Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A Happy Holidays Re-cap!!

This Christmas was hectic, sad, and quite frankly a lot of other emotions all rolled into one. There are quite a few things I am still so so thankful for...and something happened in the midst of my papa dieing that I think he shined a little light down on me for the holidays. What I mean by that is I was supposed to work on Friday the 23rd, and also Christmas Eve...but because he passed so soon and Is not having a formal funeral...I was graced with some paid time off (funeral leave) to be with my family!! This meant that I was able to go back to J's hometown for almost 2 days and see that side of the family. It was nice to get away and not forget, but put the pain aside and enjoy Christmas with my McClellan family :) So last minute we packed up and drove to VW on the 22nd but before that we opened our presents with our little family. I took pictures but my laptop i think has died on me so im pictureless @ the moment :(. I got my brown leather boots to wear with leggings and jeans!! I was so so excited! They are so nice and the only ones I could fit my athletic legs and pants into! And got a few extra things that I love from my hubby.

The hubby got some goooood smelling true relgion cologne, OSU hoodie, a turvis tumbler cup (amazing) and some other odds and ends...and the boy made out well...he got a play dough set, a 200 lego duplo set and mom and dad made a homemade lego table for him out of a target side table, glue and a lego mat! He loves it, but were having technical difficulties keeping the mat glued down. We may need to get some gorilla glue, rubber cement doesnt seem to be doing the trick :(

Once we rushed and packed, off we went! We stopped at a McDonalds for some grub and of course C had more cheeseburger on the floor than in his belly, o well those are not good for you at all. He did however inhale the apple slices and mommy's fries! once we got there C stayed up till almost 11!! HE couldnt wait to see papaw!! that boy loves his papaw so much. Poor Glenn doesnt stand a chance in saying no to him...he'll learn though :)
The next morning we prepared food and such, hung out eating cookies and junk food than went to Aunt Lori and Mike's hoe to open presents. They open presents a lot differently than my family. They go through each and every person! C was NOT having it can you imagin being almost 2 and have to watch people open every gift!? Needless to say he and I spent a majoity of the time in the basement playing with the corn hole that was set up for the drinking and fun later on :) He had so much frun tossing the bean bags into the holes, such a boy!
We had such a good time in VW!

We came home Christmas Eve day pretty early...we got all dressed for church and then planned on going to dinner afterwards, but a certain little boy was giving us H*LL!!! So we detoured to Ocharleys for dinner! God understands, I hope! Even at the restaraunt he was pretty bad. But poor guy was so so tired we really couldnt blame him for his "ways" ;)

FINALLY, Christmas day came! We got up at the crack of dawn, took Jordan to work and then Cayden and I came home to eat, clean, wrap the remaining presents and go to Aunt Kellys! christmas on my mom's side of the family is always chaotic but it is soooo much fun! All the kids are arould the same age and are really beginning to enjoy themselves and play with one another (or just steal each others toys ha ha) We had our fun, Cayden and Mason made out really well from the whole family! We are so blessed to hve such great family on my side and J's side! After while we went to the firehouse for a Christmas lunch/dinner with the other wives and kids. C ran around the bays (where all the trucks are) with the big boys the whole time! Thank the lord, because at this point he had not had a nap and could of been bad but they kept him going!! The little guy even got a little remote control car from Santa while there!! J got off a whole 12 hours early, so we stayed until 6 pm and we all went home!

This holiday season could of been a lot worse, but my family has stayed so strong! We really all looked like we were having a fabulous time. Im sure we were all having moments o sadness, but for the sake of our nana we smiled on showed her so much love (per usual). That was our holiday weekend! It was busy, not planned well, and sad...but I was able to be with my family and am still so thankful for that!! God is still so good!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Sad sad day

On Friday December 17th my papa was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A diagnosis that was so unexpected because he was not even in the hospital for this. My papa was given about 6 months or less to live. He was pulled from all preventative measures and the plan was to send him to hospice to control pain and than send him home so we could spend as much time with him as possible. But with in 24 hours he took a turn for the worst that none of us were expecting. I received a call from my mom saying he was going to hospice and never coming home. That was Monday afternoon. Thank god my husband got the day off on Tuesday so he could go with me to be with the only man who has ever been a constant in my life.

