Lately - Cabin Fever

Alright Winter.  I like yah - really I do.  But seriously - the snow? the ice??  the insanely arctic temperatures!?!

We have a high dose of cabin fever in this house and I am running out of sensory play activities to keep our very active toddler busy.  Today, we even opted to paint some hideous side tables with our very own chalkboard paint!

Ok, Winter - I take it back.  A little bit - you have forced us to get more creative.  But I do miss the woods and the warm sun.  Here is what we've been up to! (and yes - we did go out today.  The 20's are high-ish temps and Soren couldn't take it anymore.  But it didn't take long until his 'hands were cold!  gotta warm 'em up!')

Soren was separating the 'clean' ice from the 'slushy' ice.  I love how he dictates everything he is doing!

Even August is getting sick of being cooped up.  I catch her gazing, longingly out the window.

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Soren decided it was cold outside and he needed a warmer, comfier bed in his tent - but August was to join him.  'we will be warmer, too-gever! momma!'

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Soren and I painted these roughed up side tables we had.  I think it is much approved - I will try to snag a before and after pic.  We made our own chalkboard paint.  It's super easy - follow this link here.  We had some extra grout from another DIY project (the cold forces me into DIY mode... and searching for tasty recipes.  Ok, Winter - you win again!).

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Just wrapped this one up.  Thanks Elaine for the recommendation!  It was really quite good.  Can't wait to see the movie this year!

There you have it folks.  We are surviving the Winter and truthfully having a blast.  Pappa and I have been pretty swamped with work - but Soren has been such a trooper!  He really knows how to make the best of it!

insta-lately...

I probably sound like a broken record - but it is so crazy busy around here!  Not so much running around but fitting in time to mix, edit and master during nap times and early mornings.  We are having more success with schedules AND I finally got my calendar system down for the year.  

It seems archaic, but I went with the simple binder route, printed my iCalendar and found a super simple 'weekly' insert.  Its huge - but it also fits in ALL the cards, letters, addresses, pre-k paperwork and other nonsense in the folders and between pages.  It works for me.  Much better than trying to keep it all digital or in a conservative, cute little planner.  Function over form this time around.

So, I feel a need for a catch up with instagram.  This is what we've been up to:

the epic cold temps means we have been staying inside... A LOT.  but that doesn't keep us from playing with the snow!

we got hit pretty hard with the colds this year, hanging around for about three weeks or so.  we are knocking out whatever is left and preventing more with super foods and humidifiers. 

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Soren's seahorse.  yesterday he handed this to me and said 'look momma, i drew you a seahorse!'  my response was, in shock 'wow, buddy!  that is an impressively accurate seahorse - I am so impressed.' negative points montessori mom.  but seriously - incredible right?  this is getting framed and going up at work - healthy reminders of what is important and credible.  motherhood is by far the greatest and coolest thing i have EVER done!

Murmuration

Have you heard of this?  

It's an incredible sight.  Starlings utilize murmuration in defense against predators, such as hawks or falcons.  A starling murmuration is especially fluid in motion and can occur in grand scale. 

I bumped into this video and just had to find out what this was all about.

The starlings ability to do this in such large proportions has to do with their effective perspective range.  Essentially, the ability of one starling to predict and read the behavior of another on the opposite end of the flock.  

This article explains it well:

“Imagine a game of telephone: one person passes a message along to the next person, who repeats it to another, and so on. For humans, the telephone message loses information very quickly—that’s what makes the game fun. The first finding, by Cavagna’s team, suggests that very little information is lost in a starling flock. The second finding, by Young’s team, suggests that starlings “play telephone” with their seven nearest neighbors. Somehow they are able to process messages from those seven neighbors all at once, and this is a part of their method for achieving scale-free correlation.”
— http://blog.allaboutbirds.org/2013/02/21/how-do-starling-flocks-create-those-mesmerizing-murmurations/

photos courtesy of design boom.com

Absolutely beautiful, right?  Inspiring.  I wonder if humans could communicate like this - would our world be more peaceful? More capable of empathy and interdependence?  What do you think?

Nature is stunning.  Darwin would sigh at their ingenuity, survival of the fittest.

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'A portrait a week of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014'   

Soren with his drill set adorning both a safety vest and citrus juice mustache.  He's become quite the chatter box these days and it's hard to snap a shot without his mouth in motion *wink.  Love it!  

Here is another just for fun.  Pappa bought Soren his first RC car.  It took a little practice to get the hang of the steering - but he did!  He's instructing me on how it works in this photo.  

Meeting Dr. Angelou

This past week has been epic. 

Long, but incredible and inspiring.

Earlier this week I shipped off to Winston-Salem with 5-time Grammy award winning producer Elaine Lee Martone to record Dr. Angelou (stay tuned for this project - it's going to be AMAZING!).  I worked with two phenomenal and empowering women, received priceless advice and wisdom and it's all still just settling in. 

It was such a quick trip - fly in Monday evening and out Tuesday - but worth every plane delay and reschedule. I had great conversations and was dolled incredible industry advice sandwiched between an unforgettable recording and visit with Dr. Angelou (she makes the best beets!).  I don't even know how to begin describing what this trip was like - or what it meant to me personally.  

Our session couldn't have run smoother thanks to Evan Richey and his partner Charlene.  They were fantastic.  From driving ProTools to giving us tips on Southern courtesy before Dr. Angelou arrived.  What a great team! (pictured left to right: Elaine Lee Martone, Evan Richey, Charlene, and myself).

I still can't believe this happened.  I am pretty sure I seemed mute for this whole visit, but you just can't stop listening to every word this incredible woman has to say.  Her wisdom and knowledge are invaluable - and her sense of humor!  I have her chuckle on tape - it's the most genuine and joyful sound.  Wow...