Famous Parents

Nanny and Poppy made the I Am A Stuffed Animal .com blog!!

Check it out here:

http://www.iamastuffedanimal.com/?p=1830

I can't wait to hear all about their latest adventures!

These boys bowl me over

Saturday afternoon was my time to babysit my adorable, all-boy-all-the-time, nephews. They can definitely be a handful, and are great birth control, but man do I love them.  They are so fun!

We hit up Incredabowl in South OP to knock down some pins. They are such goofballs - and so animated!

Sean was pretty serious about his turns. He'd watch the ball roll down the alley until it could roll no more. And he'd be so nervous seeing where it would end up! See nervous stances in the following photos. At one point he was so focused on the pins that he accidentally let the ball roll backwards towards my toes instead!

Ian is Mr. Crazypants. He'd be rolling on the floor after a bad throw, and doing some serious celebrating after he got a spare!

Little Jacob though, man is he a baller! The only one of us to get a strike and ended up winning by 10 pins!!

This is his game face. Grr. Watch out brothers. I'm comin' for ya!

Highlights of the outing at the bowling alley: playing with the balls and the fan in the ball return.

Making the computer screen beep!

Seeing who can hold on to the most balls at once.

 But most importantly, quality time with those we love!!!

After our epic bowling adventure, we went to Petland to see all the animals. Jacob got to hold a one-pound Peagle puppy (pekingese and beagle mix). Ian and Jake held bunny rabbits. They all played with the dwarf hamsters and the hermit crabs. Of course, they wanted to take them all home with them! Luckily, we got an ice cream call from Uncle Timmy that rescued those poor animals from a dubious fate!

O'D Dance Party

At our Family Christmas/New Years Gathering, we enjoyed the boys' Christmas presents immensely. Namely this awesome game they got for the Wii. Yep, its Kidz Bop Dance Party!!

You get to pick the outfits, the stage, accessories and then you dance along with the game. Of course, I had to rock out to Miley's "Party in the USA" and singing and dancing at the same time is hard work. I was breathless before I knew it!

Here's a few photo highlights of the dance party.

IPOD rocked out first, showing us how to play the game.

Then I took at turn...

And then Poppy! Let me tell you, this was classic! Poppy and the Wii is one thing, but Poppy, the Wii and dancing --- it'll go down in history.

Sorry I can't figure out how to turn the photos right side up. Just tilt your head and you'll see what I'm talking about!



Uncle Timmy took a turn and Ryan decided to not just stand there, bust a move!

Good times, I can't wait to go over and play again. I promise, Ian, I'm coming after your high score!!!



Nanny and Poppy Dolls

During my Christmas shopping, I discovered one of the most amazing gifts for the people who have everything. A company will take your photos and turn your loved ones into stuffed animals. IAmAStuffedAnimal.com - aka my best gift to my parents in a LONG time!



It won't be long before we start seeing photos of Little Pat and Little Linda be-bopping around town, appearing in blogs across the world! Who knows where they'll travel. They may even see more than Flat Stanley does!

Family Fun with the Reedy's

Christmas Day 2010 at the Reedy's will be the last one as we know it. Next year Baby G will join the family and things will definitely be different! We had a great holiday of food, family and fun. And did I mention food? There was plenty of that.

Between treats and meals, we worked on a puzzle and enjoyed each other's gifts. And of course took the obligatory family photos out front, BRR!!

(Ignore my closed eyes please!)

Since Lacey is adorable with her 7-month preggo baby bump, the whole family decided to see if they could beat her bump, while waving to the passing neighbors and embarassing Nick. 

All the kids in front of the tree (Joe, Lacey, Nick, Kristen, me and BDR)



Happy Howlidays

If I ever get reincarnated, I want to come back as one of my dogs especially during the holiday season. We took a short Christmas trip to Wichita and boy were they spoiled!

We all took some naps togther.... (Check out my awesome new Uggs from BDR!)

The boys played and played with them.

With all the smells of the holidays, its easy to get in the Christmas spirit. Cinnamon and apple and meat... Stella even got to smell Uncle Ryan's butt!

They probably liked the car ride down and back the best of all though... Pete slept in the back seat on the way down, and rode birddog on the way back.

Stella got snuggled up with some clothes that are being donated to charity, but was comfy and warm the whole way!

They got some awesome new toys and are learning to play together.

See, Pete will once in a while let Stella play tug with him. If you didn't know him though, you'd think he was the biggest meanie in the entire world. He'd make Cujo look sweet. He just growls and snarls at his little sister, but doesn't tug hard like he does when he plays with us.

Ian loved holding Stella and he was so sweet to her. It won't be long before none of us can pick her up anymore!

Everyone had a great time at Nanny and Poppy's house.

Once we got back to KC, the pups got to enjoy Christmas with our fam. We missed BDR while in Wichita.

Since he worked on Christmas Eve, I went to church with his family and came home to snuggle with the dogs and watch "Miracle on 34th Street". Once he got home from the mean streets of Leawood, it was officially Christmas and we opened presents. Santa even came when I fell asleep on the couch! He stuffed BDR's and the dogs' stockings to the brim!

More Christmas recap to come....

Domestic Goddess

My oldest brother is staying with us for a couple weeks. He starts his new job at Hallmark today and made the 13-hour trek from the Windy City yesterday. Yes, his 9-hour drive was seriously extended due to the horrific midest winter weather. Thank goodness that wasn't me. I would have literally been driven crazy!

To welcome him to KC, and because I like a hearty Sunday dinner, I put a pot roast in the crock pot. His response: "When did you get so domesticated?!"

