Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter with our family! It started off with the Easter baskets this morning (the Easter bunny came!), church, then brunch at Ginny's house. Ginny made a yummy shrimp and wild rice casserole (recipe at the end). So good!

This is the last time I can dress him up like this and he was not too happy about the shoes. He kept walking on his tip toes.


Before church. The azaleas are almost in full bloom.



Mimi and Papa Joe with their loves.



Basket full of eggs from the Easter egg hunt.



Sweet Cecilia. LOVE her dress!



Family photo. This was the best one!



Big Jim and Lil Jim


Aunt Gin Gin, Amelia and Uncle Marty (or Mah-tee as Jimmy says).






The three James Marion Kelleys.


Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole

1 (8-ounce) package wild rice
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 (10 3/4-ounce can) condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar
Salt and pepper

Directions
Cook the rice according to package directions minus 1/4 cup water. Drain and cool.

Bring 2 cups water and 1/2 tablespoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan and cook the shrimp for 1 minute. Drain immediately and set aside.

Heat the butter in saucepan and saute the pepper and onion until soft, about 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the rice, soup, 1 1/2 cups of cheese, shrimp and vegetables. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well. Spray a 9-inch square aluminum cake pan or an 11 by 7-inch glass casserole dish with vegetable spray. Place the mixture in the pan and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

We just got home from the parade a little bit ago. Everyone is sleeping but me! Oh well, guess I will blog instead. In case anyone else is reading this who is not from Savannah (does anyone read this anyway??) Savannah has the second largest St. Patrick's celebration the country. Second to NYC I think and it is the BEST! The city shuts down for the day and businesses close (it was a holiday for me) and everyone heads downtown for the parade and festivities. College kids come for spring break to partake in the party atmosphere (no open container laws here so grab a to-go cup!) on River Street.

Last year Jimmy worked and I did not go to the parade and watched it on TV. I was so BUMMED. I told Jimmy that I was definitely going to the parade this year no matter what! Luckily, a couple of friends organized a stake-out and tailgate in Lafayette Square. You can't set up in the square until 6am and our friend Matthew was there before 6 and he got a prime time location! Jimmy got down there a little before 6am to keep Matthew company (and maybe have a few bloody Mary's too!). My parents came and picked us up and then dropped me and Jimmy off downtown and then took Cecilia home with them. We had lots of yummy food, good friends and great fun! One of Jimmy's buddies from his class was set up behind us so they played together. Jimmy noticed the swag carts and conned us into buying him a sword and a trumpet. Nice. One can hurt someone and the other is so ANNOYING! Luckily it was loud enough and most of the other kids had swords that it didn't bother too much. The trumpet is now home with us and I am sure we will be hearing it very soon! Here are a few pictures from the parade.

The trumpet and the sword:


Kelly and I watching the parade:


We LOVE our soldiers! They always get the biggest applause and ovation, and rightfully so. The military usually has a BIG presence the parade since Ft. Stewart (home of 3rd ID) and Hunter Army Airfield are here. Not as many this year since so many are deployed.


The trumpet again. I am sure you can imagine how loud it is.


Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. This is where my parents go to church. Someone once told me it was the largest cathedral south of Washington DC. It really is beautiful inside and out.


Eliza and I. We just got back from Pinkie Masters :).


Our little leprechauns, Jimmy and Katherine:


Jimmy and Mary Blake:


My cute little love-bug:


Jimmy's first St. Patty's Day-March 2007

Let the festivities begin!

This weekend kicked off the BIG St. Patrick's day celebration in Savannah. For those of you not aware, Savannah has the 2nd largest St. Patrick's day parade and celebration in the country. I really had no idea about it until I met Jimmy. While there is the crazy-party-mini-mardi gras celebration that takes place on River Street it really is a family friendly celebration.

Saturday we went downtown to the Tara Feis festival. This was a family-friendly event (no green beer here) and showcased Irish music and dancing. They had a bouncy play area for the kids and Jimmy loved it! We had a lot of fun and spent the afternoon downtown with the Justice's and the A. Smith's. Jimmy was interviewed for the paper and they also interviewed little Ash and little Jimmy (Jimmy just said whatever Ash said) and took their picture. Unfortunately, the picture didn't make the paper, but big Jimmy and little Ash were quoted! It started to rain so we headed home and everyone came over to our house and the kids played while the adults hung out on our porch. We can finally enjoy the nice weather and the gnats were not out...yet!







