The one which demonstrates the downside of having children who do not fear water

These boys? Absolutely no fear of the big big waves. Or undertow. It's a little frightening for this mama bear who grew up with the gentle waves of the Gulf of Mexico.

I'm being brave, letting them run out as far as they want and get CREAMED by waves.

But believe me, I was right there for a reason.

Nothing to see here, please move along

We're here for the week, having an amazing time.

Mondo! Mondo! Mondo!

How much have I written about Mondo Beyondo here?

If I could pick one thing that has motivated me more than anything else this year and got me on the right path in life, it is Mondo. For me it came at the right time. I was just coming off a terrible winter after my skin cancer scare and my grandfather passing away. Facing my own mortality, I realized life is short and I was not getting as much out of life as I wanted but I didn't know the next steps to take.

Then I followed along with Amiee's Mondo blog as she experienced Mondo. I saw the changes she experienced and was inspired. Then bam, someone mentioned Mondo on twitter and I signed up right then. And I'm so glad I did because it has literally changed my life.

I have done some amazing things since Mondo. Went part-time to provide balance to my family. Got serious about my photography hobby. Ran a couple of half marathons. Tried an adult swim class. Took a month-long break from TV. Ate duck tongue. Scheduled boudoir photos. Scheduled not one, but two, Warrior Dashes.

I met up with a fellow Mondoer Natalie in Chicago to drink wine, eat cheese, and talk dreams. I'm fairly introverted but have a great sense for people's souls in the way they write. I generally feel awkward meeting people for the first time, but we just naturally fell into conversation (picture stolen from Natalie's blog!) and I came away wanting to yell, "KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE SISTER!"


But never has it been more apparent how much Mondo has done for me than last week. I was mentally debating signing up for an online workshop at Clickin Moms as my photography composition class winds down. I asked Jon what he thought and he said, "Go for it. This is the happiest I've seen you in a long time."

And that my friends, is what Mondo gave me. A renewed sense of me. The only way I know how to describe it is to say I feel ALIVE. For the first time in my life, I have the courage to pursue the dreams that I used to write off as impractical, unachievable, or plain crazy.

So what are you waiting for? The next Mondo class starts Monday. Click the button on my sidebar to sign up and a little something goes to help a fellow dreamer achieve their dreams.

Keeping it real on the photography front

On my recent backlighting post, I mentioned it is very hard to find wide open fields in this part of NC that don't have the sun blocked by trees. After taking those pictures, I realized I've never focused on what we do have - tons and tons of trees with plenty of open shade.

Last night I packed a picnic for me and the boys and took them to our local park a mile from our house. This park leads to the greenways where I do the majority of my running. My homework assignment was to work on photos demonstrating a particular aspect of composition and I chose scale. While I do not love this photo, it demonstrates how big the trees are here. Alex looks teeny tiny!




I also had some grand ideas on letting the kids walk in front of me while I took pictures from behind them. And this, my friends, is where I will keep it real. They cried and screamed! They were afraid I was going to leave them. I got one screaming picture before I had to put the camera down and walk with them.



After our picnic, I had flash of brilliance and asked the boys what pictures they wanted me to take to better have them cooperate. Nate said he want to lay with Alex under the blanket and peek out their heads. Here's how that idea worked:



Alex was acting completely crazy, so Nate started yelling at him, "Lay down Alex!" Alex did not comply.



Finally I said I would give them jelly beans if I could take the blanket away. And if they let me take four more pictures, I would take them out for ice cream. I forgot to include the condition of smiling. But I still consider this a keeper because it truly reflects their interest in being photographed right now.



As I've been posting my pictures, I get a lot of comments that my camera takes great photos. I hope this post shows a little bit about how much work goes into things behind the scenes on getting just one shot! And when photographing kids, I have TONS of throwaway photos. I am a deleting fool.

I kept my promise and we went out for ice cream afterward. Picnic + photos + ice cream + Jon coming home later that night = Laura's sanity has returned!

