Ann doll.

Jango Fett shows off his twin blasters. Rex loved the holster and the blasters that make authentic movie sounds when you pull the triggers.

Mara & Ms. Sherry

Pumpkin Patch

2007-11-01T14:36:00.000-05:00

Rex's class finally made it to the pumpkin patch yesterday after it got rained out last week. I'm so glad that it was postponed because the weather was perfect yesterday. Everyone had fun at the farm. We got to feed the animals, play on a giant spider, ride the hay ride, and of course pick a pumpkin. Rex enjoyed all of it, but I think the highlight for him was the school bus ride to and from the farm. While riding the bus on the way to the farm, I heard him say, "This is the best adventure ever!" Rex has a ball on the school bus.
Feeding the goats.
Climbing on the giant spider legs.
Mrs. McClellan's class in the pumpkin patch.

Tim's New Job

2007-10-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

Well, after over a decade of working for Alcatel, Tim began a new chapter in his professional career when he started his new job with Mercer HR Services yesterday. He is excited about the new opportunity, but it is a big change for him since he was with Alcatel for such a long time (since leaving A&M). Leaving Alcatel has been bitter-sweet for Tim. He is sorry to leave his friends and colleagues, and it feels strange to walk away from the company that has been a part of his life for so long. However, things have been difficult in the telecom. industry for quite a few years, and Tim was blessed to survive numerous lay-offs at the company. Then, last year Alcatel merged with Lucent, and things have been very unstable for months as these two companies worked to combine. The stress of this instability caused by the merger has been tough for Tim. Thankfully, this new opportunity just fell into his lap. My brother-in-law, Jeremy, told Tim about the job at Mara's birthday party in September. Jeremy had just been looking on an Aggie job posting website, and noticed a post placed on the site by one of his fraternity brothers. The job description was a great match for Tim's qualifications, and the company is located not too far from us (N. Dallas). Tim followed up on this lead, and everything just fell into place for him to take the job. We are truly blessed by this new opportunity. While the transition from his old position to this new one may be stressful at times, it gives us great peace to know that God has led him here. There is no other explanation for how this job opportunity came about other than to say it clearly was a "God Thing". Praise God for taking such good care of us! Please keep Tim in your prayers as he makes this job transition.

Soccer

2007-10-08T21:29:00.000-05:00

Rex began playing soccer this fall. It is the first time he has ever played a team sport, and it has been quite an adventure. His team is called the Eddins Wildcats (the boys chose this name because they all attend school at C.T. Eddins Elementary, and the school mascot is a wildcat). In fact, there are six boys on Rex's team and five of the boys (including Rex) are in the same Kindergarten class. It has been fun getting to know so many of his school mates and their parents. The Wildcats have had a rough season though. They have been outscored at every game, but the team has made a lot of improvements since the start of the season. Rex has really come a long way. He seems to understand the game better and better with each practice and Saturday match. I'm very proud of him!

Here's a short video of Rex playing soccer... This age group plays 3 on 3 with no goalies...Rex is number 5.

Karlie Mae Thomas

2007-10-04T21:21:00.001-05:00

My sister, Lillie, and her husband, Mark welcomed their first child into the world on Friday, September 28th. Karlie Mae Thomas was 6 pounds 9 ounces, 20 inches long, and was born at 4:53pm. Both mom and baby are at home now, and doing great. Karlie's arrival was especially thrilling to me because I was able to be in the delivery room when she was born. What a miracle to witness her take her first breath! Her birth date is also very special because it is also the birthday of her great-grandmother. My grandmother, Nanny, turned 84 on Friday. I know that Nan was thrilled with the present of a new great-grandchild! Thanks for keeping Lillie and the baby in your prayers, and praise God for this beautiful blessing.

Balloons & Theater

2007-09-23T15:48:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun on Friday night! We had tickets to see "The Lion King" at the Musical Hall at Fair Park. On our way down to Dallas, we stumbled onto the hot air balloon flight of the Plano Balloon Festival. It was amazing to see so many balloons in the sky!Rex was so excited to see "The Lion King live on stage" as he liked to call it. It was his first broadway show experience. I was a little worried that the late and lengthy performance might be a bit much for him, but he did a great job the whole time. I knew he loved it when he told me that he nolonger wanted to dress up as a Star Wars character for Halloween, but wanted to be Simba (the young lion) instead.

We had great seats for the show (first row balcony on the right & next to the aisle). It was especially neat when the performers came out into the audience for one of the numbers. One of the singers/dancers was right next to us (close enough to touch). We could hear him singing without his microphone...very cool!The late night and all the excitement finally got the better of him. So tired...Rex fell asleep on the way home from the show.