We got there at around 1230 pm. Jordan stayed till about 5 to go be with cayden. I stayed with my family including about 4 cousins, my mom And her 2 sisters, and 3 of nana and papas close friends came to kiss him goodbye. Eventually us cousins left to eat at bw'3! We were starving, going stir crazy and just needed a different atmosphere. By the time we got back it was about 8. By 1 or 2 I'm not sure really, we were all so exhausted it was down to myself, 2 cousins, 2 aunts, my mom and of course nana. Sometime around 3 am our moms came to kick us out. They wanted alone time. So my cousin and I drove home to her place where I don't even remember falling asleep.

Than, at nine am Tara came down and woke me to tell me papa went to heaven. As much as we knew this was inevitable, it was still a huge blow. I had no emotions to give, and nothing to really say.

The last few days have been such a whirl wind but I thank god I got to hold his warm hand and
just talk. I got to hear his voice even if it was not very comprehendable and he smiled and was able to squeeze my hand when I spoke. I feel very at peace that I was able to have that moment. He has meant the world to me for so many reasons that some may never understand. He will truly be missed by Anyone who met him.

Christmas will be a little less fun, but our family will make the best of it and remember how much he cared About us. Now our focus is on nana. She has been the rock of our family, and although she is still putting on a brave face we know different.

Monday, December 19, 2011

a case of the mondays & update on papa

Well, it seems to be a trend with Cayden and I after I work a sat and sun. Pure and utter lazzyness :) Plus he and I have been fighting some kind of chest/ upper congestion so we have been even lazier than normal. In fact, we have taken two naps today. As much as seeing him cough and sniffle hurts, it pretty convenient to be feeling yucky at the same time. He is not nearly as wild and just wants to hang around and watch movies. I know this will be a distant memory wants Mason gets here, so I am cherishing this as much as I can.

It is almost 5 and he is still sleeping! I am making lasagna soup for dinner tonight, I can not wait to try it! Here is the recipe if you want it!

lasagna soup recipe
I just hope mine turns out like this.......

An update on my Papa...
today is just another day for bad news. We know he will be passing on to be with our Lord, but everyday it seems to get worse FAST. Just this past Friday our family had met with hospice and the plan was to send him there for a few days...get his pain meds under control and than send him home so he could be with us for Christmas. That did not seem like too much. We knew he would only probably last an hour or so but at least be with us. But that does not seem to be the case anymore. He is no longer leaving hospice and will spend his last days there. It does not seem real what I am writing right now. How is is that a month ago I was on the phone with him laughing, and now he is lying in this bed not looking like my papa anymore. I pray that I can see him as much as possible and that if he needs to go today than I am ok with that as long as he is no longer in any pain. Please lord be with him and keep him comfy. We, his family...will cry, and feel like we are suffering but we have each other and God.

So...there is a little 22 month old standing next to me saying, "mo...mo...mo...MOM...moreeeee!" So, I must go, everyone have a great night! Jordan will be home tomorrow @ 2 I can not wait!!! <3

Thursday, December 15, 2011

you know your a parent when...

Yesterday my husband and I had our only day off together! Poor guy is working 4-24 hours shifts this week...I work saturday and sunday, than he is back at it again. :( Sometimes I worry about C and him not seeing his daddy everyday like most kids, but when you see just how excited he gets when daddy walks in the door @ 6ish it makes it all better.

Anyways...J and I had an epiphany yesterday. We had his younger sister watch C so J and I could finally start and finish Christmas shopping. We left at nine am and didnt come home till after my 33 week appointment which was not until 330pm. So, were in the car, getting close to our first stop at Kohls and we both looked at one another and said, Omygawsh! we are parents! (Clearly we have come to this conclusion a long time ago...but if your a new parent you probably like us notice certain things you begin to do that are something your parents used to do which for some reason made us feel even more like a parent.) And we both began telling stories of how we remember being a little kid, and the sitter came over while the parents mysteriously disappeared to go shopping, but never brought in any bags?!? WTF!

We had such a good time out together!! We shopped the whole time, ate Chipotle inside the mall and than of course had to stop for red velvet cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. The pregnant lady may or may not of opened hers in the car on the way to babies r us. oops. So of course we got almost all shoppin done except little things for each other and a few gift cards which we will get at the Kroger so we can get all those fuel points! Those can really save you a pretty penny! We did buy one thing though that we did bring in the house with us upon returning...NO in fact we ran it inside...tore open the box...and tried to get C REALLY excited just like mommy and daddy were....this is what caused all the excitement...
Im not sure we are keeping this one though...when he sat on it his little botty didnt quite fit. Like the whole was too small, and if said boy peed "in" potty, we are afraid the pee may not make it into the hole. You feel me?!? What is your fav potty?

