The Kavanaugh Report

This past weekend, Morgan and I started off summer the right way with a family vacation to Chicago. It's becoming a tradition for us, and we are already looking forward to going back next year.
Last year when we went, we broke things up into a bunch of smaller trips. This year, we just straight there and back -- and Henry did great. He was a total rock star in the car and was really happy for the most part on the trip. 
We did try traveling at night down there which ended up being a huge fail. Henry slept for two hours {7:00-9:00 p.m.} but then was awake, but happy, until we arrived at our hotel at 12:30 a.m. The next day, he was so tired and cranky but slept in the stroller so we were still able to enjoy most the day. 
Here's what we did in Chicago: 
Day 1: Pack up and drive to Chicago
Day 2:  Took the train into the city, Shed Aquarium, John Hancock Building and hanging with my bestie CJ






Day 3: Kohls Children's Museum, swimming at the hotel with some "Internet"…

I get a lot of questions about tot school and how and why I do things the way I do. Before I start to answer some of the tot school frequently asked questions, I just need to say -- I don't have all the right answers. I've been doing this for about a year, and yes, I've learned a lot about what works for my child. That may not be the answer for yours so don't be afraid of trying something, or doing something that works for you!


1. How do I start tot school in my home?
My favorite advice -- just start! Don't over think, everything doesn't have to be perfect and you don't have to do everything at once. Pick an activity to do and start there, if your child is having fun, grow from there. Way back when Henry was 13-months-old, I started one afternoon with two bowls, some balls, and a kitchen scoop -- Henry had so much fun that we just never stopped. Everyone has a beginning and it's fine to keep it simple. 
2. Is my child too young?
This is a hard one for me…

I showed a little preview of this project on Instagram but I wanted to give a full explanation of this awesome wall feature. Best news, these were really easy to make.



I made these for Henry's new Montessori inspired big-boy room. The room itself is not quite done yet, but it's getting there. 
You'll Need: 
Craft Wood -- I found this at Michaels in the clearance bin for $0.60 for four pieces.  5x7" photos -- I used these clip art robots that I bought on Etsy, but I guess you could use any image. I had them printed to size at Target.   Mod Podge -- I used original matte, but I've since learned that there is one specifically for photos, which may  be a little easier to use.  3M Photo Hanging Strips -- Cut into small squares Exacto Knife 
To Make:
Cut the photo completely away from the background. You should just be left with the robot.




Then, place the robot on to the craft wood to determine how many pieces you'll need. Mine used either 3 or 4 pieces -- when pus…

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 H…

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&#…

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 m…