This is where all of my interests and skills are combined for one purpose: to make peoples’ lives better through music. Whether it’s through my original songs, serving my community through my business, or singing with my children, this is my favorite place to share my musical endeavors. Thank you for visiting, and I hope to get to know you better.
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Wiggle Your Fingers When I Say “Go!”
The first time I sing this song with a group of kids, it catches them off guard — which is exactly what I was going for when I wrote it. There they are, all ready to wiggle their fingers/toes/knees/etc. and BOOM! I drop the “W” bomb on them.
No child likes to wait, but learning to be patient is an important skill even at an early age. So is listening carefully, which are two goals for the song Ready, Set, Wait. The other include body part identification, motor skills, and following directions.
Once my students get used to hearing “wait” before it’s time to wiggle, I like to change it up on them and skip right to “go”. This is an excellent way to test their listening skills (and give them a good giggle).
I included this song in our current early childhood music class session, and it’s been an earworm around our studio these last couple of weeks. As annoying as that can get, it’s also the sign of an effective song…especially where kids are concerned!
P.S. Did you know that you can gain instant access to a vast collection of over 200 songs (mp3, lead sheet, and instrumental track), videos, tutorials, and visual aides, plus ALL new releases from Listen & Learn Music?
2nd Trimester
I’m only a couple weeks out of 2nd trimester, and I miss it already. It really is the “sweet spot” of pregnancy, especially after my rough 1st trimester and all the morning (a.k.a. all-day) sickness I battled.
Despite feeling super big compared to my first pregnancy, I really didn’t have anything to complain about for those 13 or so weeks. I was super busy with work and settling into the new house, so there were many days when I honestly forgot I was even pregnant!
And that’s probably the reason why our nursery is still empty. I have yet to choose and purchase furniture or any baby items at all. There are bags and bags of baby girl clothes sitting in my basement waiting to be sorted, courtesy of my sister-in-law. I did go through the latest Pottery Barn catalog and choose some bedding and curtains, which I tasked Zach with ordering — it’s a start, right?
With spring just a couple weeks away, it’s beginning to hit me that this baby is coming sooner than later. I have so much on my plate right now work-wise, and a house that is FAR from being “done” (as in, we still need a kitchen table and many other basics), but I need to get in gear and make some progress on the baby front. I have high hopes for 3rd trimester…
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 7
When I think back to my internship, I really do wonder how I made it through those 9 months. As amazing an experience as it was, it was also super stressful — I was learning the ropes of being a professional music therapist, driving all over the city of St. Louis to work with clients, and making the 2-hour drive home on the weekends to teach lessons and lead early childhood classes.
So I honestly can’t imagine how this week’s podcast guest felt during her internship, doing similar work while PREGNANT. What a champ!
In addition to discussing her experience being pregnant while completing her internship, Carrie Friddell talks about her decision to take time off to raise her children, and how she is slowly but surely building up her private practice now that they are a little older in Episode 7 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast.
Be sure to check out the show notes page for more information about Carrie, along with links to the resources she mentions in the episode.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes, or search “Guitars & Granola Bars” in the podcast app on your Apple device.
Click here to listen and subscribe on Stitcher, or download and search the app on your mobile device.
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Drum
During a brainstorming session for an upcoming early childhood class, my partner Katey mentioned that she had written a song about monkey sounds. She suggested picking up some cute stuffed monkeys to use as props, which sparked the idea for this song.
I’ve been a longtime fan of the book Eight Silly Monkeys ever since adding it to my singable story collection during my internship. So I took the tune I use for that book and changed up the words, which resulted in a fun new instrument song for our younger kiddos.
Since our early childhood classes have more than five children in them, we usually up the number of monkeys in the song to reflect our class size. I took a quick video of Katey putting this song into action last night:
The monkeys are a huge hit, if you couldn’t tell from the video! We ordered them here, and we use our Remo Gathering Drum (though I think it’s time to invest in an even bigger one!).
P.S. Did you know that you can gain instant access to a vast collection of over 200 songs (mp3, lead sheet, and instrumental track), videos, tutorials, and visual aides, plus ALL new releases from Listen & Learn Music?
{Mama Moment} Wanna Build a Snowman?
I can tell you that Parker’s answer to this question was a resounding YES. He’s been talking about Frosty nonstop since he made his debut in our home at Christmas time, so seeing him in the flesh — er, snow? — was a pretty huge highlight in Parker’s young life.
But Frosty isn’t the only snowman in town these days, thanks to Frozen. We weren’t sure if he would name his snowman Frosty or Olaf, since the latter has been getting a lot of airtime around here lately. Frosty ended up winning out, but his love for Olaf is still strong.
In fact, this song is edging out the almighty “Frosty the Snowman” (which up until now has held the title of the most-sung song at our house).
As we touched down on the runway after a quick Florida vacation yesterday, Parker looked out the window of the plane and exclaimed, “Snow!” He loved the beach and all, but apparently it just can’t compete with the white stuff. He’s in luck, because right now there are 8 inches of it in our backyard.
This mama, however, is over it and ready for spring! We’re going to have to find some new songs to celebrate the sunshine, flowers, and birds singing…any suggestions?
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 6
I had the opportunity to speak on a panel about work-life balance at the 2013 AMTA national conference, which turned out to be an informative and wonderful experience for everyone in attendance. It also made apparent just how great the need is in our field for more resources related to this topic.