Well, hope everyone has a great day C and I are on our own again till saturday morning and C is not feeling very well.
P.S. we are saying lots of prayers for my papa right now. HE is in the hospital (has been there for over a week now) and just seems to be one problem after another. Yesterday he had a biopsy on a mass they discovered on his pancreas! When they were not even looking at that organ they were looking at his liver. Friday evening we are recieving news about what this mass is, although we all kind of know the answer. I have been very very fortunate to have my grandparents so close to me my whole life. And I am not ready to give one of them up to the Lord. Sorry God, just not ready for your impending plans. So please pray that the docs dont tell us the C word.
My papa and I last Christmas <3

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Photo Card

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Monday, December 12, 2011

some time off.

Clearly I have not posted in quite some time now. Life has just been one big ball of hectic! For so many reasons I have not kept up on my blog with excuses ranging from the hubs working all sorts of crazy hours...to being pregnant and trying not to over do it with keeping up on house, C, meals, work etc. But today I made it a lazy day...more so because my ankles are sooo swollen all the way up to my thighs and I felt like my body needed to rest so we lounged. During C's nap time I finally got my laptop out from the bookshelf (the internet wasnt working on mine so I was using my husbands) and decided to read what I have already written in my past posts. Although I have only been doing this for about 4 months or so there were things I read...pictures I came across that I had kinda forgotten about and it really made me think how important this will be maybe not to my boys...and maybe (probably not) even to my husband...BUT FOR ME! Especially with the upcoming arrivial of M...life as we know it will change again (for the better obvi) and my brain will most likely go to mush even more than it has already...

SO in saying all this...I am vowing (to myself) to make sure I write and post pictures in this blog AT LEAST 2 times a week! This is so not a hard task. And after seeing what I have already captured through writing and photo I will make sure I follow my word.

EN-E-WAYZ....
I will leave you with the following pictures from the month of November...and the first week in December...
                                   Mommy got a girls night out to see Breaking Dawn!
 cheese!!!

                       
At the tree lighting ceremony downtown Cinci

 this about sums up how much they love one another <3

 popcorn night! Toy Story 3 was showing :)

you are so silly little guy!

And then you are sooo beautiful.

This was your first time INHALING thanksgiving dinner! You loved every bit of it

Nanas famous chocolate dream cake. Mommy made this to show Daddys side of the family :)

You are finally wearing hats!! And gloves!!!

A mini family shoot with our new photographer...

Trucks!

life is so sweet

 notice something different?? You finally let mom and dad put the clippers to your head (with the help of a treat but heck! Who cares it was free!!!!)

Santa came a little early for the little :)


That Santa sure does pick out gooood stuff!!!



mommy and C
Life is so good :)

Monday, November 7, 2011

lazy day

Tpday J had to work and so it was a C and Mommy day. I love these days and hate them. I love them because he only loves on me all day. Even though he still shouts for his best friend....IM SORRY his dad on an hourly basis. I feel like I am the center of his world for a day. Sorry J, a tad bit jealous it seems. We really didnt do a whole lot today...we layed around and watched polar express, I drank my coffee and then made punpkin chocolate chip pancake. OHMYGAWSH! I only use a tiny bit of chocolate chips not necessary that early in the am especially for a roudy 20 month old :)

I had some errands to run, some laundry to do, laundry to FOLD BUTTT....I only managed to run one errand...& that was to TARGET. Are we shocked? SHOULDNTBE. But I did not do much damage...i returned an awful maternity sweater sorry Liz Lang your denim and sweaters...they blow. BUTT I did pick up a few cool items. I bought a 2.50 (ha ha ha) pillow for between my legs when I sleep the tossing and turning has begun with a vengeance and I need a crappy thin small pillow. 2.50 should do it lol. Target also had a buy one get one half off on Dr. Brown bottles, so I picked up new bottles!! I was pretty stoked! We of course had to get some of these...

IF YOU HAVE A TODDLER WHO WILL NOT EAT MANY VEGGIES AND PREFERS ALL THE FOOD YOU NEVER WANTED TO FEED THEM BUY THESE!!!! He thinks they are a snack and full of more vitamins and natural crap then you could ever pack into a day. SOSERIOUS!
And, lastly we picked up a dvd for C. Robots? I have never seen it, but it was 5.00 who can beat that!? Hopefully we can transition into other cool disney movies instead of Polar Express every 2 hours. One can only PRAY.

