Making Memories with the McClellen's

weekend fun!

2012-02-27T04:36:00.001-08:00

finally a weekend that wasn't full of rain, so we took advantage and stayed outside most of the weekend!

the boys riding the four-wheeler!

I took Jake to baseball practice right after getting home from running my first 10K,

whew I was looking lovely! ha! 15,000 runners at this event, so it was definitely a lot of fun!!

a birthday party at putt-putt fun house and this little man liked the karaoke stage...

uh oh, he might like to sing like his Momma!!!!

bumper boats in the 50 degree, windy and rainy weather...nothing stops these boys!

good vs. not-so-good

2012-02-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

now, you all know that I love these boys "to the moon and back" but their eating habits are so different and the little man's diet has been driving me CRAZY lately

Allow me to explain:

on a dinner plate Jake goes straight for protein, veggies and fruit, especially veggies!

Loves salad, edamame, broccoli, zucchini and more. He asks for smoothies and anything healthy that my husband and I are eating. Makes us so proud!

Always asks what's healthy and not healthy and what will give him big muscles...Ha!

and here we have little man, Justin...
he will NOT touch a fruit or vegetable and if we can talk him into tasting it, he'll gag and start shaking his entire body as if he's dying...I'm serious!
He LOVES milk, cheese, bread, peanut butter, fish and barely any meat but does like Daddy's grilled chicken. He's all about the processed snacks...anything that's in a box, he loves! Yikes is right!
How am I helping to expand his diet?
I REFUSE to make him special food.
What we have for dinner is what goes on his plate.
I am hoping that one day he'll understand the nutrition and healthy benefits of the good foods that I prepare and he'll come around??? Oh my goodness, I sure hope so! Ha!!!

a fun day!

2012-02-17T20:56:00.000-08:00

I think these pictures show just how much fun these boys had today!

I think they all loved the SHARKS!

We just enjoyed the fact that they loved learning about all of the creatures

AND there was NO whining, NO fighting and we all had a GREAT time!

Daddy's helper...

2012-02-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

our boys LOVE to help us around the house. Sometimes it's taking out the trash, helping with dinner but their favorite thing to do is help Daddy with yard work! Today it was helping fix up our landscaping at the new house while big brother was at school and he actually did a really good job sweeping, trimming, laying the rock and more!

I was able to snap a picture of him "driving" Daddy's truck at the rock yard picking up the rock and mulch!

this boy thought he was TOO cool!!

ah, he looks like such a big boy here doesn't he? where did my baby go??

the play-by-play

2012-02-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

Our Valentine's Day was packed full and we're tired just thinking about all of the things that we did today!

Our day started off with Jake's school party, which I arrived to help out as one of the room mom's, I hear the teacher say, "Jake's down on the playground...looks like they were running and he collided with another kid!" Oh great, so I get to my boy and this is what I see...

he sure knows how to turn on the charm, the teachers were all over him,

hugging him and making sure he was alright! He was fine, but his face was a little black and blue!!

then it was time to decorate ice cream with sprinkles, chocolate and whipped cream...

oh my goodness, who doesn't love ice cream at 10am?!!

then it was off to the house with little brother to spend time working in the yard...well, we actually WATCHED Daddy work in the yard and helped him when he needed it :-)

After we picked up Jake from school, Mommy came home to these from Daddy! Awe!

He sure is sweet! He's my husband, my best friend and the best Daddy ever!!

...and oh my, what's THIS coming down the street??

Yep, it's my boys in our neighbor's golf cart! How cool is this??! He was in the parade with his kids last weekend and gave me and my boys a ride today, and he'll be in another parade on Sunday! FUN!

he even gave the boys some beads! Happy Mardi Gras!!!

UH OH!!! Look what Justin did....

to end our busy day, we found Justin looking like THIS after a long day working in the yard! Yikes! Daddy was not happy with his muddy backyard after these boys were finished with it...

ah, boys will DEFINITELY be boys!!! My bathtub sure was nasty after bathing these two boys tonight!!

xoxo

2012-02-14T06:33:00.001-08:00

just wanted to wish all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day

and may this day be spent with the people that you love the most!!!

enjoy today and may it be filled with lots of love and laughter!!!!

-marissa and family

shh, baby is sleeping!

2012-02-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

first of all, it is so hard for me to believe that our littlest man will be turning 3 very soon. seems like time has gone by so quickly, but no matter what he's still my baby boy...

he's a sweet, Mommy's boy who loves to snuggle.

he looks up to his daddy and big brother more than words.

he loves to give kisses and always says, i love you.

he's very smart, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mommy.

he loves to dance and listen to music.

he likes to be outside.

he loves animals.

he loves to make people smile.

he looks like his daddy and has gorgeous blue eyes.

he loves monster trucks.

he doesn't wanna potty like a big boy!!

and he helps remind us each and every day, what life is all about.

and when he sleeps so peacefully, he still reminds me of this baby boy!

even though he's this boy today...

(he fell asleep today on daddy's pillow....so sweet!)

our week in pictures

2012-02-09T19:18:00.000-08:00

It started off by snugglin' these two, handsome fellas!

and then it was off to Jake's first baseball practice...although he had FOUR seasons of city tball, it was time to move on up to Little League and he did great! Hit the ball, paid attention, enjoyed the stretching and running bases and especially liked playing catch with a teammate, he's definitely growing up! And yep, he had to wear jeans to first practice because it was COLD and because his poor baseball pants were way too short for practice! But don't worry, we bought him two pair today and he'll be wearing them on Saturday :)

Look at those grass stains on his knees!!!

and because these boys are SPOILED ROTTEN, tonight they enjoyed some Valentine candy from MeMe and Aunt Paulette...a chocolate lollipop, some chocolate candies AND a sugar cookie with red sprinkles!

Don't worry, they enjoyed every bite!!!

Told ya they enjoyed it!

fun weekend

2012-02-06T08:50:00.000-08:00

our weekend started out with Daddy and Jake going to a hunting banquet and having a good time...

now you can clearly see where Jake gets those dimples!!

This was a reality check for me knowing that we have two, Daddy's boys and they'll probably be leaving Mommy at home for their hunting adventures very soon :-(

Oh I love these handsome boys!

so, while they were gone my Dad had come in for a visit

and offered to take Justin and I to dinner at Saltgrass! Yummy!

I think this was my first and only time going to dinner with only my littlest man :)

and we had a great time at the Mud Hole for Super Bowl as you can see...

Look at Jake passed out in his rain boots...

yea, it was pretty muddy and cold but of course the kids didn't mind! I dressed them in layers with their jersey's and allowed them to pick which one! Jake picked Texans and Justin picked the Saints!

I think Momma needs a jersey, I was feeling left out!!!

a fun day in Galveston!

2012-02-04T07:38:00.000-08:00

The boys didn't have school Thursday or Friday,

so we knew we had to go have some fun with these four, crazy boys!!

We started off with lunch at Rainforest Cafe and the boys had a blast and most of the time the food isn't that great, but my salad was AWESOME and Justin thought the dinosaur chicken nuggets were the coolest! Ha! But the best part is that Jake hated it as a little one...

he would scream, throw a fit and tremble at the sight of all of the "fake" animals!

Then we decided to go and ride the River Adventure ride at Rainforest and the kids LOVE it! Very cool!

My little man and I riding the ride! He wasn't too sure about it at first but he said he loved it!

And no day in Galveston is complete without a trip to La King's...for some yummy ice cream!

Mmm, that ice cream sure looks TASTY!

and finally we ended the trip by stopping off and getting Daddy's race packet for his second half marathon which takes place at 7:30 tomorrow!!! We are making signs to cheer on Daddy right now! Complete with purple, green and gold masks and Fleur Di lis....since it is a Mardi Gras half marathon!!!

I'm feeling RANDOM, so here we go!

2012-02-03T05:03:00.000-08:00

First of all, did you see this?

My son will be SO thrilled that Chuggington and his other favorites will be on anytime, not just in the a.m!

And Oh Yea, it's a DANCE PARTY!!! YES they are wearing Chinet paper bowls on their head!

And I believe Mommy's phone was playing "Sorry for Party Rockin"

What?!? Momma FINALLY got a new haircut?! It had sadly been since before Summer....Yes, it's true!

Oh and finally here's me and my little man snuggling, watching big brother play the Wii! This little guy LOVES to cuddle and I love every second. Big brother wasn't quite the cuddly-type which is okay, but I sure love to take advantage of these sweet moments, even if he wouldn't look up and smile at the camera!!!

Hope you're having a great week and that you have some fun Super Bowl plans in your near future!

For us, it'll be chilly and rainy on Sunday, unless the rain decides to go away and let us have some Super Bowl FUN?! Please??!

my new ride!

2012-02-01T05:23:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's not a joke and totally true...after owning two suburban's, it was time to STEP IT UP!

My husband, boys and I have all been admiring these for a LONG time now and been doing our research as well! We had been searching but nothing REALLY was worth making the deal happen until THIS...

What do ya think? Not what you'd expect a Mom of two boys to drive and that's what I Love about it! We're sure going to have fun in the hot summer with the top down, that's for sure!! What am I saying, we can take the top down now with these 70+ temps around here!!! Ha!

2012-01-31T09:30:00.000-08:00

This is a HUGE deal around here, but especially in New Orleans, LA!

Our family from New Orleans kicks the Mardi Gras celebration off back in the summer!

...Yea, it is THAT planned out!

The floats in New Orleans are bigger and better,

but I'd say we have a pretty good celebration here near Galveston, TX!

Anyway, it makes for a very fun time and the kids love catching beads!

We'll have to take plenty of pictures and enjoy LOTS of King Cake for ya too! My mom is fortunate enough to attend our cousin's parade in New Orleans, so I'll make sure and have her take pictures there too!

Mardi Gras 2011 in Galveston, TX

Have you ever been to a Mardi Gras celebration? If not, you're missing out!

SO.MUCH.FUN!

Seriously, LOTS of fun!!!

Dip DELICIOUSNESS?

2012-01-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

We're going to a Super Bowl Party on Sunday and I have a super cute football bowl to use for a exciting dip...only problem is that I don't have a great dip to prepare :-(

Any suggestions?

I can look on Pinterest, but I hate making a dip that I've never tried before!

What's your favorite party dip? I'd love some great suggestions!

And I'm happy to report that Justin seems to be feeling MUCH better, still just battling the runny nose and cough, but here's hoping a few more days of rest will help him bounce back to his normal self soon!

my poor baby boy...

2012-01-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

the one in our family hit hardest with the sniffles...

i mean, he fell asleep with his DS in hand so you know it must be BAD...

and he also fell asleep on Dixie too...

We sure hope he gets to feeling MUCH better soon, because although Mommy is sure taking advantage of all of the snuggling and cuddling, she's missing her wild and crazy littlest man and it's just not fun watching him be SO miserable and not-so-full-of-energy like I'm used to!

Ugh to allergies...

2012-01-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

We have been so excited to finally be in our new neighborhood, playing outside and meeting our neighbors, but now because of all of THIS park fun,

We're all sneezing, coughing, have runny noses, scratchy throats and sinus headaches...

and our poor little man is dealing with his wheezing with the weather changes :-(

Here's hoping the McClellen's get to feeling better soon!

some FUN and exciting things to share...

