How cool would it be to have a pregnant First Lady? To have a newborn in the White House? It hasn’t happened since the Kennedy family, when Jackie Kennedy entered the White House having just given birth to baby John Jr. Jackie was also pregnant in the White House – months before President Kennedy was assassinated, Jackie had given birth to their son Patrick, who tragically died just days after birth.

During all of the inaugural festivities, there were some rumors that Michelle Obama was sporting a baby bump. Some claimed that it wasn’t so much a bump as a couple of ill-fitting dresses where the fabric gathered around Michelle’s mid-section. Turns out the “unfortunate dress” theory is right – Michelle is damping down any excitement that there might be more babies in the White House. She told Oprah (in April’s O Magazine) that “I was like, ‘Baby bump’? As hard as I work on my abs? Here’s the scoop: Not pregnant. And not planning on it.” It would have been really cool, but alas, it’s probably not going to happen.

While campaigning for her husband, French fry addict Michelle Obama said she started to change the way they both eat.

“My big concern was making sure we ate well on the road. So we started looking at our diet, trying to eliminate junk, getting seasonal fruits and vegetables that were grown locally,” she tells Oprah Winfrey in April’s O. “We walked the kids through reading labels. We talked about why one juice might be better than another.”

They’ve carried their healthy lifestyle to the White House. “There’s a small gym here that has everything we need,” she says. “I work out about four or five days a week — and Barack does six. He’s a workout zealot.”

Besides treadmill and weights, Michelle says, “I also do some jump rope, some kickboxing — and I’d like to take up Pilates, if I could figure out whether there’s time. After I had [daughter] Malia, I began to prioritize exercise because I realized that my happiness is tied to how I feel about myself. I want my girls to see a mother who takes care of herself, even if that means I have to get up at 4:30 so I can do a workout.”

Nevertheless, rumors have spread that the first lady is expecting — and she is just baffled.

“I was like, ‘Baby bump’? As hard as I work on my abs?” she says. “Here’s the scoop: Not pregnant. And not planning on it.”

She says she has her hands full with Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, who just picked up an interest in basketball. “Barack’s losing his mind,” she said of her husband, an avid basketball fan. “I was like, ‘Settle down – don’t act too excited, or she will not want to do it.'”

She also said her mom Marian Robinson is adjusting well to the White House.
“There are many times when she drops off the kids, we hang out and talk and catch up, and then she’s like, ‘I’m going home.’ And she walks upstairs,” she said.

Winfrey told Michelle that Robinson told her that she wanted her own apartment but agreed to live in the White House because she didn’t want the Obamas to have to pay for a separate home.

“Oh, that’s good,” Michelle replied. “We’re cheap, for sure. And I bet she said so!”

[From US Magazine]

It was just announced by the First Lady’s office that the Obamas will reject the federal money that goes to every First Family for redecorating costs. Usually, the budget allocated is somewhere in the $100,000 to $200,000 range, and the money is used for both private and public spaces. The Obamas aren’t taking it though, instead Michelle will uses their own money to redo the girls’ rooms and whatever else needs decorating.

It’s an interesting move, one that might endear Michelle even more to the public. But here’s a little fact – Laura Bush did extensive renovations to nearly every part of the White House, so there’s probably not much that needs to be done right now. President Obama even likes the “sunburst” yellow carpet Laura Bush designed for the Oval Office. Probably the only thing that needs to be done are the girls’ rooms, so it makes sense that the Obamas wouldn’t want taxpayer money going for that.

Here are Malia and Michelle Obama returning from their weekend at Camp David on Sunday. Images thanks to WENN .