Nick's 1st Birthday Party

Today we enjoyed a day at our neighbor's celebrating their son's Nicky's first birthday. His birthday was actually last Tuesday. They had many games (bingo, pin the web on Spider-Man, pin the tail on the donkey) where the children won prizes. They had pizza delivered, made individual Jell-O cups, individual cake in the shape of hearts and stars with cookies 'n cream ice cream. After the eating the kids spent about an hour in the pool and they had a blast. Nick was pooped out and all the flashes from the cameras seemed to make him cry, he even cried while we sang "Happy Birthday". Hope you enjoy the pictures from the party.

Still Waiting on Cable

At the end of last month we were suppose to have our cable hooked up along with Road Runner cable and digital phone, and it still has not been completed. I have to have my satellite shut off by Monday if I don't want to pay another ridiculous bill, but the installers showed up last Friday and hooked Taylor to basic but never installed the cables through the rest of the house. Last night Eric brought in the mail and what did I find, a cable bill. I was on the phone for about 30 minutes trying to get this taken care of. In the end she appologized and said we should've had our cable by now and when the installers finally get the job done to call back and she will credit me a month of service. That would be great but I still have a problem, my phone is being turned off Wednesday for the new service, if it is not complete I will not have TV, internet or phone. I am not a happy camper right...I mean, how do you live without INTERNET???

Everything else has been going good, I finally got some rest and we are meeting up with Susan, TJ, Emily and Jon today for a play day. We have not seen the Thompsons since we have been back and the kids are very excited. Tomorrow we have Nick's 1st birthday party and I plan on getting pictures to post. We are also planning on buying Halloween costumes this weekend as well. Jimmy has decided on Spider-Man and Taylor decided on some Goth Girl costume. She is really into the "Goth" look, why? I do not know but I am hoping that she grows out of it.

Alisha and Greg, I love the marshmallow idea for Izabel, I think that would be adorable!

Eric will be working again all weekend but I don't mind this time around. He gets out of another birthday though which he is pretty happy about. Hopefully he will be done Saturday night so he has Sunday off.

Jimmy was still sick today running a fever, but the Motrin kicked in and the boy wanted to run wild so I spent most the day trying to keep him calm. Whatever Jimmy had he has passed on to me, I have had sinus problems all day along with a slight sore throat. School went great today. Taylor had 3 quizzes today that she did very well on.

Taylor has been spending most of her free time on Pogo playing the games and working on getting as many tokens as she can to purchases clothing and backgrounds for her Pogo Mini. She also enjoys looking through everyone's myspace (including Chad's) and laughing at peoples pictures. She cannot wait for her birthday and has asked me today what everyone was buying her, when I explained that her birthday was still over a month away and no one but her was thinking about it, she did not like that comment. I told her I would never forget it because SHE WON'T LET ME! lol

Hope everything is going great for everyone and hopefully will have more to post in the next few days. I have been so tired and am in need of so major rest. Love ya all and miss you.

Wore Out

I am so worn out and it is only the beginning of the week. I had a long week last week ad really thought the weekend would help...it didn't. Yesterday and today we were working on school until 5 P.M., so I have decided we are going to allow only 45 minutes for each class, if the work isn't done it becomes homework. Between school, housework, cooking and any attention my children need I really need things to change, I also need help from the other three people that share my home with me.

Well, I have a little girl who will be nine next month and I can't believe it. It has gone by so fast and she is growing up and I have figured out that I can't stop it ...sniff sniff. She told me today that she wants to get her ears pierced for the second time and I told her I would do that for her for her birthday, four holes in her ears, like she needs anymore holes in her head. She is not asking for toys, she wants bedding, chair and piercings, I wanted all the Barbie's I could get at that age. I haven't seen her sit down and play with toys for so long, she is either on the computer or drawing with her rock music blaring.

Jimmy has not been feeling his best and I finally gave him so Mortrin after he woke up from his nap this afternoon. He has been running a low fever and has a stuffy nose. He actually asked me if I would ground him so he didn't have to go outside. Hopefully he is better this weekend for Nick's birthday party, Jim has been so excited to go over there are swim for the party, he would be bummed if he missed.

