Featuring......

Olivia! At your local stores! Pick her up today and have lots of summer fun!!

(That's Olivia on the box behind her head! She's the model for this toy for the toy company Robert used to work for!)

:-)

A Good Start

Memorial Day really snuck up on me this year. Did it do that to anyone else?? I felt like I didn't know we had Monday off, until a few days before!


We've had a great kick off to summer! With school ending and pool parties and cookouts happening, we are pumped about everything for this summer!


Olivia's my little fish. Landon, well, not so much. But we're in these cool new swim lessons I hope to tell you about. I will say forget EVERYTHING you ever knew about swim lessons. {blowing bubbles, kicking, cupping your hand through the water, etc} These techniques will blow.your.mind. Truly magic before your eyes!! (Can you tell I'm amazed!?) Oh, and I saw (with my own two eyes) a TWO YEAR OLD (as of April - so 2 months older than Lillian) SWIMMING!!!! Like, really. Swimming!! It was quite astonishing.


Cooking out with friends is probably the thing we'll be doing most this summer! Here are the kids at one cookout! This is the best pic of all of them we got! Landon's going to learn to get a long with little girls SO well!! He seems to be one of the only boys wherever we go. Hey, the earlier, the better - on learning how to get along with us ladies!



Then it was silly picture time. I think Robert said something like, "Show me SCARED!"


We also took the kids bowling over the long weekend. We weren't sure how that would go. But they did GREAT! Olivia even got a strike without the ball hitting the bumpers!! Landon got a spare on one turn too!

Look at the tiny bowling shoes! So cute! ;-)


The bowling places really have it down pat these days. Robert bowled with them (I sat this one out) and they made it so that when he bowled, the bumpers went down! So it's really fun for ALL!


Getting the ball back was the most fascinating part...of course. Because it's the most dangerous!


Cheering on Landon. Well, quietly encouraging from the background.


Lillian stayed strapped in her stroller watching the WHOLE time. W.O.W.

But we rewarded her with letting her down and playing on all the machines in the game room. Her favorite was to slide down the skee ball ramp....saying "weeeeee!"



On a side note...here's a funny tale.

I have all the kids with me all the time now, right. Well, the other day, this guy didn't know who Olivia was with - but knew me and hadn't met her yet. (I guess sitting right next to me in the chair wasn't enough) He asked her what her name was and what grade she was in, etc. (It wasn't creepy, I promise) And then he said, "Now who is your mommy?" I raised my hand, because I was 12" from her to which he responded, "NO WAY...." And then kept on with what he was doing!

Y'all, she's been out for 4 days! Oh....bring on the CRAZY comments people!! Because, most of the time, I think they're HILARIOUS :-) and I promise I'm not really making fun of YOU in my head

Wrap Up

I haven't forgotten about ya'! For those who asked a question and I have yet to acknowledge it, here are the responses!! :-)

What workout class do you do?

I feel like I didn't completely answer this question last time. My favorite workouts are step circuit classes. They are 45 minutes of cardio on a bench with intervals of weight exercises! Then 15 minutes of abs at the end. Sometimes I just do the step classes (no intervals) and then a muscle works class. Which is pretty much working out every muscle in your body! :-) I'm back to loving the elliptical right now too. The smoothness of the machine makes it really comfortable for my belly....not too much bouncing around!

How did you and Robert meet?
How old were you when you had your first child?

Well, that could be a whole post in itself. I think it'd be pretty cool if Robert wrote it. His writing skills are much more eloquent than mine. (hint, hint....)

But we met at Ole Miss. I actually met him my freshman year, but the sparks didn't fly until the beginning of my sophomore year. We were engaged and married in 2002 and had Olivia in 2003. I was 20 years old!! :-)

Do you still use a budget? How does that work with your husband's new career?

