The end of 2011...

Time sure does fly.  Sometimes.  Sometimes it actually seems to stand still.  However, most of the time- it flies.  This year has been rocky but its also been awesome.  Our family is complete.  I have been pregnant or had a baby every year for the past 5 years.  As exciting as that is, its also a little exhausting.  I'm really looking forward to moving ahead.  Watching my children grow and change as I do the same.  Life with three kids under five is crazy but its also a dream come true.  It is what I have wanted my entire life.  I've learned to accept and expect the craziness but to also find the time to stop and laugh at the chaos.  There is no way around the chaos.  I don't care how organized you are- its a crazy life.  And its fun.  And super rewarding.  There are not a ton of things that I can say I am really good at but I do think that I've found my way as a Mother.  If I am not good at anything else for the rest of my life its OK because I have confidence that I am succeeding at the most important thing I will ever do.  I think I am raising secure children that are learning right from wrong, beginning to understand values all while absorbing all the love that we as a family share.   The future looks bright.

The Best Gift Ever.

An Easton update:  Finally, we have a great team of doctors looking after our sweet boy.  We have a new great pediatrician that is leading us in the right direction.  We have had Easton evaluated by a Neurologist and Pulmonologist.  He has an MRI and an evaluation for physical therapy scheduled for the first week of January.  The main concerns now are the fact that he has Chronic Lung Disease, a floppy airway and is really struggling to gain weight as a result of the effort his body has to make to breathe.  He is in good hands with the physicians and has parents that have a close eye on him at all times.  We feel confident that in three or four years he can make a full recovery.  I'm expecting bumps in the roads and am as prepared as I can be for any setbacks.  I vowed to walk this journey with him and that is my full intention.  Whatever it takes- I'm right there holding his hand.  He has changed my life on so many levels and I will never forget how blessed I am to have him in my home and not just in my heart.  

Gingerbread house 2011

Christmas is right around the corner and I sure have some excited kids in this house!  Our elf "Pete" could not create more excitement even if he tried.  These kids barely have their eyes open as they come barreling down the stairs to see where he is watching from each day.  We have done our share of festivities this year.  So far we have made gingerbread houses, baked cookies, had school programs and even had brunch with Santa.  I love the magic of Christmas.  It is especially fun to watch Carter.  He is beyond excited.  He is trying to figure it all out.  He knows there are some glitches in the stories but he is still fascinated by the whole idea.  There have been more questions this year.  For example:  How does Santa get into our house if there is glass on our fireplace?  Why don't I ever see the reindeer tracks?  How does Pete fly in and out of our house?  We answer the best we can and then when we run out answers we confess that we really don't know all the answers...because its magic!  

Cookie Baking with Patty

My Christmas Crazies

And now for the big news...  My journey to the Mini Van.  Some people don't care what they drive.  Some people do.  I happen to care.  A lot.  I care so much that I switch cars like some people switch their clothes.  OK, maybe that's an exaggeration... but not by much.  I am very fortunate.  My parents always provided me with very nice cars and ever since I have bought my own- I have been able to do the same. I like nice things.  While I was pregnant and in bed with Easton, I bought my last car.  Literally, from my bed.  Never left the house.  Found it online and had it delivered.  (Yes, this is an option!)  Maybe I was bored, maybe I was crazy.  Possibly both.  Anyways, I bought a Yukon Denali because I was having a third kid and needed more room and of course, more luxury;).  What I got was a bigger car with no more room.  It is sort of like driving a big box down the road with a lot of wasted space.  It does not suit my needs of multiple strollers, bags, groceries, junk, etc that I need in my car at all times.  Its so big and I am so short that its the most inconvenient car for me to have.  My kids have to climb in and get themselves filthy daily and then nine times out of ten they clumsily fall out of the car while insisting on exiting by themselves.  Its no treat heaving Easton's car seat in and out either.  Overall, this car is a fail in all areas except that it looks cool.  So this brings me to the mini van.  This big box that I drive down the road has decided to give me lots of trouble the last few weeks leading me to a rental car of a mini van!  Those 4 days were so easy transporting the kids around that I got right on the phone figuring out how to get myself one of those bad boys!  My life is chaotic and if there is one tiny thing can make it a little easier- I'm game!  Sounds like a no brainer, right?  Wrong.  Something was standing in my way.  That's right, my ego!  Not to sound crazy but I must be honest.  Everything made perfect sense about this van EXCEPT that I couldn't bring myself to drive it.  I have literally gone back and forth for over a week about this trivial, meaningless subject of transportation.  The more I thought about it, the more mad I got that I was going to inconvenience myself because I was too cool for a van.  Oh, no!  Not this time.  I decided that I'm stepping up and kicking my ego aside.  I'm not only buying the van today.  I am gonna rock that van and I am going to revel in the convenience it brings my life.  I am now a mini van driving, mother of three.  And I couldn't be happier about it!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  I hope the holidays are relaxing, safe and thrilling for you all!

