March 17th has always been one of my favorite days. I'm not Irish. Brett may be, he's not quite sure, but it suspected that Donnals was once O'Donnals. I guess it goes back to college (where we used any excuse we could to party) when there would be huge parties of students imbibing in green-tinted beer throughout the bars on Court Street (in Athens, OH). Then, post-college, the annual gathering at OB's bar in west Toledo. (Whatever happened to the McDonald's Shamrock Shakes?)
This year, appropriately, we are going to spend the day to wear green tending to things that are green: our flower beds. It's that time of year in Memphis to get your gardens in order for the warm weather to come. So first we'll hit Lowe's, then get our hands a little dirty. But, we'll wash up in plenty of time to tap the keg of Irish stout at Bosco's (our tastes may have changed, but some holiday habits are hard to break).
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Where Did February Go?
It's been a while since my last post. February was a rough month around the Donnals house.
First, Hallie got sick. It was February 10th, the day of the much anticipated FCC Memphis Chinese New Year party, which we missed. Hallie woke up that morning with a fever and with her history of febrile seizures, we immediately started to worry. We ended up taking her to the doctor that morning and she had a viral infection which did eventually lead to an ear infection. She ran a fever for a few days (we successfully kept it from ever getting over 102 degrees). She stayed home for three days, which means Brett and I stayed home off and on for three days. We celebrated Chinese New Year at home by reading a new book I bought for Hallie about the Chinese holiday and eating lo mein.
By that Friday, I started to feel horrible. I knew this would happen. It was inevitable. It started with a cough and fatigue. I think I ran a fever for a few days, too. I slept as much as I could all weekend and Brett really helped out. I had Monday the 19th off for President's Day, but because I missed so much work the week before and I was faced with a huge project, I went in for most of the day. I finally went to the doctor on Thursday because I was so congested. I got some antibiotics, went back to work, then picked up my mom at the airport that night. She came to stay with us for a week so I could travel to Nashville for that big project I mentioned earlier. I worked on it all the following weekend then went to Nashville for two days. I finally started to feel better the day we left.
It was really great to have my mom here all week, although I was so busy with work, I didn't have much time to spend with her. Hallie had so much fun playing with Grandma, though. I kept her out of school all week. It is really important to me that she gets to bond with her grandparents, none of whom she sees very often.
We took my mom to the airport last Friday, then loaded up the car and drove to Brett's sister's house in St. Charles, Missouri to prepare for his mom's surprise 80th birthday party Saturday night in Vandalia, Illinois. Bonnie was completely surprised. We walked out of church after 5:00 Mass and this huge group of family and friends yelled "Happy Birthday!" Brett's nephews and one of his sisters entertained everyone with music. It was a very nice party. Hallie had a great time, too. But, were we ever tired on the way back to Memphis Sunday.
This past Monday, Hallie "moved up" to the next class at her daycare. It's for early 3-year-olds and Hallie (who won't turn 3 until April 28th) is the youngest in the class. At FLICC, they move children into older classes as they are ready. The director thought it was time for Hallie to move up. I was very sad as I absolutely adore her Miss Sandra and Miss Maricela. But, she still has breakfast with them and her new class, "The Little Frogs," shares the playground twice a day with Los Ositos ("The Little Bears"). Her new teacher, Miss Lorena, is very nice, too. She has a daughter who also attends the daycare. Hallie seems to love her new class, as the past three nights when I've come to pick her up, she doesn't want to leave. Today, she had a barrette in her hair. When I asked her who put the pretty there, she said "Miss Lorena." FLICC is such a great place. And Hallie is really speaking a lot of Spanish. She knows all of her colors in English and Spanish. She can count to ten in Spanish without blinking an eye. We plan to keep her at FLICC as possible. We may not send her to Pre-K, as I don't really think she will benefit any more from it.
Well, that should get you up to speed on our lives. Three weekends in a row of sickness, mixed in with a lot of work at the office (for both me and Brett). But Hallie was able to spend some good, quality time with both of her grandmothers.
First, Hallie got sick. It was February 10th, the day of the much anticipated FCC Memphis Chinese New Year party, which we missed. Hallie woke up that morning with a fever and with her history of febrile seizures, we immediately started to worry. We ended up taking her to the doctor that morning and she had a viral infection which did eventually lead to an ear infection. She ran a fever for a few days (we successfully kept it from ever getting over 102 degrees). She stayed home for three days, which means Brett and I stayed home off and on for three days. We celebrated Chinese New Year at home by reading a new book I bought for Hallie about the Chinese holiday and eating lo mein.