I had to consult Robert on how to answer this one. He's the main budget/money person in the family . I don't consider myself completely out of the finances (I used to do it all myself), but I'm not the one running Quicken anymore! (I heart Quicken) He's good at letting me know what's going on. We both sat down on New Year's Day and had a pretty thorough meeting about our finances for the upcoming year. I'm talking full of excel spreadsheets and budgets all printed out. As well as goals and such for 2009. Luckily, we strive to live off of 80% or less of what Robert makes.

Of course things changed slightly when he lost his job a week later! ;-) But not too much.

But here is the answer he wrote out for me! ok, so i cheated a little

The great thing is that the Lord always provides for us and Top-of-the-Line painting work is always in high demand in the communities in which Robert focuses his business. Based on his past experiences, he knows that he can make a certain amount per week painting and what our cash flow will be. We always find ways to save money and our fixed expenses are such that his take home could be less than most teachers make and we would still be ok.(Tight but ok). So, the answer is: Yes, we still have a budget.

(Thanks Robert) :-)

The sewing questions:

- Could you post a step by step way to make those cute dresses for your girls?

YES...as soon I as make some more. I'm sure I will. I just found a new sewing shop that I had no idea existed close to my house!! With SUPER cute fabric. I'm also have my eye on a serger...which would make my projects MUCH easier and faster...and cheaper too. And my bday is just a short 8 weeks away! :-)

- Would it be better for the maternity jeans I am going to make to be a little too small to begin with or fit just right. I know you said snug but tight snug or just right.

I would say on the verge of too small. And that you definitely can't button them. Because cutting off the top part and the belt loops really frees up a lot of room for your belly. And then the belly band stretches nicely but is snug enough to hold them up. I felt the ones that were tighter through the hips stayed up much better than if they were super loose. And remember, jeans stretch a good bit. So if you buy them new (like my Gap ones) just know that they're going to stretch a fair amount with wear! So much that I wish I had gone down 1 more size!! :-)

If you had a whole day to do whatever you wanted to do (no husband or kids) what would you do?

I have to say, this question was THE HARDEST. And I still don't think I have a great answer! I guess I'd shoot back and say, "Do I have a budget?" Because I'd probably want to go shopping. Or to a movie. All those types of things that just don't happen when you have little ones. Just getting out with no stroller and kids these days is nice. No matter how short a time it is! One of my favorite things is actually being alone in my own home. I guess because it's such a rarity. It'd oddly refreshing. Especially if it's clean!


Well, that's all folks! Thanks for participating! If there are any questions about my answers..just shoot me a comment or email!!! :-)

Summer is in full swing here! We have lots of fun things in the coming weeks! I'm looking forward to a fun summer with the kids! I hope you are too!

I'm Seeing A Trend

This is the latest "pet" of sorts in our house. A crawfish. That lived in our baby pool for 3 days. I'm not sure the latest, greatest toy could have entertained them for longer! They "played" with this crawfish F-O-R-E-V-E-R!! Endless fun. And they were not afraid of him.






I'm mean, they're just like dogs...they just like a little belly rub every once in a while!!




Maybe we're just a crustacean family. Who knows. :-)

What, You Mean You Don't Do This?

....give a 23 month old a firecracker to wave around???? (And swing around she did!)







Oops.


{no children were hurt during this time of fun...2 mostly responsible adults were present...in body at least}







Have a WONDERFUL, SAFE, and FUN FILLED LONG weekend!!! :-)

Happy Memorial Day!

1 Down, 12 To Go

Olivia has wrapped up her year in Kindergarten!! What an awesome year it has been for her! She absolutely loves school and loves to learn. (I'm not sure she completely understands that it's going to be 3 months until it starts back up!!)

Some of her accomplishments have included learning to read, writing in cursive (that's what they start them out with - and the kids do AMAZING!), memorizing lots of scripture and poems, and her favorite subject was science - especially the weather and animals! She also had 1/2 a year of Spanish!