Hopefully the rest of the week goes smoother that it has been and our new schedule works out better. I am actually heading to bed early this evening and will post tomorrow.

Maw Maw's New Home

Nani and Poppa have moved Maw Maw into there basement and after talking to Nani last, I hear she is doing great. She is walking and in very high spirits. I am very happy someone is there to watch over her, she is an incredible woman and a very special person in my life. Thank you Maw Maw for all you have done for me throughout my life, I love you so very much. Not only was I your birthday present but I was your side kick while I was young. You are the best great grandma anyone could ask for.

A Night at Neverland

Taylor with the 14-year-old actress that played
Peter Pan and she was amazing.

This young lady played Wendy.
Jimmy with his favorite of the play, Tinkerbell.
Taylor with Tinkerbell.

Eric and I took the kids to the play Neverland in Valrico, Florida this evening and it was very good. The kids really enjoyed it and Jimmy had everyone laughing with his outbursts. At one point in the play Tinkerbell drinks a potion that was suppose kill Peter Pan and she falls on the stage, Jimmy stands up and yells, "I'll help you Tinkerbell!" Something else that made me laugh was during intermission, I walked outside to have a cigarette and Eric and Jimmy followed me out. There was a little boy around Jimmy's age out there and Jimmy walks up to him and says, "Hi, I'm Jimmy." They are talking for a few minutes when I hear the little boy ask Jimmy what he like to play and Jimmy says "I like to play with my Bob toys." The little boys says, "No, like sports, my dad and I like to play soccer." Jimmy isn't in to sports and shows no interest at all and what I heard come out of his mouth was so funny, he says, "No, I don't like soccer, I play golf," and starts mimicing swing a golf club to prove to the kid he knows how.

Taylor left us after the first act and found a front row seat with some kids she met during intermission. Both of the kids loved the play and got some pictures with the actors. It was a great evening that we all enjoyed.

New Pictures of Izabel

I haven't posted any new pics of Izabel in awhile so I stole some from her website to place on mine. She is such a cutie and so much fun to be around. Taylor and Jimmy absolutely love her. Jimbob actually calls Elizabeth Izabel all the time, I don't know if it's because they are both "babies" or because their names are so close in sound to him. So here are some cute pics of Izzy, I am also posting her with her mommy (Alisha) and daddy (Greg).

The Mean Cat

She actually looks evil in the pictures. Eric loves Bell, she actually cuddles up to him at night . As she walked into the room last night he asked her "How's my little cutie doing?" If Eric is on the couch you will find her right by his side on asleep on his lap, it's so cute, she looks so tiny next to him.

Pictures of Clover

This is Taylor's kitten Clover. He is a very sweet kitten but Bell HATES him. I will post pictures of her when Eric decided to hold her up to Clover, ears thrown back and the loudest growl you would ever hear (Mom, she sounded like she did with Bandit.) He just cuddled in Taylor's arms and let Bell scream at him.

Neighborhood Babies

These two beautiful little girls are Elizabeth (1 year) and Bree (3 weeks). Everyday Elizabeth (also known as Shawnee) comes to visit us and play with Jimmy. He drives down to her house and picks her up in his Jeep, which is so cute to watch. Amy (their mom) brings Bree down every afternoon for me to play with and I love it, she is so precious.

Chip & Jimbob

Taylor Marie

Eric James

New Kitties

As all of you already know we added a new kitten into our home. I found Tinkerbell while picking veggies in Nani and Poppa's garden while they were out of town. Tay and I brought her back on the plane with us and she has made a wonderful addition to our family. I am finally showing her off to everyone who hasn't seen her.

Yesterday afternoon Taylor found a male kitten next to our home, he is just a tad bit bigger than Bell and she has named him Clover. I will post some pictures of him shortly. We are now a 3 cat family and Gabby is doing well with both the little ones but Bell is not happy about her new "nephew".

Our Busy Life!

We have been so busy this whole week and I have not had a lot of time to write. First, school is very time consuming and takes up our whole day. I will be posting Taylor's end of the month grades on her homeschool page so please check those out this evening.

