The Daily Reviewer | Laura's Mommy Journal

10 years ago, a nerd story, the end

Mar 14, 2010 1:45am

Part one here and part two here.Ten years ago today, Jon Case walked into my office to meet me. Finally I would meet the "stunningly brilliant, capable, kind" Jon.My first thought was that he was SO TALL (he's 6'4"). He was dressed in all black with a distressed leather jacket...

A sign that Jon has been traveling too much

Mar 12, 2010 4:08am

Thursday morning I hit the Starbucks drive-through as a single parenting morning treat.I live large like that!We were rolling with our windows down, enjoying the springtime air. After I ordered my caramel macchiato (and silently mourned the inability to order the seasonal caramel brulee latte), the barista asked if I...

My week so far

Mar 11, 2010 4:42am

Things I Did Not Want To Do* Plunge the mysteriously clogged downstairs toilet* Wash day care sheets that mysteriously got covered in paint* Clean up a sharted-in pottyThings I Pretended Not To See* Alex sharting into the little potty* Leftover taco casserole in the fridge that was made a long...

This is going to be a hard post to write without crying

Mar 10, 2010 5:50am

My grandma Pat loved to tell stories. One of her favorite stories to share with me was how we used to play tea party in the hull of my grandpa's sailboat when I was 3 (he built a 41 ft sailboat from scratch in the backyard). I've lost count of...

10 years ago, a nerd story, part two

Mar 9, 2010 4:23am

Part one here.10 years ago today, I was sitting in my Chicago corporate apartment. I can't describe it any other way than when I thought about moving to Chicago, it felt right to me. Despite the fact I hate cold weather. Despite the fact that I knew NO ONE. Within...

Finding friends who "get" you

Mar 8, 2010 4:19am

Having moved to San Francisco, Chicago, and now Raleigh, I've found one of the hardest parts of moving is finding a good circle of friends. Becoming part of a community takes time and energy. Working from home, having twins, and having a traveling husband, I realized long ago I need...

You guys are effing awesome

Mar 5, 2010 7:07am

Whenever I get the crazy look when I tell people I keep a mommy blog, I'm going to tell people about yesterday's post when I try to convince them how awesome blogging is. Thank you all, I can't tell you how much it means to me that I am not...

Another fine single parenting moment

Mar 4, 2010 4:02am

This week is a little insanely hectic for me. Jon's gone three nights, I have a new book group, I've got a 13 mile training run for a half marathon in three weeks, our neighborhood is having a fake snow event, we're super excited about church Sunday as the topic...

Nurtureshock needs some Natureshock

Mar 3, 2010 5:11am

I've finally been reading Nurtureshock and I would highly recommend this book to every parent. It looks at current research to debunk some of the common parenting misconceptions. The book is divided into nine chapters, each covering a different research topic. Some of the information has blown me away, such...

The most amazing post ever of all time

Mar 2, 2010 6:00am

Dear Diary,Last night we went out to eat as a family at a sit-down restaurant. The boys used inside voices the entire time. They were extremely polite and used table manners. They ate a lot of food and delightfully engaged in the patrons near us. They were so good that...

What I did with my weekend, by LauraC

Mar 1, 2010 4:47am

A friend lent me his super deluxe camera lens (17-55 2.8) and I reserved a deluxe camera lens (50 1.4) to rent for comparison. When I got to the camera shop, they only had the 50 1.2, which is much MUCH pricier. I decided to go ahead and rent it...

A post with two topics

Feb 26, 2010 4:30am

I really want to write a post about how I'm looking at camera lenses, driving Jon crazy with indecision.And I really want to write a post about how Jon hates this picture but I think it's so fun.Instead I will tell you about how Nate and Alex found their first...

Life in a boy house, part 6734

Feb 25, 2010 5:31am

Jon to Laura: "The boys were playing tug of war with my pajama pants and ripped them."...

A decision on allowance

Feb 24, 2010 6:20am

Thanks for the comments last week on thoughts on my post about allowance. After many discussions (over months), we have decided to not make allowance chore based. Our main factor in making this decision was we want allowance to be a teaching tool for the boys to learn to handle...

Shorties

Feb 23, 2010 6:22am

Nate and Alex are short. Many many times, people tell me I am crazy and they are normal size. I know they are short. They are regularly in the 25th percentile for height at their checkups. We see them every day in a classroom filled with kids their age and...

The other twin moms will appreciate this

Feb 22, 2010 5:58am

Anyone who blogs long-term knows that blogs are a slightly modified version of the truth. Over time I've developed a thick blogskin about sharing the tough times, but I keep the most difficult times off this public space. When I really need to vent, I call my friends. For the...

Dinosaur Public Service Announcement

Feb 19, 2010 6:29am

Our local library has a 7PM family story time and I have been wanting to go forever but my boys have an early bedtime. Now that the boys are not tired until 8:30-9 because of the day care napping, we thought this would be a perfect time to check it...

Another edition of Lil Jon and Lil Laura

Feb 18, 2010 6:32am

I was talking with some friends last night about the Magic 8 Ball. When the boys were on the inside, I spent a lot of time meditating on what they would be like and we called the process Magic 8 Ball. Looking back at old posts, I was correct on...

I think he's ready for an allowance

Feb 17, 2010 5:00am

I was recently reading a book on teaching kids about money. They suggest starting an allowance when children understand the concept of money, what it is used for, and where it comes from. Jon and I have been discussing whether we want to make allowance chore based or not and...

10 years ago, a nerd story, part one

Feb 16, 2010 4:32am

Ten years ago this week I was sitting on a plane for my first ever visit to Chicago.I was a technical lead for a software consulting company that built custom large-scale applications. My official title was Guru. Yes, that is the most embarrassing work title I've ever held, but it...

The mind of a 3 year old

Feb 15, 2010 5:50am

I am endlessly fascinated with how the three year old mind works. Every day that Nate naps at day care, after bedtime he silently comes out of his room and does something strange in the house. Jon and I are keeping track of the events and by far, the strangest...

Snow!

Feb 13, 2010 8:11am

Our weekend is going to consist of a lot of time in our backyard:Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com...

Valentine's Day sweetness

Feb 12, 2010 5:53am

The budding photographer in me loves photos taken in great light with great exposure and great composition that evoke some type of emotion.The mother in me will always love snapshots that capture moments like this, when the boys fell asleep on vacation together watching Curious George:Hope you have a weekend...

Scene from life in an all-boy house

Feb 11, 2010 4:22am

Scene opens at the kitchen table. Nate produces a loud, long fart and because of the plastic booster seat the noise is amplified considerably.Long pause.Nate: "P-U! That stinks!"Laura: "What do you say?"Nate: "P-U! That is stinky!"Another long pause.Alex: "P-U! That stinks, you smelly stinky butt!"Both boys erupt in giggles....

Sometimes the blog posts write themselves

Feb 10, 2010 3:46am

With Jon in Chicago, I got to visit day care three times yesterday.1. drop off2. pick up3. apply TLC and boo boo buddy since Alex wouldn't let them ice his eye after he clunked heads with another kidThe flash washes it out. It definitely looks worse in person.(He's fine! He...