By that Friday, I started to feel horrible. I knew this would happen. It was inevitable. It started with a cough and fatigue. I think I ran a fever for a few days, too. I slept as much as I could all weekend and Brett really helped out. I had Monday the 19th off for President's Day, but because I missed so much work the week before and I was faced with a huge project, I went in for most of the day. I finally went to the doctor on Thursday because I was so congested. I got some antibiotics, went back to work, then picked up my mom at the airport that night. She came to stay with us for a week so I could travel to Nashville for that big project I mentioned earlier. I worked on it all the following weekend then went to Nashville for two days. I finally started to feel better the day we left.
It was really great to have my mom here all week, although I was so busy with work, I didn't have much time to spend with her. Hallie had so much fun playing with Grandma, though. I kept her out of school all week. It is really important to me that she gets to bond with her grandparents, none of whom she sees very often.
We took my mom to the airport last Friday, then loaded up the car and drove to Brett's sister's house in St. Charles, Missouri to prepare for his mom's surprise 80th birthday party Saturday night in Vandalia, Illinois. Bonnie was completely surprised. We walked out of church after 5:00 Mass and this huge group of family and friends yelled "Happy Birthday!" Brett's nephews and one of his sisters entertained everyone with music. It was a very nice party. Hallie had a great time, too. But, were we ever tired on the way back to Memphis Sunday.
This past Monday, Hallie "moved up" to the next class at her daycare. It's for early 3-year-olds and Hallie (who won't turn 3 until April 28th) is the youngest in the class. At FLICC, they move children into older classes as they are ready. The director thought it was time for Hallie to move up. I was very sad as I absolutely adore her Miss Sandra and Miss Maricela. But, she still has breakfast with them and her new class, "The Little Frogs," shares the playground twice a day with Los Ositos ("The Little Bears"). Her new teacher, Miss Lorena, is very nice, too. She has a daughter who also attends the daycare. Hallie seems to love her new class, as the past three nights when I've come to pick her up, she doesn't want to leave. Today, she had a barrette in her hair. When I asked her who put the pretty there, she said "Miss Lorena." FLICC is such a great place. And Hallie is really speaking a lot of Spanish. She knows all of her colors in English and Spanish. She can count to ten in Spanish without blinking an eye. We plan to keep her at FLICC as possible. We may not send her to Pre-K, as I don't really think she will benefit any more from it.
Well, that should get you up to speed on our lives. Three weekends in a row of sickness, mixed in with a lot of work at the office (for both me and Brett). But Hallie was able to spend some good, quality time with both of her grandmothers.
I think March will be better, if we can all stay healthy!
Oh, one more thing...I booked our Disney cruise for next January! We're taking it after running the Disney Family 5K at Animal Kingdom and watching (we're not that crazy) Brett's nephew run in the Disney Marathon. Brett and I went on our first Disney cruise in June 2004, right after we started to paperchase for Hallie. It will be so great to have her with us on the next cruise! Just ten months away from Florida and a Bahamian island adventure. In the words of Jimmy... "I gotta go where it's warm!"
Friday, February 2, 2007
Snow day!
We don't have snow very often in Memphis, so when it comes, it is a major event. Wednesday night we had a dusting in the city, not enough to cause too much commotion, but more was yet to come. Hallie and I woke up this morning to a blanket of white outside our windows! What a lovely sight, and what lovely words to hear on the morning news, "Memphis City Schools closed!" (Hallie's daycare follows the Memphis schools' weather closings.) I, of course, had to stay home with Hallie, so it was a snow day for me, too. Hallie and I went to the bookstore then McDonald's for lunch. Before that, we built a snowman. Oh, did I mention, 8 hours later, it's all melted!
The snow is not very heavy...making it hard to pack...
but, we finally did it! Here is Hallie's snowman!
Friday, January 26, 2007
School Search
Brett and I took Hallie to visit a "prospective" elementary school last night. Yes, I know she in only 33-months-old (she turns 3 on April 28), but in a city like Memphis, we have to start looking at our options early.