The mystery of Alex's finger

Alex and Nate are really into Wipeout (and Top Chef) this summer. I can not tell you how excited I am to watch MY shows with the boys. Anyhoo they like to go to parks and pretend it is the wipeout zone, where they have to race each other through each obstacle. Jon and I like the wipeout game because it makes them run and run and run while Jon and I sit and sit and sit. When they stop running we yell, "You forgot that wipeout zone!" and they start running again.

SHEER GENIUS.

Two weeks ago we went to Kids Towne and the boys did this (iphone picture) as part of the wipeout zone:




You probably didn't notice Alex's feet. They were jumping off the ledge, grabbing onto the rings, and swinging like monkeys. Alex was obsessed with it, did it over and over and over until he got blisters on his hands.

Note to you: THE FASTEST way to crazy is to try to explain blisters to a four year old.

Note to me: They were so good at this and they are so short that I briefly entertained the idea of them being gold and silver winning twin Olympic gymnasts. But then I would cry because one would come in second. So, instead I decided one should be a gymnast and one should be a jockey.

Back to my story. Alex had blisters and then we basically forgot about it. Which is dumb because Alex has always been grabby and his hands are always filthy. We got back from Chicago and Jon noticed one of the blisters was infected. I got to be the one to tell the doctor we're not sure when it happened in the last TWO WEEKS.

The doctor prescribed Alex cephalexin, an antibiotic. It also happens to be the only thing in the world to which I am allergic. It's been roughly 30 years since I've had any exposure so we don't know how serious to take it but my mom is deathly allergic to even the smell of penicillin so I'm being cautious as a single parent. With Jon out of town, I have been breaking out plastic gloves to administer Alex his medicine.

I have a theory that all this crazy stuff has to happen before our vacation so that our vacation goes awesome. Even steven, if you will. So bring it universe, until Saturday!

If you throw a cup in the shower

If you throw a cup in the shower

It will hit your twin brother in the face

It will cause his nose to gush blood like a fountain

He will run screaming out of the shower, spraying blood all over the walls and bedroom carpet

You will hear the screaming and see the blood and start screaming yourself

Your mom will rush in, get the double screaming stopped, get the bleeding stopped, and apply TLC to your brother

(your mom rocks, btw)

The puffy nose will make your mom look twice. Three times. Four times.

It will cause her to call the neighbors.

The neighbors will come over, check out the nose, and declare it looks broken to them too.

The maybe-broken nose will cause your mom to call the doctor

The triage office will call back. They will record the call. Because they want to know who hit the little kid in the face.

(your mom is having a spectacular run, what with the barely noticed infected finger on you!)

The nurse will give your mom some tests to run, which include pressing on your brother's nose as hard as possible. You didn't break your brother's nose. This time.

If you throw a cup in the shower when your dad is not at home and your mom needs a vacay like no one's business and it hits your brother in the face and might have broken his nose, you will be in big BIG trouble and your mom will add "No cups in the shower" to the insanely long list of incredibly stupid rules in your house because it is filled with crazies!

And when you go to bed, your mom will laugh because if she didn't laugh she might REALLY LOSE HER SHIZZ RIGHT NOW.

(See? I could have made this story shorter with this!)
(Really, I do have a sense of humor about the last week.)

This post is so TMI. Don't eat before reading. You've been warned.

After this weekend, I realized I've been lucky in the GI department. Very lucky. I have heard people use the term "explosive" when it comes to GI distress but have never experienced it myself. Nate's minor GI distress turned into major explosive GI distress on Friday. He didn't quite make it to the toilet a couple of times, leading to one of the most disastrous events of my parenting life.

Only an amazing writer could do full justice to the story. Not being an amazing writer, it's easier for me to draw a picture of what happened than to explain it to you.




I totally earned a free pass on Mother's Day this year.

Could this week be more exhausting?

This is an awesome week to demonstrate how going part-time is changing our life! Nate has been home sick with fever and severe GI distress all week. It's gotten worse today so on my day off, I'm taking him to the doctor and catching us up on life. Alex's hand might be infected from some blisters on his palms so he's coming too. Add in night time wake ups due to illness, me traveling, and Jon single parenting and we are exhausted!

But I promised you pictures!

