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A Day at Disney

We had a wonderful day at Walt Disney World and Disney MGM. Here are the pictures from our day.

Here are a few new pictures of Jimmy that have been taken for the last few days. Check out his new Disney Pixar Cars rug that Nani bought for him and he loves it. She also bought several of the cars from the movie and that is all he has been playing with. He is such a gorgeous little guy, even when he is goofying around in pictures.

Happy 9th Birthday Taylor

Taylor celebrated her 9Th birthday yesterday and what a day she had starting at 6 a.m. ready to open her presents. After all the presents were opened, Eric and I went to the kitchen and made her egg casserole, which turned out great. We got Taylor a Baskins Robbins ice cream cake and clown ice cream cones (she has a Barbie candle against her wish but I couldn't find my candles and so she settled for that one.) Eric and I took the kids to Lake Bonny Park for an hour or so while mom stuck around the house and had some quiet time to herself. Taylor wanted meatball grinders for dinner and that is exactly what she got, all in all, she had a pretty good birthday. Today we are headed to Disney World where we will be park hopping today but Jimmy is running 104 temperature so Mom is staying with him, but we couldn't disappoint Taylor. I will take as many pictures as I can and have them posted tonight. Mom is leaving tomorrow morning and we hate to see her go, especially Jimmy who has wanted nothing to do with any of us but wants his Nani all the time. He wants to go back with her so bad and she is planning on coming back soon to pick the kids up and take them back with her for a week or so. check back to check out Taylor's Disney pictures.

Taylor's Birthday Gifts:

Daddy, Mommy and Jimmy: Tinkerbell chair, Outfit designer kit, Disney World

Nani, Grandpa Ky-Ky: Tinkerbell wall clock, Tinkerbell clothes hamper, jammies, outfit, Tinkerbell throw pillow, Tinkerbell lamp, 2 Tinkerbell posters

Poppa and Nani Celli: 3-piece Disney Princess baby doll set (playpen, stroller and High chair)

Maw-Maw: porcelain doll

Aunt Nini: CD walkman

Teresa and Isaiah: make your own bracelet set

Thanks to all who got her something, she loved all of it and had a great birthday.

Taylor's Big Surprise

Taylor's big birthday surprise arrived yesterday afternoon! We took Taylor to the airport and she was expecting to pick up a friend of Eric's when actually we were picking up my mom. Mom decided last week to fly here the day after Thanksgiving and surprise Taylor, and boy did it. Taylor and Jimmy were sitting at a table in the airport when my mom walked up behind them, I had the camcorder in my hand to catch her reaction, when I saw Mom I lifted it and she must have seen me and turned around and then looked back at me and the next thing I knew she had whipped her head back around and jumped off the seat and ran to my mom. Tay and Jim were both so excited. Jimmy actually thought Nani flew out here to pick him up and take him back to Kansas City.

Mom took the kids to Wal-Mart this morning and bought things to decorate their rooms. She took them to dinner at Red Lobster tonight and then to the movies to see Flushed Away. Jimmy is actally sick today and I plan on keeping him home all day tomorrow and hopefully he will be all better on Monday so we can go to Disney World. He was running a temp and has a bad cough, but he loves him Nani being here.

It was a hard secret to keep but the kids were surprised and I am very happy to have my mom here with me. She is driving all over the place and having fun with her grandkids. Thanks for coming and making the kids so happy and me too. I love having you with me and my family and I know this is one of the best birthday presents Taylor could get. We love you Mom/Nani!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, the turkey is in the oven and the giblets and neck are simmering on the stove (so my cats can enjoy a good dinner too), and the rest will be prepared when Taylor wakes up. Jimmy tried to wake up with me but since it was so early I sent him back to bed, I want him to have a happy day, not a grumpy one. Hopefully everyone will have a great day and the food will be fabulous! Love you all and miss you, have a great Turkey Day!

Getting Back on My Feet

I am finally getting over my kidney infection and now I am able to move around. I started having bad pains Sunday night and today is really the first day that I have been able to move about. I prepared the pumpkin pie and cranberries this morning, which makes two less things that will need to be done tomorrow. Jimmy and Taylor helped with the pie and it turned out very nice. I have been in pain the last few days, so it is nice not having it constantly. I still have the throbbing that comes along with this but it is nothing too bad and I am grateful, I was afraid that I would be down for the count Thanksgiving. Jimmy wants to help tomorrow as well so I will let him join in on the cooking as well. He loves the kitchen and "making" (which is our stirring.)

Taylor knows now where we are taking her for her birthday, Disney World yet again. We figured it's a fun thing for both of the kids and they will really enjoy themselves. We are actually going on Monday instead of Sunday so we will beat the weekend crowds that we had to fight last year. Being a holiday weekend as well makes it worse and kids go back to school Monday so hopefully it won't be too bad. She still has one big surprise she has to wait for and that will be the best ever. She doesn't even know she has one coming but it will blow her away!

I wish everyone a great Thanksgiving and we all send our love. It is hard to be away from family for the holidays but we do think of each and everyone of you. Hopefully next year we can come to town for Thanksgiving and Chip's birthday. I will be posting pictures soon so keep checking back.

