Mom’s First Day of Preschool

Well, today is…well, a day! A day of what?

My youngest, my baby, has started preschool today.

I’m not quite sure how to feel about it. There’s a flurry of emotions I’ve gone through since waking this morning. Happy, sad, anxiety, pride, joy, you name it!

Lets rewind for a moment.

Yesterday we found out Trucker Hubby would be home in time for today’s momentous event. This was huge news considering our history with trucking interfering with family plans. (We’ve had to reschedule vacations, even our wedding, because of a break down on the road, problems with shippers or receivers, and a host of other “surprises” on the road!) I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Just knowing I wouldn’t have to go through the first day of school alone with my baby was fantastic plus I knew hubby REALLY wanted to be here for it.

One prayer answered.

First Day of School ~ Wordless Wednesday

My babies are growing up so quickly! ;D

Busy Labor Day Weekend

WOW. My Labor Day weekend has been very VERY busy. Here’s what’s been going on at casa de la Clark:

1. Friday trucker hubby came home after being on the road for two weeks. We enjoyed the weekend together. Too bad he had to leave out again this morning! :(
2. Saturday I turned in my first assignment for Design Fundamentals. My music inspired composition wasn’t as perfect as I would have liked. I was able to work on it for a few days but I would have preferred a few more days to really make it pop!
3. We also celebrated Wild Man’s 4th birthday. In lieu of buying a bunch of toys that will simply end up in the bottom of a toy box, we headed to the the Splasher’s of the South Sea’s Waterpark for a day of wet ‘n wild fun! They have four water slides of varying heights.

Our Mini Vacay @ Metropolis Resort

Located in Eau Claire, WI, about an hour east of the Twin Cities, we took a mini vacay at the Metropolis hotel and resort earlier this week. Looking for a family friendly get away before school started, the hotel portion of the resort is pretty deceptive when you first enter the lobby. You walk into a sleek lobby with gorgeous metallic blue-grey walls, white modern leather furniture, sleek glass table tops, a fireplace to left, wide stair case to the middle, a full bar and lounge area to the right. The light fixtures, floor tiles, counter tops, everything is very sleek and modern! I didn’t know how family friendly the hotel part of the resort would actually be.

Exclusive WNBA Discounts

WNBA is offering some exclusive discounts to select bloggers across the web. If you’ve never been to a game, this would be the perfect opportunity to check out what all the hoopla is about. Cashing in on this deal is super simple. Visit TicketMaster.com/WNBA and enter special promotional code WNBABLOG to get in on the action at a fantastic price (as low as 60% off in some markets)!

My Minnesota friends can cash in on pretty great deal (50% off on select seats)! Be sure to check out the Fan Experience site for even more exclusive offers and discounts.

Apparently we’ve had a death!

It seems a butterfly has passed onto the great beyond. Funeral services were held but as you see, it was anything but a peaceful and organized service! It was entertaining but I was also intrigued by the Four Fellas’ perspective of the death of such a small creature!

Butterfly Funeral

Technorati Tags: funeral,perspective,butterfly,nature,kids

Free Fun For the Four Fellas!

We’re still adjusting to trucker hubby being on the road most of the week and now we’ve added two more boys to the mix. Hubby’s two sons, ages 7 and 11, are here for the remainder of the summer. YIKES ~ I’m the only chic in the house!

Money is still really tight since we’re still recovering from his transition from Unemployment to, thankfully, Full-Time Employment with benefits! ;D We’re pinching pennies, analyzing every cent spent ensuring there’s a purpose for every expenditure.

Things have gone remarkably well for the first week with the boys here. No major fist-to-cuffs have occurred nor have we had any meltdowns. ALL. POSITIVE. THINGS! With the extra kids comes extra laundry, dishes, cooking, etc…BUT it also means there are extra sets of hands to help with those chores. Remember the saying, “Idle hands are the Devil’s tools”?

TV is the DEVIL! Seriously, the D.E.V.I.L!

I'm not one of those anti-television - zero video games - only educational videos allowed kind of moms. We are gadget people. We actually love our television. and satellite. and dvr....oooohhhh the dvr!

Each of the kids has a set in their rooms. We have one in the living room and one in hub's and my bedroom plus two small one's with the VCR combo that hang in the basement. We have an Xbox 360, a Wii, a Nintendo DS and DSi. I told you, we're gadget people!