Her school had an end of the year, school wide picnic as their "party". It was a most gorgeous day and it was so fun for all the kids, parents (well, moms really), and teachers to get together and fellowship.

Olivia goes to a...well...less conventional school than most schools. There is no "fluff"...if you will. Not that there is anything wrong with "fluff", it's just the school's focus is more family/heavenly focused and less earthly focused. I have to say I wasn't sure how I'd like this school when we picked it. But after being there for 2 years and seeing Olivia and ALL the other kids thrive spiritually and educationally, I have to say I LOVE IT! And the testimonies that the middle school kids give are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! These kids hearts are just overflowing with good ole genuine LOVE for GOD and each other! It's truly refreshing to be around all of the students and teachers.



At the picnic, Olivia and her friends did a little of this and that. Olivia managed to stay clean and dry despite risking falling in the water numerous times.




One of her best friends.



About 1/8 of the school.



Hanging out with her principal. Which I think is so cool. How many kids get to hang out and hug their school principal. He calls her Olive and Olivia LOVES it! He is always smiling and encouraging the kids. :-)


While Olivia was off playing, I was following around Miss Independent. This girl could care less where I am at any time. I would watch her walk around the area we were at from 20 feet back or so, and she just strutted her stuff, attitude and all, around like she owned the place. She carries such an obvious "I'm older than I look" aura about her as she walks around. And people comment about it all the time - which I find so amusing! She's going to be trouble with a capital "T" when she gets older.....Lord, help me!




And while all this fun-ness was happening with the girls, the boys were at the SEC baseball tournament cheering on the Rebels!!

H O T T Y T O D D Y !!!

Sayonara, Au Revoir, and Auf Weidersehen

We have said goodbye to two things this week. And will not be looking back!!

#1:

Landon finally got his cast off!! Robert and I have never broken any bones so this was our first experience with a cast. And let me tell you, they are incredibly inconvenient! It was so hard to keep his hand clean. And him for that matter. Because bathing him (which I actually never did - Robert did all the baths for Landon) is a C-H-O-R-E!! And right around the same time as the dirty cast was happenin', the swine flu thing hit. It just felt impossible to keep the cast (or him) sanitary.

When we went to the doctor to get it cut off, the (male) nurse asked me if I wanted to keep it!! Umm...EWE!!! NO thanks! His arm stunk for a day after that - and I even scrubbed it clean in the office! Needless to say, I gave him a bath that night and was more meticulous than I usually am while scrubbing my children down! ;-)

And since he couldn't play in water at all with his cast on, we celebrated like this!


















And #2

Sadly, Mr. Crab passed away. We had some good times with him. He traveled with us. He did his tricks MANY times for us. We bought him several new shells that he experimented with. But he went back to his original home to take his last, dying breath. Or whatever hermit crabs do.

He lasted 9 months at the McClellan residence. Much longer than expected. I guess he wasn't at the top of the priority list. :-( He always got the boot from the list. He was a very interesting pet to have. And we learned a little about crabs and shells. But I'm thankful to that little section of my kitchen counter back.

Now, no new pets for a now!!! I think a baby will do just fine, thank you.

The Results....

Well, thanks guys!! For those who participated, I thought your questions were great! I never know how much you actually want to know about the things I share. I guess I figure it might be boring....or overkill. But here it goes!

The topics that were asked about (in no particular order) were: the new baby, my diet/workout routine, how/when Robert and I met, # of kids, our budget/what's going on with Robert's job, and some of my sewing projects!


So I'll attempt the first couple of topics now! :-) With some pictures scattered throughout! :-)


A lot of you wanted to know about names for the new baby and if we found out. We did not find out at our 19 week ultrasound. We found out with Olivia and Landon, but NOT with Lillian. It makes it easy to not figure out if you already have a boy and a girl. But I HIGHLY recommend NOT finding out. The surprise is SOOOO much fun!!! And I don't see the rush in getting nurseries done before the baby's born. I found I never used them very much in the first couple of months anyways. In fact, this baby isn't even getting a crib set up for it before it's born!! haha I guess that's what happens when you're #4.

