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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Growing Up and Up and Up
Can we just take a moment to process the fact that my 7-month-old baby is STANDING UP in his crib? My brain is having a little trouble with that one.
Zach’s cousin Matt came over today for a quick photo shoot with Parker, so Zach served as his assistant/baby attention-getter while I corraled Sadie in the kitchen. I’ve never seen Parker stand on his own like that before until Matt sent me that photo, and it totally stopped me in my tracks. Who is this big boy and what did he do with my tiny infant?
I have so much to blog about, like Parker’s acting debut on Christmas Eve and our New Year’s trip to Florida. But like everything else in my life, I’m so overwhelmed by it all that it’s easier just to put it off a little longer and catch up on episodes of Parenthood instead.
Reclaiming My Songwriting Mojo
Over winter break, I had the opportunity to spend almost an entire Saturday writing and recording music. It was AWESOME. It reminded me of my life before baby, when my weekends were almost exclusively dedicated to musical projects. And while life is a million times better with this guy in it, I do miss having songwriting as a creative outlet on a regular basis.
We jetted off to Florida a few days after that, and spending some time on the beach soaking up the sun was just what I needed to recharge my batteries and clear my head. I thought a lot about my work and priorities while I was there, and came to the realization that my lack of creative output is what has me feeling unaccomplished these last few months.
I returned home to a FROZEN TUNDRA and also an email from a high school friend who had ordered a custom CD from me. She and her husband are expecting a baby girl in a few months, and she chose songs that she could play and sing to her. My friend had so many nice things to say about my music and how she was looking forward to sharing it with her little bundle, and that only intensified my desire to reclaim my “songwriting mojo” for lack of a better term.
Now that my baby is getting a little older, he spends more time playing independently (with close supervision, of course) while I jot down lyrics and record rough takes on my iPhone. It doesn’t hurt that Parker loves my guitar, so practicing new songs also doubles as entertainment for him :)
This is not a New Year’s resolution post, but rather a reminder to myself to choose songwriting over laundry, dishes and dusting when I have the chance. I’m usually so energized after finishing a new tune that I’m ready to tackle all those mundane chores — that songwriting mojo is quite powerful!
Are you looking to reclaim or discover your own songwriting mojo? A good place to start is my CMTE course, The DIY Guide to Writing, Recording & Sharing Your Music. Listening to my friends’ and colleagues’ creations serves as additional inspiration and motivation to keep cultivating my passion.
2-0-1-4 (No Less, No More!)
I wrote my first song about the year way back in 2008, and now, 6 years later, I have a collection of songs I’ll never be able to use again. BUT they did each get put to good use almost every day for an entire year, which is why I keep writing a new one at the end of December.
These songs all follow the same basic recipe: the ingredients include the year (mentioned over and over again), the number of months and days, and then whatever pertinent phrases I can come up with that rhyme.
Like most of my other songs, I keep it simple and repetitive so that it’s super singable. That’s important, considering I sing it with my kiddos just about every week for the whole year.
I really enjoy kicking off the year with a brand new “song of the year” each January, and this time around by some miracle, I’m even a day early. Cheers to the end of 2013, and the beginning of what I hope will be another wonderful year!
The Merriest Christmas
We had an awesome Christmas. When we weren’t taking ridiculous photos of Parker in various holiday attire, we were spending quality time with our families — eating, opening presents, and of course, playing with all of the fun new toys.
Our house feels so much homier now with the new floors, and that was amplified by all the Christmas decorations. I’ll be so sad when it’s time to take everything down.
Parker is still too young to really know what was going on, but he gave us plenty of smiles and humored us by ripping the wrapping paper off a few gifts (and promptly putting it in his mouth). He spent most of Christmas morning napping in Grandma Libby’s arms, but he rallied for round two with my family later on in the day.
We were all very spoiled this Christmas with tons of great gifts from our family and friends. But I won’t lie: I’m the most excited about everything that Parker received! Since I spend most days playing with him, it will be nice to have lots of new toys to add to the rotation.
There’s nothing quite like baby’s first Christmas, and we have so many wonderful memories from this past week. Next year will be a completely different experience with a mobile toddler!
On Being a Mom
Sometimes the fact that I’m a parent sneaks up on me. I had one of those moments tonight, actually: Zach has been playing in a soccer tournament all evening, so I had a few hours to hang out by myself after Parker went to bed. I watched a movie in our bedroom and caught up on some blogs on the computer, which is how I spent many evenings before the baby was born. (Nowadays most post-bedtime hours are spent catching up on laundry and doing the work I didn’t have time to complete during the day.)
When I came out of the bedroom to refill my water bottle, the pile of toys in the living room caught my eye. It took me by surprise at first — maybe because those particular toys are new and I’m not used to seeing them. But this wave of holy crap, I have a kid washed over me, just like it had on Christmas Eve as I was wrapping gifts and wrote “Love, Mommy & Daddy” on Parker’s gift tags.
I’ve experienced the same feeling at the grocery store, when I’m loading my stuff onto the conveyer belt and pick up a pack of wipes from my cart. And when I’m talking to a student’s mom, who asks how the baby is doing. The list goes on…which is surprising considering I’ve had almost seven months to get used to this role. After all, it consumes most of my waking (and “should be sleeping”) hours.
I always thought that once I became a mom, I would all of the sudden feel more grown up or have life all figured out. But in all honesty, that hasn’t happened; in fact, the opposite is true. Now that I have a baby, I question all of my decisions and wonder if I’m doing the right thing for him and our family.
But maybe that’s normal. Just like Parker is figuring out the world as a new human, I’m doing the same as a new mom. Everything is different with a child, whether he is physically with me or not, and sometimes my brain has to process that (again and again).
