I have to say, I am loving my new iPhone.  Especially the fact that it can take (pretty darn decent) video.  It allows me to so easily capture little moments while we’re out and about, since I just don’t carry my camcorder around  day-to-day.

Rebecca, in particular, has started specifically instructing me to take her picture. “Mommy, take a picture of Becca eating her snack!” Uh, ok! If I’m honest, I suspect it’s due in part to a desire for attention (and… ahem… for me to stop checking my damn email).  But whatever the motivation, I’m happy to oblige.

Yesterday, she was all about singing songs for me.  She loves to sing, and it tickles me to no end to hear her singing to herself in the backseat of the car.  Sometimes she likes the applause when it’s done, sometimes she’s just doing it for her own amusement.

Enjoy!

The other day at the lunch table, both kids were singing up a storm.  I grabbed my video camera, but feared the usual reaction of clamming up and stopping whatever cuteness they were doing as soon as I turned it on.  And then I discovered the solution.

Turn the screen around.

All of a sudden, they love performing and seeing themselves!  It was a big hit.  So, today, I give you number one in a trifecta of music videos (or is it a triptych? Lord, I don’t know. Point is, there are three).  Up first: Daniel.

Daniel’s ABCs and 123s from Goddess in Progress on Vimeo.

Among other things, I’ve learned that something daughter and I seem to have in common is a love of singing. Oh, not particularly good singing. Just singing.  In recent weeks/months, she has taken to wandering around and sort of quietly mumbling various songs.  Sometimes you can tell what it is, sometimes it’s just gibberish, but she’s definitely singing to herself, not just talking.  According to my mom, I used to do the same thing as a little girl, which does not surprise me in the least.

Tuesday, however, marked a new development in that arena.  You see, lately the kids have been requesting a song after they are in bed for nap or bedtime (probably a stalling technique, but we keep it short).  We oblige, usually one short verse of whatever song they want.  On Tuesday, it was Twinkle, Twinkle.  And lo and behold, Rebecca sang along with me.  The whole song, nearly every word to the best of her ability, with noticeable attempts to match pitch and timing.

She did it again at bedtime and M just about fell over. He couldn’t stop talking about it that night. I just kind of smiled and nodded.  Seems like it’s a neat new thing almost every day around here.  The changes aren’t as dramatic and pronounced as when they were infants, when one day they can’t crawl and the next day they can, or they stand up on their own for the very first time.  Now we’re into details, improving, finessing… building on a skill (language) they already have, and doing new and more complex things with it.  I love it.

A quick bit of Thursday Theater today, in between flashback posts.  Thursday Theater will likely be on hiatus for the next couple of weeks while we’re away, but keep those video cameras out at the ready!

As you know, we have taken some Music Together classes that the kids have really enjoyed.  They love the songs and request them by name, and have even started to sing along to some of their favorites.  During the weeks upon weeks of rain, at a loss for activities, I dug my guitar out of a closet, tuned it up, and let the kids strum on it just like they loved to do in Music class.  Plus, the Music Together literature includes chords and musical notation for all of the songs, so I tried to remember the three or four chords I used to know in another life.  Discovered we can do a little sing-along with the Me/You/We song, which the kids now request ad nauseum.  Today, I got them to do a bit on their own.

Plus, as proof that I wasn’t making it up the other day, I got Rebecca to sing almost the entire alphabet song. When she doesn’t think I’m watching, she’ll mumble it to herself constantly.  When I’ve got the camera on, she wants a little more prompting.

So, excuse the grainy lighting as we were inside on another gray day, and enjoy my not-quite-virtuosos. (And listen for Daniel to chime in at the very end, clearly eavesdropping from the kitchen.)

Playing Guitar from Goddess in Progress on Vimeo.

Yesterday marked the beginning of our first session of Music Together.  And, may I say…? What a hit!  It’s a great program, one I’m finding I love both philosophically and practically.  The whole philosophy is to introduce music-making to kids at a very young age, that everyone is musical, and that everyone can enjoy and participate in their own way.