Shopping is On!

I finally did my Christmas shopping last night and got most of it done in one trip. Eric watched the kids as I made my way to Wal-Mart last night when hardly anyone was there, no mad rush except outside where there were tents and long lines of people waiting for the new Nintendo. I feel better now that I finally got my shopping started and was able to find almost everything on Tay's list. Jimmy is another story, I was able to pick up a few of his things but I will have to order the rest from the Internet, they barely had anything that he wanted. I have a good idea what I am getting Eric for Christmas but I will have to wait closer to the day.

My daughter's birthday is in a week and she will now have the best birthday. Our plans are now under wraps but Eric and I have figured the best thing for her birthday and she will love it. I will post pictures the night of her big day for all to see. She will have one of the best birthdays ever, I can guarantee it!

We did buy our turkey yesterday at Sam's and got a great deal on it and I picked up a 3 lb. bag of cranberries. We all love cranberries so 3 lbs. is perfect. The kids and I are going to the store today to pick up the rest of the things we need for our dinner. Eric is spending the day at the Bucc's game with his friend Sid and I hope he is having a great day. He was pretty excited this morning to go and let around 10:00 so he could beat some of the traffic. I tried to get him to wear his Chief's sweatshirt but that was a no-go of course.

I have also decided to redo Jimmy's bedroom in Disney Pixar's Cars. I figured it would look great with his race car bed and it is one of Jimmy's favorite Disney movies ever. He loves Tow Mater (ME TOO!) and watches the movie everyday, sometimes twice and laughs all through it. I can't wait to get started on his room, it will be a lot of fun.

The countdown is on for Thanksgiving and Tay and I have been planning our dinner. We have invited our wonderful neighbor's who plan to join us for our "lunch" before heading to their family dinner. Our menu is ready to go and we plan to go shopping Friday for all of our needs. So far our dinner menu is:

-Turkey
-Dressing
-Cranberries
-Dumplings
-Mashed Potatoes
-Corn
-Green Bean Casserole
-Fruit Salad
-Pumpkin Pie

I may have forgotten something but that is pretty good I think. I will wake up bright and early to put the turkey on and then wake Taylor up so we can start cooking. I cannot wait to cook with my daughter, we had so much fun last year. Here, I thought I would have a horrible holiday since it was the first I was away from my family, but it was great making memories and traditions with my own family at home.

Taylor's birthday is the Sunday after Thanksgiving and she is so excited. She has scratched all of the plans she thought she wanted for her birthday and has decided to go to one of the Tampa malls so she can visit Build-A-Bear, get her ears pierced again (like she needs more holes in her head hehehe) and lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Eric promised her an outfit from Limited Too and a Coach purse she found with Tinkerbell. Taylor is a very good little girl and deserves a great birthday where she is the "Princess of the Day". She has asked me to make her Bistecca Pizzaiola for her birthday dinner and she wants my breakfast casserole for breakfast and I plan to do all of them for her. She will have 3 good meals on her special day. I can't believe my baby is going to be nine, it's sad to know she is growing up.

Our Weekend

I have to say it has been a long weekend and it all started Friday evening when Teresa and Jen invited me over to chat. This is nothing new, we spend each evening visiting but for some reason the night flew by and when I decided to run downstairs to grab a new pack of cigs and noticed it was 4:30 a.m. Teresa put on my coffee and we sat outside and watched the sun rise. Jen had headed to bed around 1 a.m. and when she woke up to get ready for work and saw us in the same place she left us, she was shocked. I finally got into my own bed at 7 a.m. and Eric asked if I was just coming to bed and when I said yes he didn't believe me. After I told him we just got to talking he laughed. He kept the kids quiet and let me sleep most of Saturday. We went to lunch and did some shopping for me to come home and go back to bed. When I finally woke up we put in a movie and watched Polar Express with the kids. Eric took us to Cracker Barrel for breakfast Sunday and then we spent the rest of the day cleaning and resting. The kids got their rooms picked up, they weren't too bad but did need a good pick-up.

I did talk to Rachel yesterday and everything is going great with her. She is very excited for the new baby and can't wait to start buying things for her bundle of joy. She is a little unsure about actually giving birth and said she is hoping for a C-Section, but I told her she will be fine.

Eric and I have also decided it is time to expand our family too with a third and final child. I am only giving myself until 30, that gives me a year and if it doesn't happen I will be done. I would love to have another baby but I know that I am also happy with what I have so I won't be too disappointed if it doesn't happen. We spent part of the afternoon discussing this issue and decided that now is the best time and for once we are on the same page. So, if all goes well, we will have a Tony or Kiara sometime next year.

We started this morning off with a great breakfast and started school. This is our last week until after Thanksgiving and Taylor is so happy for this week to be over. Jimmy is also doing great in school and is starting to really recognize letters and numbers along with letter sounds. His ability to write letters is great, he mocks me and does them perfect the first time. I have two very bright kids and I am happy that I get to spend everyday with them. I have the best job in the world.

