Traveling

5 Good Things About Pokémon Go

~ The Clarks ~ 1 Comment

I’ve read like 37 negative stories in the news about this crazy app called Pokémon Go. Robberies, injuries, accidents, hacking etc. Be aware, don’t go alone, stay in familiar places, exercise the not so common common sense. Let’s take a step back and think about how this might actually be a good thing. 


1. People are actually walking and getting off of their butts and out of the house. In the past 3 nights I have walked over 10 kilometers. I have not exercised this much since before I got pregnant 2 years ago. America has problems with obesity and adults and children not being active. This app has people up off their you know what’s. This may lead to other apps of the sorts motivating people to do the same. People are going outside of their comfort zones, who cares that it is to chase little fictitious pocket monsters around, it’s great that people are up and moving!

2. People are meeting people. I have seen more people out and met more people in our little town in the past 3 days than I have in the past 3 years we have lived here. This is not an exaggeration. It is true. It is crazy. I think we all feel like nerds, but hey, we are enjoying it, making new friendships and building ones that were already there. 

3. Families are spending time together. We spent over an hour out walking together, conversing with one another 2 nights in a row. And I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow. 

4. You have to problem solve and be resourceful. This component is huge. There is no tutorial when you start the app. You have to figure everything out on your own. You have to discover how to do things, where to find things, what everything means. You have to seek out others for help whether face to face or virtually. Pretty cool!

5. It’s good hearted competitive fun. You can compete with your friends and family to see who can catch more, or evolve the most. 

Oh you can also get some pretty funny pictures. I would cry like this if a wild rat was by my feet too!

The Only Reason I Really Want to Pack Lunches Again

~ The Clarks ~ 2 Comments

Since I returned to work from having the baby, well over a year ago, my husband graciously and generously would pack my lunch for me as I took the duty of getting the baby to sleep. Baby stopped needing me to fall asleep, so naturally, husband stopped having he burning desire to pack my lunch. Baby also grew into toddler who eats real food and needed a lunch of his own. Packing lunches wasn’t something I ever looked forward to, until I discovered the awesome thing called a yumbox. 

Let me give you a little overview of the yumbox first. There are two parts to a yumbox. The actual box and the tray. The box is durable, has a large latch that closes it and locks the single silicone lid into place. The other part is the compartmentalized tray which features cute educational pictures of the food groups and also serves as a reminder to whoever packs the lunch as to what should be included.

They come with two options for trays, 6 compartment and 4 compartment. The two different trays are not interchangeable between the different boxes due to the sealing silicone lids. 

Here is what they look like on the outside:

Here is what they look like on the inside:

They offer a variety of fun colors, the outer space one is my favorite!

The 4 compartment yumbox has one 2 cup compartment , two 1/2 cup compartment and a one ounce compartment perfect for dips or a little treat. 

The six compartment yum box has five 1/2 cup sections for the key food groups and one smaller well for dips or treats. 

The yumbox is seriously amazing. And no they did not ask me to write a review. 

The trays pop out of the box for easier cleaning. 

So why do I love these yumboxes so much? 

1. I can pack things like yogurt or ranch dressing easily without having to worry about things tipping, spilling or contaminating other food. 

2. It takes up less space than a billion containers. 

3. Easy to clean. You can even throw it in the top rack of the dishwasher. 

4. Totally portable. I can literally toss it into the diaper bag. We took them traveling on the road with us. 

5. I have a guide of what to pack and how much of it to pack. 

6. They fit into normal sized lunch boxes. 

7. My child can see everything that is being offered at a meal. It’s fun to watch him look and decide on his own what to eat first. He also loves moving things between containers. 

8. I am not having to buy a ton of sandwich bags. Nor are those sandwich bags winding up in landfills. 

9. They really are pretty cute. 

10. The design keeps everything in, it’s virtually leak proof, but due to the large latch are easy enough for a young child to open independently. 

Here’s a look at what my 16 month old and I packed for today. 

If you pack a lunch. If you have kids. If you have a picky eater. You really should look into these. 

Where can you buy this cool product? Well, they are on Amazon. But if you love amazing customer service, supporting a wonderful family and their business, and earning rewards for discounts, you can also buy them at Lil’ Tulips. Be sure to create an account with them before shopping using this link https://goo.gl/cKkhsA to instantly earn  50 reward points. Again here is the link. https://goo.gl/cKkhsA
 

9 Reasons You Need to Attend Pickin’ on the Porch

~ The Clarks ~ Leave a comment

Pickin’ on the Porch is a live music event that happens at MB Roland Distillery which is located in Pembroke, Kentucky. The event happens on select Saturday evenings in the summer. If you are local and haven’t been you probably should. If you happen to be somewhat near by, Clarksville, Nashville, Hopkinsville, Paducah, it would be worth the drive. 

1. It is free. You can go to this event completely for free. The parking is free. The event is free. You literally just have to show up. 

2. There is plenty of room. There is plenty of free parking available. There is plenty of room to set up to enjoy the music. You are allowed to bring your own blankets, chairs, tents, shades, etc. The only restriction is that you can not set up tents/shades in certain areas. There is plenty of room for kids to run and play. Oh, I almost forgot, you can bring your dog too, theres plenty of room for them. 