The music geek in me loves that it’s “real” music. Yes, that sounds snobby, but oh well.  I like that it’s a real person with a guitar.  Other classes we do involve circle time and songs, but either mean simply singing along to a CD, or a well-meaning but tone-deaf child development instructor.  Not without worth, but still annoying to my ear.  Here, we had someone who knows how to sing, knows about meter and rhythm and melody and all of that.  I also love that it includes music from a wide variety of cultural traditions.  This session’s CD includes a Hassidic melody, a song in Spanish, a French folk song, and possibly an African tune.

The materials are also great.  You get two CDs of the music (one for the car and one for home), and a booklet that includes all of the words and melodies for all the songs.  Plus, suggestions for modifying them, making up your own variations, and involving kids of different ages.  Plus, chords and chord diagrams if you are guitar-inclined.  I am a poor-to-vaguely-acceptable guitar player, but this actually makes me want to pull it out of the closet and tune it up. (Maybe next week….)

I also love it as an activity, both at this particular age, and as someone who has to wrangle two kids.  It’s structured and routined, but not overly rigid.  It lets the kids be up and active and try dancing, banging on drums, shaking maracas and tambourines, and the like.  It requires me to be an active participant in the class and with my kids’ experience, but doesn’t force them to sit on my lap the whole time.

All in all, a great first session of our new class.  I hope the next two months are just as fun!

OK, a fully-stolen half-meme from the Zimmer Zoo this evening.  I couldn’t resist.  Nancy listed all of the concerts she’s been to.  I divide my concert-going experience into two major halves: before and after 1992. NB: this does not include classical concerts, which I couldn’t even begin to catalog.

Pre-1992, the middle-school days:

1. Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine.  To the best of my knowledge, this was my first concert, when I was about eight or nine years old.  I went with my uncle’s then-girlfriend, and we sat on the lawn at the old Poplar Creek.  We may have even gone a second time, but memory is fuzzy.
2. New Kids on the Block.  Hell yeah.  I was about 11 years old.  My dad took me and my best friend, and dragged my very unhappy (and sick) brother along.  If any of you remember when one of them (Donnie?) fell and busted a foot or something and was out for a few shows?  One of those was mine – only four of the five “band” members was present.
3. Barry Manilow.  My mom’s sister-in-law’s sister was playing in his band.  I fell asleep.
4. Paula Abdul.  In the Keanu Reeves, pre-American-Idol days.

1992 to present – things got a lot better

1. U2.  This, to me, marks the dramatic change in quality of concerts that I attended.  And it was a doozy to start high school with – the ZooTV Outside Broadcast tour.  16 years later, and I remember it very clearly.  It was September 1992, I was a freshman in high school, and I went with my friend Dana.  She and I sat on the lawn while her mom and mom’s friend were in the “real” seats.  That strikes me as odd, now.
2. Peter Gabriel.  Must have been about 1993-4, I saw Peter Gabriel twice in close succession.  Once for the tour following the release of Us, and again for his WOMAD festival.
3. Cracker, Gin Blossoms, and Spin Doctors.  Summer 1994, and thanks to the interwebs, I even found a review of the very concert I attended. I seem to remember seeing my history teacher a few rows over, which struck me as very odd.  You know, because teachers weren’t supposed to have lives or listen to current music.
4. Eric Clapton.  The Nothing But the Blues tour.  1995-ish, I think.
5. Lillith Fair.  The very first year.  I looked it up, and that apparently was in 1997.  I don’t know why I feel like it was earlier than that.
6. [Edited to add...] Dave Matthews Band.  Sometime in college, I only vaguely remember it.  No, I wasn’t high.  I just didn’t think it was all it was cracked up to be.
7. MixFest 2000.  It was quite a lineup, inclusive of Tracy Chapman, Lisa Loeb, Vertical Horizon, Macy Gray, Smash Mouth, Guster, Ben Harper, a very cranky Goo Goo Dolls, and of course my beloved BNL.  More on that later.  But it was good times, I was with my buddies Joe and Guido, and it was only a few short months after I moved to Boston but before I met M.
8. Brothers Creegan. This is a little band featuring one current and one former member of Barenaked Ladies (both of whom being the titular Creegan brothers).  Saw them at the teeny, tiny Kendall Cafe in Cambridge.
9. Guster.  I’ve seen them at various festivals and several times opening for BNL, but also at a lunchtime CD release party at the Paradise in Boston.  For the release of Ganging up on the Sun, June 2006.