I decided to put my Christmas Village up yesterday since I had bought a few new pieces for it. By this morning the cats have been playing in the "snow" and my village people were knocked over, so I guess it will be a long season with them getting into things. Here is the picture of the village before the cats got a hold of it.

Taylor and Cody

This is Taylor's new friend Cody. These two were playing on the computer, which is their favorite thing to do. I really enjoy having him around, he is very respectful and an all around great kid. He lives about 10 minutes away but he is always welcome to come around anytime. I am sure you will hear more about him, he seems to be around a lot these days.

We have a day off of school today but spent the rest of the week working our butts off. I ran into a little problem that I am not sure how it happened but we ended up about two weeks a head in Spelling and History, so we are taking a little break from these two subjects so we can catch up quicker. We will be all caught up by next Friday, our last day before Thanksgiving Break. Thanksgiving Break will give Taylor and Jimmy 11 days (that's including weekends) off school. I don't ever remember getting that much time off, but we go with Polk County School District and that's what they have.

I have a couple birthdays coming up and of course Christmas, so I have got to start shopping. I don't even know where to start and do not even have the desire. I have never felt like this before, usually at this I time my Christmas is almost done and I think I only have a few presents, which I bought right after last Christmas. Alisha, Renee and Susan, please send me lists for the kids so I know what they would like. I will be shopping for kids only this year and for my siblings and parents. Eric and I are buying a yearly pass to Cypress Gardens so we can take the kids. Teresa will be getting one for her and Isaiah, so now we can take the kids once a week. Cypress also has a water park that is included in the park admission and the passes are so cheap, $70 a piece and that included weekend concerts, both parks and parking...World's of Fun isn't even that cheap and they don't include Ocean's of Fun.

I am hosting a movie day for the kids in the neighborhood since there is no school today. I must be crazy because the younger kids want to play while the older ones get mad because they want to watch. We will be viewing Cars today with lots of popcorn and nachos. It works out pretty good, each parent sends a certain goodie (drinks, popcorn, chips) so one person isn't paying for all. Teresa will probably come along as well so I won't be in a looney bin after the movie is over.

A Little 9 Week Research

Baby Dooley is now 9 weeks old. She/He can now move all limbs (shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and ankles), the touch pads of fingers are developing, eyelids are fused until 27 weeks, and earlobes are now developed. Since we haven't seen Rachel in awhile I thought I'd do some research and find out a little about the baby.

I do have my predictions, I think she will have a boy on June 12, 2006. I actually had a feeling she was going to have a little girl but I looked at the Chinese chart and it was correct for both of my children and felt I better go with that. It says it's 99% accurate (I'm not saying I believe that) so what does it hurt to have a few wives' tales thrown into the mixed.

Rachel, if you get to read this, I thought I would post a picture of a 9 week old fetus through a 3-D sonogram, so you could see what your little one looks like.

We have had a busy weekend starting with Sunday when Eric took me on a great date. We decided at the last minute to drive to Tampa and have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. After the best dinner we decided to head over to The Hard Rock Casino to help me with my gambling withdraws (yes, I admit it, after being in KC for so long with Nani I became a slot machine junkie) and it helped and I started winning right when we walked in. We only stayed about an hour when I cashed out and headed home to our children. Taylor and Jimmy had so much fun staying with Teresa and I guess Taylor kept everyone really entertained.

I also want to let everyone know that Taylor's grades are in on her homeschool page if anyone wants to check them out.

Taylor has found her a boyfriend named Cody and he has been here two days in a row after school. Cody is 10-years-old and he is a very good boy. The two of them play Pogo Bowl on Pogo.com and it's funny listening to them talk about the TV shows they watch on MTV. I guess one good thing about this is that I haven't heard one word about Chad in a few days.

Jimmy the Pop Star

Attack on the Inside

Here is Underground's first video and thought I would share it with all. This is titled "Attack on the Inside" and one of my favorite songs.

Halloween/Birthdays and More

Halloween went great this year and the kids had a blast and tons of candy. We decided to walk the neighborhood with Teresa and Isaiah. After the "Trick or Treating" we all met up at Bev's for sweet tea and CSI. Jimmy actually went to sleep on his own he was so pooped and Taylor settled down with some TV in bed. If you haven't seen Izabel's costume, you need to head over to her site, she is such a cutie.

I know I am a day late but Happy Birthday Maw-Maw. Yesterday she celebrated her birthday and we were able to get a hold of her to sing and wish her the best. Tomorrow I get to celebrate my own birthday but Eric and I are celebrating Saturday night when Teresa gets back from her fishing trip. She called me the other night and volunteered to watch the kids so Eric and I could have a night out. I couldn't believe it, we have only gone out twice (excluding when I came to visit while in Missouri) since we have lived here. Mom watched the kids for us when she was in town and so did Nani and Poppa. We have decided to try out the new steakhouse Louie Mac's so hopefully it will have a good prime rib.

I also want to announce that we are expecting a new baby in our family! Rachel Nikole just let us know that she is 2 months pregnant and we all wish her nothing but the best. She is living in Atlanta with her boyfriend and everything is going good. I will give updates as they come in through that famous grapevine. I love and miss you Rach and congradulations on your baby.