2012-01-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

First of all, I am SUPER excited to announce that I have been asked to co-host the Take It From Me's very popular, Welcome Wednesday blog hop! I have participated in their hop for over a year now, met some great fellow bloggers and learned some great tools for making blogging a success! I will definitely keep you posted on this exciting journey for BOTH of my blogs! Woohoo!

If you haven't checked it out, go here ,link up and hop around!!

As for our Anniversary dinner at Eddy V's...it was PERFECT! Thanks to my aunt for suggesting this restaurant. It was elegant, delicious and SO perfect for celebrating my birthday and our anniversary! For our meal, I had the Fuji Apple Salad, Sea bass with lemon and garlic! And since it was a special occasion, we splurged on coffee and dessert! Yum! This was our table when we arrived...

And look who's back home??! Dixie! She is a yellow lab, almost 10 years old. She was a gift to my hubby, when we were dating, for his birthday! She's a sweet dog and has adjusted pretty well so far!

...and here's our house!

We are very excited and happy to be moved and almost settled in!

One of the highlights of the house for the boys is this TUB!

Ha! They think it's hilarious to turn up the bubbles and go crazy! Silly boys :-)

My newly created, "M" wall! What do ya think? Totally inspired by Pinterest, of course!

and finally our restored breakfast table by Robin @ Restored Designs! She does amazing work!

She lives near our new house, so I'm happy to call her my new neighbor and friend.

She might have that perfect piece just for you too, so be sure and check it out HERE!

we're back!

2012-01-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

I think The McClellen's win the award for trying to

CRAM a whole lotta milestones into a few, short weeks!

Let's break it down, shall we?

1. Celebrate our seven year anniversary 1/15/12

2. Get the keys to our new, forever home 1/14/12

3. Complete our first half marathon 1/15/12

4. Move into our home 1/16/12

5. Celebrate my 32nd birthday 1/21/12

6. and finally to end the CHAOS, we managed to take the boys to MONSTER JAM!!!

We didn't know until we arrived, but we had FRONT ROW SEATS!

The boys were super excited and screamed every time a truck flipped! It was pretty cool!

We had pit passes to "meet" the trucks and drives before the show and we HAD to stand in line for EVERY truck...as you can see by the autographs on their shirts! I have better pics on my big camera, so I'll share those as soon as I find my camera case in one of these boxes! Ha!

It was little man's first visit to Monster Jam and he LOVED it!

He stayed awake and excited until Grave Digger ended the show at 10:30!

Woo, it was a late night but totally worth it :-)

And finally tonight, Daddy and I will be able to have our date night to celebrate our belated anniversary and my birthday! We plan on going somewhere nice,

so I better get dressed and unpack some boxes before we go!

and a few other things...

2012-01-18T06:10:00.000-08:00

Guess who will be coming home? Dixie! She is our yellow lab that has lived with my mom since we moved to this house. Now that we are moving into our larger, forever home...she's FINALLY coming home too!

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous about all of the shedding, but the boys are BEYOND excited to have Dixie back home with us! They love dogs and it's about time that we had her back in the family!

and in other exciting news...look what came in the mail yesterday!!!

If you can see what it is?! Disney Cruise Line confirmation packet! Yep, we'll be heading on the Disney Cruise soon and we are VERY excited. I have never been on a cruise and to be honest, my mom talked us into it. Hopefully it is as much fun as people say and with the Italian cruise line sinking recently, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely TERRIFIED. Ha! Oh well, as Goofy and Mickey say...BON VOYAGE!!!

home sweet home...almost!

2012-01-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

The movers will be here at 9am tomorrow morning. We have had the keys to our new home since Saturday at 3pm! We have been making trips over there to unload boxes and get things in order! We are SO excited that tomorrow will be our first night in the house! Very exciting! Tomorrow will also be the day that I attempt my first run, post race! Yikes! Lots going on in our lives, but promise to post many pictures VERY soon!

13.1- YEA BABY!!!

2012-01-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it! 13.1 miles-DONE!

My time, 2hrs 46 min.

Brandon's time, 1hrs. 49 min.

Just some pre-race photos I wanted to share...MUCH more to come! I was a nervous wreck, I think we all were. The adrenaline was insane and my heart was beating out of my chest! Crazy. I am not going to lie, I'm in some pain and I'm covered in Theragesic. My shoulder hurts the worst, so I must have been really tense from all of the nerves! It's 8:15, on our seven year anniversary and Brandon and I are both in bed! Ha! Guess you know that means we're POOPED! Brandon, Christine and I all accomplished something we never thought possible! We pushed ourselves, and although I struggled on a lot of the course, I DID IT. That's what matters. I crossed that finish line with tears streaming down my face...what a feeling!

SO nervous...

2012-01-15T00:59:00.000-08:00

because today is the Aramco Houston Half Marathon!

My first half marathon. My husband's first half marathon. It's also our 7 year anniversary!

I am awake and it's 2:50a.m and I am TOTALLY running on nerves! I'm anxious, excited, terrified, proud, and so many other emotions wrapped into one!

The Olympic Trials took place yesterday and being there as those elite athletes crossed the finish line was AMAZING.

I've trained hard, probably could have trained A LOT harder. My boys trained along with me and pushed me along the way! After all, they are our motivation. We will show them that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. They can do anything they put their minds to. Look where Mommy and Daddy started...overweight, unhealthy and back then, probably could not run a mile if you paid them. And now 13.1? CRAZY.

This is what the boys looked like after our last run two days ago! Woohoo...they were POOPED!

So, all that's left to do is prepare, drink my cup of coffee, calm myself down...and get dressed in my race day outfit! Yikes. Is this day really here? Woohoo.

As I cross that finish line, so many emotions will be going through me. Happiness and determination is what will bring me there.

I will push myself for all of those times in my life where I had little or no self-confidence, those times where I felt alone or afraid, those times where I felt helpless before I lost the weight and gained my life back, I will push for all of those people needing to find encouragement to start THEIR journey, I will push for my boys, I will push for my husband, but most importantly for myself-to know that I've set a goal and REACHED that goal! Bring It On!

Here we come, baby!

BUSY doing nothing!

2012-01-11T06:23:00.000-08:00

Well of course we have things that we "should" be doing while Daddy's at work! Like packing, cleaning, learning, reading, cooking, doing laundry, but for now we'd rather...

PLAY and BE SILLY!!

Yep, we can keep ourselves entertained for hours with silly things like this! Taking pictures of ourselves, dancing in the living room, playing chase, and telling make believe stories!

After all, we must all cherish these moments the MOST :-)

some INDOOR camping FUN

2012-01-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

With only a few more days until our move and our half marathon, we've been finding ways around the house to stay busy! Of course we've been packing A LOT. We've lived here for over four years, so you can imagine how much stuff we've managed to accumulate! Too much! But after this move, we don't plan on moving for a LONG, LONG time...it's our "home": the one where we will raise the boys, have family over, host Thanksgiving, Christmas and much more! Plus, we'll be getting our dog back! Ha, she's lived with my mother for four years, while we lived here and we're ready to have her back! She'll have a huge yard, and lots of space indoors to roam around! She's a yellow lab and her name is Dixie, so we'll have many memories to make with her too! The boys are MOST excited about her coming home!

So in keeping busy, my husband taught Jake how to ride his bike WITHOUT training wheels! I was screaming and whistling in the road, once he got the hang of it! Can you tell I'm one, proud Momma?! Ha!

and we've been playing in THIS...

We've had an indoor camping trip before, but it was really fun this time because our house is pretty much EMPTY! Nothing to get in the way of this big 'ol tent! The boys actually fell asleep in here, but it did take them until after 10pm, but it was still fun! We had the Coleman lantern, we told stories, read books and played Angry Birds on Jake's iTouch! So fun! I guess in the future, we'll actually have to camp OUTSIDE, but for now, our indoor camping trips will have to do!

Your Houston News: featuring my husband and I

2012-01-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

Picture: My husband and I "fake" running for the photographer! Check out our little man in his sunglasses! HILARIOUS :-)
I was asked a few weeks ago if we'd be interested in a feature about our running journey, leading up to the half marathon. I was very excited to share our story, and I wanted to share the link with all of you!

League City couple hope to inspire others to be more active - Your Houston News: News:: Some couples play bridge. Others enjoy gardening together. But
for exercise-enthusiast Marissa McClellen, running is the tie that
binds in her…

Are ya ready for some football?!

2012-01-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

Well, we are definitely excited today! Our very own, Houston Texans have their VERY first playoff game! Let's hope that they pull off a WIN! Houston fans are certainly excited. Our neighborhood is pumped up too, flying their Houston Texans flags, grilling, boiling crawfish and having watch parties! We are hanging out at the house, but we are having family over and the boys have been playing outside since early this morning!

GO HOUSTON TEXANS!!!

and with more exciting, football news!

My husband and I graduated college from SHSU-Sam Houston State University and they are in the National Championship! Playing RIGHT NOW and leading the game so far, so

GO BEARKATS!!!

What are your weekend plans? Hopefully there's lots of family fun planned for you and your family too!

Have a great weekend! Only SEVEN days until our first half marathon AND our seven year anniversary! Needless to say, we are getting VERY excited!

2011 in iPhone pics!

2012-01-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

2011 was definitely a great year with lots of changes...instead of the traditional recap, I thought I'd try to only use iPhone pics, since I seemed to forget my "real" camera for many of these special moments!

Justin gave up the Binky!

Justin's first movie...Cars 2.

4th of July 2011

several Jellystone trips!

Jake was a ring bearer in cousin, Britney's wedding!

Justin fell into the fire pit at Artesian Lakes, ER photo from his poor burns :(

I stood in my dear friend, Ashlyn's wedding!

There's the beautiful Mrs. Baker!

Daddy and Jake raced TOGETHER! Jake's first 1K and Daddy's 5K, amazing finish!

Fall 2011

Halloween 2011

Justin's first black eye, from playing too rough with big brother :(

The boys first Houston Texans football game! So fun!

Mommy and Daddy have been training for their first half marathon!

LOTS of visits with cousins!

our last Christmas in this house, we are moving VERY soon!

Mommy fit back into her old jeans! WOOHOO!!!

our cousin, Bailey was born!

Jake's first Bumper Car experience and he LOVED it!

Jake spent a lot of 2011 working on those muscles!!! Pretty awesome, right?! ha!

...and finally Justin's first visit to Chuck E Cheese and although he doesn't like the mouse, he sure LOVES the arcade! Ha!

Looking back through phone pics can be really funny and bring back more memories than you think! I wish I was able to figure out how to upload the videos on my phone, those will have you laughing for hours!

Here's hoping I remember my "real" camera more often in 2012, but I still love phone pics, I just can't help it!

my running buddies!

2012-01-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

Excuse the sweat dripping from me, but we live in Texas where January possibly consists of 70 degree temps with LOTS(too much) humidity, right? RIGHT!

Although I enjoy running on my own, sometimes with Daddy's schedule, I have to take on runs with these two boys! Jake rides his bike and I push Justin in the jogging stroller and we all listen to Mommy's iPod while cruising around the neighborhood! We had a good run the other day and the boys kept telling me to run faster! Funny how a 5 year old and a 2 year old can be so motivating!