3. You can bring your own food. This is pretty sweet. I have seen families who bring in subway, McDonald’s or food from home. You can bring your own non-alcoholic drinks as long as they are in their original containers and unopened. Bottles and sippy cups or babies are allowed. 

4. The music is great. They always have artists who are pleasant to listen to and can play a variety of music. The stage on the porch is pretty neat too. There is an area up front that they keep clear for people to dance. 

5. The environment. It is right at the distillery, which is an old dairy farm. You are out in the middle of nowhere sitting on a lawn surrounded by fields listening to people play music on an old porch. Does it get much cooler than that?! It is also an environment that is family friendly. The crowd stays mellow and in our experience has never been rowdy. It is also a safe place to be. You can leave your stuff and walk around without having to worry. There are also sheriff deputies on site. 

6. They have food trucks. Food truck food is the best! Each time we have been there have been different food trucks, sometimes it’s BBQ, other times we have had burgers or street tacos. Every time it is delicious. 

7. They sell beer. They sell local beers and hard cider by the cup or by the growler. They accept cash or credit card. 

8. Fun for all ages. Everyone has fun. My 65 year old dad came with us and had a blast. Our 16 month old has a blast every time. We have met new people, had great conversations with strangers. It truly is a place you can bring your whole family to for a good time. 

9. Unlimited snow cones. Yes. UNLIMITED. As in unlimited for the entire summer as long as you remember to bring your up back. It is about $6 for a cup, about $3 if you have a military ID. That cup is good for the entire season. UNLIMITED SNOW CONES!!! You can’t beat it. 

Despite his face, I promise the snow cones taste great!

For more information on the Pickin’ on the Porch events you can visit the MB Roland website at http://mbroland.com

5 Things to Consider Before Taking a Toddler to the Beach

~ The Clarks ~ Leave a comment

The conditions may not be ideal. There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to the conditions. If your toddler is anything like mine on a sunny day he refuses to wear sunglasses and keeps a hat on in 30 second increments. He will either need to get used to squinting or get better at keeping things on his head. Temperature is another condition that comes to play. If it is hot, that sand can get hot quickly. Toddlers don’t always understand this right away, especially when they have recently learned to walk. The water may also be colder than comfortable. The water may also be too rough for safe swimming. Go anyway. Just be prepared. 

Sunblock. You will need to put it on. Try to get it on somewhere away from the sand. Sand + sunscreen + busy toddler = chaffing where you don’t want it. 

Food. Pack it. Your toddler will get hungry while there, even if you just fed him. Mess free foods that they don’t have to touch are great for the beach, baby food pouches, yogurt pouches just to name a couple. 

What to wear. Not just your child, you. Have you ever been around a toddler while wearing a bathing suit? You will want a suit that he can’t easily expose anything on you that you don’t want the entire beach to see. Think about a cover up that is easy to put on and take off too. 

He may actually hate it. Yup. What you can’t see in this picture is that my poor little guy is crying. He hated the sand, the water was freezing, he straight up hated it all. We had been at the beach 8 months prior and he LOVED the sand and the water. I was so excited to take him back and he hated it. 

Surviving 40+ Hours in the Car with a Toddler

~ The Clarks ~ Leave a comment

Before we were even pregnant we swore that we would not let having children change our lives, meaning we wouldn’t stop doing things we love, we would just do them with our kids. We kinda love road trips. I guess that is why we thought it would be OK to be in the car with our almost 16 month old for well over 40 hours across the span of 2 weeks. And ya know what? It WAS OK! No major crying fits. No tantrums. We did it!

Just a little background, we were not in the car for a solid 40+ hours. We took an 8 hour each way round trip to visit family and friends. Were back home for one night, then drove 11.5 hours to visit friends, another hour to do sight seeing with friends, 4 more hours to stay with family, another 4 hours to see more family, and finally 9 hours home. Total time spent in the car 45.5 hours. This doesn’t count the time spent in the car while at each destination.

Here are our tips for traveling road trip style with a small toddler:

  • Travel while they sleep. Whether it is at night or during nap time you can cover some serious ground while your little one is asleep. Make sure you bring what you need to help yourself stay alert.
  • Stop as often as needed. Stop to switch drivers. Stop to eat. Stop to change diapers. Stop to get out and play. You will need to stop more often with kids, but it’s also good for you to stop too. We planned stops where we knew they had a place to play, sometimes this was a friend’s house, or a cloth diaper warehouse. Make it fun.
  • Pack food. We are big snackers in the car. We packed up a reusable shopping bag filled with random snacks for ourselves. I also packed up a few of these awesome bento boxes called a Yumbox with snacks for the toddler. They are perfect for traveling. When we stopped for fast food it also meant that he could still eat healthier. IMG_20160626_100319929
  • Be flexible. Something will not go as planned. You will be later than expected for a stop. The baby will poop right after you get back on the road. Just like with anything else, when you have a toddler, you have to be flexible.
  • Have a bag of car toys. This saved our trip. I kept a little tote filled with his favorite books, little trucks, teethers, stuff he hadn’t seen in a while and kept it in the passenger seat. When he was awake we would hand him something from the bag. When he was done with it we would usually hear “uh oh”, and then hand him the next thing from the bag. It never got old. IMG_20160621_201532116
  • Have an amazing kid. Some of being able to survive this long in the car is that our kid is pretty laid back. I like to think that we’ve helped make him that way.IMG_20160621_202142889_HDR