Really? I've been cooking for quite some time. I've been eating for even longer. Why is it such a surprise that I have a bit of a maternal instinct!?

The rest of the family had a similar reaction at Thanksgiving when I hosted. Who knew that Little Sis could do such things as take care of her family!?

Well guess what world? I've grown up and I actually enjoy taking care of those I care about! No need to be surprised!

Now... what to plan for dinner the rest of the week???

I'm so jealous

My cousin is fulfilling the dream of a lifetime. She and her beau quit their jobs, sold their stuff and are seeing the world for a year.

Seriously, how amazing is that?! I wish I had the courage to do it. I think it sounds completely wonderful, life changing, fabulous, I can't think of enough words to describe how jealous I am!

Their Itinerary:
Departure - June 3rd!
Vancouver - four days
Bejing - arrive June 8th.
China - June
Indonesia - July-August
Malaysia, Singapore- August
Southern Thailand - September
Nepal- September-October
India- October-November
Northern Thailand - November
Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam - December
Burma - January
Australia - January
Tazmania - Early February
New Zealand - February-March
Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, Easter Island - Late March
Patagonia - April
Argentina - Early May
Uruguay - May
Bolivia - Late May
Peru - June
Equador- July
CostaRica - Late July

I've been catching up on their blog. living vicariously through them. Its been awesome. If you want to know anything about their amazing experiences, you can read here. But be forewarned, you're gonna want to go join them.

Thanksgiving 2010

Today, I hosted my first Thanksgiving. I also acquired a new appreciation and gratefulness for all my mother does to host us for holidays regularly. This stuff is a lot of work!

I've been baking for about a week... cookies and pies and banana bread, even a test turkey!

The whole crew arrived from Gurnee and Wichita on Weds evening, so we ordered some pizza pies and began the celebration.

Turkey Day morning arrives and I had to finish preparing BDR's birthday breakfast. Yep, lucky guy's birthday is on Thanksgiving this year! Too bad he could only join the family for part of the fun - he had to go to work at 2:00. We had Aunt Kelly's breakfast casserole, blueberry muffins, cinnamon rolls, fruit and fresh squeezed juice! Quite a tasty start to the day if I do say so myself.

Sean was a great help in the kitchen all day!

Vrooom Vrooom! No pit stops at this birthday party!

After breakfast, SIL and I headed to the kitchen to start on our Turkey Dinner. She buttered up the bird while I made the stuffing. I learned from my Test Turkey that my oven definitely cooks slow so we gave it some extra time to roast.

And then of course, nap time began. Hey, the birthday boy gets to do whatever he wants! I am amazed though that he was able to shut his eyes amid all the ruckus!

Peter even found a place to bask and avoid the crazy for a few minutes!

I was really pleased with how all my dishes turned out, but I did warn everyone of the motto around our house:

Here's Poppy admiring the spread. Thank goodness for the bar in the basement, we wouldn't have known what to do otherwise!

This is my plate. Holy cannoli it was good! I'm so excited to enjoy some leftovers for the next few days, and thankful there still are leftovers!

Ian really loved his drumstick - so much so that it was what he was thankful for!

This is how I do things after a delightful meal!

And of course, after dinner, the Festivus Feats of Strength began. Looks like Uncle Timmy is losing this year!

While relaxing after dinner, we had to ask Peter what he was thankful for this year and he had a LOT to say!

All in all, many blessings to count - and I had 12 of them in my home this year!

An oldie but a goodie

So I can't believe this was about 6 or so years ago! Sean has gotten so big! He's 7 now, in the 2nd grade, but can still make me smile just as much as he did when this was live.

Enjoy. May your bad day now be made better!

Mountain Climbers and Frosting Truckers

Sunday we celebrated BDR's little brother's 17th birthday - at an indoor rock wall!

I had no idea this place existed. Its a huge building, with tons of gymnastics equipment and a monster play area including a rope swing with big foam blocks to fall onto and at the back is this 40-foot rock wall. We took a lesson from this "serious rock climber guy" and everyone else got belay certified. Here's us before we got started... From right to left, BDR, Nick, me, Kristen and Charlie.

Here's me, the first one to go up, feeling like I'm about 95 feet in the air, even though that black line is probably 10-12 feet high. I'm starting to get a bit nervous.

Another step or two later and I decide I can't go any further. That's what happens when you look down! The repelling part was fun, the being up on a wall with only little fake rock protrusions to hold you there - not so fun.

BDR did great, even though he's afraid of heights. 

But we were all shown up by the birthday boy. I think he rang the 40 foot high bell more than anyone else. Ah to be so fearless!

BDR's dad was the official photographer for the day. From the looks of this photo, you'd think he was an O'Donnell! Its the official self-portrait!

Afterwards, we all went to Johnny C's Pizza, the Reedy Family hangout, for pizza, onion rings and birthday cake. (Note the awesome toy construction trucks on the cake! It even had a mound of frosting dirt and black sprinkles like soil!) Of course, the competition continued on the side-by-side race car game. All-time winner, BDR, was eventually beaten by the all-time loser Nick.  

After pizza and beer, we of course, busted out the cake. On the second round, a big plop of frosting hit the carpet. Hilariety ensued. OK, so maybe you had to be there, but judge for yourself...

It was a fun celebration, and we can't wait to do it again next 'eekend on the 'ween out at 'ake 'ivira. In the meantime, maybe we'll see you on the Fe. (Oh inside jokes are funny, too bad they can't really come across on a blog!)