After the presentation ended, one of the attendees came up and introduced herself. We talked about both of our struggles with work-life balance and how it has nearly led to burnout. We exchanged contact info and kept in touch after the conference — and now I’m so happy to have Laura Theismann on the podcast.
Laura shares the story of finding out she was pregnant, how her son has influenced her work as a music therapist, and the challenges and perks of having a background in child development when it comes to parenting in Episode 6 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast.
Be sure to check out the show notes page for more information about Laura, along with links to the resources she mentions in the episode.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes, or search “Guitars & Granola Bars” in the podcast app on your Apple device.
Click here to listen and subscribe on Stitcher, or download and search the app on your mobile device.
Shake Those Bells!
Sometimes I come across a song I wrote YEARS ago that just needs a little facelift. Bells are for Shaking is definitely one of those songs, because it’s such an effective one for hitting so many different targeted objectives.
When I sing this song with my kiddos, I’m working on following directions, motor skills, identification of left and right hands, and attention to task. As far as they are concerned, they’re just playing bells and having fun (isn’t this the case so often in music therapy!?).
I dug this song out of my archives for the latest session of Listen & Learn for Little Ones, my early childhood music class, which necessitated a new recording to include on the class CD.
Much better than my 2009 version, if I do say so myself! Out of all the “bell” songs I’ve written, this one is probably my favorite…and I’m pretty sure my students feel the same way. Hope you can get some good use out of it, too.
Sissy’s Room
Every time we go upstairs, Parker asks the same thing: “Sissy’s room?”
Actually it sounds more like “issy’s room” but we know what he means. It’s the room with the pink walls, his old glider, and a little side table — and literally nothing else. For some reason, this is Parker’s favorite room in the whole house, and we can get him to go upstairs without complaint (even for diaper changes and naptime) because of it.
The other day, I watched Parker climb into the glider and hold the “it’s a girl” teddy bear while he rocked back and forth, singing the ABCs to himself. The sun was streaming in through the windows and I got the feeling this was one of those defining moments I would look back on fondly in 30 years, recalling the best days of my life.
It doesn’t get much cheesier than this, but I’m going to write it anyway: my heart nearly bursts with happiness when I think about Parker and his “issy” and the relationship that they will have, being so close in age.
He loves her so much already; the frequent belly kisses and smiles when we talk about the baby make that quite apparent. But I can’t wait to introduce them for the first time and watch them grow up together.
10 *MORE* Songs That Make Me Feel Good
Back in the summer of 2011, I put together a list of 10 songs (current and not-so-current) that I was digging at the time. Since almost four years have passed since then, I thought it was high time that I post an updated list.
I have my students, son, and Pandora to thank for the random assortment of music that is currently helping me beat the wintertime blues:
- “Love is an Open Door” from Frozen – I heard this song before I ever saw the movie, because I had a couple of students request it. Now that my toddler is a little obsessed with Frozen, I hear it several times a day…and it has really grown on me.
- “Stockholm” by Jason Isbell – my music partner Matt and I recently added this song to our set list, and I can’t get enough of it. When it comes to songwriters, this guy is the bees’ knees. Plus, the harmony is really fun to sing.
- “Girls Chase Boys” by Ingrid Michaelson – her newest album, Lights Out, is great, especially this track. It’s an earworm I find myself singing hours after I hear the song.
- “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” by Renee & Jeremy – a throwback song covered by a children’s group. They are my favorite when it comes to recorded music (I use it for instrument play-alongs in one of my early childhood classes).
- “Back to the Earth” by Jason Mraz – If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, then it comes as no surprise that I love Jason Mraz. This song is from his most recent album, and it’s also a favorite of one of my music therapy clients (it’s even helped us with several in-session breakthroughs).
- “From This Valley” by The Civil Wars – when I think about their break-up, I want to cry…but this song helps ease the pain. It’s another one Matt and I added to our set list, and I have such a blast singing it.
- “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift – nope, still not sick of it yet. This song gets my blood pumping and my body moving every single time.
- “I’m Not Angry Anymore” by Paramore – one of my students is learning this on the ukulele, and I couldn’t help but smile when we listened to it for the first time. Short, sweet and totally fun.
- “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran – I don’t listen to the radio often, but I’m glad I caught this song on one of those rare occasions a few weeks back. Not sure if it’s his voice, the lyrics or both that completely got me hooked on it.
- “The Clean Up Song” from Barney – please forgive me for this one. They play it at Funshop (a mommy & me play class), and it quickly became Parker’s go-to song. I have to admit that it gets the job done…he starts cleaning up every time I sing it, and better yet, he sings along.
I could probably keep going, but I’ll stop here for now. And maybe I won’t wait another four years to post an updated list ;) What songs are making YOU feel good right now? Share ’em in the comments!
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 5
Meryl and I met way back in the day, as grad students in the music therapy program at Illinois State University. We’ve served on the board of the Illinois Association for Music Therapy together, swapped business advice, and been a listening ear to each other when it comes to all things motherhood and work-life balance.
Meryl openly shares her struggle with postpartum depression, how she completely rebuilt her private practice after recovering, and the steps she took to successfully prevent PPD after the birth of her second daughter in Episode 5 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast.
Be sure to check out the show notes page for more information about Meryl, along with links to the resources she mentions in the episode.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes, or search “Guitars & Granola Bars” in the podcast app on your Apple device.
Click here to listen and subscribe on Stitcher, or download and search the app on your mobile device.