These boys are part of the reason that we try to make healthy living SUCH a priority in our lives! We want to make sure they have the tools to lead healthy lifestyles for years to come. I know they enjoy being outdoors, but I want them to truly appreciate exercise and taking care of their heart. So, my wish for 2012 for these boys is for us to expose them to as much of our fitness and nutrition as possible! Jake will be in kindergarten next year and I want him to take these tools with him as he grows! We will encourage ALL things sports and we will make sure that these boys understand that exercise IS fun! As for us, Daddy is working so we're headed out for another family run! I'm sure these boys will be yelling at me to run faster, so I better be prepared! Ha!

staying busy and having FUN before 2012!

2011-12-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

We had to take the boys to see Alvin and the Chipmunks, Chip wrecked! They watch the first two chipmunk movies A LOT, so we knew this was a must-see! They did great and loved it...and I can't believe Justin sat through the entire movie without moving, except for some occasional dance moves with his Momma! That's the best part about the chipmunk movies...there's always great dance music, so you can find Mommy dancing all over the house when we watch them!!!

Oh I am going to embarrass them SO much as they get older, huh? OH WELL!!!

We hadn't been to Chuck E Cheese in years but over the break we had not one, but TWO birthday parties with this furry guy! They had fun playing skeeball and basketball, but little brother DOES NOT like this mouse AT ALL! Last night, at one of the parties we had almost 300 tickets and guess what they won? two, VERY tiny inflatable guitars! Pathetic. But it was still fun watching these boys play and have fun!

We had a fun caroling Christmas party at Devlin's house, a friend from Jake's school! Wish I would have taken more phone pics than just this one of them riding her life-sized horse! SILLY BOYS!

They ride the four-wheelers every day, up and down the street and all over the backyard! HILARIOUS! These hats from MeMe crack us up...they look like pig tails! You'd think a 2 year old couldn't steer this big 'ol four wheeler, but he does and he goes fast!

A trip to the Galleria and a ride on the Galleria Express choo choo train! This was pretty cute and it rode throughout the Galleria and the boys waved at everybody! The train wasn't made for 5'10" Mommy's because my legs were pretty crammed in there :)

a picture with MeMe at the Galleria in front of the ice skating rink! The boys said next time they'd like to try out skating!! We told them Mommy and Daddy can't ice skate until after the half marathon, just in case I'd break my leg out there! HA! ...and I probably would have!

Fun memories right before 2012!!! Hope you all have a Happy New Year, be safe and have FUN!

Christmas 2011...a recap!

2011-12-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

This year I really took the time to reflect on how blessed we truly are...

*We live near most of our family and are able to see them often!!

*We have two, beautiful boys!

*We will celebrate our seven-year wedding anniversary on January 15th,

the same day we run our first half marathon, TOGETHER!

*My husband works SO hard, even on holidays(unfortunately)

so that I am able to stay at home and raise our kids!

*We are moving into our new home in a few, short weeks!

there's just SO much to be thankful for this year...

We had an amazing Christmas that lasted several days, which was nice because it felt like it lasted longer than normal!

And of course, we had to start by leaving cookies for SANTA!

MeMe's house was the first place Santa decided to leave some gifts for our boys...

too many gifts as you can see!

New bicycles? Woohoo!!

My mom with her sister and brother!

My mom is the short one! (Ha, she'll hate that I said that!)

...and after a long night, our boys woke up at a very late 9:15am on Christmas morning! Geez, right?

They started with their stockings...full of goodies! Look at those puffy, tired eyes! Tired boys!

Is that a basketball goal?!

We'll set this up after we move, they'll love playing basketball in their new, LONG driveway!

And the favorite toy for the McClellen boys this year?

Monster Jam EVERYTHING!

Santa gave them tickets and pit passes to the show in a few weeks, and lots of Monster Jam trucks!

Now they have WAY too many!!

Look! A hat just like Daddy!

look at that mess!

I usually freak out when my house is a wreck, but because it was Christmas...

I let it slide!

...and a visit from PawPaw too! I wonder what he brought for them?

Do you STILL see the mess? I was pretty good, but then I lost it and had to clean immediately! Ha!

PawPaw brought them a TV and blu-ray/dvd player for the new house...

and Christmas 2011 ended with a visit to Angie's house to play with all of the cousins! We are so lucky to have such a close, extended family! This is our newest cousin, Bailey! I was finally able to feed her!

Sweet baby girl sure loves me!

Christmas Eve was brunch with family, Church and then dinner at Pappas Seafood!

The boys LOVED their catfish and green beans and ate way too much! Their favorite part was sitting by their older cousins...they think they're so cool!

Our little man enjoyed Christmas SO much this year. His enthusiasm over each and every present was HILARIOUS and unforgettable! Such joy and excitement on his face with every gift. Both of our kids were spoiled rotten, but they sure loved visiting with family, as well as getting WAY too many presents!

Our little man loves his new, "HeeHaw" hat and his guitar! I'm thinking he's going to be a superstar...whatcha think?? Ha! So stinkin' cute!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas 2011 with lots of memorable moments!

Love,

The McClellen's

Christmas...a little early!

2011-12-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

We celebrated with my husband's side of the family last night because they will all be going out of town. We started at Gran's house(husband's grandma) and had a great time visiting with cousins! We are very blessed to have SO much family that live close to us! We all live within 15 minutes of one another, so it's pretty cool!

Then it was time to head back home and see what DeDe, Pop and Aunt Paulette brought for under our tree! Look at that pretty wrapping...Aunt Paulette NOT Mommy :( Ha!

Axis Deer from Pop to hang in our camo/hunting bedroom!

He's having DeDe help him out, because he's SO excited!

The Bass Pro Shops Ultimate Hunting Game for the Wii...Yay!

iPod Touch! WooHoo!!!

and a cool case for it too!

Monster Jam is all over our house and these boys gets SO excited to open another truck! They have a very serious collection and they can tell you EVERY, SINGLE truck that they have AND don't have!

...more Monster Jam trucks!

And now Little Man...as you can see, he's ready to be a Rock Star! He was opening too fast for me to capture all of the pictures, but I did snap a few...

I've posted before that our boys are OBSESSED with riding Jake's four wheeler, so for Christmas...Santa mentioned how badly he'd like his own four-wheeler to DeDe, Pop and Aunt Paulette and they made it happen! Yay! I have a feeling they'll be riding these for HOURS...and HOURS!!!

his very ow four-wheeler!

I wish I had my video camera for his reaction to this gift! He screamed over and over and jumped up and down! His excitement had all of us laughing! He kept circling the backyard on it and as he'd pass, he'd scream, "I like it"! HILARIOUS! He said, "I can't believe it, my own four wheeler from Santa...he brought it to me!"....so cute!!! Thanks to DeDe, Pop and Aunt Paulette for spoiling these boys ROTTEN!

My Story

2011-12-19T05:50:00.000-08:00

I am so excited that Jessica @ Running to be Skinny has featured me on her Motivate Me, Monday series! I am suppose to be posting for my Inspire Me! Series as well, so I guess today I'll be the inspiration...or at least I'll hopefully motivate by telling my story....if interested, check out my feature HERE!
Merry Christmas to you all!

our day...

2011-12-18T14:58:00.000-08:00

We are happy that Jake's fever has gone away...and that Mommy's back seems to be feeling better!

We are SAD that the Houston Texans lost the football game today...

We are MAD that we've been stuck in our house for THREE days...

But we are SUPER excited that Christmas is almost here...

and YEP, we have way too much time on our hands when we're forced to stay indoors...Ha!

video from Santa...have you made one?

2011-12-16T07:48:00.000-08:00

If you've never heard of Portable North Pole, then you MUST check it out! You plug in your child's information, pictures, what his/her wants from Santa this year and location...then PNP will send a video to your email and it's from SANTA personalized to YOUR child! Awesome, right? We just did it again this year and our boys were amazed that Santa knew so much about them and the toys that they wanted! Plus, Santa told my boys to be nice to their Brother or they'd be put on the Naughty List! Ha!

Check it out HERE...or go to http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

ENJOY! I sent this to several people through email and they've sent back that their kiddos LOVED it too!

Joy to the World!

2011-12-12T10:06:00.000-08:00

We are SO proud and happy that THIS year, Jake decided to SING!!! If you remember, last year's school Christmas performance consisted of him standing there frozen and pale as a ghost! THIS year, totally different. He's coming out of his shell, because he sang his little heart out!

Allen and Jake after the performance!

Action shot! They are shouting, JOY TO THE WORLD!

and no Christmas performance would be complete without baby brother and MeMe! DeDe and Pop were busy working or they would have come too! Mommy might have even shed a tear when she saw Jake sing for the first time! Sounds silly, but for two years we've watched him just stand there and look completely sick and nervous. But NOT ANYMORE!!!

Merry Christmas to all of YOU :-)

Moody Gardens-Festival of Lights

2011-12-10T06:43:00.001-08:00

Last night we decided to head to the Festival of Lights in Galveston...we had a great time and it was actually cold, winter weather so it felt like Christmas time!

driving Santa's sleigh

We watched Polar Express 4D and it was awesome! The boys loved it. You could smell the "hot, hot chocolate", feel the breeze from the train, saw snow falling into your hands and even felt the wind from Santa's sleigh...very cool experience!

our Local 2 news weather guy, Frank Billingsley! We watch him every day!

And we were even able to roast marshmallows! Yum!

And Jake approved the s'mores! He said they were SO GOOD!

The only bummer was that nobody was around to take our pictures, so it was always Mommy and her boys or Daddy and the boys :( but oh well, still a fun night that we'll remember for a long time! Christmas music was playing and bells were jingling...I just LOVE this time of year!

Hope you're enjoying the holiday season!

those eyes...

2011-12-07T20:13:00.001-08:00

Ah, I love these eyes! We were eating lunch the other day and he gave me THIS look...and those eyes made me melt! It was taken on my phone, so you can't really see how blue those eyes are! Maybe I'm just saying that because I'm his Momma, but I sure love this sweet boy! Now that we're having cooler weather, he's in love with wearing his Hook 'Em hat!!

So Happy...

2011-12-06T16:51:00.001-08:00

because when I walk in the door after I run, HE is there waiting for me...

He tells me, "Momma, you're all sweaty" and asks me, "Did you go fast or too slow?" He says he'll be much faster than me one day (and I'm sure he's right!) but no matter what when I walk in the door, he has a smile on his face and is happy to see his Mommy! Whew, look at my red cheeks :)

The half marathon is January 15th...it's really getting close! I'm nervous and excited, but when I see my hubby, my two boys and our parents at the finish line, I'm sure it'll all be worth it!

Christmas Parade 2011

2011-12-05T06:52:00.001-08:00

Do you see Santa? He's up there!!!

Luke and Jake

My hubby and I

party decor by Tarah...she did a great job being festive!

This was THE highlight for my boys...Grinder(Monster Jam) in the parade!

LOTS of fire trucks, both new and old in this parade!

THROW US SOME CANDY!!!

too much parade fun!!!

Our community has a Christmas parade every year and this one was really fun! Our friends hosted a parade watching party at their business, so we were able to enjoy refreshments, clean potties and the kids playing on a moonwalk, while waiting for the parade to begin! All of the kids had a blast playing for hours and we had a great time too.
By the time the parade started, I think all of the kids were tired. It started to rain and we all headed to covered areas, and as I was running(not sure why I was running, it was JUST rain!), I fell with my baby in my arms. We flew in the air and smacked the concrete. I thought FOR SURE he busted his head on the ground, but THANKFULLY my baby was ok. Not a scratch. I however, was feeling some pain, but I must have protected him just right to where it was all MOMMA that hit the ground :(

Go Jacob Go!

