Sweet last days of summer...

Gone is the excitement of the end of the school year...quickly arriving is the nervousness of new kids, new responsibilities, and new adventures.

Until then...I plan to savor a few more glasses of wine on the front porch...walk my dog in the MIDDLE of the day...eat a dozen more delicious tomato sandwiches...and venture to a couple end of summer celebrations.

Dear sweet last days of summer...I wish you would stay forever....

...Ok, maybe not...I am excited to meet the little ones!

Bike MS Readiness

One of my closest friends here in Virginia was diagnosed with MS this spring. I am so excited to have the ability to honor our friendship in October by riding for Robyn in the Bike MS ride in Delaware. I have been biking for about 5 months now and this is the perfect opportunity to challenge myself, and raise money for a cause that hits close to home. I am going to be riding 75 miles (whoa), and have to raise a minimum of $250 dollars. Hopefully I am going to have a happy hour here in Arlington in September to raise money...but in the meantime if you would like to donate you can follow the link below...or you can donate through the National MS tab on my facebook profile. Anything you can give will be fabulous! :)

Click here to donate!

Here's hoping I can ride 75 miles...my training program is below...I am riding 25 now...a bit of a way to go!


Night!

This is why I love my life. I have a family that loves...

1. Dogs
2. Goodtimes, cowboy boots, and good music
3. Each other (most of the time)!

For your viewing pleasure...but most importantly...the Donohue family's animals...minus Big C (Sara's Cat), Captain Jack, and Goose (Ma and Dad's cats). I mean really...do we need any more animals? I can't wait till the holidays when Dixie takes out the Christmas tree with her tail!




Night :)

Bad at Goodbye

Those of you from my past know that I am notoriously bad with goodbyes. They make me...

1. uncomfortable beyond belief
2. sad
3. have a loss for words (which never happens)

So...after talking with my dear friend Christie tonight about how the best blogs show lives for what they really are...happiness...tears...joys...sadness...and the mundane. I decided it was time to share my sadness.

It is only every now and then in life that you find a friend that gets you. Christie is a gets me kind of friend. She has seen my tears, shared my joys, and loved kids with autism with me. I am going to miss her. That is it...I am just going to miss her.

I find in life that we are always saying thanks. Thanks for your help...thanks for listening. But at Camp Royall we always said thanks for your friendship. Friendship is all encompassing...so Christie...thanks for your friendship. I am so excited for your and Robert's new adventure. But true to form...I will see you really soon in Minnesota.

Training Update

Ok...so a little miscommunication. I actually attended PRT (pivotal response training) today not Floortime. It was pretty enjoyable and informative. PRT is kind of like Discrete Trial toned down, initiated during play, and child interest driven. Plus all reinforcements are natural. I learned quite a bit. The only thing I was a bit confused about was the lack of visuals used. The trainers were from Kennedy Krieger and said that they use PRT with DTT and TEACCH. But I was not seeing many visuals or PECS books. So hmmmp. How to incorporate in the classroom. I will keep you posted on that one.

Getting excited for the big party this weekend (and possibly seeing my long lost friend Beth Reynolds)! Welcome home Neal! Now if Chris can just get home. His flight was canceled and now he is taking the red eye to an airport not close to home. Fingers crossed or I might have a mini meltdown tomorrow morning.

Good night for now.

Coming adventures!

Just wanted to take a minute to share the exciting things that are happening this week. I am so excited for the new little kiddies at Reed school. I am going to spend tomorrow working in my classroom and then I am heading to a Floortime training on Thursday! I will let you know how the Greenspan approach presents itself in Arlington. I have to admit that I am only vaguely familiar with Floortime and I am excited to learn a bit more about it (for free)!

But wait...drum please...Neal's welcome home party is this weekend. Chris and I are getting really excited. It will be a weekend filled with family, friends, golf, music, delicious food, and of course dancing and beer (it is a family tradition)! So glad that we can all get together to celebrate Neal coming home...but we will be thinking of his friends and fellow Marines that didn't make it home.

Time for a glass of wine on the porch. Good night for now.

Thinking back...

It is amazing how life changes so quickly. Chris and I were uploading old pictures onto picasa this weekend and got to looking at some of the 'ancient' ones. We forgot how much time has passed, some of many adventures we have taken together, and good times with our friends. So...for your viewing pleasure...some of the good ole days!

*Click on the pic to see it full screen!

Welcome baby Lily

Welcome baby Lily! So excited to have the time to visit Lily, her two gorgeous sisters, Aunt Jenny, and her wonderful husband Sean in NY. Lily is so blessed to be born into such a fabulous family. Her sisters are both gorgeous, smart, and such well behaved young ladies. I am lucky to call them family! Enjoy the pictures of the newest addition to the family!