Tone deaf

Next time you are practicing, or singing along with the radio, and it sounds really off-key, just be thankful that you can tell that it’s out of tune!

According to a new study, a part of the brain has been identified that confers musical ability. People with defects in this region tend to have trouble carrying a tune.

Baby's firsts

Yesterday the baby had a few firsts:

Baby's first party
We took her over to watch the Clemson-Georgia Tech game at the new home of Lunchbox and Hotness. She was a good guest and we all had a good time.

Baby's first ride in the back seat of a police cruiser
Don't fret, neither our daughter nor her parents broke the law. Daddy owns a retired police car, one of the millions of fantastic and useless things you can purchase on ebay. Actually since he joined the volunteer fire department, it's been useful to have lights and sirens. It's fun for kids of all ages, too.

Upright again

I missed our first symphony concert last Friday. I really intended on going and sitting in the audience. It seemed so simple. Take the baby or find a sitter. No big deal.

What was I thinking?!?!?

Just brushing my teeth, having lunch, going on a 30-minute walk, and taking a shower is a big day for me. Once in a while I manage to return some phone calls or go to the store if I'm feeling really productive. People (i.e. GrandpaKB) tried to warn me that having kids would change things, but stubbornly I refused to believe it.

Well things are starting to get a little easier. I hope to start going to rehearsals for the Christmas concert next week. We have a potential baby sitter, so it's just a matter of seeing if I feel up to it. As I've mentioned recently, I love Christmas music, the cheesier the better, even the Sleigh Ride which I've played over a 100 times. And I still can't help but smile every time the horn mimics a horse at the end! Good stuff. I can't miss out this year.

I'm a little nervous about getting out the upright again. This week I should really knock the dust of the fingerboard. I'd been playing bass guitar exclusively the last several months while I was pregnant, and I haven't been doing much musically lately other than singing an occasional lullaby.

Sadly, I'm not remembering the good old fashioned lullabies. Yesterday, the theme from "Weeds" seemed really catchy and sort of sounded like a lullaby. I really need a refresher on kiddy songs.

Declaring My Dependent, and My Dependence

One of the nice things about having a fall baby, besides the perfect weather for pushing the stroller around the block, is that we get to declare her on our 2006 income tax even though she only will be in the world for part of the year. Personally, I think having the first baby of the new year is over-rated. It'd be much better to be able to declare a dependent on your W-2 and have the *last* baby of the previous year.

As I first declare my dependent on my tax forms, I'm also coming to terms with declaring my dependence. Like most 20-somethings, I spent most of the last decade trying to declare my independence. I moved across the country- away from all family and friends- two different times. I stuck with a job I hated because I didn't want to be financially dependent on my new husband. Declaring my independence seemed to be the central theme of life lately.

To steal from Phil Vassar, I'm starting to think about my next 30 years. In my next 30 years, I'm going to declare my dependence. In the last two weeks I've been totally dependent on my family to see me through becoming a new mother. (Thanks so much mom and dad!) I know I would have survived without them, but much less gracefully. Even now, I'm still emotionally dependent on them and my husband. And that's OK. A little dependence, especially when you have a new dependent, is a good thing.