2011-11-30T06:09:00.001-08:00

Go Jacob Go!

These boys are both asking Santa for new bikes for Christmas! So, you know what that means for big brother? He's gotta get rid of those training wheels...

It's a work in progress but we're getting there! He's made it all the way down our street without them but still flips out if Daddy isn't right behind him! We have a goal to have NO MORE TRAINING WHEELS by Christmas!!! How did you teach your kiddos how to ride a bike? It's a pretty tough task!

Happy Birthday to Luke

2011-11-29T08:29:00.001-08:00

We made this for Jacob's buddy, Luke! Today he turns 5 years old and they've been friends since they were babies! Can't believe how fast they are growing and I'm so happy that they've made SO many memories together! Happy Birthday Luke, this is for YOU!

Customize your own digital greeting

sweet baby girl...

2011-11-28T11:33:00.001-08:00

I am proud to announce that my cousin, Angie had her third child TODAY! Bailey Kay and she's absolutely precious! Kissable, chubby cheeks and she loves me already...and of course I love her too! Excuse my gorgeous look! I had just finished my run, and we got the call so I immediately had to go and meet her at the hospital! She was smiling at me and I was able to change her little diaper...so tiny! Aww...maybe the McClellen family needs a baby girl??

silly time with my boy!

2011-11-26T07:10:00.000-08:00

I think we took about 20 pictures yesterday! Just he and I sitting in the chair, taking goofy pictures! Ha! This little man has the BIGGEST heart in the world. The sweetest little cuddler, who always makes sure his family is happy. He is hilarious and knows how to make us all laugh!

This year for Thanksgiving, I am thankful for:

My husband, who works hard so that I am able to stay at home and raise our boys. He is my best friend. The love of my life. I am so truly blessed to have him as my husband.
My boys, who make life complete. We never knew that love until they came into our lives. The ache in your heart when they are unhappy or sick. The love so strong that your heart literally jumps when they say the words, "I love you"

Our family and friends. So many people that love one another, unconditionally. We are all there for each other through anything. The laughs, memories and stories that we all share.

Our health. I am thankful that we are all healthy and lead healthy lifestyles to break that cycle of heart disease that runs through our families. And that I am able to share my passion for healthy living through Let's Move It Mommas and the opportunities that it has given me.

And all of you...

Serious to SILLY!

2011-11-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

I love to take pictures of these boys...I know, complete shocker right?! Ha!

And photo shoots in our house usually begin like this:
Ah, they are posing and looking so handsome! RIGHT??!
Doing a pretty good job boys, keep it up!

Ok, boys hang in there....don't lose it! Whoops, I think they lost it...totally SILLY!
They're trying to keep it together...

All.Out.SILLY!!!!

Oh well at least I captured a few, great shots!!!
Happy Turkey Day :-)

Thanksgiving Celebration #1

2011-11-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

My Dad and Jake! Hmm, do they look alike? New kicks! He picked these out all by himself, so he takes after his Momma's good taste in tennis shoes :) A belated birthday present from his PawPaw(my dad).

My grandmother's tree. My aunt decided to have all of the kids/grandkids/great-grandkids, etc...sign an ornament for the tree! Cute idea, huh?

My grandmother on my Dad's side and the boys!

All of us!

What's sad is that we really don't see my Dad's family...actually hardly ever. Guess divorce does that to families huh? I hadn't seen most of them in probably 10+ years. Sad. It was WONDERFUL seeing all of them. My dad always had a very loving, giving and affectionate family. They were all SO happy that we made the trip to Louisiana! He has 7 brothers and sisters. TONS of people in this picture and this wasn't even all of them! My mom came too! Yea, his family always loved her and they were very happy she came along and so were we!

My Mom and the boys!

Jake loved playing outside with his two cousins, Jacob(who also goes by Jake) and Sawyer.

It was a nice Thanksgiving with delicious, Cajun food! Lots of laughs and visiting with family that we hadn't seen in way too long! The boys were filthy and made us laugh the entire ride home! They are so funny, especially when they are tired! And we also had to stop and let Jacob pee on the side of the road...there were no bathrooms and when you gotta go, you gotta go!! LOL

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

is that a werewolf?

2011-11-19T05:56:00.000-08:00

I'm being attacked by a werewolf!!!!!!!!!!! And why do I look so happy about it? Well, because no matter what...I still want Bella to fall madly in love with JACOB!

YES my cousins Angie, Stephanie and I went to see

Breaking Dawn Part I.

And yes, I'm a pretty big fan of the books and movies! I know I'm in my 30's and should probably leave this movie/books for the teens but I just can't help myself! Plus all of these vampires and werewolf's are definitely easy on the eyes, right?!

It was fun girls day out and I totally indulged in a box of Raisinets...my favorite!

Random Phone Pics...again!

2011-11-18T04:42:00.001-08:00

I think I skipped right over October random pics...so, here's all of the pics I hadn't shared!

Brushin' his teeth like a big boy! Our little hunters ready for some trick or treating!

Hmm...not really sure what he's doing here!!!

At the Kemah Boardwalk, they had just stuffed their tummy's with Saltgrass...Mmmm!

Our sweet, little IRONMAN(without mask!) at chapel with his buddies.

Preston's bowling birthday party...Jake's actually really good at bowling, I think we need to bring him more often.

**When Brandon and I were dating, I used to ALWAYS win when we went bowling! Ha, he hated that I won all of the time and now Jake needs to take him on!

train tracks GALORE! The boys and I like to make the tracks go everywhere! These are the moments I cherish the most, being able to stay at home with them and do silly things like THIS. Makes me happy to see them having fun with their Momma!

I love scrolling through these phone pics...I could do it all day long. They bring back such funny and totally random memories and they make us all laugh! The boys LOVE looking through my phone and talking about the pictures! Thank goodness for a pretty decent iPhone camera, huh? Helps me capture the little moments where I don't think to grab my "real" camera!!

My BADGE!

2011-11-16T06:53:00.000-08:00

I am So excited because this greeted me in my inbox yesterday! Holy cow, this is it! Am I really going to run, possibly crawl 13.1 miles on January 15th?? There's no turning back and I have great support from my hubby-who's also running, and our two boys!
My weight loss journey and passion for healthy living will come full circle for me on this day. I can already tell you it'll be a very emotional day for me, especially when I cross that finish line...and yes, I WILL CROSS THAT FINISH LINE!!!
Yesterday Jake ran 2 miles with me, he was ahead of Mommy most of the time! What better running buddy could I have asked for! He tells me when I'm going too slow or when I need to slow down, he's like my personal running coach!!

5th Birthday Fun!

2011-11-15T09:49:00.001-08:00

There have been a lot of pretty cool parties for this little man...

1st Birthday-Football theme- "wear your jersey and prepare for fun, it's football season and Jake's turning ONE"

2nd Birthday-Lightning McQueen-complete with a McQueen moonwalk and all things Cars!

3rd Birthday-HotWheels-vroom vroom, with a moonwalk and lots of cool games!

4th Birthday-Fire truck party-with a visit from the League City Fire Dept-it was awesome!

and now...by this 5 year old's request, he wanted a party with all things SPORTS! and that's just what he had...it was like a big 'ol P.E class, so yes Mommy had to re-live her physical education background and teach these kiddos how to have FUN!
There was FREEZE TAG!

BASKETBALL!!!

Look at these precious kiddos, all listening to directions for the next game!

Oh my goodness, YES there was dodgeball! Don't worry, they were given strict instructions! no hitting in the face, but this was hilarious to watch because they all just threw the ball at ME!

Yep, Simon Says! Awesome game, right? Who doesn't remember playing this game as a kid!

and now they are all lined up, ready to open presents and eat pizza and cupcakes!

opening presents...what fun! and Mommy trying to keep up!

MAKE A WISH, my little 5 year old :)

Can anything be cooler than scooter races? So much fun! It was like human bowling! They had to race down and knock over the pins with their bodies! HILARIOUS!

and there's baby brother and DeDe enjoying the party too!

These kids had FUN! Especially our birthday boy! We are so happy that his party was all he wanted AND more! He did all of the things that he loves, and these kids were all drenched in sweat by the end! All of the kids seemed to have fun and he sure got a lot of cool gifts! For being an all-boy party(and one girl!), I think it was pretty darn cool!

Happy 33!

2011-11-12T05:02:00.000-08:00

Happy 33rd Birthday to YOU! To the best husband, Daddy, best friend, companion, and much more!
Happy Birthday, Brandon!
We have been together for over 10 years! Married for almost 7! We have learned so much and if possible, we love each other more today than the day that we met! He is shy, does NOT like attention, but when it's just the four of us-he'll make us laugh like crazy! He is a fun Daddy! Is his boys' best friend! He is my best friend. I can tell him anything. He is my calm. When I am completely flipping out, he brings me back to reality. He takes care of us. He always knows how to make things right. When I least expect it, he'll say the sweetest things. He loves to make me laugh and smile. Although I am completely INSANE sometimes, he loves that about me! As I have danced like a crazy woman in the living room for 10 years, he's finally starting to join in. He dances with me any time that I ask! Yes, even in the kitchen!
I stay at home and raise our boys, while he's out working hard to make things better for us! All of us! So, although I couldn't afford to get him all of the things he REALLY wanted...like a deer lease, 4-wheeler, golf cart, or a Jeep! I hope he knows how much I truly love him. I could not have asked for a better husband. I know we were made for one another. We balance each other out and I still get those butterflies when he kisses me!

and now it's official...he's 5!

2011-11-09T06:09:00.001-08:00

Still hard to believe that this baby boy... Is FIVE YEARS OLD!!!

What's a 5th birthday without icing all over your face?? the Kemah Boardwalk had a Salute to our Military, which was very cool! Our boys were able to thank the men and women that serve our country :)

and now we're still trying to figure out the Ultimate Optimus Prime directions?? HELP??!!!!!

and yes, there's a front and back to those directions...
His day was FUN! He woke up a mini-football cake and balloon from MeMe! A big birthday hug and kiss from his Momma(Daddy was sleeping from work). A birthday hug from his brother and 2 camo cupcakes for breakfast...Yea, why not!!

At school they sang to him, let him pick a prize and sit at the special birthday lunch table! Yay!
He picked popsicles to share with his friends and tomorrow at chapel they'll do something special again! WOOHOO! Lots of birthday fun, but now I have to realize that my "baby" is 5 years old now. He's growing up so fast. So independent. Doesn't need my help for much. Brushes his teeth, puts on his clothes, helps with his baby brother and gives his Momma lots of hugs!

CAMOUFLAGE sweetness!!

2011-11-06T06:47:00.000-08:00

These took a while to prepare, but I think they turned out pretty cool! Jake was SO excited and told me I was the coolest Mommy ever for making

camo cupcakes :) Wanna make them too?

I used Pillsbury Classic Yellow cake mix

Prepare batter and seperate into three bowls

First bowl-classic green food coloring

Second bowl-7 drops red, 4 yellow and 2 blue to create brown

Third bowl-mix to brown and add green until you create the dark green color

Icing: Classic White and add green until color desired, I used a ziploc for icing, cut off tip and created swirly look!

