• Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Family Fun,  I'm Apparently Old.,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz,  Queen of Denial

    Six Of One, Half Dozen Of The Other

    February 24, 2014

    I have always been very proud of the way I can remember things. From dates to pop culture factoids to details about all kinds of things, remembering is one of my greatest skills. Well, it was. As I’ve grown older (and frankly, more dependent on Google Calendar), my memory bank is shutting down a little more often than it used to. I like to justify it by saying that since I’m older I have more information that has to be held in there and so it’s only natural that some of the little things would fall through the cracks, but I don’t necessarily believe that. It’s just my way of…

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  • Family Fun,  Reflections on Parenting

    Hakuna Matata Means “No Worries As Long As You Get Those Old VHS Tapes Transferred To Digital Files”.

    January 22, 2014

    Jim and I have hours and hours (and hours) (and hours) of VHS tape recordings of the boys from the time D was born until J was about four. That’s about when our old video camera, which was about the size of the ones they use for reporters in the field these days, conked out. We never replaced it. The first two or three tapes are full of coverage that consists only of newborn D just laying there while I talk to him: really exciting stuff. The last time we had a VCR and I was able to watch, about five years ago, I found it extremely obnoxious and annoying…

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  • Best Thing Ever,  Family Fun,  Fun in Chicago

    Blue Man Groupie

    January 10, 2014

    Let me just get this out of the way: I have seen Blue Man Group Chicago more times than any other show in my life. Jim and I have been in the audience so many times that I honestly cannot remember how many times that has been anymore. To say that we love the show would be a vast understatement. Now that you know that little bit of trivia, it should be no surprise to you that when the Marketing Manager for Blue Man Group Chicago contacted me to ask whether I would be interested in some free tickets in exchange for a blog post about the show, I wasted…

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  • Best Thing Ever,  Family Fun,  Fun in Chicago,  Review

    Blue Man Group Chicago: Indescribably Fun

    January 10, 2014

    Let me just get this out of the way: I have seen Blue Man Group Chicago more times than any other show in my life. Jim and I have been in the audience so many times that I honestly cannot remember how many times that has been anymore. To say that we love the show would be a vast understatement. Now that you know that little bit of trivia, it should be no surprise to you that when the Marketing Manager for Blue Man Group Chicago contacted me to ask whether I would be interested in some free tickets in exchange for a blog post about the show, I wasted…

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  • Family Fun,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz

    New Phone, Old Phone, Smart Phone, Dumb Phone

    December 28, 2013

    Today is my dream day. I’m finally able to get a new cell phone with a new cell phone carrier. The last two years have mostly been a cell phone nightmare (ask any of my family members and close friends), and I’m relieved it’s about to be over. For the last couple of months I’ve been using what I call my “bridge phone”: it’s an unlocked phone I bought on eBay just to get me through to today, when I go and pick up an iPhone 5s. Whee! The boys are pretty excited about today, too. (Jim’s phone is company-provided so the only thing he’s excited about regarding today is…

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