The Great Outdoors!

Ok, being a former P.E. teacher, I LOVE being outdoors and this would be why I wanted boys in our familly SO very badly...so, when there's this wonderful weather 24/7, why not ?!!

(getting a little hot though, yesterday was almost 100 degrees!)

Justin is taking a break from the pool and chewing on his favorite, little toy!

Ahh, those blue eyes-LOVE 'EM!
Jacob enjoying his frozen yogurt! So fun! We took the Danonino yogurt, stuck a spoon in it, put in freezer for one hour, and YUM!
A tasty outdoor treat and less mess than a popsicle!

Check out those new cleats for teeball! Momma's little man is growing up SO fast! He loves to play teeball in the backyard, but we'll see how he does with all the fans

(parents and grandparents) for his first game in a few weeks??! Wish us luck : )

Does it get better than this little, toothy grin?! HILARIOUS KID! He was throwing himself forward so that his face went totally underwater, then popped up and

started cracking up...he's a wild man!!!

Here's to OUTDOOR family fun for all of you this summer! Enjoy : )

Recipe Testing at its BEST!

Last week I was asked to help participate and give feedback for Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen's newest cookbook and of course I accepted, I just LOVE their website! We had to take pictures along the way, and I had my little helper, Jacob right there with me the entire time and I don't think he's ever had this much fun! When my husband walked in the door that evening, Jacob ran to him and said, "Daddy I cooked you dinner all by myself!"

PRECIOUS, right?!
Gotta be the best picture of the evening!!
he was smelling the food like he was a famous chef! He is MY famous chef!!

and here's our (well, Jacob's) finished product!

The recipe is super secret since it will possibly debut in their cookbook, but I can say that this recipe was a HUGE family hit! Seriously, my husband is very picky and some of my healthy creations have been pretty, umm BAD, but this one is NOT one of them! It's AMAZING! We ate it for dinner, then had it again the next day for lunch and I plan on going to the store this week to make it again in the VERY near future! Delicious, healthy and SUPER easy...oh and Jacob and Justin ate it too! Now that's a good recipe, right?!

Happy Cooking : )

real or plastic?

so, I had hoped to have blogged about this hilarious day on Friday, however Jacob-my three year old, decided he'd catch that YUCKY stomach bug all night Friday night and Saturday :( Poor guy felt awful and at one point, I cried because I felt so bad for him and there was NOTHING I could do to make it better. At the same time, I HATE the stomach bug. You can give us ANY other cold/sore throat/runny nose-I'll take 'em all before the stomach yuck! I hate it! But happy to report that all seems to be well here in the McClellen house and let's hope it stays that way! Oh and I'd LOVE some advice on how to keep that darn bug away from us for good?! Ha, I know it's wishful thinking, but seriously..we ALL take vitamins every day, wash our hands like crazy..I mean, I have a degree in Health and still can't keep this bug away? What's up with that?! SO, any suggestions will be gladly accepted and put to use ASAP! Thanks! Now back to the post

We spent most of the day Friday outside in our backyard which does not have a "real" swimming pool as you can see! It's plastic and from Target last summer :)

But when you look at these pictures, it looks as though my boys could care LESS that this is plastic and not the real deal! Right? They had a BLAST and we were out there for hours!

They could not get enough of splashing around in this thing and Justin was just happy to not be in a float(when we go to my mother in law's pool at her house, he's in the float the whole time) so he was 100% happy!
Here's to MANY more "plastic" pool days in our backyard :)
Hope you all had a happy and "well" weekend!

Got Tomatoes?

Oh Yea! My husband decided that we would "attempt" a tomato garden this year and VOILA! We actually have tomatoes! Sorry for being SO seriously excited about this, but last year when we had this crazy idea, we had a few leaves with NOTHING...nothing AT ALL! So, when we saw at least 40 tomatoes in our backyard this year and they're turning red, we got a LITTLE excited!!! wooohoooooo!
Now we're addicted, I have already made up my mind-next years garden...string beans, tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, and eggplant! YUM!

"Welcome Wednesday"

Click here if you wanna join in the fun?!

SO hard to believe...

So, I've been working on Justin's FIRST YEAR photobook from Shutterfly and came across this from last summer when he was only two months old...
And look at little man now! ONE YEAR OLD! When I look at the picture at the top of that precious BABY boy, I think to myself....ah, let's have one more, but then I think about all of the things that I'd like the boys to see and do,
and I decide I think our family of FOUR is just right :) ... well, maybe one more??! Ha!

we're makin' progress

So, we're in the second week of swim lessons and if you read this post, you know our first lesson didn't go very well, but now we're makin' some progress and he LOVES it! Yay!
Yep, that would be Jacob on his back, almost TOTALLY under water...
holy cow, can you believe he did that??!

Jacob and Luke paddling around with Coach Joel-he gets them to do this and when I try, I get nowhere...why is that? Please tell me!!