When I looked through the pictures of Liz's family, I had to laugh. Whenever I look at Mel from The Larson Lingo's pictures, she has a "signature" look where little kids are standing at a 45 degree angle to the camera. Similar to this but more exaggerated:



Hi, my name is LauraC and my signature photo is kids looking up at the camera with their head tilted. Seriously guys. Every shoot I do this! Why? I love it.



One of the biggest things I need to work on is getting better shots of groups of people. This one would never be a Christmas card photo of their family but I freaking love it:



And I also like this one because it reminds me of stoop sitting on warm Chicago nights:



Last night at photography class, we were talking about finding your photography muse. I was in Chicago, one of the most interesting architectural cities in the world. I went out with intention to take architectural photos and nothing seemed interesting to me. Nothing! But then I get behind the lens with people in front and I love it:



And one of the reasons I love kid photography is their openness. Adults have a tough time in front of the camera because they want to pose or smile or make sure they look good. Kids just act natural. Sometimes they smile, sometimes they pout. They just act like themselves and that makes them captivating to me.



My next plan is to do a series of self portraits to learn to be more comfortable in front of the camera so I can help people feel more comfortable. I'll be posting those shots on my other blog so as not to turn this into my photography blog! When looking through the photos, the best ones where when the adults were natural:



Even adult men can look natural!



So thank you Liz, Andy, and Audrey for letting me practice on you! And your hospitality and water fights and trekking all over Chicago and cooking and everything. Very glad you are my family!

A small sampling of pictures from Chicago

Our whole family flew up Friday night to spend the weekend in Chicago with Jon's sister and her family. I stayed on to work a few days in my corporate office. The boys had a had a complete blast with cousin Audrey.



The cutest part of having two four year olds and a three year old together is their very specific requests of clothing, sunglasses, and pictures they want taken. From my perspective, the nice part about sunglasses is that it hides that they are not even close to looking at the camera.



Jon's mom, grandma Roxane, was also in town to be with the crazies and she graciously watched them all so the big kids could go out for dinner and dive bar by ourselves. There are few things I miss about Chicago but $2 beers in dive bars is one of those things.



Despite checking out the Air & Water Show, visiting Millennium Park, and riding the El and airplanes, the boys' favorite part of the Chicago trip was the water fights in the backyard. Complete with forts built by uncle Andy.



It was a very special trip and the boys would not leave until we had a plan to have Audrey visit us and us visit Chicago again.



When I stayed on in Chicago, I got a chance to catch up with one of my favorite friends. People often tell me I am super nice but Julie is literally the nicest person I have ever met. It was the happiest I had ever seen her and four hours was not enough time together to say everything we wanted to say. I would like all of my friends scattered across the country to please move closer, thanks.



And Liz asked me to take family pictures while I was there. I got some good shots but when I clicked the shutter on this one, I knew it was going to be my favorite of the bunch.



More pictures from that shoot tomorrow, as well as more action shots from Chicago. After three days away from my boys, it's great to be home.

Blogcation gumbo

I'm working from Chicago next week for three days. My schedule is crazy packed day and night, and I won't be parenting my kids so I'm taking a blogcation. Before I leave, I thought I'd share some gumbo.

* I bought my very first pair of real high heels last week. Yes, at the age of 36. I am 100% certain I will bust my ass while clomping around my house trying to walk in them. Here they are in all their blue suede goodness:
* SYTYCD finale show last night - BEST EVER. Except for the winner. I never agree with the winner. Ever. But then I never vote. I'm like the 75% of our population that doesn't vote then complains about the outcome.

* On Wednesday, I officially hit 500 miles run in 2010. I ran 81 miles in July, the hottest July on record here. Wait until it cools down, I am going to be a running machine.

* Mommy is learning Photoshop to take her photos from good to ba-boom!

Great moments in yuppy parent guilt

Scene 1: Nate and Alex made up a new game Tuesday night. They call it "house cleaner." They cleaned up their room then made their beds and piled all their stuffed animals on top of the beds.