And, then, there’s Barenaked Ladies.  Get ready for the list…

1. November 1998 – Rosemont Horizon (Chicago)
2. August 1999 – Tinley Park (Chicago)
3. September 2000 – the aforementioned Mixfest (Boston)
4. November 2000 – Providence Civic Center (Providence, RI)
5. January 2001 – Fleet Center, New Year’s Day (Boston)
6. February 2001 – Rochester, New York (I had just started dating M, but already had the tickets, so dragged him on a kind of crazy road trip.  As odd timing happened, my dad, stepmom, and stepsister were in town on a college visit, so he got to meet my parents…)
7. July 2001 – Tweeter Center (Boston)
8. October 2003 – The Orpheum (Boston) – the day Everything to Everyone was released.
9. December 2004 – The Orpheum (Boston) – a holiday concert, whose “opening act” was the Scituate High School choir.
10. November 2006 – Agganis Arena (Boston)
11. December 2006 – Boston’s Symphony Hall, with the Boston Pops  (You know what’s funny?  I may very well have been pregnant at this concert, but didn’t know it yet!)
12. May 2008 – Barnes & Noble (Framingham, MA) – This one was previously documented, as it was actually with kids in tow!

There you have it, at least as best as I can remember.  A little nuts, huh?

Susan, over at Life, Love & Labradors, wrote a post today about music for Labor & Delivery. She’s pregnant with twins and packing her hospital bag, and looking for suggestions for music.

I was totally going to do this back when I was pregnant. I was sure I’d come up with great playlists and have my iPod with me in the hospital. It never happened. Didn’t even occur to me to bring my iPod in my hospital bag, though in retrospect, it probably would have been a good choice instead of just sitting there in pain.

Anyways, I was going to write a comment on Susan’s post. And then it got way too long, so I decided to make a post of my own. Following are some tunes I’d recommend, depending on the mood and energy you’re looking for. If you have suggestions of your own, head over to Susan’s blog and let her know!

For peace, calm, and quiet, when you want to slow your nerves and get some rest:

• The Bach Cello Suites, Yo-Yo Ma. There are six suites, each with six movements. But if you only get one suite, get the first. And if you only get one track, get the first movement of the first suite. Even if you don’t know much about classical music, it will probably sound familiar to you. This is my go-to whenever I want to be quiet and calm.
• Voice of the Violin, Joshua Bell. Bell takes a number of famous vocal pieces and performs them on the violin. Just plain lovely and lyrical. What my mom and I sometimes call “Sunday Morning Music.”
• Now That I’ve Found You, Allison Kraus. She’s a little country (and I’m a little rock & roll, apparently?), but I really enjoy this album and find her very soothing.
• Unplugged, Eric Clapton. You can only rock so hard when you have acoustic guitars. This is great for familiar songs in a mellow way.
• Finding Neverland, Motion Picture Soundtrack, Jan Kaczmarek. Even if you haven’t seen this movie (oh my lord did I cry…), the music is just wonderful. All instrumental.

For passing the time, maybe post-epidural while you’re waiting for things to get going, I’d be in favor of things that are longer and tell a story, instead of a bunch of 3-minute songs:

• Rent, Wicked, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cast Recordings. Musicals that have very little dialougue interludes are good (aka operettas), because the songs basically take you through the whole show. Gilbert & Sullivan would probably work too, if you’re into that. Or West Side Story. Whatever you’re familiar with and enjoy.
• If you enjoy classical music, complete symphonies are also good. Some of my favorites: Dvorak Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”), Beethoven Symphonies No. 6 and 7.