Here's to more swim lessons :)

Sunday = FUN DAY!

We started this beautiful day with a trip to the local Fruits 'N Such Orchard...so amazing and tons of fresh fruits and veggies! It wasn't all ready for picking but as you can see, we picked some blackberries, peaches, and string beans! FUN!
Justin wasn't feelin' it...it was TOO hot for this little man!

picking some peaches...Mommy even ate one right off the tree and let me just say, DELICIOUS!!!

Mommy and her big boy! He had the most fun running through the water puddles that were left after the big rain yesterday :)

After some picking, it was off to DeDe and Pop's for a swim with Parker! Yay! They had a BLAST! They played in the big pirate blow-up ship and jumped off the side into the water at least 50 times!

no pictures because Mommy was too busy SWIMMIN'!!

Little man LOVES swimming! Cant say it enough! At this point, he was taking a water break and doing some snacking! But he was ALL about the water today, kicking around and watching the big boys splash. Each time the big boys jumped in, Justin would clap for them...JUST PRECIOUS!

Hope you all had a great weekend and a fun-filled Sunday like us!

feeling sorry for myself :(

Okay, so my "Bonka"(grandmother) has only been in Heaven for a few months now and I find myself missing her more and more. I thought it gets easier? When does that happen? Now with Justin turning ONE this week, I know that pictures like the one below of her with my Jacob will never happen between her and Justin. I miss talking to her, I miss asking her for her amazing recipes- I feel like I didn't take advantage of the time I had with her. I mean, yes I saw her all the time, talked to her on the phone and visited with her as much as possible...but I don't feel like I LISTENED to her. Her wisdom, her stories, her...well, just everything. I miss her voice, and I miss the way she would hold you tight right before she said goodbye. Her hands were always so cold and I would warm them up with mine. I want Jacob to remember her, sometimes I think he already forgets? Justin didn't get a chance to form a relationship with her and that breaks my heart each day. I wish I had more pictures with her. I have pictures of her, but not WITH her. all of these regrets..is that a normal way to feel? Oh I just hope I make her proud as a mother. I want my boys to know how much she loved them. Her face would light up when Jacob would go running down her hallway...it was such a beautiful thing to watch. and Jacob, being the tough boy that he is, would run staright into her, almost knocking her down and she'd laugh. I want him to remember that. Believe it or not, that's her with Jacob. He was so small and look at his blonde hair!! She liked to sit outside and watch him play...I will show all of these to Jacob and Justin and tell them stories about how much their "Bonka" loved them. I may be feeling sorry for myself, but...I miss her.

Got a sweet tooth?!

If you do, then head on over to Cake Mama of 2 !! It's my cousin, Angie of Angelic Confections. She is a pastry chef and makes delicious treats for any occasion! I finally talked her into joining the blog world and she is starting to get the hang of it! She has posted pictures of some of her work and let me tell you, if you think they look great on the outside, wait 'til you taste them! DELICIOUS!! She is located out of League City/Clear Lake, Texas area if you are interested??!!The cake she made for Justin's 1st birthday! It was a big hit and matched our invitations perfectly:)

Happy Birthday, Justin!

you had a super fun BIRTHDAY!! It started with some pancakes and turkey sausage(one of your fav's) and then when Daddy woke up, a trip to DeDe's to swim! You love swimming little man! Look at you!

Oh that hat! SO stinkin' cute and you kept it on the whole time!

after Jacob warmed up to swimming, he wouldn't stop jumping in and kicking all over the place....Jacob, where were you yesterday at swim lessons??! Hopefully tomorrow's lessons go a little more smoothly?? PLEASE!

Ok, so Brandon's aunt is probably the 20th person to tell me that Jacob looks like Taylor Lautner from Twilight(click his name and his pics will pull up, so you can decide??)! even a woman at Target randomly walked up to me to tell me that! This is good and bad, I guess. Bad because I think Taylor is HOT and do not want girls/women saying that about my son! He's not dating until he's 30-Ha!! and good because it's flattering that people say my son resembles the teen heart throb! I gotta admit, I think he's pretty stinkin' cute, but he's my son:)

and there's the birthday boy! I think we sang, Happy Birthday today at least 15 times because he cracked up and clapped while we sang and we couldn't get enough of it! Oh and yep, that's more blue icing...thanks MeMe! But he sure did LOVE it, so who's complaining!

Well, your birthday was filled with some swimming fun and some cake/cookies fun too!

You enjoyed every bit of it and I hope you had a SUPER, SPECIAL day! Thank you to all of the friends that called, sent texts/emails to wish Justin a very Happy Birthday! He has so many family and friends that LOVE him and I will say one, last time...I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S ALREADY ONE! He was born one year ago, today at 12:31pm at Woman's Hospital of Texas. Justin: The day you were born, our lives changed forever and you have made our family so very special...we love you way up the moon and back!