Scene 2: A college kid came by selling educational books door to door. I chatted with him while standing in the playroom. He asked if the boys ever got to use a computer. I pointed to the obvious childrens' desk with two chairs and a laptop on it and said, "That's their laptop. It was their birthday present." He choked out, "You bought your four year olds a laptop?"

YOU MAKE THE CALL! Which is the worse yuppy parenting moment?

Teaching tolerance, part one

Riding in the car to school Monday morning, Nate and Alex decided to play family with a stuffed puppy in the backseat.

Nate said, "Okay Alex, you be the mommy because families have one daddy and one mommy."

Laura piped up, "Not all families have one daddy and one mommy. Some families have two mommies. Some families have two daddies. Some families have only one mommy. Some families have only one daddy."

Nate said, "Some families could have two mommies AND two daddies! Or three daddies and three mommies!"

Laura kept mum about polygamists for the moment.

Winding down summer

Something comes into the air in August that makes me realize summer is starting to wind down. I can't explain it. It's still hot, it's still humid, but there is some smell and feel to the outdoors that tells me we need to squeeze the last few drops out of the sweetness of summer before it's gone.



This month we have a family trip to Chicago and a week-long family beach trip. When we get back from the beach, it will be Labor Day and the pool shuts down shortly after. Even though it will be warm through September, the nights cool down, making outdoor pools feel chilly.

While living somewhere with real seasons makes me appreciate each season to its fullest, I can't help but feel sad to say good-bye to my all-time favorite - Summer.

And this summer, it has been amazing. Truly amazing.




I don't even know how to tell you what these two pictures mean to me. Alex, age 4, jumping off the 1m board with no fear. Nate, age 4, in 10 feet of water, doing tricks underwater after jumping off the big board. These are very special to me.

Fun and happiness is what summer is about. What is better than the simple joy of playing in cool water on a hot day, eating some ice cream, and going home happy?



Fall, I tried to make you my favorite, but Summer has always had my heart and it always will. And with two little boys to make it even more special, I think it will always be my favorite.

A must-do summer evening

My friend Monika lives out in Saxapahaw, west of Chapel Hill, about an hour from Cary. Early in the summer, she mentioned the Saxapahaw weekly summer music festival was extremely kid-friendly. We've had this on our potential list of summer activities but it has been so insanely hot this year the last thing we want to do on a Saturday night is be anywhere but in the pool.

Saturday it was relatively cool (insane that mid-80s feels cool now!) so we trekked out to Saxapahaw and it was SO WORTH the drive. It was relatively uncrowded. There were bubble buckets for the kids (10 gallons of bubbles), a huge water slide, ropes hung from trees for swinging, and hay bales for climbing. Add in the best grilled pizza I've ever eaten, Maple View ice cream, the farmer's market with german johnson tomatoes!, people entertained rather than irritated by wild dancing kids, and two hours of great live music and it was a perfect evening for the whole family.



While we were there, I said to Jon when we moved here before kids, this was the kind of evening I had imagined we would have. It was truly a special night and the only thing that would have made it slightly better would have been more time to chat with Monika. Perhaps when our kids are a little older. Thank you Monika!

PS. I tried to get the kids to help me with my photography homework and it was a bust. Will I never learn?!

Friday gumbo

* Update on the biting: Alex's side of the story is they were playing a sea horse game and he play-bit another kid. I confirmed with the teacher it was definitely a playing game and not an aggressive attack. Still, he now knows biting is never acceptable, which is better to learn at a place where they've known my kids for four years (and know Alex is a sweetheart) instead of when he starts kindergarten in a new school next fall.

* I'm taking a photography composition class this month and for the first time since high school calculus and physics, I am excited about homework. My mind is reeling with ideas.

* Either this weekend or early next week, I will hit 500 miles run in 2010. I'm going bigger in 2011.

* My tivo didn't record SYTYCD this week. I watched some of the dances on YouTube and last night I almost drove Jon crazy yelling at the tv during the results show, "I can't believe I missed that! Kent DISCO! Kent AND NEIL! NappyTabs!!! KENT... and NEIL!"