For getting pumped up, I like something good and loud, or even some of my guilty pleasures:

• 1812 Overture, Tchaikovsky. Yes, you know this one. The Boston Pops plays it every year for the 4th of July. It’s nice and long, sometimes as much as 18 or so minutes. If at all possible, get a recording with the actual cannons at the end, it always gets me going.
• Symphony No. 5, 4. Allegro non Troppo, Shostakovich. The fourth movement of Shostakovich’s 5th symphony is just crazy. And it sounds like movie music. That and Dvorak’s 9th Symphony, and you’ll know where John Williams got his inspiration for most of Steven Spielberg’s movies.
• Ah, guilty pop pleasures. These are some of the ones on my playlist of “can’t not move” songs, or ones that otherwise just make me plain happy. A random selection of some of my iTunes favorites. I have elected not to explain or make excuses for any of them, thankyouverymuch.
  • Toxic, Britney Spears
  • Boom Shak-a-lak, Apache Indian
  • Mambo No. 5, Lou Bega
  • Hella Good and Hey Baby, No Doubt
  • Gone Daddy Gone, Gnarls Barkley
  • Come on Over, Christina Aguilera
  • Let’s Go Crazy, Prince
  • Come on Eileen, Dexy’s Midnight Runners
  • Pump It, Black Eyed Peas
  • Mamma Mia, ABBA
  • Groove is in the Heart, Dee-Lite
  • Rockafeller Skank, Fatboy Slim
  • When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down), Great Big Sea
  • Stitched Up, Herbie Hancock feat. John Mayer
  • Geek in the Pink, Jason Mraz
  • Are You Gonna Be My Girl, Jet
  • Shake Your Tail Feather, Ray Charles feat. the Blues Brothers
  • Oye Como Va, Santana
• Other than that, it’s all about your favorites.  Whatever you know the best and makes you happy.  I didn’t mention them individually, but my iPod is always fully stocked with my entire BNL collection, no surprise.

So, dear readers, what are some of your favorites?  Songs you’d love to have with you in Labor & Delivery, or any other stressful situation? Pass them along here, pass them along on Susan’s blog…

OK, so I pre-ordered Snacktime from Nettwerk back in… oh… MARCH. Has it arrived? No. What is the point of pre-ordering if you aren’t going to get it to people on time? Especially in the era of iTunes. Yet again, Nettwerk screws the pooch on the pre-order front. But I was taking the kids to the show, so I had to hear the new songs before I heard them live! I bought it on iTunes, anyways. (Yes, it might all be a ploy by Nettwerk to get me to buy it twice. Grr.)

But all that aside, I’m in love with this album after all of two listens. Great combination of funny, random, sweet, and all friendly for the kids while providing a giggle for mom and dad. It’s fully 24 songs, but most of them are pretty short. While I think you should go straight to your friendly iTunes store and buy it, here’s my thoughts on individual songs, in case you feel like getting all à la carte. I wanted to put them out there before we head to the show… which we’ll do as soon as the kids are up from their morning nap!

7 8 9 – The first “single” from the album, 7 8 9 sounds like Rawhide, and is based on the old “why is 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 8 9.” Leave it to BNL to take a two-sentence kiddie pun to it’s absurd extreme. You can download the single for free from BNL’s website, and you can see the silly animated video on YouTube.

The Ninjas – Apparently we think Ninjas come into our room at night. They also, apparently, sometimes vacation in Ireland. I know, weird. But only a minute long, and very catchy. You’ll be singing along before you can help it.

Pollywog in a Bog – Remember elementary or middle-school science when you learned about tadpoles and pollywogs and frogs? Well, here’s that lesson in song form. It’s got a funny sort of reggae bit in the middle, just begging for you to dance around like a goof with your kid.

Raisins – Um, random much? Much like the rap bits in One Week, the lyrics are basically non-sequitur, stream-of-consciousness… but a great tune, and you’ll be singing along (and fumbling the lyrics) immediately.