Today we went to Sunday school and church (though went to late church since the time change messed us up a little bit) and then Jimmy and little Jimmy spent all afternoon outside and they cleaned out the shed!! It was a most productive day!

Hanging out after an afternoon of hard work:





Looking forward to Wednesday and the parade!

Valentine's...a little late...

This post is a little late but I still wanted to post. I "hosted" Jimmy's Valentine party at school last Thursday. I hosted with another mom and a friend of ours, Natalie. We had a snack, played games (bean bag toss into the heart,stick the heart on cupid and hot potato) read a book and they also received a Valentine goodie bag. I think Jimmy was surprised to see me at school. It was fun watching him interact with his friends. I saw him once talking to two of his buddies about Tom and Jerry.




This is Natalie's daughter Agnes. Natalie and Jimmy went to middle and high school together and now it is fun that our kids are in school together now! Full circle.

Merry Christmas!!

Okay, a few days late, but with everything going on there is no time for blogging!! We had a great Christmas and Santa was good to everyone! Breakfast with the Brooks Christmas Eve, church, then to the Smith's. Christmas morning at our house and my parents came for breakfast and then Christmas dinner at Jimmy's parents. We had Christmas with my parents yesterday. Jimmy and Cecilia got lots and lots of presents!! Too many I am sure. Santa brought him some Toy Story stuff and a John Deere tractor! He got a bike from Mimi and Papa Joe and a Cars rolling suitcase from Sissy and Papa and more! Cecilia got a learning tea set and my mom started a Christmas china collection for her. Here are a few pics from our Christmas:

Holidays keep us busy!

The holidays keep us busy! Jimmy is swamped at work and now with two kids I haven't had much time to blog! It was good to be on maternity leave all of December as it made it a little less hectic. We've had a lot going on these past two weeks

We went to the annual Debtors (men's social club in Savannah) party. This year it was at the Pink House and it was fun and the food was wonderful! It is always a black tie affair so fun to get dressed up.

My friend Kelly had her annual Cookie and Champagne party for our friends from work. She bakes the cookies and then we come over and decorate and drink champagne! We always have so much fun and end up with some great cookies to take home.

I had the opportunity last week to go to tea at the home of SCAD's President, Paula Wallace. I have worked at SCAD for 9 1/2 years and I have never met her. There was a small group and we had the chance to talk about what we did at SCAD and just talk and visit. Her home was beautiful and looked fabulous for the holidays. Of course, the artwork was TO DIE FOR. I got the opportunity to tell her how thankful I was to be able to work part-time and job share.

Cecilia had her 2 month check-up and is doing great. She weighed 12.12 pounds and is in the 89th percentile!

Our friend Jennifer (Jimmy's middle school girlfriend, ha!) had a birthday/holiday party last Friday and we had a fun time visiting with friends. Here is a pic from the party:



Saturday we had our Kelley family dinner at Garibaldi's. It was so yummy! I am still thinking about the grouper and lobster risotta.

The biggest highlight was Cecilia had the part of the baby Jesus in our Church's Nativity Pageant. She did a great job and didn't cry while on stage. The girl playing Mary could not have been sweeter and did a fabulous job. She is the oldest of 4 and really knew how to handle a baby! We weren't able to take pictures during the production but I hope to get some pictures the church took soon!

Tonight is our friends annual "Night before the night before" party. Looking forward to seeing some great friends.

Tomorrow church, Christmas Eve at the Smiths and then hopefully Santa will come! Merry Christmas!!

Thanksgiving Feast

Jimmy had a Thanksgiving Feast at school on Tuesday. Several classes of preschoolers ages 2-4 all came together for one big feast as Pilgrims and Indians. They ate turkey, corn, green beans, corn muffins, and pumpkin bread!! Looks like Jimmy was a pilgrim. I would like to know how much of the yummy food he ate. Probably just the pumpkin bread! Ha! Jimmy's teacher Mrs. Hibberts is wonderful and often shares pictures of what they do during school. Here are a couple of her pictures from the big feast! Of the many things I am thankful for this year, I am definitely thankful for our wonderful church and the amazing preschool program and his teachers!