Names...oh the name game. Well, not knowing what it is does make it harder to come up with names. I literally broke out our family tree the other day. (My grandfather has a very detailed one printed out) That helped a little....I did jott down some names off that list.



We probably won't DECIDE decide until we are in the hospital and know what it is. We haven't really talked about it yet. It's hard when you have two people who aren't really decisive in that area. Robert would probably say, "You decide, I don't care" :-) Hopefully we can use some family names and keep the trend going. I feel like we're running out though...and not leaving any names for my siblings to use! Well...first come, first serve I guess! :-)

And to be completely honest, I won't be telling any names before the baby's born. (sorry) I will skirt the subject around and around until it drops. I for one just can't bring myself to name a child I cannot see. But again, TOTALLY just me! But if you name you're child in the womb, I will talk about it like it's in the room lookin' straight at me!! :-)

As for if this will be our last child, I cannot say. All I know is that children are a blessing. And you never hear people say, "I wish I hadn't had that last child." You always hear how they wish they had more.

I've had the privilege of being around some big families and really love it. Bigger families have to take care of each other. They have to learn to be less selfish. I just love the dynamic of bigger families. It's sad that society thinks three kids is A LOT! And that anymore and you're crazy. I say, the more the merrier! I don't stress about the financial aspect because we know God will take care of us. But I will say, with this one, I have thought about how much I will be cooking one day...and the amount of laundry. Whew...BUT, the good thing is you teach your kids to help out...that you work together as a family to keep the home going!



As for my diet/workout routine, I don't personally think I'm in that great of shape. I didn't jump on the exercise train until after Landon was born. And then after seeing my body change so much, got hooked. I'm much less hooked now. I learned the (very) hard way about gaining weight during pregnancy. I gained a lot with Olivia and Landon and it took A TON of work to get it off. I guess, in my head, I know that the less I gain, the less there is to lose afterwards.

My goal before I got pregnant was to work out at least 3 times (pretty hard) per week. It's harder to fit in my schedule with 3 kids, but I feel like it's a bit of a priority because I'm taking care of my body and myself so I can take care of everyone else (and be around when my kids are older!). Plus it gives me the energy to get through some of those long days.

Pregnant workouts are MUCH much different. I find it very hard to keep up hard cardio workouts with everything that happens to your body when you're pregnant. Plus, I get such bad pains in my stomach when I work out too hard when I'm pregnant. I'm about to settle into a 3x/week hour long weight class. My heart rate gets up just enough, and keeping my muscle mass up will keep those calories burning!! And help get back down after baby.

And I know people don't like hearing this, but kids keep you pretty busy. Just think of the calories I burn when I have to carry 20 pounds of cuteness on my hip in and out of stores and around my house. And when I'm pushing 60+ pounds of kids (not including groceries) around the grocery store! I have Lillian on my hip A LOT...and we have stairs in our house!!! I'm constantly moving around in the house, picking up things and going up and down stairs with loads of laundry in hand. And groceries? Well, we cart those up some stairs too! UP...DOWN...UP...DOWN...I get a workout just from my daily life!



As for what I eat...well, everything. But I'm pretty big at cutting calories wherever I can. Like in condiments, or taking the bun off things. I love the olive oil pam instead of olive oil. I use mustard instead of mayo - and I love the olive oil mayo. What I do know is that when I eat cleaner/healthier, I physically feel better. And it's math. The more caloires you take in (than you burn) the more weight you will gain. If you burn more than you take in, you lose. It's math to me.

My motto...eat to lose weight, workout to stay healthy.


So this post is way longer than I prefer to post! If ya made it through...thanks for reading!

We have a busy week - Olivia's last week of school, school parties, doctor's appointments, etc! So hopefully I can tackle some more questions soon!

HAPPY MONDAY!!