Rolling with it...

I am becoming the worst blogger in the world.  It's a shame too because I really like it but I am having the most difficult time finding a few minutes to sit down and let my fingers fly!  Something is happening with the Clark's this year.  I don't want to call it the "Clark Curse" because we did get a sweet baby boy this year and I would also like to think its just a coincidence that everything is so crazy right now and not actually a curse.  I'm not sure if we are being tested or what but we are trying to just roll with it.  Allow me to share a few things that have been going on and hopefully shed a little light on the reason I can't blog!


It all started January 15, 2011 when I got put on bed rest FIVE months before my due date!  This was a challenge but we rolled with it.  We figured it out and had a pretty good attitude about it.  It was the price to pay to have a healthy baby.  Hmmm, obviously it wasn't a guarantee but once again, we rose to the occasion.  We stood up and fought for our boy.  We survived.  Actually, I think we more than survived- we were courageous and walked through the fear while being as optimistic as possible.  Not an easy task.  These days Easton is a smiley, sweet, loving little angel that I couldn't love more if I tried.  I cannot explain how I feel about him other than to say that he is part of me.  He is fairly healthy.  He looks great, has a good disposition but he struggles.  Its so hard to watch.  I know that things could be much worse but it still worries me night and day.  I finally switched pediatricians and got somebody to actually take a look at him.  She is lovely and she agrees that we have some issues that need to be addressed.  Currently I spend all of my time (that I am not at work and chasing my other two kids) running Easton to appointments.  In the last week and in the weeks to come he has a ton of things going on.  He is seeing a neurologist, has been referred to a pulmonologist at U of M, will begin physical therapy, just had some blood work done to try and rule things out and will be having more frequent appointments to monitor his growth.  Things are complicated.  Its hard to find the time to fit these appointments in, work, spend time with the other kids, spend time with my husband, take care of my house, and Christmas shop!  I'll figure it out but its kicking my butt!  Let me add a few details of the last week...  Flying home from Florida over Thanksgiving we had the pleasure of having our flight delayed.  While on board we were notified that  a computer broke so we got to make an unexpected landing in Atlanta so they could install a new computer WITHOUT letting us off the plane.  Normally not a huge deal but with all three kids on board, it wasn't exactly thrilling.  Another issue is my garage door.  Its broke.  Shouldn't be a big deal but it is!  We called to have it fixed.  They don't have the part.  Apparently they aren't too accurate on the estimated arrival of the part since its been two weeks and they said two days.  The first day this happened, I was trapped in my garage with all kids buckled in their seats.  Had to call my Dad.  Had a mishap- scratched the top of my car.  Blah, blah, blah, we solve the problem and its fine.  We move on...an hour later.  Each day and night, Matt has to manually open and close the door.  Today was awesome.  The door is open so I begin backing out.  As I do this the door slams down on the back of my car and scared the bejesus out of me and my kids.  I have to get out and lift the entire weight of the door.  Its only like a million pounds.  I don't know how I did it but I found some crazy hercules strength and opened that door....only to have it slam down again because I am not tall enough to get it all the way up.  Shocker.  Not to worry because I am resourceful and found a piece of trim to prop that bad boy up.  Mission accomplished.  I rolled with it and I only swore once.  Pretty impressive if you ask me.  Oh, wait there is more.  Maybe I should tell you where I was going when all this went down at 8am.  I was trying to drop my kids off at school so I could drop my car off at the dealership. That's right, my car is broke too.  My car has decided that if will only start when it feels like it.  Very random and with no rhyme or reason.  Its pretty fun and not at all scary to go anywhere never knowing if I will actually make it back home.  Yesterday I had the pleasure of calling roadside assistance to jump start my car out of my own garage only making me an hour and a half late for work.  Are you getting the picture?  What in the world is going on here?  Its one thing after another.  Its getting more annoying every day. There is so much more but just thinking about all the mishaps is exhausting me!  Sometimes I just laugh, sometimes I want to cry because everything just seems hard but at the end of the day- I just roll with it.  Or try to.  I have to wrap up because I must sleep before my kids wake up at 5AM- nope, not kidding!  Tomorrow is an exciting day of chasing and gathering chest x-ray films around Genesee County  to take to next weeks appointments


On a positive note my house is decorated for Christmas!  Both Christmas trees are up and the outside of my house is lit up as if Clark W. did it himself.

Crazy Paigey decided to wear "undawares" and is fully potty trained... most of the time.

This girl is crazy.

Carter learned to snap his fingers after months of trying.

Mr. Dreamy

Easton continues to blow me away with sweetness.

Happy Boy

It's crazy around here but things could be worse.  That said, we are so looking forward to 2012!  


Happy Holidays!