Lessons from the Road, part 2

Happy Friday! When I was teaching, Fridays were the best day of the week, hands down. I think that has been ingrained into my personality, and I wake up with a certain spunk on Friday morning regardless of what the weekend may hold. Ours may hold another road trip to Illinois, or we may go home. Not sure yet. Regardless, I thought I would share my top ten reasons for hotel living with a toddler for a Funny Friday post. No, this isn't biblical. But, it sure is true! Hotel living may be making a comeback...just wait and see!

Top 10 Reasons why Hotel Living is best for a toddler, and a family...

1. Everything is nailed down. I'm pretty sure this is so nothing can be stolen and to prevent lawsuits due to toppling furniture, but I certainly appreciate it for my climber.
2. It is a small space. If I can't find my son, he is either under the desk or attempting to climb under the bed, which is nearly impossible.
3. There are no knick-knacks for eating, throwing, crushing, or hiding.
4. Honestly, the bathroom and bathtub are probably cleaner than mine.
5. When traveling, you have a limited amount of space to transport items. This, in turn, leads to less items you must keep track of in a hotel room. Lost a pair of shoes? I promise you they are somewhere in that room.
6. They feed us a complimentary hot breakfast, there is a high chair in the dining room, and hot coffee is available in the lobby 24/7. It's like a mini-Starbucks right downstairs...for free!
7. Because we only have twenty TV channels due to our strict budget, it is an absolute luxury to watch HGTV and the Food Network.
8. This should be #1, but someone comes in every day to take out trash, clean our bathroom, change our sheets, vacuum, replace towels, and straighten up our junk. L-O-V-E that.
9. Because someone else is cleaning our space, my responsibilities are very few. This way, my husband and I can lay in bed and eat pizza with our son instead of them watching me run around the house and clean up another mess. The family time is awesome!
10. Because we are in a hotel room, I can't cook. So sad! Restaurants it is!

I know that I will eventually tire of hotel living, but right now, it's pretty dang sweet! I will update next week on our ongoing adventure. Until then, we're off to the pool. Oh yes...reason #11 why hotels are pretty fantastic. Be blessed, mommies!

MMSM #39

When traveling by car (nearly impossible to do this by plane), make room for all the baby food, diapers, and wipes that you will need. You probably worked hard to get those items for a good price back home, so don't blow your budget on full-priced items while vacationing. Simply, pack a bag with more than enough diapers, wipes, and non-perishable baby food and snacks. Since we've put this into practice, we've only had to buy milk and a few other things at the store while away from home. Happy traveling!


Tip #27


When staying in a hotel room, things can get messy and cluttered very quickly! I've implemented some rules when we travel together as a family. Each of us has a "spot" for our suitcases. Each of us has a "spot" for toiletries. We live out of our bags, since I think it takes too long to unpack and re-pack. We have a communal pile for dirty laundry, and the desk holds our electronics and chargers. Food stuff goes by the fridge, and all of Caleb's things are stored in his pack 'n' play when he isn't sleeping in it. I straighten up and return things to our respective piles before housekeeping comes each day, and then we call come back to a clean and put-together room at the end of the day. Give it a try! It's working for us!