Normally, I limit the kids' screen time but since school's been out, I've been REALLY lax on those rules. After the last few days, I remember why I had those limits in place to begin with. The kids have been staying up late watching the boob toob instead of getting some shut-eye. They've been fighting over what shows are on the living room television as well as who plays what on the video games. I'm seriously about to lose my marbles over all this chaos!

I realize they're adjusting to daddy being gone on the road and I'm sure I haven't helped by allowing the TV to rule the roost this week but I’m fixin this problem!

Tonight, things are a changin! Televisions are going off at 9pm. Rather the satellite box is going off at 9pm! I've got an outlet timer I can use so I won't have to remember. They can watch television snow for all I care but the satellite is off tonight.

With any luck, the yard will be dry enough they can go out and run off some of their excess energy!

Technorati Tags: television,parenting,kids,fighting,siblings,electronics

Free Fun in Kissimmee Florida

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Kissimmee Tourism. All opinions are 100% mine.

It seems everyone’s packing for trips to Disney or they’re off to the beach for the summer. While I’d love to do both, Disney definitely seems a bit out of our price range…this year. Since hubby just started a new job, I’m not entirely sure we’ll get to take a long family vaca this summer but I would like to hit Kissimmee Florida before J goes back to school in September.

After a little investigation, it seems the most expensive part of the trip will be getting there! There’s plenty of FREE stuff to do in Kissimmee. Mama loves me the free stuff!!! ;D

Happy Father’s Day Everyone!

Hubby is stuck on the road so we will have to celebrate when he gets home! Our plans for today include preparing for his homecoming! What are your plans for today????

BTW - Don’t forget to enter to win some FREE laundry detergent! Giveaway ends Thursday!!!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes Are On The Way

Changes are on the way for my family yet again.

Since the day after Christmas my family has gone from one roller coaster ride to the next. Starting with hubby’s work related back injury, we found ourselves navigating Minnesota’s worker’s compensation system. Couple this with endless piles of WC paperwork with a variety of physical therapies and constantly evolving prognosis, things became frustrated and complicated to say the least. FINALLY, the general consensus was lower back surgery was necessary to give my husband the best shot at life with minimal pain.

Save Money on the Road with RaceTrac this Summer

I don’t know about you but summer usually means at least one road trip with the family. Traveling with kids in the car can easily send the budget OUT OF CONTROL. Drive thru meals, snacks, drinks, more snacks. It’s enough to drive you near bankruptcy. With a little planning you can save a considerable amount of money on this type of vacation.

• Pack plenty of individual sized snacks for the road.
• Stock a cooler for cool treats and picnic style lunches along the way.
• Make frequent stops at rest areas to avoid tempting the kids with sugary and caffeinated drinks
• Make pit stops at locations with a playground area or an open grassy space so antsy kids can run off some energy.

There’s now another way to save even more!

Car Club Car Shows – Free Family Fun

In my neck of the woods, summer means CAR SHOWS. Car club members in Minnesota, North Dakota and even Canada come together several times throughout the summer to show off their fancy wheels. These events are totally free which means a fun family friendly event that’s easy of the bank account.

I’m not a car junkie. I don’t know the difference between an engine and a carburetor but you don’t have to know cars to enjoy the show. The cars are gorgeous with amazing paint jobs and impressively restored interior. Those blue and orange NOS bottles in the back seat make these babies go REALLY REALLY FAST! Hey, I’m not a total idiot. I watched the Fast and the Furious! ;D

If Your Pantry Could Talk, What Would It Say?

Just a few years ago, mine screamed…

Bland. Flat. Plain. Dull. Boring. Weak. Watery. Unhealthy. Oily. Processed. Brown. Monotonous. Repetitive. Ordinary. Flavorless.


Other than boiling water, I didn’t know how to cook so my pantry was filled to the brim with boxed dinner kits, canned soups, sugary cereals, “fruit” flavored drinks and frozen meal kits.

The road to better FRESHER food was a slow one. I taught myself to cook one culinary skill at a time. All I can say is “Thank God for Food Network” and my BHG Cookbook! I stopped buying junk food and fresh ingredients were phased in as the over-processed foods were consumed. New ingredients would hit the pantry as they turned up on sale.

Simple Sprinkler Fun

What’s more fun than running through the sprinkler on a hot day!

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Thursday afternoon was awards day at school. J didn’t receive any awards but we’re still proud of his improvements this school year. Despite telling him how proud of him we are, he still felt a little blue. To help perk up his afternoon, we got a special ice cream treat fro the local diner then worked off the extra calories by running through the sprinkler. 