Well, J will be home in the am and he have a packed day of errands and such because next week momma will be WITH OUT CHILD AND HUBBY FOR 6 DAYS!!! Dont be too jealous, I have picked up a ton of extra hours @ the hospital so my poor preggo feet and back will be so so swollen. But so far I do have planned to get a pedi, and have my first girls night out with work friends to see Breaking Dawn. Who is sooo excited!!! This mom <3

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Happy Halloween!!

What a great, awesome, perfect Halloween!! First off, J and I were both off! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!! I KNOW!! AND...this was the first time C was trick or treating so sharing this first was so nice. My cousin Heather had invited us over to their home along with a handful of the family to trick or treat with her little boy (he will be 3 in march), Tallie (3 in July) and of course C. He is finally starting to keep up with them, and you can tell he loved every second of it. We all brought a crock pot meal to keep us and the kiddos from eating too much candy, the food was sooo good! Our Nana made her potatoe soup, someone made cupcakes, I made bbq sloppy joes with hawaiian bread YUM! And there was buffalo chicken dip (a must have @ our family get togethers it seems) and a few other items. Here are a few pictures from our evening....




Today and tomorrow, mommy and C are staying in today. We decided to let J have the car to take to work because he is going straight from one station to another tomorrow morning @ around 5ish, and well...we need some beauty rest!! So that means C and I are laying around the house for two whole days. This may sound kind of boring to some but I am exhausted and need a few days to relax!!
But, knowing me I have many things to get done around the house....
1. write down what needs re organized in closets
2. find the best prices on organizing baskets, containers etc.
These 2 items alone should keep me bust for quite awhile lol. Hope everyone has a great first day of November!!!

Side note...we have started what I like to call pre-potty training. It really just consists of C making HIMSELF aware of when he poops and telling us. So, we bought a bag of sweettarts and everytime he tells us he pooped he gets 2 sweettarts!! So far he has been telling us everyday! Im just not sure what the next step should be. We are trying to just leave it up to him...

Saturday, October 29, 2011

One year anniversary

One year ago today at ault park (hyde park, ohio) Jordan, Cayden and I united as one with only our parents, my grandparents, his oldest sister and husband and a "bridesmaid" and "groomsman". It was short and sweet. The way we wanted it. Here are some pictures from that special day. Our friend Neysa Ruhl took our photos. She is an amazing photographer in the wedding scene and we were beyond fortunate for her to help us keep this memories.
                                                                              before....

with our little "ring bearer"
What an amazing day <3

Scale forward one year we have moved twice...I have changed jobs....we have taken major steps in shaping our future and the future of our boys, but I would change one bit of our "controled chaotic life". One day all of our hard work will be paid off.
So! Anways....back to present day! Jordan had to work so he surprised me with this...

  and on eof the best lasagnas I have ever eaten from my new favorite blog and cook the pioneer woman. It was  AHHMAZING. We also exchanged gifts last week. I got him a new Fossil watch because the traditional gift is a clock and he got me another charm for my bracelet and little baby carriage with little crystals on it and then surprised me last night with a watch! I am one lucky girl. Really.



Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Jammie Day & some recipes

Today was quite boring in our home. I did not feel like going anywhere and spending money, and well really did not feel like changing out of my jammies <3 So C and I sat around, ate breakfast...played...watched The Polar Express...ate...lunch...napped....watched The Polar Express....played and well to conclude the night watched half of WHAT DO YOU THINK...TPE. DUH.

In between all those playing mommy cleaned out a closet, packed a bag of pillow for goodwill or our church. Threw together my now go to Loaded Baked Potato Soup...UMM...DELICIOSO YALL!!
And...while C was napping I felt the need to bake...and what else does a preggo make in the fall you ask??? This.. Pumpkin Bundt Cake. It says bread on the title, but lets be real this is no bread. So here are a few pics of my happy cooking day :)

                                          These are the Ingredients needed...

And...the finised product. C loved it of course :)

Oh! I almost forgot, so you know those moments when you want to pat yourself on the back for being a great...not just good mommy and daddy? Well, we have obviously had moments when we feel like we are doing something right...but recently our son has started to sing along to our christian music station that we listen to everyday...KLOVE! That station has changed my life oddly enough. It brought about a change in me that for one, lead me to be baptized again and saved. Best feeling ever. But anyways, back to C. There is a song by Jeremy Camp called You are the way...its a beautiful song, but there is a set of verses that repeats na na na na na...jesus!! so on and so forth...well everytime we turn on the radio he sings the "na na na na". It is so cute and you can tell how excited he is. But the best part was today...I had klove on in the kitchen...im tending to some cleaning, a song comes on, and before I even knew that was "his" song, he said..."Mama, NA NA NA NA Na", and started clapping and dancing around in circles. I was besides myself. What better for your child to listen to...than Christian radio BUT TO ACTUALLY ENJOY IT! IS AMAZING!! GOD IS SO GOOD, AND HE SHOWS IT EVERYDAY, WE JUST HAVE TO STOP AND SEE IT ALL AROUND US...

