2013 Summer Bucket List

With the unofficial start to summer rapidly coming up, I decided to create a summer bucket list! Things I want to do this summer: 

1. Have a backyard picnic

2. Go to the beach

3. Make real lemonade 

4. Make homemade Popsicles 

5. Have a picnic in a park

6. Eat a child-free meal at a rooftop restaurant

7. Visit the Minnesota Zoo

8. Watch fireworks 

9. Have a staycation weekday 

10. Plant some flowers and keep them alive

11. Twins game -- childfree! 

12. Family adventure on the bus or train

13. Visit at least 5 new playgrounds 

14. Take a trip to the North Shore 

15. Twins Game with Henry

16. Family trip to Chicago

17. BBQ with our neighbors

18. Finish at least 2 projects in the backyard

19. Read a book 

20. Take Henry to a splash pad

21. Make s'mores 

22. Get Henry potty trained

23. Visit the Minneapolis sculpture gardens 

24.  Go antiquing 

25. Try to get a little tan

26. Easy backyard painting

27. Go to the farmer's market -- more than once

28. Share a root-beer float with Hen

29. Go somewhere to pick fresh fruit

30. Visit a petting zoo

31. Enjoy a day at the Minnesota State Fair

32. Play in the rain

33. Eat at Sea Salt and take a walk around the falls 

34. Redesign the blog

35. Go to at least 2 street festivals

36. Take the dogs on an outing 

37. Hunt for deals at garage sales

I think this sounds like a pretty amazing list and I'm going to try to keep you all updated with all the fun we are having! Nothing beats the summer. 

What's on your bucket list this summer? Any of my ideas on yours?

I need Business Cards -- Minted.com to the Rescue

63 days. 63 days! 63 days until I leave for Blogher13! 63! I feel like I have a hundred-and-a-half things I want to get done before I leave. One major thing on my list is getting nice business cards. While Blogher is partially about hanging out with my blogger friends and learning new tricks about the business, it is also  about networking and making connections with other bloggers and businesses so I can bring you guys the best content available. 

In order to make those connections, I have to have sweet business cards so people remember who I am. Here's where Minted.com comes in! Minted.com's business card selection is amazing. I seriously could spend hours looking at all the choices. They do an incredible job at combining chic designs, color choices and options with really affordable prices.

Another one of my favorite features -- there is so much customization allowed. From fonts, to colors, sizes and arrangements, Minted.com lets you pick them all.

For me, personally, I'm obsessed with several of the designs:

Ikat Design -- I love the pattern on the back and the simplicity of the front. I think its the perfect combination. And the yellow! LOVE.

Colorful Playtime -- First thing, its square!!! I love that its unique shape helps it stand out. I also cannot get over the colors. They work so well together and would coordinate with so many design styles.

Vintage Hollywood Ticket -- I love the info-graphics on this card.While the appointment section isn't really something I need, it could be perfect for so many businesses, or even play dates! 

Camera Card -- Vertical!! I've been craving a vertical card for a few months since I pinned one. This one makes me want to be a photographer, just to have this awesome card! 

Don't like any of the pre-made designs? {Impossible -- but we'll pretend} Well, Minted.com allows you to up load your own image! So the card can be exactly what you need it to be! 

So, if you were me, what style would you choose? Check out Minted.com's business cards and get back to me...I need all the help I can get! 

*I was compensated for this post by Minted.com, however all opinions are my own.*

Tot School -- Letter L

Last week, we took a week off of tot school because Henry just wanted to be outside enjoying the newly warm weather -- and quite frankly, so did I! But this week, we were back in action learning about the letter L. It was a fun week! Prior to starting Henry could identify and say L but he struggled with the lower case l. 

On the first tray was a set of Montessori 3-part L word cards that I made. I found this awesome tray at Goodwill and it was perfect for organizing the tray. Henry enjoyed sorting the cards much more than he wanted to match them. He must be coming out of his sensitive period for matching, because a few weeks ago he would have loved this, now he largely ignored the tray. 

The second tray was by far Henry's favorite of the week. I painted 10 rocks to look like ladybugs. Each ladybug had a different number of spots on it from 1 to 10. Then, to make the activity self-correcting, I wrote the number of spots each ladybug had on the bottom of the rock. Finally, I made matching laminated cards that contained the numbers 1 to 10 and the corresponding number of black dots. 

Henry is obsessed with rocks and numbers right now so this activity was perfect. He sat and matched the ladybugs to the cards for up to an hour at a time. Over and over. Most of the time he looked at the written number, but he got the job done. And, he was so darn proud when he got them right!

The final tray was a lacing activity. I made this button snake and the felt shapes way back for the color blue tot school week. I can see now that at the time I first introduced it, Henry was WAY to young. Even now he struggled, mostly from lack of interest. Henry seems to have no desire to learn any self-care, which extended to learning the buttons. He did enjoy taking the felt off if I put the felt on. 

We also had a letter L sensory bin. After a couple weeks of lame uninteresting bins, the letter L finally had some good options. Henry loved playing with the lions, the lizards, and the fabric leaves. 

Other things we did this week included: These were a little more sparse than usual, just because Henry didn't want to come inside! I'm going to have to start planning more outdoor activities. 

Letter L dry erase

Letter L Magnet Board

Spring

When we first toured our house in late August of last year, we knew the yard was going to need major work. Nothing urgent, but nothing awesome either. By the time we moved in late October, it was obviously too late to start thinking about everything that needed to be done.

Then, winter happened. Snow, snow, cold, snow, snow, cold. And, then the worst spring I can remember.

So, when the weather finally got warm, projects have started to pop up. But, motivation has been hard to find. After 6.5 long months of waiting, I'm pretty content just to sit down and enjoy the yard as it is.

And, you know what, so is Henry. The gardening can wait.

Yes, I had to bribe him with my phone to look at the camera. It was worth it.

Diagnosis vs. Treatment

Let's say you walk into the doctor's office because your leg hurts. It's hurt for weeks and nothing makes it feel better. So, what does the doctor do? X-ray, tests, other doctory stuff. Basically, the doctor is going to try to figure out what's going on and how to fix it. Well, the doctor is a human and has to eat -- so he charges  you and your insurance for the visit.

This portion of your visit is for "diagnosis." You pay the doctor to figure out what's wrong. But, what if that was it? What if diagnosis was all your doctor could do for you? 

Instead, you expect your doctor to help you fix the problem. Right? How do we stop the pain and fix the leg? This is treatment. And, again, since the doctor is working, he expects to bill you, and your insurance, for fixing the problem. You in turn expect your insurance to contribute -- isn't that what it's there for, helping you solve your medical problems? 

Now replace "leg hurts" with "can't get/stay pregnant." Then, the rules all change. 

This is one of the most unfair parts about infertility. Most insurance covers diagnosis but not treatment. As if the desire to have a baby can be likened to having a boob job, or butt implants or whatever crazy cosmetic surgery Hollywood says you should be having. It's a choice, not a necessity  So, a doctor can say "yes, you have a problem, yes I can help you try and fix it" but only for your insurance to say "we're not paying for that, you don't need a baby." 

So, you're stuck. Fertility treatments or your mortgage. Another baby or credit card debt. No savings account or an IUI. 

This situation is my life right now. It just adds to the misery of my reproductive struggles. As if its not unfair enough to have to deal with recurrent miscarriage, I have to make a choice between financial security and fixing the problem. 

I don't know how to make that decision. Tough luck, right?