To create the camouflage look, take 1 tbs batter of each color and add to paper liner. I alternated dark green, then light green and then brown. And I would change them up as I went along, making brown on bottom, dark green then light and so on. The colors seem to stay the way you drop them, so when you bite into them...awesome, right?! SO FUN TO MAKE!!

busy planning...

2011-11-04T13:34:00.001-07:00

for this boy's 5th birthday party!!!

He enjoyed lunch at Joe's Crab Shack today and when we tried to have them sing Happy Birthday...he FLIPPED OUT! Totally like his Daddy and doesn't like the attention!

A bad phone pic, but he was sure lovin' his ice cream sandwiches! *He's a tough guy but still loves to snuggle with his Momma. *He LOVES spending the night at his MeMe's and at his DeDe, Pop and Aunt Paulette's. *He loves to be outside. No matter the time of day, rain or shine, he's going outside! *He still sucks his thumb...shhh, I told him he's gotta break this habit SOON. *His blanket goes with him EVERYWHERE and from this, it is falling apart. *He loves big trucks, 4 wheelers, camo, Bass Pro Shops, and playing catch with a baseball and football. *He also loves to run and play, he can go for hours...

He LOVES to stay up late! If we are awake, he's awake! He does not like settling down and going to bed. He'll hang in there as long as possible and then when he's got nothing left he'll CRASH! As if you haven't noticed, he's got the cutest DIMPLES! Seriously, those are trouble! He knows he's cute just by the way he smiles and looks at you. I tell him all of the time, he can start dating when he's 30 and until then, Momma can be his girlfriend :)
How long do you think he'll fall for that??!

He's a big brother.

At times he can drive his baby brother crazy, but at other times...it melts my heart.

He is his brothers best friend. He is a big helper for me when Daddy is at work.

He has a BIG heart. He will do anything for you, if you ask. He's shy. He doesn't like attention, unless its just the four of us, then he's the life of the party!

Jake,

We love you so much! Can't believe you are turning 5 on tuesday! Time has flown by and we cannot imagine life without you. You are and always will be our baby boy. We are SO proud of you and all that you do. You are a great athlete, and are a very smart boy and I know whatever you do, you'll be great at it! You don't give up easily. You won't stop until you get it right!

We love you sweet man and hope you have a Happy 5th Birthday!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T14:10:00.001-07:00

Only in Texas, would our boys be dressed like hunters and the man that answers one of the doors be dressed as a cowboy!!! YeeHaw! Happy Halloween! Although this is Justin's THIRD Halloween, this was definitely the first one he actually enjoyed! He was running from house to house, asking for candy and yelling Thank You as he ran to the next one. Then he'd have to check out what he got, and open them as he walked down the street! Ha! By the end, he was SO tired but he kept going....

We did some trick or treating in our favorite neighborhood in our area and these residents go all out with decorations, even the golf carts that cruised through the neighborhood were totally in the spirit! The golf carts were playing haunting music, full of lights and decor and packed with trick or treaters...all very cool! We gotta buy a golf cart, because it looked like TOO much fun!! We especially liked this house....

They had music, scary characters, this bride and groom, and much more Halloween fun! The boys weren't afraid though, they walked straight up to the door and said, Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween 2011! Hope you all made lots of memories, had a FUN time and ate way too much candy just like these boys did :)

Go Texans!!

2011-10-30T14:22:00.001-07:00

Are ya ready for some football?

The TEXANS won, 24-14
Jake had been to one Texans game, but it was Justin's first one and he LOVED it. I think he was more into the game than most of the fans! He kept standing up, yelling "GO TEXANS", clapping and dancing to the music! It was so cute. Jacob just kept asking questions about the game and wanted cotton candy! Ha!

On our way into the game, we stopped off at MeMe's friend, Johnnie's tailgating area and it was awesome...pulled pork sandwiches, yummy adult beverages and that's where these boys scored a bag of Frito's! Ha!

A HUGE thank you to Aunt Liz, Uncle Moe and Taylor for these AWESOME tickets and for a great time that these boys will never forget! As we were leaving, Jacob said "But wait, I thought we were watching more games?" Oh and I think these two, little Texans fans might have been the cutest ones there? I'm just sayin...

pumpkin carving...and a look back!

2011-10-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

I LOVE looking at pictures, especially comparing how much these sweet boys have changed through these past few, wonderful years... I remember this like it was yesterday. My sweet little man dumped his bag of candy and started eating through the wrappers...he was SO excited!

and a picture from the same pumpkin patch that we still visit...

He looks SO young! Look at that baby face :) We play catch with that football EVERY day!

and sweet boy on his first Halloween, two years ago.

And now for our pumpkin carving last night...

Jake liked pulling out all the "junk" from the inside!

Justin reached in ONCE, threw the seeds out and said, "This is gross"! Ha!

We are ready for Trick Or Treating in our house! The boys won't stop talking about it and we're excited to watch them both in action this year! We never order pizza but I'm thinking we might have to for this occasion because I saw that they are doing pumpkin-shaped pizzas for Halloween night! Fun, right?

I thought a night full of junk food along with the candy is a great way to celebrate Halloween...especially since my poor child (Jake) asked me last night, as he grabbed a Snickers snack size bar from the bowl, "What is this, Mom?" "Does it taste like one of those Ring Pop things?"!!! I guess I let my healthy habits take control in our house, huh? Ha!

Fall Festival FUN!

2011-10-25T20:21:00.001-07:00

If you're visiting from Welcome Wednesday...thanks for stopping by! Hope you'll enjoy sharing the memories of day to day life with my family! *And I'm hosting a giveaway for Breast Cancer Awareness Month on my healthy living blog HERE...hope you'll stop by and join the fight against breast cancer and win a pair of cool New Balance sunglasses!

My son's preschool, fall festival was today! I volunteered to help out and I did the obstacle course with him and his friends! SO FUN! And I actually did face painting! Yikes. I know! But I actually did a pretty good job on the pumpkins, ghosts and spiders...but I sure needed some work on the other creations! Ha! some of those poor children had hallween colored blobs on their arms and faces, but hey-I tried my best :) My sweet man working on his fall bag, stamping leaves...

and his class! Ah, most of them were in the same class last year, so it's crazy to see how much they've grown in just one school year. They are all so cute and they all get along great! The boys kept going through the obstacle course and I had SO much fun encouraging them and cheering them on as they raced through the course! A very fun day spent with my son, his friends and some great parents! Well, except for the thousands of mosquitos and the 90 degree heat in OCTOBER?? What's up with that? We are ready for some cooler fall temps...hello??!

I'm gonna knock you out!

2011-10-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Do these guys look tough, or what??
We had their buddy, Blake's 3rd birthday party yesterday! It was a Halloween costume party, so it gave the boys an excuse to dress up! The "black eye" only lasted about an hour, and the costumes didn't last much longer...but it was pretty hot outside! Blake's momma decorated pumpkin buckets for all of the kids and that way the kids had a bucket for all of their pinata candy! Great idea, huh? I know my Everlast boxer and superhero, Ironman had a great time!!

some fun stuff!

2011-10-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

We have a really cool preschool class this year and I thought it would be fun to set up a park day after school! LOTS of the kiddos and their parents showed up and we had a great time visiting! And of course the kids had a blast playing for hours... and LOTS of boys in our class this year...11 boys and only 6 girls! They were taking a break from playing football!

and at Jacob's preschool there's a really neat pumpkin patch, so the other day while we were waiting for school to let out, we took little man so he could pick out his very own, baby pumpkin!

and here's just a few totally random pictures of our sweet, little man hanging out with us while big brother is at school...

I think he likes the one on one attention he's getting, but he sure misses Jacob too!

and look at this cowboy? I told ya he likes to wear this hat EVERYWHERE!

Hope you're enjoying the fall weather where you are, too :)

this is TOO soon!

2011-10-18T05:49:00.000-07:00

We went to Devlin's birthday party this past weekend(she's precious and Jacob has been in class with her for two years now!). It was at the Aquarium Restaurant at the Kemah Boardwalk! The kids played, watched the sharks, eels and stingray's as they ate and then enjoyed these HUGE ice cream sandwiches... But the part that was most shocking....

Jake's little friend, Leslie asked to hold his hand and BAM! Look at them!

He kept looking at me, making sure I wasn't laughing or drawing attention to the fact that he was holding her hand. It was hilarious. But scary...TOO SOON, right? Oh geez, I'm really in for it huh? They were so cute.

He helped her buckle her seat belt, they rode the ferry boat together and then sat by each other and ordered the same food and dessert at lunch! HA! HILARIOUS!!!

He was acting like a tough guy in front of his friend, Evan but when it was just Leslie, he was all gentleman! O.M.G!

Froberg's Pumpkin Room!

2011-10-16T08:05:00.001-07:00

It may not be a real pumpkin "patch" but it sure was a fun trip!

Tarah and I decided to take the boys to Froberg Farm for some pumpkin fun last week after school! It was a great trip, except for Justin throwing the small pumpkins like baseballs! Whoops!

As you can see, no pics of the four boys together but this last one of our little "popcorn and snow cone" are pretty cute!!!

We are SO ready for some cooler weather and looks like we're getting it in just a few more days! WOOHOO!

Everybody Cut...

2011-10-15T07:01:00.001-07:00

FOOTLOOSE ....now let's understand that the original cannot be topped! Who doesn't remember the scene where Ariel and Ren come running into the dance?! CLASSIC 80's MEMORIES!

So, in honor of the re-make, we decided a girls night would be a PERFECT way to re-live our childhood memories of such a great movie!

if you look closely, you'll see two of our group, sporting the "Dance your A*# off" tee that Ariel wears in the courtroom!!! AWESOME!!!

What a fun girls night out! And although it can't touch the original movie, it was still pretty darn good and lots of fun! Oh and Willard is my favorite character in both original and the re-make...SO CUTE!!!

"HeeHaw"

2011-10-12T09:48:00.001-07:00

Let's add to the list if HILARIOUS things that my boys say!

This one is priceless and we think it's hilarious that he wants to wear his "HeeHaw" all day, every day!

I think he makes a pretty darn cute cowboy, what do you think?

He'll wonder around the house asking each one of us, "where is my HeeHaw?" "have you seen my HeeHaw" and when he finds it, he puts it right on his head and won't take it off until bedtime! If that's not a true cowboy, I'm not sure what is! Ha!

a weekend with cousins...

2011-10-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

Since Brandon's sister and family moved to Austin, we hadn't been able to see or visit with them until this past weekend!

We were able to spend a lot of time together and Brandon's parents and aunt hosted a weekend sleepover with all four grandkids! I think they all had a great time together, despite the rain messing with our pumpkin patch plans...
DeDe wanted all four of the kids to match, so please excuse our homemade t-shirts!

As you can see, I'm not a professional photographer and getting all kids to smile at the same time, didn't exactly happen...at all!

As the rain clouds parted, we attempted a trip to the church bazaar to snap some pics of all four kiddos, but as soon as we arrived...it started POURING!! We weren't too upset, because we've sure needed the rain, but it did mean no pumpkin patch for us :-(

So, we headed back to the house for some silly time with family! We cooked, laughed and had a great time visiting with the girls before they had to leave. I know DeDe, Pop and Aunt Paulette were SO happy to have all of their grandkids together, again! And we were happy to spend a weekend with the girls as well! Even if that meant our son spending both nights away! Ha, he sure had fun eating junk food and being spoiled rotten with the rest of them!!

