Ah yes, the adventure begins. We’ll be heading to Oklahoma for the better part of this month as a working trip for Aaron – but because of the length of it we’ll be tagging along and seeing a new part of this country and doing some rouge homeschooling as we go.

Problem: I just found out where we’ll be staying for that 2+ weeks. In a hotel. This was an option, of course, but it was possible we might stay in a house or campus housing as well …

It’ll be great, an adventure. But I need to get a few things in order before we go now. There’s a small stovetop but no oven so I think we’ll be eating most of our meals out of a crock pot. No problem! I can do this, it’ll be fun!

{Who can picture me talking this up to myself here??}

The last time we tagged along with Aaron for a work trip was to Ann Arbor for all of ONE night and it didn’t go so well. We didn’t have any kind of kitchenette or food along with us and only one car. The hotel did have a pool which was it’s saving grace but it was stressful and I did not measure my expectations very well.

This time will be better. Yes it will.

Here’s what I’m thinking:

I’ll pick up a smaller version of a crock pot (we have a HUGE one that I don’t plan on packing for two weeks, zero counter space in a hotel, people.) and test all kinds of recipes in it. Lasagna? I’ve heard you can do it. Chili, soups, mexican food – we’ll get creative and it’ll be portioned just right for four. No leftovers.

There is a microwave. Ugh. Hi, if you’re new here I’d like to introduce you to my kitchen – we don’t own a microwave and when we were building the house we just sold (but never moved into) we specified that we did NOT want a microwave or a place to hang it in the kitchen. Pretty sure I’ve never had someone look at me like that ever before.

(Side note, we did end up ordering all the extra cabinets and appliances because the credit given was less than the cost of the appliances so we were either going to sell them after we moved in, or use the cabinets elsewhere – but also we knew that selling was a possibility and that most other families probably wanted a microwave and upper cabinets in their kitchen … )

I’m guessing the microwave is the hotels version of a stove – but there is a cook top. We’ll make it work! It’ll be fun!

Not only do I have to get all of that in order, I’m planning to get a tub of “school” together as well as bring a tub of “crafts and non-hotel-cable-tv-coma” things to do. Suggestions?

Here’s my resources as of now:

ABC and 123 Learning
Travel OK

I’ll add to this list as I go and would LOVE some referrals for local bloggers in the Tulsa/surrounding areas. Maybe I can glean some good local information before we even set out on the trip! Leave a comment with a link and please introduce yourself if you’re a local 🙂