I am always in the market for some clever and silly humor, especially in the form of interviews, and if it involves some sort of motherhood satire. Here is a clever interview with the mom from Cat in the Hat that was posted on Motherlode a few days back.
This past Sunday as I drove to church I listened to an interesting segment on the Weekend Morning Edition about how to pick the right songs for a wedding. This was probably the most frivolous segment of the show, and it impacted me the most. I am going to own the fact that finding the formula for the best wedding music is more intriguing to me than some of the world news right now. That's just where I'm at.
NPR's Stephen Thompson argued the need for quality wedding music. Amen. We have all been to weddings that could have been taken to the next level, could have lasted a little longer, could have had more impact on us if only the music flowed better. I am all for being taken on a musical journey during a wedding. I tend to enter wedding sites with the expectation of being swept away emotionally - the music has a huge part to play in that. I want things to start off slow and sentimental, work into some poignant reflection, and then lead me onto a vibrant dance floor that makes me mad at the newlyweds when they decide to close down the party by leaving. This seems like a simple wish for weddings. No pressure, my single friends.
Stephen's anatomy of what makes great wedding music was not the most intriguing part of his argument, though, albeit completely validating and interesting that NPR would like to explore such a thing. What has been playing through my head the past few days was Stephen's passion to have a family song. It was not even enough for him to have a family song, he wanted a specific song that his children would be so attached to that they would insist on having it in their weddings. He was adamant about passing down music, and embedding certain songs into his children's' lives.
Over the years John and I have fallen into some songs that are "our" songs and our family songs. A few songs from The Head and The Heart have become ingrained in our family, mainly because Grayson insists on listening to them on repeat. The repetition is worth it to hear Grayson belt out the lyrics as Lu tries to get a few words out.
I don't what to put pressure on my children to attach so much to certain songs that they will love them as much as I do. I believe that some family songs will take shape organically, but I think we may also start to be a little deliberate about incorporating repetition to songs that would be good candidates for family songs.
Here is the number one song for Stephen and his family. It's kind of a mantra.
Do you have any family songs? What would be on your family playlist?
About six months ago Grayson earned the pseudonym and hashtag #manofleisure. Originally I snuck a few photos of Grayson in his bathrobe, which he wore with abandon because it was, "so comfy." The hashtag was born out of Instagram wit, but it quickly developed into a reoccurring feature of my photos of Grayson. The thing about Grayson is that he is an old man. He is particular in his ways, and very deliberate about relaxing. I don't know any other 3-year-olds who request to "relax."
None of the photos of the Man of Leisure are staged or prompted. They are all organic moments from our little old man.
The past few days I've had the worst ear ache I've had in years. I had forgotten what earaches feel like. No wonder kids are terrorists when they have ear infections. I'm trying home remedies for my earache. My first attempt is to use olive oil. My husband's Russian grandmother swears by it, so it seems legit. Another remedy I read about is breast milk - the miraculous wonder milk - so if the olive oil does not pan out I may be pulling out some of my frozen milk that I've not gotten around to discarding.
When we stayed in New York for our house swap in June the apartment intrigued me to invest in some houseplants. I have shyed away from houseplants in the past due to time, cost, space, and my general lack of touch when it comes to keeping plants alive. I'm pretty sure the plants in the New York apartment took a turn for the worst on our watch. Despite my poor track record, I am ready to give houseplants a try. The New York apartment inspired me to use plants as decor, and not to be afraid of putting plants above doors and high on the walls. I recently read that people with houseplants are generally happier people. Interesting. Here's to succulents!
I have been on a blog hiatus, to say the least. I am not sure what happened to trip me up from posting. I think it was the culture of blogging that got the best of me. I don't really understand the world of blogging. Some blogs are so huge, and not with the intention of sounding rude, but I am not sure why.
What makes one blog more blog-worthy than the others? Are my daily thoughts, rambles, and activities less valuable if they are not viewed by thousands of eager readers each day? How big and deep of an issue is it if I find myself doing things simply so I can post them on the blog? As for that question, I refuse to do things simply for the posting.
For a time an onslaught of questions rattled through my brain and eventually paralyzed me from blogging. A blog can be a funny force, and sometimes it feels a little dangerous. I am going to rekindle my relationship with this blog, and hopefully I will be able to keep the questions that come from blog world at bay.
