I’ve never been to the circus. I don’t think. I should say I don’t remember ever going to the circus as a kid.

I rode an elephant once.

Seriously.

At a strip mall as a promotion for a water bed store (I think).

No kidding.

I always wanted to go to Bozo’s Circus, but I never went there either. I think the waiting list for tickets required you request them before your kids were even born!

I didn’t even know the circus was still around but it is. The real circus, not an elephant walking on mattresses at a strip mall.

Even someone like myself who never experienced the circus knows that there really is only 1 circus and that is Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – The Greatest Show on Earth.

The circus really does seem to have an appeal for everyone, which explains the intro “Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages.” Animals, acrobats, clowns, and so much more fill the big top at a circus, and after reading the 137th Edition of the Ringling Bros. program book, and exploring their website, I can’t wait to finally be able to experience the circus and do it through the eyes of my kids.

Not only did we receive a program book, we received a souvenir DVD from the 137th edition of The Greatest Show on Earth and a handful of clown noses. Here’s a couple of shots of Jake with a clown nose on. I couldn’t get him to take it off!

We have yet to watch the DVD because Jake wants to wait to watch it with a friend and she’s hasn’t made it over yet. He’s saved a clown nose for her too!

If you are interested in creating your own family circus tradition, Ringling Bros. is offering a 20% discount for shows in select cities. The code for the discount is MCC and is valid for the following shows/locations:
*Indianapolis, IN – Sept. 4-7, 2008
*Kansas City, MO – Sept. 10-14, 2008
*Grand Rapids, MI – Sept. 18-21, 2008
*Denver, CO – Oct. 2-13, 2008
*Boston, MA – Oct. 8-13, 2008
*Cleveland, OH – Oct. 24 – Nov. 2
*Chicago, IL – Nov. 6 – 30, 2008
*St. Louis, MO – Nov. 6-9, 2008
*Auburn Hills, MI – Nov. 12 – 16, 2008
*Highland Heights, KY – Feb 27 – Mar. 1, 2009
*Cincinnati, OH – Mar. 4 – 8, 2008

If you are interested in your very own clown nose with the Ringling Bros. logo on the front, I have 5 to give away. If you would like one, leave a comment on this post. I will select 5 winners at random on Tuesday September 9th at noon. USA only.

What a cool building! Take a look at this article from Architectural Record about it.  Not only is it beautiful, it’s smart.  Smart design, smart technology, environmentally smart.  It’s basically a giant greenhouse.  The skin is made of plastic (EFTE) pillows that capture solar energy to heat the pools and building, as well as interior lighting. 

If you’re lacking the solititude, attention span, or you’re not an architecture geek, take some time to check out this slideshow on NBC’s site.

The Banana Splits was a popular costumed rock band and ran as a TV show on NBC for 2 seasons between 1968 and 1970. It was a comedy skit type show geared towards kids and had great music and funny live action and animated segments. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The main thing I remember about the show was the theme song that once you hear, you will never get it out of your head! I must have seen the show in syndication though, because I wasn’t born until a few years after the show originally aired.

Here’s a very old video of the intro from the original show:

Here’s a video of one of the skits from the show:

Whether or not you actually remember the Banana Splits, you now will have a new opportunity to enjoy them, because THEY ARE BACK!

Starting Sept 2, The Banana Splits will star in brand new comedy shorts and music videos on Cartoon Network. This Fab Four – Fleegle (a dog), Drooper (a lion), Bingo (a gorilla) and Snorky (an elephant) – is ready to introduce their unique style of humor and catchy music to a whole new generation of young fans.

Kids ages 4-7 (and adults with a penchant for nostalgia) can visit their website NOW and watch comedy shorts, music videos, play games, and join the fan club. Go check out the website now before the show starts and share an old favorite (or a new discovery) with your kids. They are guaranteed to entertain.

The Banana Splits website

I received a poster that Jake has already insisted will hang in his room, and a limited edition toddler T-shirt (I wish it fit ME!) and we can’t wait for the show to start in September.

Here’s a picture of the poster and the shirt:

Some of my favorite places are Upper Michigan, South Dakota, Arizona and California. I also like Nevada, New York, Tennessee and Colorado. I’ve driven through a few other states, but these are the ones that I’ve actually spent some time in and I can’t wait to be able to travel to all the others and visit all the great tourist destinations, and the scenery and beauty that you can find off the beaten path. It can be done by car of course, but an RV provides so much more comfort while driving and also makes some of the destinations more interesting and alleviates the need to deal with hotel rooms which saves time and money.

I’m sure there are other places that offer RV rentals but the one I came across is for California RV Rentals. They rent all the different styles of RV’s so you can pick the best one for your family and your vacation. The RV’s they rent really are like moving hotel rooms, with all the conveniences including full baths with showers, heat and a/c, color TV’s, DVD players, full kitchens and more.

I can’t wait to set out on the open road and explore the country in an RV, in fact I recently met a blogger who actually lives in an RV! If she’s reading this, hopefully she’ll leave a comment with a link to her site so you can see what her life is like!

How about you, do you own an RV or have you rented one and toured the country in it?

I’ve been noticing lately, a lot more companies offering online quotes, and even some online services where you can receive multiple quotes from different vendors so you can pick the one you like best. From swimming pools, to home security, to insurance to fence installation and more, you can get all your quotes and set up service online without ever having to pick up the phone. This is especially nice for those of us with screaming children at home!

Have you ever used the web to get quotes and set up service? Car rentals? Airplane tickets? Anything?

Well, I disagree.

Moms NEED wine, in fact, they need someone to enroll them in a wine of the month club (or maybe a wine of the day club???). A mom with a little wine in her is more relaxed, less bothered by the little things and definitely more fun to be around. I’m not talking about being drunk, just a little glass or 7 a night to help you relax.

Seriously, people, you’d like me better.

How cool is that? I think they were nuts to go back, but it is so neat that Christian still loves them!

Well, it turns out that the insurance did total it out and gave us a nice amount for it, although we were not thrilled with having to buy another truck. We bought that truck brand new and it really didn’t have too many problems.

At one point, we did explore the possibility of buying the truck back from them and paying to have it repaired from the insurance money but we were concerned that it may never run quite right and cause additional problems down the road.

I didn’t realize it, but apparently you can get additional money in the case of a car accident, especially where you are not at fault under something called “diminished value.” The fact that a vehicle has been damaged and repaired has a negative effect on its value and you can re-coup this difference in all 50 states. I don’t need this info now but it is certainly good to know in case it ever happens again. Make sure you check out the car accident link to get a FREE diminished value estimate to find out what you are owed!

I strongly urge all the mom bloggers out there to get your listing up at MomDot, and register for the forum too, to network, chat with and learn from other mom bloggers.

Go check out MomDot and what they have to offer, enter whatever giveaway they currently have running and post on your own blog about the grand opening on August 1st. Seriously, this is ground floor. Like buying Microsoft stock in the 80′s.

Plus, their button is fantastic!

I received my kit and it was filled with a bunch of wonderful safety goodies! They sent enough for one person, but the backpack is big enough that I can go out and get the duplicate items I need for every member of the family and they will all fit in the bag.

Here are a couple photos of the emergency kit:

Every family really should consider making their own emergency kit and include additional things like water and the other items listed in the original contest post at Lille Punkin’ Reviews.