Eraser – An ode to the humble eraser. I will admit that I don’t tend to love Kevin Hearn’s songs right away. That said, they usually grow on me, and this one already is doing just that. I’m not sure how they managed to do a part-polka, part-soul, largely-Weird-Al-esque song about erasers, but it works.

I Can Sing – A great little bluegrass tune. Yes, BNL does bluegrass, too. And pretty darn well! Great harmonies, great banjo… just plain fun.

Louis Loon – Sweet pop song, just telling the story of a Loon, whose friends want him to stay and play. That’s all.

Food Party – It’s like beat poetry, with flavors and textures. Including umami, I swear.

Canadian Snacktime Trilogy, Part 1: Snacktime – Ethereal, and I think it’s Gordon Lightfoot singing. But the best part is the middle, where you have a bunch of people saying their favorite snacks. It includes phone-ins from (among others) Sarah McLachlan, Lyle Lovett, and Weird Al, as well as each one of the band’s kids! Cute.

Canadian Snacktime Trilogy, Part 2: Popcorn – What popcorn would sound like, if it were a song.

Canadian Snacktime Trilogy, Part 3: Vegetable Town – Eh, not my favorite, to be honest. I mean, it’s sort of whimsical, talking about a town that’s made out of different vegetables. But it’s just a little to slow for me. But they get points for having their kids sing backup.

Drawing – Very 80’s synth Devo-esque. You parents who were children of the 80s will dig it and bust out your old dance moves, much to your kids’ amusement.

Humungous Tree – I love it, but I find I’m lacking the vocabulary to describe it. Sort of bossa nova, sort of retro, sort of jazzy, the beat/rhythm has a lot of great movement.

My Big Sister – Short and sweet. A funny, faux-dramatic song about a boy who doesn’t want hand-me-downs from his sister.

Allergies – Loud, fast, rocking song… about allergies. I feel like a kid with a lot of allergies would get a kick out of this song. If they have to be so careful with things in their life to avoid their allergies… this song is anything but careful. Energetic and fun.

I Don’t Like – Honestly, I think this one’s mainly for the parents. As I read somewhere else, it’s the new “If I had $1,000,000″ as far as between-verse banter.

What a Wild Tune – Sweet song about the music in nature.

Bad Day – It sounds kind of depressed to me, but I think it might be a nice song for a more sensitive kid who likes to have a quiet day sometimes. It sounds a lot like some of BNL’s other slower songs, so it will feel familiar to the fans out there. And, it appears, Steve busted out the flute again.

Things – Very, very short. And yet, kind of sweet. Maybe it’s just the mommy hormones.

Curious – Feels a lot like a “kid” song, but tons of fun. Playing with words and rhyming, a good one to sing along with.

A Word for That – I love that it’s the adult trying to figure out a word, and it’s the kid who tells him what the word is. (I think it’s Ed’s kids, but that’s just a guess.)

Wishing – A silly, fun blues riff. Sounds like a classic southern rock tune.

Crazy ABC’s – Hi-fricking-larious. The banter cracks my shit up, and the choices they find for the word for each letter… You’ll laugh your butt off. Unless you’re like M, who audibly rolls his eyes at me. Haha, Zed for Zed Zed Top… I’m dying here.

Here Come the Geese – I notice they like to end albums with Kevin Hearn kind of flowy songs. They aren’t always my favorite songs, but I guess there a nice way to wind down at the end. It’s a good song, just not really my favorite.

Probably not, as there’s no skanky sex involved. And let’s all be thankful for that.

Those of you who know me are aware that I’m a fan of Barenaked Ladies. Easily my favorite band. Love their songs, love their attitude, love their live shows. I’ve probably been to 10 or so since my first concert, which was (gasp!) nearly a decade ago.

