single mommin’ it

Emmett and i have been on our own for about 5 days (including my 31st birthday!). When we are on our own, we take it very easy. We go grocery shopping, walk the dog, play in the yard, take baths and linger over breakfast. It’s lovely at the same time as it is a lot of work.

This morning we went grocery shopping with Molly & Oscar. Oscar is almost 1 year old and has the squishiest cheeks i’ve ever seen. I dearly hope that these boys know eachother for ever. There is something magical about having friends you’ve known since you were born. I’d love to take this same picture every year.

My mom comes to town today to help us out. So grateful that she could. No one helps you like your mom.

Portlandia For Christmas

Hey fellow traveler

Mama here. Currently nursing almost 14 month-old, sniffly Emmett and typing one handed. It is lambswool grey and drizzly here in my hometown of Portland, OR. The TV show is more spot-on than caricature. On this 10 day trip I’ve overheard such gems as “I’ve always wanted a jumpsuit” and “I mean, we are lucky to be very focused on grass-fed, certified organic, free-range, rural consumerism”. I love this town where i had my salad days, but i am deeply grateful to be living in sunny Austin, TX where tacos abound and people are living in a more casual swing.

sweet pic of Bug that my sister, Marisa McClellan of foodinjars.com took!

Bug and i will be headed back to Austin on the 30th whereas Papa will go to San Diego to play a rocking New Year’s Eve show with Steve Poltz. I plan on baking some GF pumpkin bread, walking around our sweet 78704 neighborhood with the pup, writing some songs during naptime, and taking each day as a gift wrapped in news print.

As soon as Papa gets back we are diving headlong into mixing the new record. Mixing means finding the right home for each sound; putting the guitar at the right volume so the vocals can be heard (and more importantly, felt), adding tambourines & chimes like sprinkles, seeing to it that the album is more of a cohesive whole as opposed to a bunch of sounds clunking around in the same time signature. It’s crucial. I can’t wait to hear the final product myself, but i am more excited for the 644 people who pre-ordered the record on Kickstarter to hear what we’ve made. I hope they like it half as much as i’m proud of the thing. That would be a win. Here’s a picture of our amazing folk choir, and yep that is a finger in the upper left corner: