The Kavanaugh Report

This post is one of those that I hate to write. I've sat here staring at this screen for the last 10 minutes. Just hoping that maybe the time hasn't really come. But it has.
Minnie, the first dog I ever truly loved, died over night. She was 14 years old, so it wasn't unexpected. But still very hard. 


We got Minnie as a puppy. She was essentially a bribe -- if I stayed in Girl Scouts in 8th grade then we could get a dog. I agreed. When we went to get a puppy at the breeders, Minnie was the first dog I picked up. She promptly peed all over me, and I was in love. 

Minnie was the best dog. Best puppy. Best everything. She was smart, kind, and listened so well. She loved chasing balls and shredding all types of paper. And she had a great nose. She could smell out a piece of food, or a ball behind furniture better than any dog I've ever seen. Even in the end, when she was blind, she would recognize me from my smell. 
I believe I'll see Minnie again and that she is in a …

Anyone else ever have those Sunday nights where you have all this stuff you need/want to do but instead you zone out and watch crappy reality TV?


...I hope it's not just me...

Well guess what I did tonight, instead of blogging.



But hey, it felt great.



Accept some random iPad pictures of Henry instead of a coherent post?


::sidenote:: Let's discuss Hardcore Pawn. ::sidenote over::

This post doesn't really deserve a vote...but in case you feel generous, click away!

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I made a mistake. Like a big one. I did something I never, ever, ever do.

Well, lets start at the beginning. I went on mini-vacation, to my parents, just me and Henry. We were having an awesome time. Just hanging out..with no plans, holiday, or obligations.


My Mom and I decided to head over to my Dad's office to show off Henry. We were trying to squeeze the visit between Henry's lunch and nap.


We were kinda rushed. As I was putting Henry in the car, my hands were full, so I casually placed my camera and Henry's sippy cup on the roof of my car. I put Henry in his car seat. We drove off.



By the time we took the first turn, we heard the sippy cup go flying. We figured, eh. It was just the sippy. No biggie. It wasn't until we were across town I realized I left my camera up there too.



We rushed back. But it was gone. Stolen, lost, whatever. No evidence of it anywhere.

Bye Camera. I'll miss you.


I was/am devastated. We lost some pictures, but thankfully most of the good …

I'm linking up with Growing up Geeky again this week for Toddle Along Tuesday. This week's topic is what's in your diaper bag. 
I have this bag by Chicco. I like it, but its also manly enough that Morgan will still carry it around. But now seeing all the cute bags everyone else is linking up, I kinda wish mine was cuter.


Diapers: Pampers Cruisers size 3 diapers, Huggies wipes, the bag's mat, and disposable scented bags for dirty diapers.


Snacks: A sippy of water, a container of puffs, and a box of raisins.

Henry's Stuff: An extra set of clothes, mittens, motion sickness medication and syringes, an extra outlet cover, disposable placemats (a total lifesaver), a bunch of small toys.



My Stuff: Wallet, pen, snack, and extra phone battery. 


And thanks to this post, my diaper bag no longer contains this:


What's in your diaper bag?




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Henry is 13 Months Old.
This week's color was yellow. Henry kept just calling everything yellow "banana" at first. It was pretty cute, but by the end of the week I think he finally started to understand the difference.  The activity wall this week was the same as the red week. We worked on identifying eyes with the baby pictures. By the end of the week, he was able to point to the eyes most of the time. On the felt board, there was a banana shape, and some other yellow shapes.

The tot trays this week were a bit hit. The first was the yellow sensory bin. It included little yellow stretchy frogs and lizards (Target dollar spot), balls, stacking cups, pipe cleaners, yellow foam shapes, blocks, and a couple of cars. The second tray was a picture of a banana and a picture of Big Bird for Henry to color. The banana was dry erase which Henry really enjoyed. 

The third tray was a Velcro block inspired by the one made at one of my favorite blogs, Memorizing the Moments. The bloc…

Sometimes you come across these products that you love, but really really hope you never need to use. Your smoke alarm...that backup outfit in your diaper bag...Stick to Kids customized temporary tattoos...
Henry is both active and completely fearless. A deadly combination in a toddler. Obviously, if I ever turned my head for even a minute, God forbid, Henry could be gone. It wouldn't take long. He literally doesn't look back once he is on his own. Ever. And its only going to get worse once he no longer uses a stroller.

This is where Stick to Kids comes in! Stick to Kids make completely customized temporary tattoos for parents with young children. These small temporary tattoos are customized with information about the child, and with the parent's contact information. This way even children who are too young to communicate with others, can still help to find their parents if they get separated.

I have to say, I am in love with these tattoos. For one, look at how cute they …

I have a freakishly good memory. Tiny details stick with me.

My first memory was somewhere around 3 years old. Its not really a whole scene. Just tiny bits, details. I was in our family's apartment in Chicago. The TV was in the corner of the living room. It was high in the corner of the room -- but I'm not really sure if it was high, or if I was just little. There is a step up from the living room to the kitchen, and an aquarium on a counter in between both rooms. On the the other side of the room are a few plants and two, maybe three, bird cages. On the TV, clear as day, is Peter Jennings reading the nightly news.

I don't know why this is my first memory. Nothing is happening. No one is with me.

I'm recalling this story because Henry just made his first memory. Or at least for the first time, he expressed a memory. We were at yoga together. He fell and bumped his head on the wood floor. It wasn't even a bad bump -- believe me the kid has fallen pretty hard on th…

Henry is 13 months old.
Since we were all sick last week, tot school was put on the back-burner. We were going to work on the color yellow. Instead, we are doing yellow this week - post next week.
But, look how excited Henry was to go back to tot school on Monday! 

This is all the motivation I need to plan and organize tot school each week! Seeing this reaction, makes the whole thing worth it. How amazing to instill this love of learning so early in life!

Check out what other tot school families are up to over at 1+1+1=1!





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Monday, April 16, 2012. 
6:43 a.m.: Henry gets up for the day. Morgan gets him and brings him to me in bed. We nurse for 25 minutes.
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.: Once Henry is done nursing, Morgan takes him and changes his diaper. Then he is off to his exersaucer to eat a few puffs and watch TV. I quick get up, and make myself some breakfast. I eat while he is contained.
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.: I  feed Henry breakfast. Really, I spend most of the time trying to keep the dogs out of the kitchen. Henry goes down for a nap between 90-120 minutes of his wake up time. These days its about 50/50 whether he will actually nap at this time anymore. Either way, he gets a one hour rest in his crib. 8:43 a.m.: Nurse Hen; 8:50 a.m.: Lay Henry down and leave room9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.: Henry spends the entire hour in his crib wide awake. I get to work around the house. Our laundry situation is totally out of control after a week of sickness. I gather and start a couple loads, while chatting on the phone with…