I think all four kids' diet included ALL of the following:

NO nutritional foods

Oreo's...Halloween and regular!

cupcakes

cake balls

pizza...lots of pizza!

sugar cookies

ice cream

milk...lots of milk!

...and anything else their little hearts desired!

I told the boys this was ok, as long as they understood...

WHAT HAPPENS AT DEDE, POP and AUNT PAULETTE'S,

STAYS AT DEDE, POP and AUNT PAULETTE'S!!!!

a few more...

2011-10-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my fellow bloggers for helping me fix my commenting problem...WOOHOO!

And now for a few more pics of my son's 1K race last weekend! Look at him go... and this was right after he crossed the finish line and received his medal! SO proud of you, Jake!

if you can't tell, I'm one proud and happy Momma when I see him do things like this. Knowing that I struggled with weight for most of my life, I want to make sure I'm giving him the tools to lead a healthy life from an early age! It probably helps that he sees Daddy and I exercise 6 days a week too! Our boys like to do sit ups, push ups and mountain climbers right beside us!

Hope to visit the pumpkin patch and the church bazaar this weekend! Any fun weekend plans?

comments?

2011-10-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, I need some help...some of my most favorite bloggers are thinking I've totally stopped reading because on certain blogs, I am unable to comment?? As I leave comments and submit, I am getting "Error, cookies embedded...blah blah blah" What does that mean, any ideas on how to fix?? HELP!!! I promise I'm reading...

Hudson's B-Day Bash!

2011-10-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Justin's favorite buddy, Hudson (orange shirt) turned 2 and we celebrated out at our boys favorite place, the mudhole! Luke and Hudson's family has a place out on property and our kids LOVE it! It was a construction theme, but our kids were most excited about just being outdoors, eating birthday goodies and playing with their friends!

(Hudson's Mommy) Tarah and I

My tough guy taking a shot at the pinata! He was able to get some pretty good hits!

Me, Tarah and Hayley-yes, I'm squinting but I guess I didn't think to grab the sunglasses that were ON MY HEAD...ha! I'm a dork!

Jake and Toby playing on the moonwalk slide!

and here's all the crazy boys! They sure had a good time :-)

...and my hubby and I!

So after our morning run, we spent the rest of the day hanging out at home, then wrapped Hudson's present and prepared for the party! We were happy because my husband is ALWAYS working and has never attending a b-day party out there, so we were happy that he was finally off. Yay! On Sunday, we were SUPER lazy. Stayed at home while my husband went to work and I don't think we changed out of our pj's the entire day! One of those lazy, fabulous days! But I did manage to wash FOUR loads of laundry! Does that tell you how much I had been putting off doing laundry? Sad isn't it?

SO proud!

2011-10-02T07:58:00.001-07:00

I had to sit this 5K out over the weekend, only because Jacob was unable to bring his bike and we had both boys and nobody to watch them while we raced. So we watched Jacob and Daddy run the kids 1K and Jacob made us SO proud! He ran the entire race and finished with a smile on his face and he was determined not to let the other kids catch up to him! And then Daddy ran the 5K race and hit a PR: 7:21/mile! AWESOME DADDY!!!! We were so proud and cheered him on to the finish line! He placed around 8th overall...woohoo! The boys were screaming for their Daddy and telling him to RUN FAST!!! and look at THIS...

He was SO proud of his medal and his accomplishment! We were very proud too! So happy that enjoys running so much and hopefully it'll be something that'll help him with sports in the future...and it's a great way for him to stay active and participate in things right along with us!

Hope you had a great weekend too :-)

sweet boy and his vocabulary!

2011-09-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure how I feel about him talking so much. He's hilarious when he talks because he sounds like a 15 year old! Seriously, he does. He can be rather bossy, but we're working on that. He likes to use his hands and make gestures while he's telling you something, I think he feels this will get his point across even more! He loves to say, "I love you" and we love to hear it as often as he'll say it! The other day while we were out shopping for birthday gifts for his buddy Hudson, he told me "Mommy we should do this more, ok?"....ummm, are you sure you are only 2?! Ha! He told every person that worked in each store, "Hello" and as we left, "Have a good day!" He just might be our next President! Ha! He walked and held my hand throughout the mall (couldn't believe he did that!) and told me, "I had a good time, you have fun?!" I'm telling you, our conversations freak me out sometimes because I cannot believe his vocabulary!

I know most of the time he's immitating big brother, but still...

Last night as we were laying him down for bed he shouted out for his Momma and said, "Please don't make me go night night, I wanna sit with you so much on the couch"....I'm serious folks, not making it up! I tell him he's silly and he says, "No me not!" Hahaha!

I need to record all of it so I can show him when he's older.

No matter what, he's a sweet boy and we love him so much!

Go Panthers!

2011-09-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

My cousin is a senior this year and we decided to take a trip to watch one of his football games! Go #60! The game went into THREE overtimes and the Panthers WON!

It was our first high school football game since we were in high school and we won't talk about how long ago that was! It was nice to be in that atmosphere again and I told my hubby, he better be prepared because if our boys play football, I'm going to be one crazy, proud, and vocal FOOTBALL MOM!

We are proud of you, Dominic and happy we could be there to watch you!

Go #60

Hope we can make it there to watch you again before football season ends! The boys still can't stop talking about the football game and how they wanna be football players just like Dominic and Aaron! Love it! They wear their football helmets all through the house yelling, TOUCHDOWN and tackling each other. When I tell them not to be so rough they tell me they are just being football players! HA!

Now how can I argue with that??!

being hard on myself...

2011-09-24T07:04:00.001-07:00

So, you all know that I stood in my friend's wedding last weekend. It was a beautiful wedding and we had a great time. I had a few pictures that I posted on here and thought, wow...this running that I've been doing has really paid off. But then yesterday I receive the proof link to view all of the pictures from the photographer. OH MY GOSH. Then it started...

I have a BAD habit of being SUPER hard on myself. Anybody else deal with that? Anyway, I pretty much picked every picture of myself to pieces, until I felt so horrible about myself that I laid in bed and cried. Sad and pathetic, right? I tried to focus on where this all started...I guess a lifelong lack of self-esteem. Feeling like the "fat kid" can be damaging for life. Although I have overcome SO much and had an incredible weight loss journey, I still can't shake those image issues I have of myself. I mean, I tore those pictures apart. My legs? My arms? My face? ALL OF IT. I felt terrible afterward and couldn't stop thinking about those pictures. Why can't I accept myself for who I am? I am a larger woman, I will never be petite(although I've wanted to be for most of my life) and I workout HARD. I push myself to the limit and exceed goals I never thought possible. I feel great when I put things into perspective and think about how far I have come and how, hopefully I am impacting lives through my Move It Mommas blog and helping my children develop a healthy lifestyle...why is that not enough for me?

I sometimes think I will never overcome these issues, because of the odd relationship I have with my father. I feel like I don't even know him. He has hurt my mother and I A LOT in our lives and continues to hurt me by not wanting to be involved in our children's lives. His life always came first. HIS dreams, HIS priorities...never ours. And I feel like I deal with the emotional baggage that comes along with that. NO, I am NOT making excuses for my battle with weight, self-esteem but I do believe that a lot of my issues are me trying to deal with my emotions...probably in the wrong way. Exercise relieves A LOT of this for me. A LOT. But I guess not all of it?

Oh my goodness, now that I've spilled my hour therapy session with all of my loyal readers, I do feel better. Ha! I just need to learn to LOVE myself. My husband loves me, tells me I'm beautiful each and every day, my boys are my life. They make our lives complete. I have a beautiful mother, who would do anything for us. Anything. I have in-laws that are wonderful to us. They love our children, they love us! I am told all of the time, that I look great...why don't I believe these words? Hmmm, guess I'll be doing a lot of soul-searching this week but one thing is for sure: I WILL NOT BE LOOKING AT THOSE PICTURES AGAIN FOR A LONG TIME!!!

random phone pics...again!

2011-09-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

I love taking phone pics, as you know by now, so here's MORE!

Hanging with my little man while big brother was at school...

Momma's two, tough guys!

ewwww cheesy face! Can you tell this boy loves Cheetos?!

Jake and his friends...little bro was too busy chowing down on cheetos! Ha!

yep, he's wearing his pj's on his head! I'm telling you this boy is SILLY!

we like to take pics after our morning runs...Jake rides his bike and Justin enjoys riding in the stroller! These boys are my motivation on days where I don't feel like working out, they push me!
and Mommy after her run...Ya know the half marathon is about 115 days away! YIKES! hopefully I'm able to reach my goal of running 13.1 miles!!

ahhh, not sure why I love taking phone pics, but I sure have WAY too many photos on my phone that are too cute to erase! so many random memories that I love so much!

well, are ya?

2011-09-19T14:14:00.001-07:00

Are you addicted to Pinterest? I sure am!

Whether it's finding this really clever way to carve a pumpkin?

source

of finding these super cute camo cupcakes to make for my boys?

Are these not the coolest cupcakes EVER??!

source

or my most favorite part of Pinterest...the motivational quotes! I have an entire board dedicated to motivation and when I'm fixing to workout, I read through my pins, get pumped up and head out to exercise! If you pin, then follow me and I'll follow you right back!

source

Have fun pinning, but be warned...IT'S ADDICTING!!!

spending time with my Little Man

2011-09-16T09:00:00.001-07:00

Now that big brother is in preschool three days this year, it allows for baby boy and I to have some much-appreciated bonding time! The other day we went to the park and he loved the one-on-one attention! He loves being outside and playing hard, so this was perfect...even though the temps were outta control, HOT! He was so happy and asked if we could go to the park, EVERY DAY!

you might be a redneck...

2011-09-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

if this is what your boys look like EVERY evening!!!

She's Married!

2011-09-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

She stood in my wedding almost seven years ago,

She is the Godmother to my youngest son,

the greatest friend ANY girl could ask for

and now she's Mrs. Baker! Woohoo!

a few pics from the Rehearsal Dinner-all phone pics because my big 'ol SLR camera didn't match my outfit! Ha!
...the only pic of my hubby and I at the wedding :(

Mrs. Ashlyn Baker! She's looking pretty and ready to walk down the aisle! She was a beautiful bride and I don't think her smile ever left her face. The reception was great and now she's off having a blast on her honeymoon! Love ya, Ashlyn...CONGRATULATIONS!

STRIKE

2011-09-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

look at the determination...

Now these are really bad action shots AND he's in his pj's, but aside from that we are SO proud of him and his pitching abilities at only 4 years old! Maybe because he's our son, we think he's amazing but seriously...he's GOOD! Take a look...

and he throws the ball hard...

His Daddy was a really good pitcher, so maybe we've got a boy following in Daddy's footsteps? It's too soon to tell, but for now we'll be happy knowing that he LOVES practicing pitching and loves throwing strikes!

I am totally not going to be that crazy baseball mom (hopefully), but it makes me so happy knowing he loves this sport. His Daddy and I love baseball so we'll see where it goes but one thing is for sure...we WILL NOT pressure him into doing anything he does not wanna do.

We are proud of you, Jacob! And we're happy that you're loving baseball right now!

first day of school, belated post!