Needless to say, I was tickled to find out that they’re releasing a new album tomorrow, Snacktime. That’s right, a BNL kids’ album. Wohoo! They’ve already recorded a couple of kids’ songs, which I quite enjoy. And I’ve been trying to find good music for my kids. Yes, they’re little, in some ways it hardly matters. But I’m building my collection. While, on the one hand, I’ll play anything for them that I damn well please, I also want some music that is geared towards them. I love Peter and the Wolf, as performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with David Bowie doing the narration. Someone gave me a Justin Roberts album for Christmas, and that’s also a ton of fun. Songs that feel like “real” pop, reggae, country, whatever, but with fun kid-friendly lyrics.

Back to BNL. As I said, Snacktime comes out tomorrow. I’ve got it pre-ordered, so hopefully it will arrive on time. Complete with accompanying storybook! And then, I find out today, the band is doing a quick publicity jaunt, with some in-store performances and such. On Thursday, they’ll be in Massachusetts! They’re going to be at a Barnes & Noble about half an hour from here (down the street from the REI of the infamous BOB adventure), and even more perfect, the event is at 3:30. Prime outing time! We’re so going. My kids are 9 months old, and going to their first BNL show. Coolest mom ever, or lamest mom ever? I’m going to go with cool, since my kids are too young to tell me I’m lame.

My only question is this: how early do I try to go? Do I bank on there being a crowd, as BNL has a fairly substantial following in the area? Do I assume it won’t be so bad, as it’s the middle of the day in the ‘burbs? Hrm…

Alright, it appears the Seven Random Things meme is rampant in the mom blogging circuit these days. Not only did I do it last month, but I’ve now been tagged twice: by Cheryl and Lissa. Rules are as follows:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, I suppose I’ll try to come up with seven more random things about yours truly. Today I’m going with a music theme. I suppose that makes it a little less random, but so be it. I need structure.

1. My very first live concert was Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. I think it might have been 1987, and it was at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Illinois. We had lawn seats. I’m pretty sure I saw her a second time a year or two later.
2. I was a huge New Kids on the Block fan around 6th and 7th grade. Strangely, my middle school seemed otherwise immune to the phenomenon. So I was the only weirdo in my school (practically) who was into them, and suffered a fair amount of humiliation. It did not deter me from literally covering every inch of my bedroom wall with posters from Teen Beat and the like. I will not be going to the reunion show, though I did see them in concert back in the day… 1990, I think? Holy shit, that was 18 years ago. Wow.
3. Other… interesting acts I’ve seen in person: Paula Abdul, the aforementioned New Kids, and Barry Manilow. I later redeemed myself with U2, Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, the first Lilith Fair, and many others.
4. I still remember the date of the U2 show I saw: September 15, 1992. ZooTV “Outside Broadcast” tour. I was a freshman in high school, went with my friend and her mom (friend and I were on the lawn, her mom and mom’s friend were in the pavilion…), and it was the first time I ever smelled pot. We thought it was so scandalous!
5. In the first half of high school, I went through a strangely concurrent U2 and Peter Gabriel phase. Many a mix tape were born. U2 lost me with Zooropa, and Peter Gabriel, it turns out, is kind of a weird dude.
6. I have seen Barenaked Ladies eleven times since my first show in 1998. Hands down, my favorite concerts. They’re awesome live, and are easily my favorite band.
7. Speaking of BNL shows, I once bought tickets to a show in Rochester, New York. I was new to Boston, hadn’t made many friends, so had a little too much time on my hands to become a tad obsessed with the band. In between the purchasing and the actual show, I started dating M. We had been together less than a month, and he drove to Rochester with me and we went to the show (front row!). If that wasn’t crazy enough, my dad, stepmom, and stepsister happened to be in Rochester (of all places!) visiting colleges, so M got to not only go with me to a BNL show (which he liked just fine, but he’s not a concert person), but meet my parents. Not bad for dating about three weeks.

Hrm, now I have to tag seven people… let’s see if I can find that many who haven’t done this recently!

1. Krissy at Two is Better than One
2. J at $20 Bet
3. High Heeled Mama at High Heels and High Chairs
4. Life as I Know It
5. Jennie at Preteens, Toddlers and Newborns, Oh My
6. Cynthia at The Journey
7. The Station Managers at You’re Watching Adelevision