Mara's 2nd Birthday

2007-09-11T11:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Mara!

I can't believe that my baby is already two years old! She is growing up so fast. We had a very fun family birthday celebration weekend at the lake house. Mara was so excited about her party...turns out she's quite the party princess. She had a blast opening her presents and eating cake.Mara really tore into her gifts, and made fast work of opening all of her birthday presents. I had a tough time keeping up with her as she quickly threw the tissue paper out of bags and ripped open the wrapped gifts.Mara was very excited about her new shoes. Grana and Papa gave her these sparkly red shoes to play in, and a pair of flashy light-up tennis shoes. She couldn't wait to put the new shoes on her feet.
Mara loved all of her new things. Here she is giving her new doll a ride in her new stroller. Notice she is also wearing some new bracelets that Nanny gave her as well as one of the new tennis shoes...She really wanted to wear the new shoes, but just couldn't wait for me to put the other one on before playing.Yum!Yum! Mara enjoys her birthday cake.

Biker babe, Mara, rides her new trike from Grandma and Grandpa in her bathing suit.

Mara and Daddy enjoy swimming in the lake.

What a fun birthday weekend!

On-Line Shopping

2007-09-06T12:13:00.001-05:00

What would I do without the Internet? I am amazed by how much I rely on our home computer. I'm so spoiled to have the cable modem and such fast Internet service. I get very frustrated on the rare occasion that the Internet is slow or down, and I can't do what I want on-line. I mostly go on-line to communicate with friends and family, but there are other perks too...such as on-line shopping. Here are two examples of recent on-line purchases...

Rex's new Star Wars backpack and lunchbox

We looked and looked before school started for a new Star Wars backpack and lunchbox for Rex to take to Kindergarten. We had no luck finding anything in the stores. Star Wars items can be tough to find since it is extremely popular, but there isn't a lot of merchandise out right now with no recent movies, etc. to promote. The Internet is a different story. There is a ton of Star Wars items available on-line. We were able to buy his new backpack and lunchbox on eBay. I just wish that I'd started shopping on-line early enough for him to have these new things before his first day of school. Instead, they became the reward for a good first week. He was very excited about them.

Halloween Costume Preview

I just love this Raggedy Ann costume that I found for Mara in an on-line store. I knew that I wanted Mara to be Raggedy Ann for Halloween, but was not seeing any in the stores. Aunt Lezlee helped me locate it through an on-line costume store. We ordered it on Saturday, and it arrived in the mail by Wednesday. I tried it on her this morning... just to make sure it would fit. I think she looks so adorable! I just had to take her picture with the Raggedy Ann doll that Nanny made for her. I can't wait for Halloween!

Yea!...It's Friday!

2007-08-31T16:34:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to report that we made it through our first week with Rex in Kindergarten. It has been a busy, but good week for us. Rex seems to be adjusting well to his much more demanding schedule. This is the first time he has gone to school five days a week. His summer day camp was four days a week, but was only half-day. (His Kindergarten is M-F, from 8:20-3:20) Plus, he has church on Wednesday nights and soccer practice on Thursday nights. Surprisingly, he hasn't seemed too worn out though.

He received a stamp in his folder for good behavior 4 of the 5 school days this week. He did have some behavior problems on Tuesday, and had to spend some time in time-out during centers. This also resulted in a note from the teacher instead of a stamp in his daily folder. Of course, he had additional consequences at home. I'm hopeful that he got the message loud and clear that we expect good behavior at school!

It is clear that Rex is having fun at school. He really likes center time. The first day he spent center time in the home center, but since then, he has played with the transportation toys, playdough, and enjoyed the listening center for the past two days. Yesterday, his class hunted around the school for the gingerbread man. They read the gingerbread man story, and made the hats that Rex is wearing in the picture. Overall, I have to say that this first week of school has been a great success!

Mara is doing fine too. I feel bad that I haven't written much about her on this blog yet, but she's not quite as busy as Rex has been lately. She seems to be coping well without her big brother around all the time though. I took her to Grandma and Grandpa's house to play on Wednesday, and she did ask, "Where's Rex?"...he's usually there playing with her. I think she's liking the mommy-time, but probably misses her playmate.

While the week went well, I'm thrilled that it's the weekend (and a long one at that)...Time to recharge the batteries before it all begins again!

Rex's 1st Day of School

2007-08-27T14:33:00.001-05:00

Well, today was the day that Rex officially became a Kindergartener! It was a very exciting morning. I woke him up early, and he ate a good breakfast (cheese omelet, bananas, and milk) before getting ready for school. Then, backpack in hand, he headed out the door for the short walk to the school.

