When my husband and I got married, we were just starting out career-wise. It had only been two years since he graduated from college (and three years since I dropped out).

We needed…everything. Within one year of our wedding, we bought a washer, dryer, car, dog…oh, and a house that needed to be completely renovated and furnished. And, just shy of our one year anniversary, I got pregnant. Hindsight, people. At the very least, get a home that’s move-in ready.

When I say that our house needed to be renovated, I’m not exaggerating when I say we had to gut it. With the exception of the some wood floors and some of the walls, everything has been replaced. Wiring, plumbing, windows and the roof (twice), just to name a few things. The fence, patio, new kitchen and three new bathrooms seem so minor.

To say the least, we didn’t plan well. Life went and threw a wrench into things when our daughter was born more than 10 weeks early. I quit my well-paying job and became the mom and caregiver of a fragile, 2 lb. 9 oz. baby on a heart monitor. But, hey! At least my cabinets were pretty!

Guess what? Preemie stuff is expensive, yo’. And, three years later, we had another one! With congenital heart disease! For roughly 13 years, I have been able to open my wallet and see dust settling where the dollar bills should be.

This means that nothing gets replaced. Ever. This means that I have been driving the same car for 14 years and sleeping on the same mattress that my sister used when she had my first nephew. He is getting ready to turn 26. I know, gross, right? What’s a girl to do?

Well, a girl can have really awesome friends, that’s what.

See, my friend Casey found out that I have been taking an Ambien and putting myself to bed on our couch for quite some time now. Thirty year old beds don’t have a lot of support and, apparently, my back wants that. My back is so needy.

When Casey heard about my predicament, she sent me a message and said, “I am going to make it my mission to get you a bed.”

Then she did.

She entered a photo contest and won me a new, Serta bed. I love her.

Not just any bed, either. It’s beautiful, and soft, and supportive and it has an adjustable base so that I can sleep sitting up and my husband can lie down, because that’s what old people do! As soon as it gets here, you will all have to suffer through pictures of me showing you this. I apologize in advance.

Recently, we had to break down and get a new washer. My children are also needy. They’re always wanting clean underwear, and stuff.

My husband and a friend lugged the old machine to the curb and within minutes a man had pulled up in a truck and asked for help loading it. Minutes! I had no time to prepare. I had to watch as my washer bounced down the street in the back of a pick-up as I thought of all of the poop, pee, vomit, Thanksgiving turkey drippings, baby food and every other thing that machine had helped me clean.

I have to admit, I shed a tear.

But, when the mattress goes away for good. I’m totally going to throw a slumber party.

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That’s right. This week’s commute better tip post comes with two more gas card giveaways AND a chance to win a commute kit provided by BP!

A few days ago, I had the honor of speaking to a group of Columbus Moms about making commuting more enjoyable with your kids in the car. I don’t drive anywhere for work and I don’t have far to take the kids to school, but my daughter plays golf, volleyball, basketball and softball and my son plays baseball and is involved with Scouts. I drive. A lot.

One thing I can’t do without, is my go-to bag. I take it with me everywhere and keep it in the car whenever possible. It is filled with essentials like bug spray, sunscreen, tissues, wet-wipes, hand sanitizer and snacks. During sports season, I keep a small first aid kit in it as well.

I can’t tell you how many short trips to a drug store we have avoided because I’m prepared for just about anything. And, the other moms know who to come to if they need something. I’m talking to you, Amy.

For long drives, don’t forget the electronics! And, if you have a child who gets motion sickness, I have found that books on tape are great at keeping them occupied without the need to take their eyes off of the road.

Sweatshirts keep young ones warm if mom and dad are cranking the air conditioning and they can double as pillows for sleepy kids.

When I’m driving around town, I keep a hot/cold bag or a cooler with frozen milk jugs inside, so that I can do my grocery shopping while I’m out and I don’t have to make a special trip. I don’t have to fill up my gas tank as often and I can avoid unnecessary wear and tear on my car.

So, which tip would you use most often?

1. Having a container filled with commuting essentials

2. Using electronics or books on tape for long drives

3. Putting frozen jugs of water in a cooler before you run errands so you don’t have to go out of your way to go to the grocery store

Just tell me which tip is your favorite and I will enter you in the drawing for one of  TWO $40 gift cards. AND, a lucky third place winner will get a commute essentials kit from BP. You can earn extra entries by tweeting about this giveaway, then leave your tweet link in a comment on this post. Contest ends Wednesday, August 24th at 5pm Eastern.

