More traveling

I'm in D.C. again this week. This year has been crazy as far as traveling for work. Yesterday morning I had the breakfast of champions:

My choices are limited at 6:00 A.M. My favorite breakfast place at the airport, Einsteins Bros was located at a different terminal so I wasn't too thrilled with my choices at terminal C.

My reading material:

I usually work on my laptop on the plane, but since I couldn't snag an aisle seat and was stuck in the middle, I figured reading a magazine would be the easier choice. I brought one magazine from home. Can you tell which one I subscribe to?

Two weeks ago, when I traveled out here, I got free internet and free breakfast, but I discovered my fellow co-workers got more from their hotel stay. They got bottled water and chocolate everyday. I was told the "11th" floor was the "fancy" floor to be on. When I checked in, I was super surprised to see that oo, lah, lah, I'm on the 11th floor.

Hotel Amenities on the 11th floor:

Fancy bottled water and some chocolate EVERY DAY!

Oh, and I get a robe this time. No pink fuzzy slippers though. Maybe I should put in a request for next time.

Free Alphabet Cards

How cute are those Alphabet Flash Cards!! Want them? Your in luck because they are free to download. Head on over to Homemade by Jill here and get this super cute download. There are two of each letter too. You will need to print on your own printer. These would be great to print on Card stock.

Free Pet Exam at Banfield (PetSmart)

Complete this form to access a printable free exam coupon. Print and bring the coupon to your Pet's first scheduled exam at your local Banfield (can be found at PetSmart), and the exam is FREE!

Inspirational bed

I spent my days off last week with my kids and also redoing J.'s room. He's now a teenager and requested a more mature room. We took everything out of the room to have a fresh start. He had a sleigh bed which was taking up too much space so I decided to get rid of it all together. Anyone want to buy a queen-sized wooden sleigh bed?

He was lacking storage space and since I basically have the PB store catalog memorized, I thought this bed would be perfect for him. What's not so perfect is the nearly $1900 price tag when you add in tax, shipping, and surcharges.

So what does that mean for my budget-friendly room make-over? That means I am contemplating on building another bed. My only problem? I don't have a table saw and seeing how store cuts, even though are wonderfully free to do, are not so perfect and this bed requires pretty perfect cuts to make sure it is square.

Dilemmas dilemmas. So does that mean this is the perfect time to invest in a table saw? Does new project mean new tool?

First Days of School

Yesterday was the first day of school. My kids are growing up so fast. Here is E.'s first day of school three years ago when he was just in pre-school. He looks so young.

At only three years old, he "had" to ride the school bus. Of course, the first time he rode the bus, I followed behind in my car, "just in case." This was more for my sake, rather than his.

At four, he was just as excited.

And now, here is my 1st grader.

He's still ready as ever to be going back to school.

My youngest two kids are so ready to be going to E.'s "big" school. Two kids down, two more to go.

Good Bye Summer Parties

When we built our pool, we knew we wanted to share it with as many friends and family as we could. What fun is having a pool if you can't enjoy it with your friends? Therefore, we were on a quest to have small pool parties throughout the summer. We decided to keep it to 3-4 families each time so that we could really enjoy our friends.

Summer is now officially over for us. That means saying good bye to our summer pool parties. This summer, we have basically had a party every other weekend. Although, I must say, I have thoroughly enjoyed having the many get togethers this summer, I am glad to be getting a break.

We have had many laughs

and smiles.

We have played in the sand box

and on the slide.

We have hidden in caves

and jumped into the water, not even knowing how to swim.

We have paddled through

water basket ball games, dodging the ball,

and dodging water gun fights.



We have relaxed in the spa among friends



and enjoyed the many different foods.



We have cooked

and we have catered (vietnamese summer rolls)

We have grilled

and grilled.



We have also eaten healthy,



and a little unhealthy...





but more importantly, we have definitely eaten.

Then, we have eaten some more..

rested a bit for a little drinking,



and then eaten even more so.

We made new friends a long the way as well as caught up with old friends.



In the end, we made wonderful lasting memories.

Many thanks to all our family and friends who came over this summer. We had a remarkable summer thanks to all of you.

Teacher Back to School Gift

School for us starts on Monday. Skip to My Lou gave me a cute idea for the first day of school. She bought all her kids' teacher a bottle of hand soap and had a note attached saying, "If you need a hand, don't hesitate to call."

I thought it was a great idea so I am nabbing it. E.'s school is all about sanitizing their hands so when I saw this cute Apple shaped bottle filled with Anti-Bacterial Hand Sanitizer at Bath and Body Works, I thought it was perfect. "An apple a day, keeps the doctor away," right, or is it, "A spritz of hand sanitizer a day, keeps the doctor away?"

50% off Einstein Bagel Bucket!

Print this coupon to receive 50% off a Bagel Bucket at Einstein Bros. Valid this weekend only.

Summer fun with a sprinkler

Ever since Toy Story 3 came out, A. has been obsessed with all the characters in the movie. I found this sprinkler and new we needed it. It was clearanced to 75% off. For less than $5, it was worth the fun filled afternoon my kids had.

To infinity and beyond! Well, if you call 15 feet infinity.

Either way, the kids loved getting splashed!

Summer ends this week for us. After, what seems like working around the clock, I've decided to take the week off to finish/start some more projects as well as spend time with my kiddos before school starts on Monday. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer! We definitely did.