2011-09-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

That handsome boy was ready to go, bright and early for his first day of school last week! He loved seeing his buddies from last year and meeting his new teachers. He said they are cool teachers and he's already learning a lot AND they have him as their helper with certain things because of his BIG MUSCLES!!! Ha! His music teachers say he's shy and doesn't really like to sing, but he has classroom and music teachers thinking he's such a little sweetheart! Which he totally can be a SUPER sweet guy, but he sure likes to run wild, be ALL BOY and drive his baby brother nuts sometimes! Ha! Our reports from teachers so far, say: He's so mature. He loves sports. He's a sweetheart. He's made some good friends in class. He is ALWAYS on his best behavior! Well, I'm happy that he's saving all that super, sweet boy behavior for the classroom! Woohoo!

Poor little guy is ready to play soccer, but unfortunately there wasn't a fall league with openings this season, so maybe we'll have better luck in the spring?

He is very excited to run another 1K race with us in October! Jacob rides his bike and baby brother has been training a lot with Mommy, as he rides in the jogging stroller while I work on my mileage! They are my #1 fans, but most of the time they tell me to

RUN FASTER, MOMMY...You're going TOO slow!!! Ha!

The half marathon is January 15, 2012 so we better step it up with our training! Up until this week, it's been way too hot to get more than three miles, but now that we're having low's in the 60's and high's in the breezy 80's, we should be good and ready to TRAIN, for real!

Seriously?

2011-09-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

What a day! I'm just happy things APPEAR to be settling down at the moment. But let me fill you in on my NOT-SO-BORING DAY!!!!

This morning we woke up to our oldest, Jacob not feeling well. Cold/Allergy symptoms and a low grade fever.
Spent most of the morning hanging out in our pj's and I cleaned house.
At about 2pm, I went out to my car looking for my purse(I NEVER, EVER leave my purse in the car) and found it, but as I opened my wallet to put my cash away, I saw that my $200 that was in there...was missing?
Then I immediately grabbed for my debit card and yep...MISSING!!!
I started to panic and freak out, came running in to check my account online and sure enough...pending transactions at 340.00 and counting...
Called our bank and they stopped the card and not soon enough, because the charges began at 6:19 this morning at Jack In the Box for $20.19 and went on from there, 10 DIFFERENT locations for a total shopping spree of $890.00!!!! Yes, ridiculous right? I feel so violated and betrayed and I know it's MY fault for accidentally leaving my purse in the car, but seriously we are suppose to live in a nice area/neighborhood where we SHOULD feel safe. I don't feel safe. Last year it was my rear window being blown out but the police thought that was probably teenagers doing pranks. This time, they had access to ALL of my account info, SS card, debit card(which they took). It was very scary. I called the credit bureau's and they put fraud alerts on EVERYTHING. The bank covered the fraud payments and even after we closed account, they tried to use it for a purchase of $328.00 at Target. Speaking of Target, they used it five different times at the same Target location within minutes??? Yea, how is that possible right? Scary. Some for $40.00, others for $90.00...strange! They bought clothing, shoes, gas, groceries. They went to Valero, Chevron, and Texaco and apparently they didn't just need gas, one charge was for $158.00 at one gas station!

I would not be able to live with myself if I did this to people for a living. Seriously, have some self-respect and care for others. My husband works SO hard to keep me at home with our boys. We pay our bills, save like we should, don't live out of our means and yet this happens. Makes me so mad. That cash is gone. Although the bank returned my money and the police came and took fingerprints and filed a report, I'm still mad.

I'm off to cuddle with my sweet boy, who is still not feeling well and is saying his throat hurts(geez, only one week back at school and he's sick!) and I will be praying that tomorrow seems to be a much better day. I know things could be MUCH worse, but its still upsetting and makes me angry that people do this and take advantage of others.

They are SO lucky they weren't caught...I think I might have gone crazy on them if I would have seen them in the act. Throwing things and chasing and screaming at them...all at once. They would have given me back my things because they would have been AFRAID! VERY afraid. Hahahaha!

brotherly moments and birthday wishes

2011-08-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

These boys may argue over toys and fight for attention frequently but I can't help but stop and really take in moments like these. Isn't this what life is all about? Watching my boys discover new things, have a conversation about nothing and just be Brothers.
It's the moments like these that make me so grateful for being able to be with these boys each day as they grow. I am able to watch these special moments that I sometimes missed from being busy? To me nothing is more important than this. NOTHING.

My grandmother's 86th birthday would have been today. I miss her so much, each and every day. I know that she is watching over these boys and capturing moments like these, just as I do. Her death helps me understand how precious life truly is. How our time here is about making moments matter. Not about things, but it's about relationships, love, memories, the way we make others feel. Right?
We miss you, Bonka...
every day, every moment...we miss you.
I still remember your smell, the way you'd say hello when I'd call, the way we'd rub noses each time we said goodbye, the way your hands felt-always cold and wrinkly, the way you'd focus so hard on your crossword puzzles. I use Dove soap because it smells like YOU, I can't seem to part with some of your things that are of no use to me, I loved Jacob's smile when we'd drive up to visit you...all these things I am SO afraid I'll forget. I want to remember ALL of these little things on this day and always. Happy Birthday, Bonka.

homework for the first day of school!

2011-08-30T05:36:00.000-07:00

My big boy will be attending his first day of preschool for the last time today :-( Yep, he'll be in kindergarten next year and I'm already having a hard time dealing with that. So, this year it'll be preschool, three days a week so he gets used to the routine of school!

We had meet the teacher on Friday, which went really well. Our first homework assignment...making a patch for a classroom quilt! We had to be creative and make it all about our family so that's just what we did. We started out with his handprint in the middle...I love those little hands! Then added pictures of the four of us, and as we wrote his name he said he wanted to talk about the things he likes-I thought, what a perfect idea! So, he told me what to write and we filled up our square with things that Jacob likes... swimming, running, his bicycle, family, friends, Mom, Dad, Justin, movies, big trucks, camping and baseball! He was ready to keep naming off things, but I told him he ran out of space! Ha!

*To celebrate his first day, he and I played a game of soccer in the blazing heat yesterday and he TOTALLY BEAT ME! I mean it, I was really REALLY trying to win! Ha! By the end, he and I were both drenched in sweat but he was running around the yard, yelling " I beat Momma" and kept laughing! I told him while he's at school, I'll polish my soccer skills and we'll have a re-match!!!

REALLY??

2011-08-29T07:20:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I think I've mentioned this on my blog before BUT this is outta control...I cannot tell you how many times we have been told by family, friends, STRANGERS(especially strangers!) that Jacob looks like "Jacob" or Taylor Lautner. If you have NO clue who I am talking about, here are a few pics of HIM...

and here's my sweet boy, who has been told by people, practically EVERYWHERE we go that he looks like Taylor....

I guess I should be flattered since Taylor is a super handsome(I'm totally Team Jacob anyway!)guy! Not sure I wanna picture my son as a sex symbol the way Taylor is being portrayed these days....but I guess I'll just keep taking the compliments as they are given!

At meet the teacher the other day, TWO people stopped to tell me this. Yesterday at Kroger, a woman yelled for her husband to come and look at Jacob because she said he could be Taylor's brother! Ha! Maybe I should take advantage of this and send his picture off to talent scouts and one day he'll play the PREQUEL to Twilight?? Hahahahahaha!!!

Mommy's back!

2011-08-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the FIRST time I've left my boys overnight :-(

It was my friend, Ashlyn's bachelorette party in Galveston and we had a great time! She is getting married in two weeks...a little girls weekend is what she wanted, so we rented a beach house and had fun visiting, laughing and drinking a few adult beverages too!

When I came home, the boys ran to me and gave me big hugs and told me that they missed me so much! Ahhh, these boys melt my heart...unless they're fighting and luckily they have been doing LESS of that these days! Yay!

All I know is that this Momma is happy to be home, loving on her boys after a nice, little weekend getaway celebrating my friends BIG DAY!

Our Boys + OUTSIDE= HAPPY!

2011-08-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

It seems like no matter what time of the day, how we are feeling, or what we're doing...my boys ALWAYS want to be outside. And you've heard me complain about this ridiculous heat here lately ( 100 + temps) but we still end up OUTSIDE!

The other day, the boys and I went for a run, I pushed Justin and Jacob rode his bike at NOON...which means it was probably already 100 degrees out there and they did NOT complain...not even once! I am so proud that they are active and like to play and get sweaty!

Most days, if I'm inside cooking breakfast, lunch or dinner...I am watching my boys outside! Last night, Brandon and I cooked dinner and they boys played outside for probably THREE hours and then they were both mad when we made them come in and get ready for dinner! Ha! I love letting them play by themselves, but most of the time I have to be RIGHT THERE because Justin will try to eat bugs, sit in a mud hole or they'll work together at plotting something to do that they're NOT suppose to! Yea, they work together if it means coming up with something that'll get them into trouble :)

Sometimes I complain about having to go out there and sweat right along with them, but the truth is that I'm happy they love being outside SO much! I love that they enjoy all of the things it has to offer and hopefully they'll enjoy being outside with their Daddy and I for years to come!

Their new adventure they'd like to take is tent camping. Jacob has a tent that sleeps 10 and we've never used it, other than in our living room! Ha! So, I guess when things COOL OFF(like months from now!), we will have to take them! Not sure where to go and also not sure if I'll be able to rough it like that, but I'm for the challenge...I think??!

Hey, GUESS WHAT??!

2011-08-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

I learned how to SWIM!!!

My mom, dad and brother are SO proud of me and you should see me swim ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE POOL, BY MYSELF! My parents knew I'd learn on my own terms and when the time was right...so the other day at my MeMe's, I took off my puddle jumper and did it! I can swim UNDER WATER and I go super fast :) Now I'm ready to say goodbye to my floaties FOREVER!!! *This is just another reason why my mommy is having such a hard time watching me grow up!

and our trip continued...

2011-08-18T18:45:00.001-07:00

So, after our baby boy had his horrible accident...we considered packing up and heading home, but since we had just arrived that day and the doctor said he'd be fine...we decided to stay and we're sure glad that we did! This slide was SO cool...Jacob wasn't too crazy about it since you can see him here, MID AIR! And yes I think I did the slide at least 15 times! SO FUN! We were all like a bunch of kiddos!

our poor baby and his bandaged hands :-(

Jacob caught his first fish...and many more after that! This fully stocked pond was perfect for the boys to build their confidence and get some good practice, fishing!

and although we saw plenty of alligators, I never snapped good pictures of them because I was SO paranoid about the boys getting too close, that I wouldn't take my eyes off of them to grab the camera! Ha! Whoops!

And I'd like to say that the rest of the trip was easy going and perfect but we had ANOTHER incident! Tarah and I decided to drive around to look at the privately owned houses at Artesian Lakes while the big boys and Daddy's were fishing! So, we loaded up the little ones and drove around. We were about 20 minutes into our drive and she decided to turn around, because we had gone too far. All of a sudden, she tried to reverse and her Yukon wouldn't move...AT ALL. She was flooring the gas and...NOTHING! Her and I flipped out because we were out in the alligator-infested woods, with pine trees all around and the sun was setting. I started having flashing of the worst horror films and almost cried! I didn't have my cell phone, but thankfully she did! Not knowing what to do, I started digging the sand from under her tires...and it worked! She was able to go forward and we thought we were good! THEN, she got stuck again...now even further in the woods :-(. We got a hold of our husband's and they drove to where we were(thank goodness, they found us!!!), my husband has a Z71 4x4 truck, so he thought with one easy pull, we'd get the car out. NOPE. It snapped the tow strap in half and the car didn't move. Long story, shortened...my husband's truck got stuck too, both the Yukon and our truck had to be pulled out by a freaking, tractor! Thankfully, we were all ok and the trip ended happily...but I'm not sure our families should visit Artesian Lakes ANY TIME soon!!!

a scary start to our vacation...