Needless to say, he no longer felt blue about not receiving an award! ;D

What do you do to perk up your kid’s spirit when they’re feeling down in the dumps?

Technorati Tags: summer fun,sprinkler,family,kids

My Wild Weekend

The day started beautifully. Sunshine. Light breeze. Temps near 80. I really could not ask for much more!

This was the first REALLY great day for outdoor play we’ve seen in a while in Minnesota.

As a family, we rode our bikes to the post office to retrieve the mail. Made a wide loop back to the house. Enjoying the ride and quality time together!

Our lawn was cut. LOVE the smell of fresh cut grass in the Spring!!! The garden was tilled. Time for more play. Hide n seek. Tag. Army of soldiers. It was all fun…until it wasn’t!
Wild Man and I were about to enjoy the swings together. He loves to swing with mommy! Mommy loves the time together. He’s loaded on my lap and I can feel it before it happens.

I loose my balance.

My Mother’s Day Recap

I really enjoyed my time off yesterday. I didn’t crack open the computer at all yesterday. My husband and I agreed not to exchange any purchased gifts this Mother’s Day since we are in a financial transition with his Worker’s Compensation benefits ending and his Unemployment benefits kicking in after the doctor released him for full work duty a few weeks ago. Of course he’s also looking for work and he’s exploring a couple of options so when his employment status has settled then I may look at getting a new stand mixer for a belated Mother’s Day gift! (My current mixer is from the 70’s with only beater attachments so I can use an upgrade!)

The weather was perfect with lots of sunshine and temps in the mid 60’s. SOOO much better than last year when we were hit with 6 inches of snow! The kids made me gorgeous cards with my nearly 4 year old wishing me a “Happy Mommy’s Day!”.  We rode bikes around the neighborhood. Played ball and Frisbee with a new four-legged friend in the back yard. Climbed trees and ran around the gazebo. All this BEFORE NOON!

Under the Weather

Wild Man unaffected by the "ick"

This weekend has been a rough one. The hubster came down with the flu so we had to cancel our plans to see the big car show and attending the circus this weekend. Poor thing felt very bad. Fever, coughing, chills, coughing, sneezing, coughing, head congestion, more coughing. I feel so bad for him; he's coughed so much, his chest and stomach hurt. I took good care of him. Nursed him back to health with homemade chicken and rice soup, plenty of  meds and herbal tea with honey. Today, he is finally feeling better! Sadly, Wild Man and I are not.

It seems we are catching whatever germs my lovely hubby had. ICK! My head is pounding. I constantly feel like I'm going to sneeze. Double ICK! I suddenly feel exhausted and over heated. I HATE feeling like this and hope I feel better tomorrow. ICK!

Wild Man's taking it MUCH better although he thinks he needs "medsin" every few minutes because he's "ick". So far his only symptom seems to be coughing at night and occasional sneezes. No fever and his appetite is about the same. He did take a nap today (EXTREMELY unusual for my over-active fella) so I know he's starting to feel the "ick". I will get us medicated with Tylenol and antihistamines then I'm off to bed for some needed rest. Please keep us in your prayers.

Easter Recap & Making Clarified Butter

I hope everyone had a great Easter Weekend. We had a wonderful time this extra long weekend. We dyed eggs, rode our bikes around town, and even met some friends in the city to eat lunch Saturday. Of course I got to snap up some great deals at a couple thrift stores so “Happy Easter to me!”

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Win BIG with The Real Food Project

One of my favorite Food Network chefs if Bobby Flay! Most of his recipes make my taste buds do the “dance of joy”! There are a few of his dishes I find a little too spicy but I simply scale back the heat. The risk of cooking like a southwestern style chef! My favorite quality is how he creates gourmet dishes with common ingredients found in the everyday cook’s pantry. This is what sets Bobby apart from other celebrity chefs and makes his recipes so appealing.

Chef Flay is lending his wonderfully creative cooking talents to Hellmann’s “The Real Food Project” to help busy families create flavorful simple family style dishes using real food versus pre-process packaged food full of preservatives and generally unpronounceable ingredients. Hellmann’s is also offering some great prizes for just visiting the site. Cooking tools to a new gas grill are up for grabs in their Real Food Sweepstakes. See the press release below for all the details and how you can enter the sweeps.