* I finished reading One Second After and loved it. It is about what would happen if the US were hit by an EMP attack. It is this generation's Alas Babylon, and I do not say that lightly. It is set in NC, which made it even scarier to me. I then started Eat the Dark and while I LOVE IT, it is so freaking scary. I have to finish it before Jon goes on his next trip because that is not a book to read alone.

* So that's my life right there. Crazy kids. Photography. Running. Fave shows. Driving Jon crazy. Books.

Beat down

It's been a long time since we had a vacation so I am feeling burned out.

And we're having a tough time with Nate lately.

And I'm watching my food and exercising to get back in shape.

And the "easy" transition to the fours room hit a massive bump as someone (not who you think) bit someone at school yesterday. It was not a good night. Someone spent hours in their room mostly crying, lost a ton of privileges, and got it explained to him he will be kicked out of school and leave his friends if it EVER happens again.

I'm ready for our beach vacation, too bad it's a few weeks away.

Oh my goodness, the dickliness continues

Last night Nate, Alex, and I had a fantastic time at National Night Out at our pool. Nate screamed with joy when the police motorcade arrived. He talked to the police and jumped in a car to press the siren over and over while Alex hung back cautiously, as usual.

When we got home, I sent the boys upstairs to put on their pajamas (lazy single mom LauraC often lets the pool be the nightly bath!) and I heard 8-10 loud slaps in a row. No crying ensued but I went upstairs to investigate anyway. I asked the boys what happened and Alex said Nate hit him. Again, no crying and these were slaps loud enough to be heard downstairs by half-deaf robo-ear. Nate admitted to the hitting Alex so I told him he was going immediately to bed in the guest room by himself.

Nate started shaking with rage. He clenched his fists, looked at me, and screamed, "YOU'RE NOT MY BEST FRIEND!"

It was so freaking adorable I had to hide my face to stop from laughing. Since I didn't respond, he screamed it again, and Alex said, "You're my best friend mommy." which then sent Nate into a hysterical crying fit.

This morning I still find it adorable that the thing he thought would hurt me the most was to not be my best friend.

July summary

It's time for a wrap up of what was accomplished in July of the Best Year Ever:

• First Fourth of July parade and fireworks
• Beth, William, and Seth visit
• First neighborhood festival
• Visit Irene and her newborn twins (& Matt & Milo & Mango)
  
• Nate and Alex learn to fully swim; record number of pool trips
  
• Backlight experiment goes SUPER DUPER awesome:
  

Show me some blog comment love if you like that picture!!!

That is one of my all-time favorite photos of my kids. I'm freaking PROUD I captured it.

Okay maybe backlit photos are not your thing, how about front lit?




I've got some awesome Mondo planned for August. This year has been RIDICULOUS.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Through the local blog Notes from a Mom in Chapel Hill, I heard about Carolina Tiger Rescue (CTR). It is a non-profit in Pittsboro that rescues wildcats, mostly from people who had them as pets. Apparently it is legal to own tigers, ocelots, servils, etc in North Carolina. People get them as babies then abandon them when they realize they are huge meat-eating wild animals, and that's where CTR comes in to give them a long-term home.

Our family went on a tour on Saturday and it was awesome. This photo (shot with 50mm lens) is not zoomed (yes that is wild mint in front of the tiger):



The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about wildcats, as well as how each animal was rescued. We all learned a lot, such as tigers like it when you blow on the sides of their face.



So... the good. Alex was wonderful on the trip, amazing. Asked a lot of questions, extremely interested in checking out each animal.



The bad and ugly... Nate. He was downright terrible the entire time. It came perilously close to ruining our entire experience. The tour was about two hours and Nate was being difficult in the first five minutes. In any other experience, we would have packed it up and headed home, that's how horrible he was.

Let me also mention he was the reason we had to leave the pool Thursday night, and last night he pulled Alex's hair and called Alex stupid. He has been in a LOT of trouble this past week and our patience with him is gone. And believe me, we have taken measures such as spending as much 1:1 time with him as possible but he was, simply put, a huge dick the last few days.

No pictures of Nate at CTR unless you want to see pictures of a pouting complaining kid. I guess this is the wild (and not wonderful) part of four.