Happy FIRST Birthday, Justin!

my personal trainers and "scream" lessons!

Ah, what a funny blog title, right?! Allow me to explain...These are my personal trainers, better known as, JACOB AND JUSTIN! We usually take off in the jogging stroller at a pretty good pace, then all of a sudden when Mommy starts to jog, I usually hear, Jacob: "Mommy, go faster, you're going too slow!"(thanks for the motivation, Jake)

So, this was BEFORE our first swim lesson and you can see he looks super cute all decked out in his swim attire and matching flip flops, right?-I love this boy! Okay, now here's where it gets interesting...
We get to swim lessons(the place is very neat!) and I am thinking it's going to go great, right? WRONG! He is foaming at the mouth, snot flying out of his nose(yes, it was THAT bad), and he's yelling out for MOM. Sad, but true. Now keep in mind, he's 3 1/2 years old, there were 2 year olds swimming all over the place, four year olds using floats and they were kicking and keeping themselves up, kids diving off the edge to the coach, clapping and laughing...then go over to my kid, -Yep, he's yelling, his coach is pulling him in by his foot as he's clenching the side and holding on for dear life, screaming the entire time! Oh yes, that was our first swim lesson and we have lesson #2 on Wednesday afternoon...I am keeping my fingers crossed for a better outcome, and if it's as bad as class #1, I'll bring my camera to capture it!
and after all of that, I look at him and those dimples and I just can't stay mad at him,
I love him too stinkin' much :)

Surf's Up...it's a party!

Hey, Birthday Boy! You had such a fun time at your birthday party yesterday...your family and friends love you SO much, little man! You enjoyed getting hugs and kisses, eating lots of yummy things including your ENTIRE cake-yes, the whole thing and some very cool presents...here's some pictures that captured the fun time! Look at this handsome birthday boy!

My cousin, Angie is So talented! if you think her cake looks cute on the outside, you should taste it! It's AMAZING....

As you can see, Big Brother-Jacob and his buddy, Parker LOVED your waterslide!

All your buddies and cousins came to help you celebrate!

Jillian, YOU, Hudson, and Kenley!

this waterslide was a BIG hit!

Sunbathing Babies! Brooks, Burkley, Hudson and YOU

on your super cute "surf's up", beach towel!

Look at you with all of your cousins- Bella, Sophie, YOU and Annalise!

And finally...you enjoying ALL of your precious birthday cake!

Momma and her little man! You are such a sweet boy and Momma loves you "way up the moon and back". I had to hurry and take a picture with you before you grabbed my hair with those, icing covered hands of yours!

You and Big Brother! As all of your family and friends sang to you, you clapped and smiled the entire time! You loved all that attention and then you DUG IN and didn't stop 'til it was devoured! Ha, LOVE YOU and those super blue cheeks!

Opening the gifts with Mommy! You only cared about playing with this huge bag of balls for your ball pit...thank you Jillian! He's gonna LOVE it!!

We were SO happy Gran was able to make it to your birthday party! She hadn't been feeling good that morning, but she made sure she could see you for your big day! She got you a little horse that you just LOVE and some Buzz Lightyear PJ's...

More sliding fun....

Oh and thanks to Luke and Hudson, you are LOVIN' your Cozy Coupe! Daddy put it together bright and early this morning and I think it's your new, favorite toy!

Your "real" birthday is Tuesday, May 11th! It's hard to believe that you're already one year old sweet boy, we feel like we have LOVED you forever. Mommy's heart melts each time you look up and show me that smile of yours and when you reach out for Mommy...ahh, there are NO words. Watching you and your daddy together makes me so happy. When you and Jacob are playing together and don't know I'm watching-it's a feeling like no other-the bond that you two share :).

The day you were born, our hearts grew and continue to grow each day! You are such an amazing child, always exploring and always HAPPY.

Thank you for loving us and for being YOU!

Happy FIRST Birthday, Justin!

Oh and Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mommy's out there! I know my Mom is THE most incredible mother I know, who is also my best friend and has been forever. This Mother's Day is hard after just losing my grandmother a few months ago-but she is loved and missed dearly and I know she is looking down on us today and I hope, as a mother, I make her proud! Love you, Bonka.

my newest creation...just in time for Mother's Day!

Wow, I guess I've finally created something of interest?! These bad boys are selling like crazy! I guess in time for Mother's Day?...SO super fun to make and the possibilities are endless! I am in the process of making one for me to wear to Jacob's teeball games that says, "Baseball Mom"! Super cheesy but who cares, right?! RIGHT! I love my McClellen necklace, wear it all the time! The grandma necklaces are my biggest seller....I put the grandma's name and below is a list of the grandkids, by age(or however you'd like), and then glaze the top to give the shiny, raised finish! The bead holding the domino(yes, they are domino's!!!) is made from scrapbook paper! So fun, right?

Ha, sometimes I can be such a DORK!!

To all the Momma's out there....

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!