We have been trying to get our cable/telephone/internet going and have had one problem after another. I will have a new email address that I will send through emails to all, we have decided to get Road Runner with our digital phone. When they first came to hook up our cable they figured out that our house is not cable ready and now have to install all the wires in our walls. They have been here twice already this week and are suppose to get it finished tonight so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

I also have some great new, Stephi is coming to visit and we are all excited for this. Steph is very scared of planes so I never thought she would actually do it, but plans are made and she will be here October 16th. She was planning to bring her friend Randi but now she cannot make it so it will be Steph by her lonesome.

Eric has been working very hard on bin locations at work and he doesn't get home until pretty late at night so the kids and I have been spending a lot of time outside with neighbors and friends. We have a couple new people in the neighborhood and one has a boy Jimmy's age and the other has two daughters that are 1 year and 1 month. There are many children around here but we have had a few move away as well. Hanna and Clayton played with Tay and Jimmy but moved to Orlando while we were in Kansas City, they have come to visit a couple time since we've been back.

We have enjoyed our outside time, the weather at night has been incredible. I enjoy being able to talk to some adults as well as the kids play with all their friends. After tomorrow we will be on our normal schedule with Eric being home at decent hour.

As most of you know from before we left KC, Eric has finally agreed that we can move back in April and I am thrilled! He told me if I came back with the kids we could move back when our lease was up and I agreed. He has not backed down even though we are back, but has continued to talk about it. This takes so much weight off my shoulders knowing that I will soon be home for good. Eric will stay with the same company as they have told him there will not be any problems with this, so only a few months and we will be home at last!

First I have to make a note about how proud of Jimmy I was yesterday. I decided to clear out some of his toys yesterday and I had him go in with me and I explained that Christmas was coming up and we needed to get rid of some of the toys he doesn't play with anymore. I expected a fit and every toy I put in the box he would take out, but no, he actually jumped in and helped eliminate the toys he didn't want. We had two big cardboard boxes full and Jimmy was very proud of himself. Taylor used to think those days were her last and it was very hard to get her to let me toss stuff, everything was her favorite toy.

Checkout the kids school pages, I have added new things to them and will try to work on them everyday as well. Jimmy had some big accomplishments today and Taylor aced a quiz. I am quite busy with school, I have to do house work on breaks and in the evening but it works out okay. We definately have a full days but every second I get with my kids is a blessing. Jimmy's day is anywhere from one hour to one in a half hours and Taylor's is all day long. They both had art today after lunch and pictures will be posted on their site later on.

I Forgot...

Taylor's blog address is taylormariew.blogspot.com. She really wants some comments left so just tell her hello.

Taylor got her new bike yesterday and will post pictures when I find my camera in one of the boxes. I worked hard on getting everything put away but still have a few boxes remaining, hopefully they will be done today.

Taylor now has her very own blog, of course, it is part of the chipnjimbob but she will maintain her own. It pretty much consists of her love of Chad Michael Murray and many pictures of him. She goes in search of his pictures on google and saves them for her posts.

We didn't get everything we wanted to do this weekend done but I guess there is always next, we are planning just to enjoy ourselves today and lounge at home. I worked on getting all the school books in place yester and OMG they are tons of them. I think between all of us there are over 70 books, it's crazy. I need to get a bookcase to put them in but found a place out of the way for now.

I want to thank my sister Stephi for teaching my children about piercings, I caught Jimmy with one of Taylor's earrings yesterday trying to pierce his lip like Aunt Ste's. He actually told me he wants to have a piercing in his elbow YUK! I hate all the facial piercings (nothing against Stephi or Nick) but I guess I am old now because I just think of having holes in my face down the road. I took my navel piercing out about 6 months ago and I am glad it is covered where no one has to see that I even had one. Navel piercings I think are cute but I am a mother of two heading into her thirties and decided it was time to say goodbye to it.

I will be posting some new pictures real soon since it has been awhile so keep checking back. Love ya all!

Getting in the Swing of Things

Well, we are not quite settled in but getting that way, I am staring at many boxes right now and feeling kind of overwelmed but plan to work on it this weekend. I hate moving and this time was no different. I love having Eric around again and he loves having home cooked meals. He missed the kids a great deal and said he was enjoying the noise in the house.