2011-08-17T06:01:00.001-07:00

Our vacation was suppose to be relaxing and fun, but that's not quite how it started...We arrived at Artesian Lakes, unpacked and since it was around dinner time we started to prepare dinner. All of a sudden, we heard screaming and saw that my baby, Justin had fallen into the bbq pit. OH YES, we were freaking out. He was hysterical and would not stop crying. I was running his little hand under cold water but he just kept screaming. As time went on and I was trying to figure out what to do next, we started to see other marks...then I flipped out. There were burn marks on his ear, finger, BOTH hands and little marks on his face. We decided we'd take him to the closest ER because he wouldn't stop crying and now we were all VERY nervous. So, they admitted us and look at that ankle bracelet.... and the diagnosis....second degree burns on one hand, first degree on the other. The other burns were very minor and are already looking MUCH better. :-(

In these pictures you can tell the pain meds had already kicked in and my little, brave boy did SO good. He was so brave and I was the one who was a wreck. My poor baby boy. The doctor says NONE of the burns should leave scars if we keep the medicine on there and take real good care of them but this was a TOO scary start to our vacation.

And believe it or not, there was MORE drama so there's more to come....

some time in Galveston

2011-08-14T04:58:00.000-07:00

Last week on Daddy's day off, we all headed to Galveston to eat on the seawall and enjoy being on the water! The boys were perfect and it was actually very relaxing! Especially with the water right across from us :) The next day, we drove back to Galveston's West End to visit with my cousins that had rented a beach house for the weekend! SO MUCH FUN. As you can see, we had a great day swimming and enjoying time with family!!

Mommy and her boys :) They LOVE the water..such happy, little guys when they're swimming!

SO different!

2011-08-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

It's so much fun to watch these boys as they grow and find their personalities. People ALWAYS tell us that Justin looks like Brandon and Jacob looks like me. If that's true, their personalities are COMPLETE opposite!

Justin is a Momma's boy, for sure! He loves to cuddle and tell me how much he loves me throughout the day when we're at home! He's starting to defend his toys when it comes to his big brother snatching them away and he's rather bossy! Ha! We hit a landmark last week of NO MORE BINKY. I think I've taken it harder than he has. We told him that the binky had to go bye-bye to another baby and he was fine with that! Mommy was a little sad because that binky made him still feel like my "baby"...but I must face the fact that he's growing up!

When you see Daddy's baby pictures, they look EXACTLY like Justin. Precious.

And my little crazy man, Jake! He's ALL boy. Loves to be rough and tough but is super SHY until he gets to know you. Loves playing outside and loves to tease his baby brother! He's grown up SO much this past year. He gets himself dressed, packs his bag for the night away at the grandparents. This past month, he stayed his first night away with his best buddy, Luke! I didn't think I'd take it so hard, but I kept thinking he'd miss his Momma and wanna come home, but NOPE! He was perfectly happy with them! Ha! He takes care of me when Daddy is at work and has become my little helper. He helps me with chores and likes to bring in the trash cans with Daddy. Can't believe he'll be in kindergarten in one, short year :(

Although my boys are SO different...we love them both SO much. Couldn't imagine life without them and they totally make life fun! They make us smile and laugh all of the time...except when they're fighting! A house full of boys can have its challenges, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Life can get in the way and I find myself worried about laundry, cooking, cleaning and then I snap out of it and realize that life is precious and if I'm not careful, those little moments can and will pass me by. I am so fortunate to be at home with these boys, spending time with them each and every day and sometimes I need a reminder of how blessed I truly am.

Boys RULE!

2011-08-09T06:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Luke and Hudson were able to come over and our backyard was taken over by these four boys!!! Acting SO sweet and innocent...

My little, crazy man!

Look at those MUSCLES!!!!

...and look at that sweet face! That's the face he makes when he's just done something terrible?!

loading up the water gun and off to tortue baby brother :(

SO MUCH FUN!!

In this 100+ heat, we have to find ways to stay cool and this was definitely one of them!

The boys had a great time being silly and hopefully we have a few more backyard, slide days before school starts!!

Memories!!!

2011-08-08T06:23:00.001-07:00

I don't know about any of you, but I was OBSESSED with New Kids On The Block as a kid! OBSESSED! Posters, t-shirts, BUTTONS(tell me I'm not the only one who collected these?!), concerts, member of their fan club(I think I had to pay for this, sad but true!), VHS taped concerts, and sadly...much, much more! The other day we were looking through old pictures with the boys, showing them Mommy and Daddy growing up and we stumbled across this one and it's TOOOO hilarious not to share with all of you... If we're not their biggest fans, I'm not sure who is! Seriously, I have buttons down my leg!! LOL! This would be my cousin, Angie and I at the hotel where NKOTB was staying! Yep, you can pretty much say we THOUGHT we were the coolest people on the planet that day :)

TBall...looking back!

2011-08-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Here's Season 4, TBall picture! I think it turned out pretty darn cute :) They handed them out tonight after their last game!!! I was happy because we have professional pictures from Season 1 and 4, the first and last! Yes, I already framed it! I'm a proud Momma!

Hard to believe that tonight was Jacob's last night of TBall.

After FOUR seasons, he's improved SO much! Let's break it down, shall we?

Season 1: lots of digging in the dirt, sitting in the dugout and dragging his bat all over the field. Clearly, could care less about baseball but we were there every game, cheering him on!
He was SO proud of that first trophy! He said "we get trophies all the time for playing games in the dirt?"

Season 2: more digging in the dirt, but this time...he would look up occasionally and attempt fielding! He's starting to LOVE batting and running the bases! WOOHOO!! Here's trophy #2!

Season 3: Loves to bat and run bases! Getting a little more aggressive when it comes to playing ball and starting to really like his teammates! He loves practicing at home and hits the ball over the fence every time! He caught his first fly ball this season AND hit the ball into the outfield! Go Jacob!

Season 4: Now he's got the hang of the game! Loves hitting, sliding, running, and thinks practice is more fun than the games! He asks to practice at home. He thinks he's so cool when the ball goes flying over our fence! He's hitting the ball WITHOUT the tee and loving every minute of it. He's still not a fan of fielding...says its boring! I can't say I don't agree...I always loved hitting! Plus, at their age fielding isn't the most exciting when each batter has to take a few swings but that's ok because we're taking fall off and then it's Little League time!!!!

I can really see how much he's grown up in this past year as I'm creating this post! This summer season makes a full year of TBall, playing for the Tigers with most of his original teammates! Pretty cool! I was at almost every game, wearing my "Baseball Mom" shirts and cheering him on! Our parents tried to come as much as possible throughout the seasons to see him play. He displays his trophies in his room and looks at them every day!

Sadly, I had to miss his final game tonight because baby brother is sick and wanting his Momma!

Jacob,

We are SO proud of you and all that you've accomplished in one, short year! Here's to many more baseball seasons and hopefully you'll enjoy this sport as much as Daddy and I do!

We love you so much and for one, last time...

GOOOOO TIGERS!!!

lots of things

2011-07-31T06:43:00.001-07:00

Jacob tasting a snow cone from SnoCone Hut! Very cool place, but my boys didn't care for them!

a Bass Pro Shops pic, because Jacob picked his favorite place to go, after doing such a GREAT job as ring bearer last weekend :)

Justin trying a rice krispie treat! Yes, I'm awful and my children really don't get sweets in our home. Hardly EVER. So, I decided to use our leftover marshmallows from the Jellystone trip to make some yummy treats! Jacob tasted them and thought they were sticky and gross(I know, just sad right?!) and then Justin tasted it, looked at me and said, "Mommy, Mmmm these SO good" Hahahaha!

And who do you think ate most of them? Daddy and I, of course!

Which is the reason sweets and processed goodies don't come into our home :)

rainy day fun!

2011-07-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Last week, my friend Jenni asked us if we'd like to join her and her daughter, Jillian at the zoo! But of course, it was pouring by the time we made it to Houston.

I suggested the Children's Museum, because it was near the zoo AND we wouldn't get soaking wet!

I am used to going to the museum during the school year, NOT the summer...and guess what? It was a zoo! SWARMED with people and we could barely keep an eye on the little ones.

So, our museum trip lasted 45minutes :(

I am NOT ready to see these two driving off together...SCARY! Momma will be a wreck. I'll have to make sure they know-NO GIRLS ALLOWED IN YOUR CAR!!!!!!

So, after our 45minute trip, we decided to check out the zoo anyway...yes, it was raining but we were ready to see some animals and have some Zoo fun! these pictures are awful because my camera kept fogging up from the humidity and rain! I should have captured a picture of my hair...it was AWFUL! Big 'ol frizzy mess!

The perks of going to the zoo in the rain: nobody is there, so you have the place to yourselves! We were able to watch them feed the lions-so cool! The kids loved it! Don't worry, I made sure that fence was secure before letting my kids get up close and personal!

The kids favorites from our rainy, Zoo day? The elephants, giraffe's and lions for sure! Oh and they loved all of the reptiles too! Mommy didn't enjoy seeing all those snakes, but my boys did!
We were afraid all of the animals would be hiding, but most of them were excited to see rain, I'm sure it's been SUPER hot for them here lately! Here's hoping a better Zoo trip is planned soon!

It's an ONLINE party!!!

2011-07-27T12:48:00.001-07:00

Have you heard of stella & dot? I have decided that an online party was something we all need! Who doesn't want stylish jewelry to wear for all occasions? I know that I tend to wear t-shirts and workout shorts all too often, but since buying some great pieces from stella & dot, I've tried getting out of my workout clothes, so I am able to show off my new bling!! PLUS, what's better than an online party, where there's no dressing up, going to a house party and having the pressures of ordering on the spot! This way, you are able to shop online without worries and find exactly what you're looking for! Yay!
How it works:
It's SO easy! Basically, you go here. Go to the top right corner "find your hostess", and type in Marissa McClellen (that's me!), click on July 27th and you are ready to SHOP!!!
Your order will SHIP DIRECTLY TO YOU!
* Spring/Summer items are listed under Sale Items and these are all discounted right now, so what are you waiting for?!

If you'd like to read more information about this fabulous company, go here!
HOW ABOUT A GIVEAWAY ITEM TOO??!
Mandatory Entry:

If you spend $50 with my online party, you will be entered to win the Soiree Pearl Bracelet pictured below! The winner may choose ivory, black, brown or gray and I don't know about you, but I'm always up for free things!!
Extra Entries:
Blog, Tweet or Facebook this giveaway and link back to me! ( 1 entry each)

My online party ends 8/3/2011, so hurry up and get your orders placed! As I said before, your order will ship to YOU, it will never make it to me or my neighbor(the distributor!)...straight to YOU! Happy Shopping!!!

And don't forget Stella & Dot has some great items for your daughters, nieces, grandchildren, or any other special girl in your life! You can check those items out here! They come in a super cute box and are very reasonably priced, so they make perfect gifts!