Three Schneiders: We LOVE Elizabeth Mitchell!

Monday, October 18, 2010

We LOVE Elizabeth Mitchell!

When Josephine was just a wee little thing, I saw a review for Elizabeth Mitchell's "You Are My Little Bird" CD in Mothering Magazine and that was the beginning of what has become a complete love affair with her music! Fast forward three years and the full collection later ("You Are My Sunshine," "You Are My Flower," "Catch The Moon" and her latest "Sunny Day") and we are still over-the-moon about the songs that she and her family have added to our own family's history.
I really could go on and on for days about how these songs have formed the backdrop for our lives since Josie was born - only three voices on the planet could calm baby Josie: mine, her dad's and Elizabeth Mitchell's. There are so many memories of me nursing her off to sleep singing "Los Pollitos" and the day when she was old enough to add her own "pio, pio, pio" just about melted my heart. And then there's her rendition of "Three Little Birds" which will get its own post very soon. And Josie's newest obsession "Shoe Lie Loo" where they sing "Hey Miss Jojo" and Josie screams, "That's me! She knows my name!!!" All told, Elizabeth Mitchell and family (and the "and family" part is a big deal) make brilliant music. It's not "kids music" per se. Sure, there are silly verses and sing-songy rhymes but they are paired perfectly with beautiful, peaceful, lyrical songs with depth and meaning. As I said, I could go on and on for days. But, I'll stop there for now and leave you with this. If you don't own any Elizabeth Mitchell CDs. Get them NOW. Here - I'll make it easy for you! Two - if you still need convincing, check out this video of the snippets I put together of Josie and Lyla at her concert in Chicago earlier this month. It was Lyla's second birthday and Josie's "Beatles moment." Front row. Absolute awe. Pure Joy. Tears in her mama's eyes. A flood of memories. The passage of time. Absolute gratitude. Enjoy.

Oh - at the end of this video Josie is pretending to be Elizabeth Mitchell on her own stage. She's singing "Three Little Birds" but you really have to crank up the volume to hear it. Technical difficulty. Sorry.

2 comments:

Catherine said...: SOOOo sweet! Elizabeth Mitchell gives such great music for kids. One of my faves!; October 18, 2010 at 10:38 PM
Melissa said...: So cute! E was sitting on my lap and dancing along too, might have to get some of her music for her :); October 20, 2010 at 12:14 PM

Things I've Learned So Far

When on bedrest, cravings are satisfied in bulk. A chai tea latte is not out of reach. It will arrive as a case of six 32-oz cartons courtesy of Amazon prime in two business days.
Fall/Winter maternity clothes are infinitely more expensive, uncomfortable, and ugly than Spring/Summer maternity clothes! (And I miss my flip-flops already!)
BELIEVE in miracles!
If your two-year old tells you that you need to be more patient, she's probably right.
Moving is hard. Moving with a toddler is even harder.
There are no guarantees.
Don't let your two-year old pick out the kind of Valentine's Day cards she wants to make. There's a good chance she's overly-ambitious.
Take nothing for granted.
If you pay close enough attention, your little one will totally show you the right path in most situations. They're wise little souls. We should give them more credit. And we should follow their lead.
If your child is doing some well/good/desirable/etc, people attritbute that to chance. But, if your child is doing something wrong/incorrect/undesirable/etc, that gets chalked-up to your parenting.
There is no sense in trying to make children grow up any faster than they already do.
There is no better compliment than someone whose opinion you value saying that you are good parents - and meaning it.
Parenting is deeply personal.
Use the words "I promise" sparingly. There are very few things you can actually guarantee your child and broken promises really hurt.
As a parent, there are some things you do because you think you're supposed to...And then there are the things you do because you know you have to.
There's nothing quite like a conversation with a two-year old.
The development of language is mind-boggling! And so much fun to watch develop!
Everything happens for a reason. Everything. Even though it's sometimes hard to figure out why.
Traveling with a toddler might be a trip, but it definitely is not a vacation.
"Wean" doesn't have to be a four-letter word.
It is true what the say - the days are long, but the years are short. Happy first birthday Josephine!
The baby's needs always come first. (Case in point: her dinner was a well-balanced, all-organic meal of turkey, cheddar cheese cubes, vegetable hummus & raisins for dessert. Mine was a bowl of Coco Crispies.)
I thought that first smile was a good as it got...until the day she first reached out for me. I knew that was the best feeling in the world...Until she looked at me and said "Mama!" :)
There are two kinds of people in the world - those who wave back to a baby in stroller & those who don't.
Mother's Day & Father's Day are definitely more than "Hallmark Holidays."
The people who designed the Sesame Street characters knew what they were doing!
Babies do not understand time zones!
There is no shame in buying a one-piece bathing suit. ;)
Time spent just sitting and staring at Josephine is time well spent! The fact that we created her and the fact that she is ours still amazes me every single day. We are totally in awe of our beautiful daugther!
Pureed beets and babies don't mix.
One of "those nights" is usually followed by one of "those days."
Blowing bubbles is fun for the whole family.
Seven month olds definitely know how to dance!
Baby monitors are also useful for identifying when you've accidentally locked a cat in the baby's room.
With a little practice, it is possible to update the blog, talk on the phone, eat lunch, and pump breastmilk all at the same time. (Now that's what I call multi-tasking.)
A five month old baby does not know how to "pet" a cat. However, a five month baby is very good at making a cat really angry!
Diaper rash cream has lots of different uses!
There's no doubt in my mind that you would find a nasal aspirator / nose suction bulb in a museum of torture devices.
A cat's meow and a baby's cry sound oddly similar at 4am.
The hospital should keep all the samples of free formula and pass out white noise and Elizabeth Mitchell CDs instead!
The day Josie no longer wants to hold my hand will definitely be a sad day. In the meantime, I'm content to stay in her room a couple extra minutes in the middle of the night with her little hand wrapped tightly around my finger.
The holidays really are more special once you've started your own family.
When all else fails - just breathe & remain grateful! Even the worst days are the best days of our lives.
It's okay to do at least half of the things you swore you would never do as a parent.
Parenting means you must always be up for a change of plans - even if that means giving up dinner at your favorite restaurant for White Castle in the back seat while nursing your baby.
Never take an over-tired baby to the mall in a bassinet!
Those damn baby nail clippers are lethal weapons - I hope Josie won't miss the top half of her pointer finger!
Two sets of sheets are not enough.
It's okay to cry when you put away baby clothes that no longer fit anymore.
Strangers almost always hold the door open for a pregnant woman, but almost never do so for a woman with a stroller.
There is nothing like that first toothless smile!
You haven't lived until you've had to handle a diaper blowout SO BIG that the only way out of it is to cut your baby's clothes off of her to avoid covering her head with poo.
There is absolutely, positively nothing worse in the entire world that seeing your child in pain and not being able to help her.
Never leave home without an extra set of clothes for yourself & at least two extra sets of clothes for the baby.
Baby pee dries quickly and doesn't require a change of clothes (no one will ever know...)
Picking little baby boogers is more fun than it should be.
If Josie is totally relaxed and smiling, she probably just pooped.
Thank goodness the baby doesn't realize I usually don't know what the heck I'm doing.
Lou has missed his calling as a performer of children's songs & should definitely look into recording his smash hit "Mama's Milk".
Nipples stretch like rubberbands.

Three Schneiders

Monday, October 18, 2010

We LOVE Elizabeth Mitchell!

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