It's that time of year again...

Christmas Cards.

It is getting increasingly more difficult as the years go by to get a decent picture of the entire family.

Here's a preview of this year's photo shoot:

Thankfully, we got some good ones for the card.

Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful holiday this year.

The morning started with a 5k.

This particular race benefitted Grace Medical, which is a clinic that provides medical attention to people who don't have insurance or are low income.

Over 1,000 people participated in this first annual event.

The weather was gorgeous for a late November morning.

I ran with the girls in the double stroller and Aleks ran with his iPod and tried to ignore us.

Running with the girls was a lot slower, but so much more fun.

Maia kept wanting to get out and run. Every time she "ran the race with mommy" she got a ton of attention. And she ate it up.

In fact, one person told me that her only goal was to beat Maia to the finish line.

The best part was that Maia and I crossed the finish line together.

I don't want to put words in Aleks' mouth regarding this race and his goals, but I'll share with you his Facebook status after the race:

"Well, it wasn't fast and it certainly wasn't pretty but I ran the whole thing."

I'm so very proud!

Here he is crossing the finish line!

Aleks' mom, sister, and our two nieces came to Wichita this Thanksgiving. We've been loving every minute together. Maia is especially excited to play with her cousins.

This year we're thankful for:

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Now, let the Christmas music begin!

InstaFriday: Where did November go? Edition

Can it really be that Thanksgiving is on Thursday?

Where did November go?

I realize, that it's only Nov. 18, but after Thanksgiving, it's practically December and then before you know it, Christmas is here.

And I don't even know what we're doing for Christmas cards yet.

Anyway, here's what our week looked like in Instagram pictures.

This is Ruby's pooping position of choice.

Pooping for her has been traumatic. We've been putting Miralax in her milk for the past 2 weeks and it seems to be helping.

Hopefully there will be no more sweating, crying, or shaking when she has to go.

Poor thing.

In other Ruby news, she finally hit 20 pounds and got a new, front facing car seat!

I feel like a real grown-up now with two front facing kids in my backseat.

Oh! Here's more Ruby.

How adorable is this outfit?!

Sometimes I feel like the kids are taking over the house (and my sanity).

I've got doll houses in my bathtub, a snoopy in my kitchen drawer, and miscellaneous kitchen gadgets throughout the house.

The other night I was watching tv and was super uncomfortable. I realized it was because I didn't want to get in the bear's way.

My girlies.

Wednesday morning I woke up with a headache that quickly turned into a migraine.

Thankfully, I don't get them very often, but this one was a doozy.

I spent the morning laying comatose on the couch, only getting up when the pain made me sick to my stomach.

The girls were amazing. They played, watched tv, and played some more. 

No tears, no tantrums.

Aleks brought me some better medicine when he got home and it was all uphill from that point.

However, this is what our basement looked like at the end of the day.

Also macaroni and cheese and coffee helped speed recovery as well.

Lately I've been crafting and I can't stop!

When I realized that Thanksgiving is on Thursday and I have no decorations up, I immediately went to my new best friend: felt.

I'm sewing "Give Thanks" and will then string them across our fireplace mantel with clothespins.

If I get it done in time.

I hope you are all ready for Thanksgiving and are able to enjoy the preparations!

Linking up with Jeannett:

What I Do

Last week I had a student run out of my studio in tears, her frustration evident as I heard the building door slam shut.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it is that I do as a voice teacher.

To be an effective and trustworthy teacher I must have a knowledge of the physiology of the singing mechanism, appropriate repertoire for each voice type, and stylistic differences in genre. I must be comfortable speaking at least English, Italian, German, and French, if not also Spanish (Slavic languages are also being heard more and more these days). I must posses solid musicianship and proficient piano skills. I must have an understanding of acting technique. I must know how the audition process works, establish contacts throughout the singer world, and stay up to date on festivals, programs, competitions, and auditions. Oh, and stay active as a performer.

Believe it or not, that's the easy stuff.

My job as a teacher of singing also requires:
1. listening skills
2. communication skills

Essentially there are 2 things you need to do to sing: open your mouth and breathe.

Have you ever been at the mall on a Saturday afternoon and heard the wailing of a baby, clear as a bell, over the din of shoppers? It's the physical freedom we all innately posses as infants that singers spend countless hours (and dollars) trying to recapture. And its my job to help peel away the years of tension and other baggage from the voice to reveal an authentic, healthfully produced sound.

When a student walks into my studio I must listen critically and objectively to the sounds coming from their mouth. Is the sound unfocused? What part of their technique is lacking? Is there something in their anatomy that contributes to the issue? One of the biggest challenges for the voice teacher, I believe, is keeping "fresh" ears. And of course, the vocal ideal that we steer our students toward is subjective. I tend to appreciate clear, bright, yet warm voices. I'm sure that I subconsciously steer my students toward that sound.

Once I've diagnosed the work that needs to be done, I have to find a way to communicate that to my student. There are two parts to this. First, there is a transfer of information. Many of the muscles that are used in singing are involuntary. This means that we cannot consciously control them. As a result, voice teachers often use imagery to achieve the desired results.

For example, I might have a student who has an unfocused sound. This can be the result of many different issues and one image I like to use is that of a flashlight. You know, the kind that transmits a broad ray of light and can be adjusted to a narrower beam. When the beam is narrower, the light also becomes stronger. After explaining this, I will then encourage my student to sing the passage again with that image in mind. Often this helps my students produce a  more focused sound. 

