Monday, August 25, 2008

End of Summer


Today was the 1st day of school with students. It's hard to believe it is time for school to start already! Where did the time go? I'm excited for the new school year - there are definitely going to be some great things happening. But I'm also slightly mourning the summer time. I know I was starting to get bored, but now that I look back on it, I'm going to miss sleeping in and going to the beach and watching seasons of Smallville all day long. So as a tribute to the end of summer, here is a recap of a few of my favorite memories:



  1. Vacation at Lake Winnipesaukee - ironically, the joke that whole week was that I was pregnant. Turns out that wasn't such a big joke afterall!

  2. Jack making an idiot of himself: As we were driving on 95 S, Jack says "look how pretty the moon is tonight!" To which katie replies, "Jack, that's the Potomac Mills sign!" It was funny. If you aren't from around here and don't know what Potomac Mills is, just take my word for it.

  3. Girl's Nights - mmm margaritas :) I guess that will be on hold for a few months though!

  4. Beach w/ the Donohoes, and cooking the crabs we caught! yum!

  5. Weddings galore - weddings are always fun.

  6. Having time to actually read a book, go to the movies, etc.

  7. 4th of July fireworks - I do love fireworks!

  8. Girl's Weekend - Even though we didn't get to make it to the beach, it was still a blast! Great company!

  9. Taking Boomer swimming - I love seeing how happy he is in the water!

  10. Me and Jack's 1 year anniversary celebration!


Sunday, August 17, 2008

How did I get to this point?


The other night Katie and I went to a little kid production of a musical that they learned in about 1 week. Granted the musical was put on by many people from our church, and was an attempted Christian spin off of the movie Grease.
So besides asking the question of what are you doing spending your Friday night at a little kid musical, the answer is
1) i am prepping myself for fatherhood
2) I also have an undying love for musicals.

I am not sure why this is totally. I will admit that growing up my parents were great schemers, and took advantage of the fact that my brothers and I were completely oblivious. So my mom worked at the Va Tech Library and would rent movies from there. These movies generally ranged from the 60's disneys classics Old Yeller, Swiss Family Robinson, to the complete Rodgers and Hammerstein collection, The Music Man, Mary Poppins etc.

So i had no clue that I was missing out on the movies and cartoons most kids were watching, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Smurfs, XMen, Monster Trucks, and Professional Wrestling. I would come in talking up The professor Harold Hill from the Music Man or Friedrich from the sound of music, and felt left out when I did not know what weapon Rafael used to defeat shredder, beebop, and rocksteady.

So while i somehow assumed an appreciation for musical theatre, I never really adapted it and thought towards the future about how much I might enjoy doing it. I mean I can recite soundtracks from many of these movies with the best of them, and even took a Jazz dance class my last semester in college to somehow lodge some of my longing memories for musicals.

I have actually admitted to Katie, that I have not given up on getting voice lessons, and looking back on it. Had i of been a little bit more secure with my manhood in middle school (which I do not think is possible for any dude, talk about an awkward time for any 12-14 year old). I would of done it, b/c lets be honest my tenure with the trumpet is one that most of us would love to forget. Even If I was blessed (cursed?) with the Donohoe voice, I would of at least of had fun doing chorus.

I feel I have started thinking about this a lot more recently due to the release of High School Musical. As much as dudes make fun of zac efron types for dancing and being fairy like. I believe many others and myself are extremely jealous. So right now I am trying to figure out whether I should still pursue this dream, of doing something in a musical/entertainment oriented production. Or if I should live this vicariously through my children. I mean there is no doubt that Bruce will be a stud in sports, but I would love nothing more for him to be a renaissance man. We can look forward to 20 years from now and Him and I will be performing a song from Oklahoma.

So when future performances come up that are done by the school or church. Be not mistaken Bruce will be signed up, and he will be the most charismatic, rehearsed, and professional one out there. I mean I still love the kids in performances who stare at the ceiling and pick their wedgies. Bruce will be held tp a higher standard. He will not only have his name called out in sporting events, but on the stage as well. So while some kids would look back at my growing up as parents raising there kids vicariously through the 60's. I am glad to of been raised under the wings of Fred Astaire, Robert Preston, Gordon Macrae and Dick Van Dyke. Who knows maybe Bruce will say the same about Zac Efron.
Thanks Mom and Dad

Friday, August 15, 2008

Achew.