Hope everyone has a great day!! Im closing with this picture that i played with on my new phone...this shows how blessed I am...It doesn't get much better than this. A father and sons bond.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Mommy is coming up in the world of electronics

This is going to be a short and sweet post just to document that I am beginning to make sure I spend time and money on myself and NOT FEEL BAD about it. So...as part of my first anniversary present, my hubby ordered me to get an iphone!! No, I didnt get the 4s or whatever it is...just the iphone 4 in white. I am trying to not be a little kid and play on it all day because you know...i have a toddler?!?! Although he is enjoying smiling for mommys new "cheese" but of course he can not sit still for more than 4 seconds to put up a decent pic. O well, ill sneak one when he passes out! HA!

AND we had to retire our coffee maker today :( Lately it takes longer to brew, is never hot and tastes old after only 20 minutes. I even did a vinegar cleanse 2 or 3 times before I gave up and J agreed it was time...so after about 3-4 hours of online research (thats my new hobby before buying something) C and I ran out to Target...duh where else?!? And picked up this guy...
We have never owned a programmable coffee maker...like I said technology is improving in our home...
 

And not that this picture has any significance, but I also picked up this wonderful decorative piece...all of which was on clearance @ the wonderful Target....
3 wick candle 3.95
pumpkin spice smelly stuff 3.95
glass candle holder 3.95
REALLY!!! I was more excited for this than the coffee maker. ha!

Well, anyways I need to tend to dinner were going classy here in the McClellan home with chicken fingers and fruit.

p.s. were on day 3 of one car unit...and it went much smoother this morning AND we even had to drive a bit farther to drop daddy off...I found this quote on FB today....
"IT MAY NOT BE EASY, BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT"
GOD BLESS.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

A One Car Family Story.

DAY ONE.....

About a year and half ago J and I were introduced to a man named Dave Ramsey. You  may know him, he is a FREAK about money...and a devoted christian. I was slightly interested in his "scheme" only in the beginning because he is an open christian who bases half of what he teaches on scripture. So....its kinda like when you read a step he tells you you must complete...he adds in the scripture that says why you should be doing this and all the sudden you want to do it! SO anyways, we ordered the books, took the classes...actually attended them all maybe minus one or two due to working. There was a lot we agreed with about 95%, but then a few we felt needed to be tweeked to our life. What Im getting at is this man has and will save our lives. We are headed in the right direction financially...it just can be so so hard with littles...and especially with another little on the way!

In saying that we knew something had to give with our bills. We both have student loans, car payments, and then of course household billls. How on earth were we supposed to save for a house AND feel comfortable buying it. So after a very long time of talking about this, we decided to sell my car. My car that was sucking my cute little paychecks dry, keeping us from trully paying off debt and saving what we should.

So today was the first day of our one car family...J as you know is a fireman/paramedic and has to leave for work @ 515am!!!! What the heck! But, all good things require hard work. And we are ready to work so hard for our money and buy a home!! Anyways...I rolled out of bed, kinda changed my clothes...J handed me coffee we put a jacket on C and out the door we went. Honestly...it really wasnt that bad! C was great, just kept saying bye bye daddy :( he loves his daddy! Tomorrow morning we have to go get him from work, but we wont be leaving till 6. Im kind of excited about being forced to get up early im hoping it will force me to eventually go to the gym and just be on top of the day. Im not forcing anything right now bc of this baby in the oven.... well see! Just pray that we can handle this change in lifestyle...we should, there are so many people who cant afford 2 vehicles and they make it work...so can we!!!!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Photo Cluster

We will just make this post all about the pictures...they say it better than I can.
1. He LOVES homemade sloppy joes (half the sodium and fat of the canned version)
2. So therefore he get a bath nearly every night
3. I love love to cook (especially with pumpkin)
4. he is "that kid" who has the cheesy smile.
5. Most important...family time!!! @ blooms and berries in west chester, Ohio.
6. Our first pumpkins...














We do not get to spend a lot of time together as a family. Usually once a week because of our schedules. So when we do have days off, they are dedicated family time, and I wouldnt change that for the world.