The Kavanaugh Report

Ok, so this is going to be the 250,000 post you've read about the end of  Google Reader. Believe me, I'm as sick of reading these post as you are, but I would be a terrible blogger I don't at least mention it.  If for some reason you live on the moon or only follow my blog, or something crazy, and haven't heard, as of July 1 Google Reader is going away. That's in 2.5 days. Yes, I've waited to the absolute last minute to write about it cause I really really hoped it wasn't actually going to happen.  I've been hoping Google was going to make another announcement saying "Oops, our bad. We're keeping Reader around because its easy, free and ugh, what a pain to switch." But, no such announcement has been made so I can only begrudgingly urge you to follow me {and all of your favorite blogs} using another feed reader. Bottom line, if you want to continue getting updates about Montessori tot school, or my pregnancy, or all the other fun st

While it's definitely not required for Montessori at home, having themed toddler trays can be fun from time to time. Often these trays can be an engaging way for a toddler to learn about a specific holiday while also working on fine motor or language skills. 

I'm numb. Painfully numb. On Tuesday, Morgan and I were shocked to find out that I am pregnant. You may remember that we were on a break from the meds this cycle because of the Clomid cysts . Well, it happened anyway. So we went to the RE for blood work since my history requires early monitoring. We got our results later that day...Betas came back at 77.  In a healthy pregnancy, that number should double roughly every 48 hours. So I want back for a repeat test today. The results were not positive.  My betas today were at 129. They hadn't doubled and weren't even that close. I also started spotting a tiny bit late this morning.  So, we are facing our fourth miscarriage. The RE did say that some babies are just slow growing and sometimes take closer to 72 hours to double. But all things considered he wasn't particularly optimistic. We will repeat the blood work Monday which will hopefully give us a better idea about what's going on.  I don'

Once we moved tot school into our new summer classroom , Henry couldn't get enough of tot school. This week we continued with the letter M so we used the same letter m tot school trays that we used last week. Henry still loved these, particularly the mail tray.  But we did a bunch of other activities this week too: A Letter M maze: Henry could move the little glass bead from the capital M to the lowercase m. He didn't quite understand the "maze" but he did have fun moving the bead around.  Letter M magnet board Dry erase sheet connecting Muno {from Yo Gabba Gabba} and monkeys. This was a big hit this week, and it was the first time Henry traced a line all by himself.  Letter M craft. Colored with markers and M stickers. A few other letters just HAD to join in too. Letter M breakfast: Learning about the Moon: And I just love this picture, I think it is the perfect example of why we choose to use Montessori

About half way through this past week, I asked Henry if he wanted to go to tot school and he fell into a heaping tantrum on the floor. But, he wasn't crying about not wanting to go to tot school, he was upset about having to go to the basement.  It's finally summer here in Minnesota and the sunshine and warmth feels so good after months of snow and cold. And, I've noticed Henry really isn't even playing in our basement playroom as much -- he prefers the upstairs sunroom. So, at that moment, it became clear -- I needed to move tot school. No one, including me, wanted to spend a sunny afternoon in the dark basement. Since Henry moved to his Montessori toddler room , the old nursery has been sitting unused with the exception of his changing table/dresser which we still use for diaper changes. The room has a beautiful new Ikea expedit shelf I picked up at Goodwill for $10 and the other expedit shelf we had when it was Henry's room.  The plan all along

So, not going to lie, I'm super nervous about how I'm going to look at Blogher. I'm probably the least fashionable person ever and I have a feeling yoga pants, a t-shirt, and messy ponytail probably aren't going to cut it. But, ugh, that's me. I do hope to go buy a few things before I leave, but still I can't guarantee it's going to be cute.  On to the questions, feel free to judge me for the crap I walk around in on a daily basis. - Show us one pair of comfortable shoes you'll be sure to bring. These beat up old flats from Target are my daily staple. They are starting to show their age, but I can walk for miles in these things. - Show us one current item in your wardrobe you'll be packing. This is the newest shirt I own. I got it for like $6 on the Target clearance rack. I think its pretty cute? - Show us one accessory you already own that you'll be bringing to the conference. Hair ties are totally an acc

{Morgan shares his thoughts on infertility and pregnancy loss and our situation} I’ve been thinking lately. I wanted to give my thoughts regarding the recent and well documented issues regarding  infertility and pregnancy loss. Nicole, to my surprise, has been very forthright and open with what we have been  going through . At first, I was very uncomfortable with this. But then, over time, I realized it helps her cope and  process. And in fact, her posts have also helped countless women that have found her posts, finding support and  information.  Nobody expects to have to deal with pregnancy loss and infertility . In fact, after having a healthy  and happy (well, not so happy a lot of the time, also well documented) baby Henry, I never expected to have to deal  with this. My goal (only half jokingly) has always been that I wanted to have “a baseball team” of kids (i.e. 9 kids). I just figured we’d start with one and it wouldn't be an issue to just keep going until we deci

There are so many little things going on lately and they all seem to be taking up just enough of my time to make things crazy. I hope regular life slows down some so we can get back to checking things of my bucket list .  ~Almost three weeks ago, my work switched to a completely new system which has thrown a loop into my normal schedule. I used to write during the week, and edit on the weekends. Now it's reversed -- I edit during the week and write on the weekend. Along with the schedule change, I've also just about doubled my writing work load {to around 30 articles a week}, so that's been interesting. But, also kind of nice. I have more non-working week nights off and it's giving Morgan and I more couple time. ~I've been doing a little 30 days of toddler fashion challenge on Instagram . There are no rules, I totally made it up. I just show something that Henry has been wearing that day. It's been really fun, and I'm super enjoying using the chalkbo

Tot school is back after an extended break. The break wasn't really intentional, part of it we were on vacation, part of it we were just busy doing summertime stuff. I was kind of feeling guilty about how little time we've spend doing {planned} tot school activities , but I've decided to cut myself some slack in the summer. While last year we were able to continue tot school on a weekly basis over the summer, this year Henry is older, busier, and more interested in being out-and-about. So, I've decided if a letter takes two weeks this summer -- that's alright.  So, without further ado -- Letter M week, part 1. Prior to this week, Henry could identify both the capital and lowercase M.  On the first tray was all about mail. It included crayons, paper, stamps, crayons, envelops, and a small metal mailbox. This way Henry could "write" a letter to friends and family and send them off. He had so much fun with this tray! While he spent a lot of time pu