My first illness as a pregnant woman has come. I don't think it has anything to do with being pregnant though. From what I hear from others, I have been supremely blessed to not have morning sickness. I'm crossing my fingers that the hours of vomiting never begin. Could I be so lucky? Anyway this current sickness is some sort of sinusy thing. I've been congested and my throat hurts like never before. Normally it wouldn't be that big of a deal but with pregnancy, there is a list of about 3 medicines I'm allowed to take. Too bad none of the "make my throat feel better now" meds are on the list. So for now I'm going natural (I can do it for a cold, but for labor, forget it). In the mean time Jack has been a wonderful husband - going to the store to get meds and foods I can eat and waiting on me and and foot. He's so nice.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Gestating has commenced


For those regular readers of this blog, you may not familiar with my work yet. My name is Jack Donohoe husband of the prettier, better half of, but still incomplete without me part of the Donohoe Dynasty Mrs. Jack Donohoe (aka Katie)
Anyways I digress. As you can see to the left hand portion of your screen there is a picture of what appears to be a pregnancy test. This is not just a pregnancy test, but one that has been taken, and we are proud to say that we passed it with flying colors.
I mean there was only one question, and I guess you could say that Katie and I began answering that question almost 8 weeks ago.
So what that sums up is that yes Katie is pregnant, knocked up, with child, gestating, got a visit from the stork (add your pregnant term here).
So while this is still early in the process we are thrilled. I find the most enjoyable part is getting to break the news to people, I am guilty of doing this to probably way to many people then I should, and have even told many of Katies friends and family before she got a chance to. Somehow Katie has been able to hold out from telling people, while for me it gets to the point where I am physically unable to be in public with people If I can not tell them. I become almost a social recluse, reverberating back almost to the mindset of a 6th grader.
So a majority of the questions we have been getting up to this point are the following.
How long have you known?
Do you want to find out the sex of the baby yet?
Were you guys planning this to happen?
And have you picked out any names yet?

I will try to answer these questions in no specific order. Without getting into to much detail, Katie and I were not really planning on this happening but at the same time there is really only one way to get pregnant. (If you don't know how this happens I suggest that you have a conversation with my family life teacher from sixth grade) So we weren't planning on this happening, but we can not say that we were surprised that it was a possibility.

We had suspicions that it could be the case almost 3 weeks ago, but we didn't do the test above until about a week and a half ago. Being that this was our first time for this to happen, we had no clue how to respond. According to the directions the test was supposed to take up to 2 minutes for it to finish. Much to my surprise it was about 3 seconds after taking it that Katie says the following "That was quick" After wincing and placing the stick in various measures of light we decided there was no way around it but to accept the fact that we were pregnant.

Well I was thrilled at this and I wanted to start blabbering as much as possible, but we decided that a $10 test from CVS was not what we wanted to base the next 9 months of our lives on. So we scheduled an appt to get a confirmation and I had to wait a whole 5 days before I could talk to anyone about this. For those of you who talked to me or tried to hold conversations with me between the dates of August 2 and August 6 I apologize If I appeared to act like I was 12, I probably was.

As for finding out the sex Katie and I vehemently disagree on this issue. I want so bad to find out the sex, and Katie does not. This once again shows my impatience and excitement. Also I am hoping for a boy and Katie says shed be fine with either. But hear me out on this. We plan on having more then one child, so there is plenty of room for girls to be had. So wouldn't you want your daughters to have an older brother to look out for them? I mean it is pretty much like science or a proof. Also I can almost guarantee that I will screw up raising our first child, and I feel that Boys will probably be screwed up anyways, so we can waste a lot of our mistakes on them, and then sanely raise our daughters. I mean lets be honest, when Katie and I get old and cant do anything for ourselves anymore I would much rather have daughters that like us taking care of us then sons, who all they can do is mow our lawn. Id prefer to look at how we are raising our family more how Japanese cultures do it, they have kids pretty much as their retirement fund.

Finally in terms of names Katie and I thought we had a good name picked out over a year ago if it was a boy. His name was going to be Bruce, and b/c of this when he would play in sporting events it would be a fun name for all of the fans to say. BBBRRRUUUUUUCCEE!!!! So many of our friends caught wind of this and it has kind of stuck. But lets be honest there is no way we can actually give him that name now. If he were to find out why we picked out his name, compared to the many parents who name it after a biblical figure or family member he would probably have a permanent scarring. So now we actually have to find a real name, and we will use every single bit of the next 7 months to do this. But I will admit that with as popular as the name Bruce has come over the past year, that it will become a nick name for him from many people. So even though his birth certificate might not reflect it, he will still be Bruce to many.

Sorry for the long extended post, I just figure I'd get in as much as I could before Katie logged me off for good. Those are my thoughts for now, take them or leave em, but remember this I have never been a parent before, let alone gone through a pregnancy. So if you actually like any of my advice then I trust you haven't either.

Much love to all
Let the Donohoe Dynasty live on

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Girl's Weekend

It's August, and that can only mean 3 things: school is about to start, everyone I know will go to at least 1 family reunion, and it's time for Girl's Weekend! This year will mark the 4th Annual Girl's Weekend trip for me and my two bff's. We started doing it in college and have somehow found a way through all of our busy schedules to keep it going. We've gone to the beach a few times, a random rendezvous in Winchester, and this year we will make our mark on the great town of Asheville, NC. Honestly I really could care less where we go. I'm just excited to spend time together, just us girls. Life can get so crazy sometimes that it's hard to spend a lot of quality time together. I guess that happens when you go from being roommates to living in different states. So for a couple of days here come late night talks, pool walking tournaments, and educating Rachel in the world of alcohol. Let the fun begin!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Wedding Season

This is a picture of the first wedding Jack and I were in together. It was actually the night of this wedding that we officially started dating! So for good reason, I love weddings. It was always my dream to set up someone in our wedding party. My biggest hope was for Matt to meet my friend Amanda and fall hopelessly in love. But alas, Matt had to show up with Julianne and well, the rest is history :) I guess I'm ok with that now ;)

As a twenty-something, wedding season is definitely upon me. For the last 3 years Jack and I have probably averaged about 10 weddings per year. Just when I think we're running out of weddings to go to, more friends get engaged. Lucky for me I love a good wedding. My favorite part is watching the groom as his bride walks done the isle. So cute. We have 2 more weddings planned for this year and the our calendar is open. So, ahem, someone hurry up and get engaged so we'll have something to do next year!


And just for kicks, here is a picture of the other wedding Jack and I were in together, our own!


I love that boy.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Beans, beans, they're good for your heart...



Here is my cat Beans. Jack got him for me as an anniversary present. To the normal bloke, that would be a strange present. But coming from Jack, I saw it as a sign of true love. I've always wanted a kitten. But Jack doesn't even like cats. So for him to get it for me earned him major bonus points.

Now on to the sad part of the story... As of late Monday night Beans is missing. I think he somehow escaped through the garage and he hasn't been seen since. Sad isn't it? But to me it's not only sad, it's almost like someone is playing a sick joke on me. Let me explain...

Last summer I convinced Jack to let me keep this adorable little kitten that a secretary at my school had rescued. His name was Brutus. Brutus was a great cat, regardless of the $420 vet bill we had to pay when he broke is elbow. Ever seen a cat in a cast? It's pretty funny. But I digress. Last fall we decided Brutus needed a playmate (besides our dog Boomer he continuously mistook him for a chew toy). So we ended up with another kitten from a friend at church. This cat, Bo, was unlike any other cat I've ever met. He pretty much hated everyone and everything. Definitely not the social butterfly we were hoping would keep Brutus company. In the beginning of the new year, we must have contracted some bizarre cat curse. Without much warning, Bo got mysteriously ill and died shortly after. He was only a couple months old. Then, in March (on my birthday to be exact - makes it even sadder), Brutus escaped and got outside. He had done that before and he usually turned back up. One time I thought he was lost for good but it turns out he was just trapped in a kitchen cabinet. oops! But this time he didn't come back. Boomer actually found him down the street on a walk. He had been hit by a car. So 2 cats in, 2 cats gone. Was it bad luck? a curse? or just a coincidence? Who knows. But now that Beans is missing after only 2 weeks of having him, I have to think that it must be the cat curse. If I didn't know any better I'd really start to wonder if curses really did exist...

In the mean time, I put up flyer's around the neighborhood in hopes that he will turn up and someone will bring him home. I felt like a 5 yr old doing it, but I'm determined to prove that I'm not such a bad pet owner after all.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Peer Pressure

Well, I did it. I succumbed to peer pressure and created a blog. Apparently everybody's doing it these days. And I'm not one to be left out (especially with all of the free time I find myself with these days). I have 2 solid weeks left before school starts, so I should be good until then. But after August 25th I make no promises!

In the mean time, enjoy!