What would you do if a hotel just GAVE you 100 rooms for 2 nights for you to invite all of your friends?  Can you think of friends or family that you’d like to invite?  Could you imagine how cool of a reunion or “bloggy” meetup that would be?

Well, Hampton IS!  Right now, they’re having a grand giveaway with the following prizes:

• GRAND PRIZE:  Entire hotel for a weekend (100 rooms for 2 nights)
• 100 FIRST PRIZES:  Weekend stays given away daily to winner and 3 of their friends

Could you imagine how awesome that would be?  I think I could easily fill those rooms with blogging friends to have one HUGE FREE conference of sorts!  Heck yeah!  Vacations are important – but to think about meeting up again (and some for the first time) with some of my favorite online people to just relax, grow friendships, and learn from each other?

I could also imagine an entire hotel FILLED with military husbands and wives…getting to take a “break” for free.  –Something that doesn’t always get to happen with “no strings attached.”

The grand prize is out of this world, but I’d even love to win one of the 100 first prizes – How much I’d love to just be able to get away with my husband for one weekend…just us.  With all of the military training and upcoming obstacles we’ve been planning for (and still are), it’d be a NICE distraction and period of R&R (Rest and Relaxation).

So, now it’s your turn.  Use your imagination.  What would you do?  Have a cool party?  Reunion?  Travel somewhere new?  Wedding?  Anniversary Party?  Surprise party?  Craft-a-long!!!  Scrapbook!?  Heck, it doesn’t matter…I’m sure you’ll figure it out (and if you can’t, let me go!)  Go, enter here!

Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.

Yep, you’re in the right place!

With the help of “Judith Shakes,” I’m going with a new look.  I still have things to tweak, but go ahead and take a look around!

Don’t Miss –

• Be sure you check out the “post-it” up top.  You can find me on twitter, facebook, and subscribe to my RSS feed.
• My new advertising page (located on the top bar).
• My version of the “About Me” page – “Not Very Frequently Asked Questions.”
• The search function is B-A-C-K!!

Please, take a look around and find me on Facebook to let me know what you think of the place!  I’m gonna go mess with stuff.  I’ll try not to crash the site. 

The journal/spy notebook has a special birthday wish, as well as what each and every one of the contents is for.

Evidence bags – to collect evidence

Candy – You know, for when you’re on an extra long mission and you need to keep your sugar up.  It’s a necessity.

Sticky Notes – To leave people impromptu notes or to remind oneself of something very important.

Super Secret Pen – The pen doesn’t work (which I tell him in his journal).  Therefore, nobody will steal it.  It’s a chubby pen, so when he takes it apart, he can hide money or secret letters inside.  Inside this particular pen is a dollar bill waiting for him to find.

Mini and Large Brush – For dusting the fingerprinting dusting powder onto fingerprints for collecting

Fingerprinting Dusting Powder – (see above)

String – To “rope” off areas or to create booby traps or to tie up offenders.  Really, the uses are endless.

T-Shirt – To be worn all incognito-like so he can blend in AND roll in the dirt ALL. DAY. LONG.

Silly String – To stun the “bad guys”

Every day, I CAN count on the following to happen:

- 1 minor OH CRAP moment
- some sort of food being smashed into the floor
- someone crying or screaming…generally, both.
- naptime
- something not going the way I had originally planned.

But, nonetheless, here’s how we generally hope our days go (and they are usually some version of this):

7:30 AM – Lorelei wakes up and runs into our bedroom, announcing that she must pee!!  I shove the pillow over my face and tell her to “GO!  Pee!  Then go back to bed!!”

8:00 AM – Start getting up and taking my shower.

8:30 AM – Get the girls up.  Change Aurora’s diaper and clean up any blowouts if there were any.  Lorelei makes her bed.

8:40 AM – Bananas and/or yogurt for breakfast all around.

9:00 AM – Girls get dressed for the day.  I try to get smushed banana off the floor/couches/walls/etc.

9:20 AM – Begin homeschool.  Generally, we start with the letters or numbers since those are the subjects that require a LOT of focused attention.  Aurora plays.

9:40 AM – Quick chore or two.  Lorelei helps.  Aurora tries to help.    (Laundry, sweep or mop, etc.)

10:00 AM – Tackle another homeschool subject – subject will vary depending on what’s on the agenda.  Aurora plays.

10:30 AM – Lunch begins!

11:00 AM – Aurora and Lorelei wipe the “table” (coffee) off really well.  Lorelei and Aurora pick up their toys and put away.  Aurora gets wiped down and cleaned up.  By this time, Lorelei usually has lots of energy, so I have her bounce on one of those balls with a handle.

11:15 AM – Learning with stickers while bouncing!!  Generally, by this time, Lorelei’s attention is dwindling so I have her use stickers (one of her favorite things) in whatever subject we’re learning.  Aurora uses stickers to stick all over her body.

NOON – Story time with the girls OR an educational video (online or dvd)

1:00 PM – Naptime!

2:00 PM – Ashley does chores/crafts/etc

3:30 PM – Girls wake up.  Formally tackle another subject.

4:00 PM – Play time and snack

5:00 PM – Girls pick up and put away their toys.

5:30 PM – Play together until daddy gets home.  Generally something more physical (exercises, running, playing outside when weather permits, stretching, bouncing, etc) to burn off extra energy.

6:00 PM – Daddy time

6:30 PM – Supper

7:00 – 9:00 PM – Family time and clean up and end of the day chores for everyone

9:00 -9:30 PM – Girls’ bedtime

Yes, she does have a princess dress on.  Yes, that’s relatively normal.  She usually has some sort of dress on.  Yes, the baby is mostly naked.  Yes, it’s how she prefers it (except she’d prefer no diaper.  That’s not okay with me.)

This picture captures a moment in our homeschooling.  We live in a place where a bonafide kitchen table isn’t really something we have room for, so the coffee table is all of that.  This little table (which was a gift from my father in law) has been very well used!  Here, Lorelei is using quarters and number magnets to practice simple addition.  Aurora is eating.  Aurora is always eating

It’s published twice a year, and I just got my copy.  I LOVE it!  It’s packed full of great info that I’ll be keeping in my own “idea book” (a 3 ring binder full of ideas to use for future subjects, etc.)

You can get yours HERE.

PS- Did I mention it was FREE?

The flag

Click here to see a larger map.

Photos of Korean Hanboks.

Knowledge Quest South Korea Unit Study

World Heritage Tour – Really Cool, gives 360 degree tours of temples, etc

Website about the Hahoe Mask

National Geographic Kids – South Korea

Kwintessential – we found this, it was TMI for Lorelei now, but great to come back to!

Hahoe Mask Museum