Tinkerbell (Belle) and Gabby are getting along great, which I am so happy about. It is great to have my Gabby back after all this time and she has gotten so big. Now we are a two cat family and everyone of us are enjoying it (yes, even Eric!) He tryed to sneak Belle to bed with him last night but she didn't want a part of that, she came back out to Mommy. :0)

The kids are adjusting well and having a good time. We are taking Tay out tonight to get a new bike and she is getting a brand new bed this weekend along with Eric and I doing some car shopping. How long have we been doing this car thing I just hope we can find one this time.

School's in Session!

We started school Tuesday, August 22 and it has been a lot of fun. Tay actualy started Smithville last Wednesday and has really enjoyed going. I will write on both the kids blogs so you know what they have and will be learning. I have been strictly working with Jimmy on phonics before we start anything else and he is doing great and really enjoying it (especially his flash card that has Pp, he laughs so hard at that one).

9 days and my husband will finally be here and I can't wait to see him. Taylor has really been missing Daddy and she is counting down the days. It has been 3 months since they have seen him and I know he is excited too. We are planning to take the kids on their first field trip of the year to The Kansas City Zoo where they have just opened Asia. My grandparents gave Eric and I a Friends of the Zoo card so we can take the kids to zoos anywhere in the USA and we really appreciate that. Eric is flying in September 2nd and will be here until the 6th.

Last Sunday Alisha and Izabel came to visit and it was nice to see them. Thank you for coming and I will get ahold of you once Eric gets here so we can all get together. I can't believe how big Izzy has gotten and she is sitting and just as cute as can be. Taylor and Jimmy loved having her and I don't think they left her side. You are always welcome to visit.

I also have a new baby as of yesterday afternoon. I was up in the garden picking tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and peppers when I heard a cry. I walked over to where the asparagus used to be and found a baby kitten that was probably dumped (they always end up here). I would guess she is about 8 weeks and she was filthy and had a hurt foot so I brought her in and bathed her. She is the sweetest thing I have ever seen and so loving, I don't think I have ever had a kitten that wouldn't let me leave there sight. She follows me everywhere (unless she's sleeping which seems to be half the day. I love her to death and Taylor named her Tinkerbell and we call her Bell. I will post pictures soon so I can show her off.

The Italian Duo

I had to post this picture of Angie and me, I just found it and I am guessing we were around four. We were always dressed in matching dresses that were different colors and I think Nani made these dresses for us (I may be wrong).

I have been so busy lately and haven't had a lot of time to blog so now is the time I guess. The kids and I have been doing very well and have added to our family with a new beta Flash. Taylor and Jimmy's beta Bedtime passed away Thursday evening so I took them for a new one Friday. Bedtime lived for over years and stayed with Stephi and Brett when we moved to Florida. Steph brought him back to us when her and Brett broke up but Bedtime had lost a fin and wasn't doing very well after that. Flash seems to be doing very well and the kids are always checking on him.

We are now waiting on school books to show up so we can start school, which will be next week. Taylor is excited since she will have three different schools (home school, Smithville and Sunday school). I can't wait to start teaching them again, this year will be a lot of fun with all the new things they will be learning.

We are waiting on Eric's arrival which was suppose to be on the 31st of this month but something came up and it was pushed back. Hopefully it will only be a week or so later, we all miss him a lot.

Schools About To Start!

We are starting school next week and all of us are very excited. Taylor will be in 3rd grade and is enrolled part-time at Smithville for gym, music, library, art, any state testing and field trips. Jimmy will start K4, which is preschool where he will learn to write his letters and numbers and be able to recognize them by looking. I have decided to split their work into two different days, they will do so many subjects one day and the next day do whatever is left. Taylor would be doing school from 8:45 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. if she did every subject she had this year for the 30 minutes alloted to her. I will be posting this years schedules on their school blog pages so you can see what they will be doing this year. I will find out her Smithville schedule tomorrow and everyone seemed very nice up there and were very happy to have her join.