Three winners will be chosen at random. Make sure to leave a valid email address, so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck and happy commuting!

*UPDATE* Congratulations to the gas card winners, Lisa and Rachael and to the commute kit winner, Jennifer Marie! Stay tuned for more giveaways!

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I haven’t had much time to tell you about the BlogHer ’11 Conference, because my job is to read what everyone else is saying about the BlogHer ’11 Conference and, whoa Nellie, do people say a lot. At least 99% of the reactions have been positive, so I have that going for me.  It’s hard enough to read thousands of comments, but if they were negative, I would likely be reading them from the corner, in the fetal position while sucking my thumb.

Since I am swimming in a sea of post-conference reports and tweets, I know that I’m not going to get around to writing a glowing post about my wonderful weekend. Therefore, I have decided to use visuals to describe how stellar my trip was.

This is what I found on my bed in San Diego after a hard day of work at the conference, which was also the night before I would be speaking in front of thousands of people. Nervous poop much? Thank goodness the convention center was big enough that I had entire bathrooms to myself. I digress. Those are rose petals left by my roommates. And, see that pillow on the right? That was personalized for me by one of them too.

This is what I found on my unmade bed, when I returned to Ohio. This is my dog’s “baby”. It is covered in dirt, fur and hardened dog slobber.

And that, boys and girls, sums up my conference experience quite well.

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There is no better way to spend a sunny summer day than eating BBQ, drinking ice cold Coke and hanging out with good friends and family. To me, that’s what summer is all about.

Remember when I told you about the Coke Live Positively/America is Your Park Initiative and how we were going to have ourselves a picnic at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park? Well, we did. And, it was pretty perfect.

The goal of America Is Your Park is to encourage people to play, be active and help their favorite park win a recreation grant provided by Coca-Cola Live Positively. First place winner receives $100,000 and the title of America’s Favorite Park, second place wins $50,000 and third gets $25,000.

Dayton is only an hour from Columbus, so it’s not a bad drive…especially on a weekend morning. We arrived to find every picnic table available, ample room for the kids to run around and plenty of shade. We set up our chairs and blankets, set out the food and enjoyed our cold drinks.

The adults took in the fresh air and caught up while the kids had fun climbing trees and enjoying the outdoor space. Across the field, towering over a plaza, stood the Wright Brothers Memorial and just down a trail was an overlook where we could view the Huffman Prairie; the place where the vision of the Wright Brothers took shape, and ultimately, flight.

After lunch, we stood around the Memorial as two Park Rangers gave us a brief history on the Air Force Base on which the Aviation Heritage National Park sits. They also discussed the Wright Brothers and gave us an overview on the history of flight. Then they told us about a totally unexpected activity.

We were going to make paper airplanes.

The Rangers passed out paper, had us fold it, decorate it and then turn it into a tube, of sorts. It was like no other paper airplane I’ve ever seen. It flew straight up and when the kids (okay, and the adults) started competing with each other, the quiet park suddenly heard a lot of excited yelling!

The only thing that would have made our picnic better is if there would have been a swimming pool in which to throw ourselves, because it was H-O-T. Really hot.

But, those Park Rangers had another tool up their sleeve – The Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center. An air-conditioned Interpretive Center.  Ahhh.

The cool building houses a movie theater, where you can watch a short film on flight history, and interactive exhibits, including a flight simulator for the kids! Although most of them crashed, a couple of them completed the flight and got a special certificate. My 12 year old daughter was one of them.

And, tonight at dinner she said that she wanted to be a pilot when she grows up. I would like to thank the Wright Brothers, who made her dreams possible.

So, we will be voting for the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park as our favorite and hope you will join us in voting for your favorite park as well.

Voting details:

·         Everyone can vote for their favorite park to win the title of “America’s Favorite Park” by visiting LivePositively.com.

·         Voting runs until September 6, 2011

·         There are other ways to vote for your favorite park, including uploading photos of the park to LivePositively.com/americasparks and checking in on Facebook Places when you go to your park. More information about these methods on LivePositively.com/americasparks.

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