Mr. Serious Rex ... I think he is still half asleep in this picture.

C. T. Eddins Elementary

It is wonderful to be so close to the school! I love that we only have to cross the street, and walk up this sidewalk to the school's front door.

Rex and Daddy pause for a picture before heading up the remaining walkway to the doors of the school.

Almost there...

The hallway was very crowded with staff, parents, and children heading to class. Rex was not intimidated in the least by all the activity. He hustled through the crowd toward his classroom like an old pro.

Rex rounds the corner into his classroom.

Rex heads over to the cubbies to put up his backpack before finding his seat.

Camille and Rex play with the bears at their seats.

Rex's table with friends Camille, Logan, and Madison.

Ready for a fun first day.

I just had to give my sweet boy some sugar before leaving him for the day.

Daddy shares some last minute words of wisdom with Rex before we go.

The classroom is already full of activity and the day has just begun.

Bye Rex! Have a fantastic first day!

Post School Day Report:

Mara and I headed over to the school to pick Rex up this afternoon. It was very hot, and we had to wait for quite a while. Finally, his class came out of the building, and I snapped these pictures. When Rex saw me, his first words were, "I just had kinda a not good day." Of course, my heart just sank. The whole class filed out of the Kindergarten doors and proceeded up the sidewalk to their designated areas. It was pretty chaotic to retrieve him from his teacher because the front of the school was a mass of parents, teachers, and clueless children, and I was trying to navigate the swarm pushing Mara in the stroller. We survived it though, and I'm sure that tomorrow will be easier.

I had a chance to visit with Rex about his day in detail on the walk home. Apparently, his teacher got onto him in the cafeteria because he got out of his seat several times(last night we discusses that he was not allowed to get out of his chair at the lunch table, so he already knew that was a rule). It turns out that he got up because he had a problem. He could not find the juice boxes that I packed in his lunchbox because they were in a different compartment from the other lunch items(I showed him where they were this morning, but I think he was too tired at the time, and it didn't register)...He thought that I'd forgotten to pack his drink. This led to him getting chocolate milk from the lunch line. (Now he's going to want me to "forget" his drink everyday because he loves chocolate milk) I feel bad that I contributed to his confusion that led to him getting into trouble, but I think he'll remember the rule about staying in your seat in the cafeteria from now on.

I really think that he had a good first day. He told me that his favorite thing was playing in the home center during center time, and that he had two new girlfriends named Camille and Madison (the girls that sit at his table). He got a blue star stamped in his take-home folder that indicates a "good day". I am very proud of my big boy!

Meet the Teacher Night

2007-08-22T10:47:00.000-05:00

Rex had the opportunity to meet his new Kindergarten teacher and check out his classroom last night at the Meet the Teacher Ice Cream Social. It was very exciting to check out the school again (we toured it for the first time in the spring during the Kindergarten Round-Up). We also had the chance to meet his teacher, Mrs. McClellan, and also meet some of his classmates. I know he is going to have such a fun school year!

Daddy and Rex enjoy ice cream in the school cafeteria.

Yum! Yum!

Rex and Mrs. Raleeh (the principal)
I taught with her at Glen Oaks Elementary before she went into administration. It's nice to have familiar faces at this new school.

Heading down the hallway to the Kindergarten area.

Rex's Kindergarten Classroom
Things were a little chaotic when we first entered the room. It was full of parents and children all sorting out new school supplies into the designated areas. That is Rex's teacher, Mrs. McClellan is in the middle of it all.

Rex and Mrs. McClellan

Rex's seat

Rex checks out some of the cool things in his new classroom with two of the girls in his class.

I was very impressed with Rex's new classroom. It seemed structured, but fun too. I can just imagine all the cool things they will be doing there, and all the many new things that Rex is going to learn. It is hard to believe that he is old enough to go to Kindergarten! It seems like yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital. It is a little sad that he is growing up so fast, but I'm really looking forward to this Kindergarten year. I am excited for all of the new experiences that he is going to have. It is sure to be a great adventure!

Howdy!

2007-08-19T13:32:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Dooley Family Blog! For some time now, I've been wanting to start a blog to keep our friends and family updated about our activities. I just decided that today is the day! Rex is about to start Kindergarten, and Mara is such an active toddler. It seems like they are doing new things everyday that I want to tell others about, but until now, I didn't have an easy way to share our family news. I will try to contribute to this site as often as possible. I hope you enjoy it, and visit as often as you can.