The Memphis City Schools has, what I consider, two school systems: Regular and "Optional." Out of the hundreds of schools in the system, there are about a two dozen so-called Optional schools. These are schools, or "schools-within-schools" that students must test into and parents must wait in line more than a week in advance of registration to possibly get one of the few spots. That's right--wait in line! I haven't done that since I was in high school camping out to get a front row seat to a U2 concert (we didn't get front row, by the way). These are considered the "good" schools--excellent education, few discipline problems. So far we have visited two optional elementary schools: Downtown (which is in our district) and Grahmwood. We were very impressed with both. We may visit another, Snowden located in Midtown. Downtown is closest, obviously, and is brand-new--just four years old. Snowden and Grahmwood would require about 10 and 20 minute drives, respectively. But it would be worth it. My argument is, why aren't ALL the schools considered "optional?" Why don't they all have accelerated education programs for the kids who want to be there?
We are also visiting a few Catholic schools. That is why we are looking so early. We will have to get on waiting lists for the private schools now, maybe even enroll Hallie in a Pre-K program to secure a spot. We have heard good things about Holy Rosary, St. Agnes and of course, our parish school, Immaculate Conception Cathedral School.
Ideally, we'd like to keep her at her child care center, FLICC, as long as possible, where she is learning to speak Spanish. It is such a great school. The optional public schools offer at least one Spanish class each week for their students, so that is a plus.
We'll see and keep you updated as we start the school search.
The Memphis City Schools has, what I consider, two school systems: Regular and "Optional." Out of the hundreds of schools in the system, there are about a two dozen so-called Optional schools. These are schools, or "schools-within-schools" that students must test into and parents must wait in line more than a week in advance of registration to possibly get one of the few spots. That's right--wait in line! I haven't done that since I was in high school camping out to get a front row seat to a U2 concert (we didn't get front row, by the way). These are considered the "good" schools--excellent education, few discipline problems. So far we have visited two optional elementary schools: Downtown (which is in our district) and Grahmwood. We were very impressed with both. We may visit another, Snowden located in Midtown. Downtown is closest, obviously, and is brand-new--just four years old. Snowden and Grahmwood would require about 10 and 20 minute drives, respectively. But it would be worth it. My argument is, why aren't ALL the schools considered "optional?" Why don't they all have accelerated education programs for the kids who want to be there?
We are also visiting a few Catholic schools. That is why we are looking so early. We will have to get on waiting lists for the private schools now, maybe even enroll Hallie in a Pre-K program to secure a spot. We have heard good things about Holy Rosary, St. Agnes and of course, our parish school, Immaculate Conception Cathedral School.
Ideally, we'd like to keep her at her child care center, FLICC, as long as possible, where she is learning to speak Spanish. It is such a great school. The optional public schools offer at least one Spanish class each week for their students, so that is a plus.
We'll see and keep you updated as we start the school search.
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Our Princess with the Princesses
Hallie met Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty) as soon as we walked into the castle.
When Cinderella stopped by she asked, "Do I have a twin at this table?"Hallie was in awe of her favorite princess.
Jasmine thought Hallie looked beautiful in her princess dress.
Ariel (aka The Little Mermaid) was nice enough to give Hallie her autograph.
Belle gave Hallie a kiss on the cheek.She's so nice and loves to read books, just like Hallie.
Back home with our princess
We're back home and (sort of) back to our normal routine following our wonderful trip to Disney World. The highlight of the trip had to be Tuesday when we dined with the Disney Princesses inside a castle in Norway at EPCOT. Hallie was beyond excited. She wouldn't eat or answer to us until every last princess made her way to our table. They were all so nice and hugged and kissed Hallie. I think it was as fun for Brett and me as it was for her. Above are some pictures of our princess with the Disney Princesses.
Monday, January 1, 2007
Happy New Year with Mickey
Happy New Year everyone! We rang in 2007 under the biggest, loudest, fireworks display I have ever seen, over the lake between Downtown Disney and Saratoga Springs (where we are staying). We are celebrating the holiday at Walt Disney World and we're having a blast! We joined Brett's sister and her family in Orlando. They brought steaks so we grilled out last night then went by the pool where the resort was having a party. We secured our location at 9 o'clock so we would have the best spot to view the fireworks. Hallie had fun dancing to the music. They had a DJ, balloons, pop
corn, games--it was very fun (we brought our own drinks, of course). Brett won a prize for having the largest feet at the party! Hallie pooped out around 10:30, but we just laid her back in her stroller, bundled her up in blankets and she snoozed until the grand finale of explosions awakened her.Tonight we are going to one of my favorite Orlando night spots, Margaritaville. Can't wait. Oh, did I mention we are all wearing shorts and played in the pool most of the afternoon yesterday. In the words of Jimmy himself, "the weather is here...wish you were beautiful..." Just kidding! Happy New Year again from the Donnals family.
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