Another sneaky parenting moment I experience often? When I’m hit with the fact that holy crap, this beautiful creature is all mine and I get to keep him. I really like when that happens.
A Child is Born
Parker made his acting debut on Christmas Eve, and he did such a great job that he was featured on the front page of the newspaper on Christmas Day. Go figure that it took Zach and I thirty years to make the front page, but only six months for our little thespian.
We played Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus in the nativity skit at Laurel United Methodist Church. We didn’t have any lines or real responsibilities other than walking up the aisle and standing at the front of the church with the various animals, wisemen, and angels (played by children from the congregation).
Parker didn’t make so much as a peep during the entire service; he was way too busy looking around at everything and everyone…while wearing nothing but a diaper and swaddle cloth. I know I’m biased, but I think he made the perfect Baby Jesus. Needless to say, his first Christmas Eve is one we won’t forget!
Half Birthday
This little elf is officially half a year old! At 6 months, Parker is experiencing all kinds of exciting new things and hitting some major milestones. He checked out wonderfully at his wellness exam: he’s still a little peanut weighing in at just under 15 pounds (6th percentile), but he’s a string bean as far as length goes (76th percentile). The pediatrician is happy with his weight gain, though, and says he is doing great on his own little growth curve.
I’ve been slacking on the weekly blog posts with everything we’ve had going on — it’s been a crazy busy month! Zach and I have been talking about replacing the flooring in the living room, dining room, front hall, laundry room, bedroom, and nursery for YEARS, and we finally took the plunge this past week. Needless to say, it was a big job that necessitated staying at my parents’ house down the street for almost an entire week.
But it was 100% worth the hassle, because the new floors look awesome. It honestly feels like a brand new house! I was so happy when we were finally able to decorate for Christmas and put up our tree this past weekend. My next project is wrapping all the presents that are piling up downstairs, and of course getting ready for our annual holiday party on Monday night.
Now back to Parker. Along with celebrating his six-month birthday, he is also starting to sit up on his own really well (we’re talking minutes at a time!). Just today he figured out how to get up on his knees, so I’m thinking he’s not too far away from crawling. And THAT is a little scary, because I have a feeling once he starts, he’ll never stop moving.
Another “big boy” moment: Parker’s first taste of food! I made an avocado puree, and you can see from the look on his face just how much be enjoyed it. Maybe the next food we try will be more successful.
Tomorrow is my last day of work for the year, and then I have two whole weeks off to hang out with Parker and the rest of my family. Be ready for an onslaught of adorable Christmas photos!
Six Months of Breastfeeding
This weekend, Parker will turn 6 months old. And it kind of blows my mind to think about the fact that I have provided every last drop of nourishment for his entire life thus far. I knew before Parker was born that I wanted to try breastfeeding, but I had no idea how much I would enjoy it and how important it would become to me.
I also had no idea what a huge commitment it would be, and that there would be bumps along the road. I was extremely lucky that Parker latched on right away and the first few days went so smoothly, but I’ve dealt with quite a few plugged ducts (even as recently as this week) and supply issues before I realized I was exercising too much and not eating enough. Those were easy fixes, to say the least!
Being a nursing mom is a full-time job, or at least it feels that way at times. I feed Parker every 2-3 hours throughout the day, and on top of that I pump at least twice so that he has bottles when I’m working. As soon as I finish work at night, we do bath time and then I nurse Parker to sleep, which can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.
And I’ve excused myself from parties, family gatherings, and dinners on countless occasions — not because I’m opposed to nursing in front of other people, but because Parker is SUCH a distracted eater. If there are other people around, a TV or music playing, or even bright lights on, I can forget about a successful feeding.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way; I never take for granted the fact that I’ve been able to breastfeed this long. I’ve been a little reluctant to start solid foods just because breastfeeding is so convenient (no preparation or cleanup involved!), but I’m pretty sure Parker will love exploring new foods. Not to mention that it will be super cute, messes and all.
The older Parker gets, the more busy and wiggly he becomes. Our daytime nursing sessions are getting shorter and shorter, but I look forward to cuddling him at night and nursing him to sleep. I know I’m going to miss it so much when it’s all over, and I can only hope to make it at least another six months.
{Parker Weekly} 24 Weeks Old
This week brought a BIG first in Parker’s life: baby’s first Thanksgiving! I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again — having a baby in our lives makes everything more exciting and joyful, especially holidays.
Thanksgiving is always a pretty low key day in our family. Parker slept through the night and didn’t wake up until around 8 that morning, which was a nice treat for mommy and daddy! We lazed around the house in our pajamas (not surprisingly, Parker had multiple pairs of themed jammies for the occasion) and then Parker hung out with Zach while I baked cookies to bring to dinner.
We headed to our first dinner with my family, hosted by my mom and Joe, where Parker got to hang out with my cousin Steph and my aunt Julie. After that, we made a quick stop at my uncle and aunt’s, and Parker spent some quality time with grandpa Alan.
Our last meal of the day was with Zach’s family at his cousin John’s house. All of the Rambach cousins were there, so Parker had lots of playmates. It was an awesome day filled with family, and as much fun as we had, it felt so nice to come home and relax as a little family of three.
{Mama Moment} Pianist in the Making
From the time he was just one month old, Parker has been a huge fan of his kick ‘n play piano. He’s spent countless hours on that mat, kicking away at the keys to the point where I have every single tune completely memorized. It’s where he first learned to grab at toys, and he perfected his rolls on that mat as well.
Add another skill to that list: he’s working on sitting up on his own with the help of his little piano. He hasn’t mastered it yet, but when I place his boppy pillow behind him, he does a pretty great job staying upright and tickling those ivories at the same time.