Some students respond very well and thrive under imagery driven teachers. Other students prefer knowing the physiology behind singing. It's my job, through trial and error, to figure out what approach works best for each student. Furthermore, the teacher and student have to develop their own language of sorts. Kind of like agreeing that red is red.

There are some days that I leave my studio feeling like I've spoken nonsense all day. This actually came out of my mouth this semester: "Your voice is like velvet, but I need it to be more like pleather. They're both good fabrics, but in this case pleather is more appropriate." Say what?! But you know, the student achieved what I was after.

The second component of communication has to do with the student as a human being who has human being hang ups and issues and personality. Some students who come to me are decidedly "type A". They have an agenda, know what their weaknesses are, and have binders organized with tabs and plastic sheets and everything. More often than not, this student will have tension and lessons will be spent freeing the voice. 

The most rewarding students to teach are the ones that come in completely open. They are eager to try new things and are not hindered by insecurities. If I ask them to make noises like a siren, they are willing. If you ask them to do knee bends while singing, they go for it. They laugh at the occasional vocal crack and jump right back on the proverbial horse. Unfortunately, these students are the minority.

Ask any voice teacher and they will tell you that most days they feel like a therapist. (Ask any accompanist and they'll tell you the same thing, except they're doing therapy to help work through whatever issues have been caused by the voice teacher.)

And to top it all off, I absolutely cannot let whatever issues I have cloud the studio. Frankly, my last job messed me up. Even as I write, I think of the possibility of other singers and voice teachers reading this and judging my teaching ability. However, the minute I let my insecurities come into the studio, I am no longer serving the student. I've found that if I can answer in my heart of hearts that I've done what's right, then I can't worry what other people think.

The Hippocratic Oath comes to mind:

"I will not be ashamed to say "I know not", nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery."

and

"I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know."

And for those of you who think that I may be taking my job too seriously or placing too much value on what I do, this applies also:

"Above all, I must not play at God."

This semester has been difficult. I've had an especially needy group of students. The aforementioned student is somewhat of a special case, but jarring nonetheless. 

So why do I keep doing it?

That's a hard question to answer.

These are two of my students that went to NATS this year.

Leanne is a music theater major and entered in the musical theater division. She got very respectable scores; in the high 80s.

Anthony is a music performance major and placed fifth in his division.

There were over 300 students who auditioned this year in our region.

If I'm being completely honest, their successes at NATS this year have very little to do with me. We've only been working together for 3 months and it typically takes at least a year to see significant changes.

I once had a teacher tell me, that as weird as it sounded, she needed to love her students to be an effective teacher. I get it.

And maybe that's what keeps me doing this crazy job.

Tooth Watch 2011

Subject: Ruby
Age: 14 months
Crankiness: typically moderate, but occasionally extreme
Teeth: 0

Comments: We have sporadic drooling and chewing symptoms. Other than that, I'm not sure when these teeth will break. Meanwhile, we continue to feed R soft foods that she can gum and/or break the food into tiny pieces. I can't imagine what she will look like with teeth.

InstaFriday: Again!

I'm writing this from a cute little B&B in Hays, KS.

The kind of place that has little leaf stickers on the toilet paper to keep the end from hanging down and fabric on the walls and rooms called Rose, Homestead, and Peacock.

It's the first time I've spent a night by myself since Ruby was born, 14 months ago.

It couldn't have come at a more perfect time.

I'm here for the annual NATS auditions and as a NATS member with students competing, I'm obligated to attend.

Even though I'll be working, I'm enjoying my time alone.

Earlier this week Maia and I had a date at the zoo. The leaves in Wichita have finally turned and it's been gorgeous.

Aleks told me that I had an emoji keyboard on my phone.

It makes those cute pictures next to our text messages.

Also, Aleks went eyeglass shopping.

Thankfully he did not get this pair.

I finally bit the bullet and got my hair cut.

It turned out ok, but I miss Chelsea.

And our playdates...

On Halloween I had my first gig in Wichita.

It was a memorial service for an older gentleman.

No offense to my Catholic friends, but it was the typical thrown together mass that causes lots of stress beforehand, but always turns out ok.

Do we sing the Lord's Prayer? What mass parts are we doing? Which responsorial and Alleluia will be sung? You know, the usual.

Halloween was pretty much a non-event in our house.

Maia didn't want to wear her costume.

Ruby had a melt down and was in bed by 5:30.

Aleks and I planned to watch this DVD while answering the door for trick or treaters.

When we opened the case, which was loaned to us by one of Aleks' colleagues, it was empty.

Fail.

We watched SNL on Hulu instead.

With regards to the stuttering, it's gotten markedly better.

I don't know if it's directly related, but Maia has suddenly mastered her pronouns.

"Mommy, you and me and Daddy and Ruby will go to the library."

Ruby went down for an early nap this morning and when I went to wake her up, I found this. 

She was O.U.T.

Drool out the side of her mouth and everything.

(She gets that from her dad.)

I've been crafting!

Felt is amazing.

Easy to work with, cute, clean.

A good way to be crafty if you're a bit nervous about crafting.

And I didn't instgram this, but Aleks texted it to me after I left for my trip this weekend.

Send good thoughts and wishes to Aleks this weekend. He's by himself with the girls until Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy my solitude and read a mindless novel.

Linking up with Jeannett: