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We're back in NYC, and I have to be honest: I don't think I've ever been in less of a mood to blog. Other things are seeming way more important right now. Expect less of me here for the next little while, mkay?

All the same, I found this amazing video on Anne's blog and it seemed a fitting post for my mood, as well as something you would enjoy. I hope you do, and I hope 2011 is treating you well so far! XOXO.

Our Time One-Acts

I'm posting this video for a few reasons:

1) Cool fact: the cute guy that Beyonce's canoodling with? The one with the halo? That's Michael Ealy, a friend of ours and one of the stars of the upcoming Our Time One-Act plays! He's every bit as handsome, sweet, and charming in person. And he's a damn good actor.

2) Tickets to the shows are still available, so click here to get more info and reserve a seat! We hope to see you there ;)

3) The kiddos and I have always liked this song (once, right before latching on to nurse, J sang "I can see your mammo" to the tune, LOL).

Just 'Cause

I'm really too busy to properly blog this week. Here's a video of my kids rocking out to Raffi to hold you over until I can post some fun links, cool finds, awesome birth stories, or art-historical breasteeding inspiration. You know, the usual ;)

Enjoy.

Stop Motion Toast Miracle

OK Go has a new music video out, and this one is another masterpiece of painstaking yet elegant lo-fi brilliance. Amazing. Via d.Sharp Journal.

PS: All 215 loaves of bread were past their sell-by date & rescued from certain disposal for the shoot ;)

Sir Ken Robinson on Revolutionizing Education

Sir Ken Robinson addressed the TED conference in 2006 on the topic of How School Kills Creativity (I posted about it here). Now he's back, with these two excellent videos that will really shake up the way you think about education. I urge you to watch if you care about children, learning, and truly improving our school system.

This is why I believe in Unschooling. It is the ultimate in organic education, suited to the genius of each individual child.

I'd love it if you'd leave a comment with your thoughts!

Via A Wild and Precious Life.

Brothers

I discovered this little clip last night when I was browsing through iPhoto looking for the photos for my last post. I didn't know that my mom had the camera rolling during the adorable moment that J first held W in his arms.

Seeing this first sibling interaction again was like getting a birthday gift myself! Thanks, mom.

Oh, and in case you missed it the first time around, you can read the story of W's birth right HERE.

30 Days of Grateful - Summer

I just watched this little gem of a film on Gregarious Peach and I have to share it with you. It perfectly captures the fun and joy of Summertime, and inspires me to be grateful for little passing moments of beauty in everyday life. Enjoy!

Note: the creator of this loveliness is Hailey Bartholomew, who is the filmmaker-photographer behind one of my favorite birth videos of all time. Talented lady.

Birth Story of the Week: Two Amazing Birth Videos

I wanted to share two birth videos with you today. I think they are both so memorable and inspiring because of how calm, relaxed, and joyful the mothers are.

The first one is incredible. I love the deep, clear tub which enables us to see the baby swish out so gracefully!

The second one is fantastic too. The mother's euphoria is so palpable and beautiful. Thanks to Georgia for letting me know about it!

This Too Shall Pass

Today we are feeling much better. Thanks for all the sweet well-wishes. We wanted to share this amazing video from OK Go, which lifted our spirits mightily while we were laying in bed feeling gross...we can't stop watching it, and we think it will make your day!

One Year in Two Minutes

When the skies are grey and the air is cold and the low-grade sniffles are hard to shake, it's easy to forget that spring will one day arrive. If you're feeling stuck in a winter rut, check out this video. It is a really elegant and spellbinding illustration of Nature's cycle. Via Little Brown Pen.

Home

I was knocked out by this sweet little film that my friend Jodi received as a Christmas gift from her true love, Daniel. Aren't Jodi and their son Ché just beyond gorgeous? And the song's sentiment is so moving. Visit Jodi's beautiful blog, Ché and Fidel for more inspirations on family, parenthood and love.

Babywearing + NYC = LOVE

Home movies and my favorite Ella Fitzgerald song combine to make my ode to babywearing in NYC. This was my original idea for the Sakura Bloom Triathlon, but after nearly completing this video I had the idea for Baby Mamas (Put a Sling on 'Em). I recently decided to finish this one anyway because it expresses my affection for some of my favorite things in life: motherhood, babywearing, and New York City! I hope you enjoy it :)

Pure, Undiluted Awesome for your Sunday

Thanks to my brother for posting this on his Facebook page. It made my Sunday morning sparkle, and I hope it will brighten yours too!

We're going to a tree-trimming party today at my friend Abbey's house and I'm soooo excited to get into the Christmas spirit! What are you doing to feel festive this weekend?

Behind the Scenes of "Baby Mamas"

My friend, Stephanie Marshall, recording the vocals for the "Baby Mamas" video while her son Makai snoozes in their Ergo.

Wow, I am just incredibly amazed, thrilled, and humbled by the response to my Round Three entry to the Sakura Bloom Triathlon! Thank you for all the enthusiastic and lovely comments, and for spreading this video around by sharing it with your friends. I am so excited that it is resonating so much with baby mamas (and daddies!) everywhere. And of course a huge thank you to the Triathlon judges for selecting Baby Mamas for the round three win :)

I also want to publicly thank the incredibly talented and creative people who helped me to put the video together at the eleventh hour (we shot the whole thing on my Flip camera on this past Saturday and Sunday, and edited in the wee hours of Monday morning!): Stephanie Marshall, Shirley Rumierk, Naudia Jones, Taro Alexander, Everett Bradley, and Liz Rubincam.

Several people have asked for the lyrics, so I wanted to share those here. They were written by my amazing husband, with a tiny little bit of input and tweaking from me ;) Here they are, for your singing (and slinging) pleasure:

All the baby mamas (all the baby mamas)

All the baby mamas (all the baby mamas)

All the baby mamas (all the baby mamas)

All the baby mamas

Now get your slings out

Up in the house

We just woke up

I'm lookin' at your pretty face

Figurin' out

Which nice sling

To put you in today

You're up on me

Get you comfy

I know this will make you happy

No more tears

When you're in here

A sling’s good for you and me

‘Cause if you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

The Kangaroo carry

Or a baby on my hip

We're ready to rock the playground

We laugh and play

Have fun every day

So safe and cozy you’ll stay

I need no stroller

To take him or her

Anywhere we want to go

Just pop ‘em in the sling

A ring a ding-ding

Let me hear all the baby mamas sing

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

If you love 'em then you should put a sling on 'em

Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

The War on Kids vs. Delight-Driven Learning

I enjoyed this interview with the Cevin Soling, the Director of a new film, The War on Kids, that aired this week on The Colbert Report. I love Soling's observations about the brokenness of the school system, and the movie sounds like it will add a great dimension to the public debate over education.

While we're on the topic of school and learning, I wanted to share this video by Unschooling mom and activist Dayna Martin. Her words confirm for me the rightness of allowing kids to follow their interests and passions instead of forcing them into institutions to be educated. I love her phrase "delight-driven learning! What a positive alternative to the war on kids. (Via This Inspired Life).

Birth Story of the Week

This week's birth story was sent to me by a Marvelous Kiddo reader, Alex Tower Ewers, of Maus + Nugget. Made in San Francisco details the beautiful home birth of Alex's first child, Kirian.

I love all the sweet and intimate details of birthing at home that are shared in this little movie; things like decorating the house with flowers and getting groceries in early labor, Patrick's adorable antics while setting up the birth pool, and reading and napping together through the night. And what a peaceful birth! Alex and Patrick are so in-sync with each other and focused and loving. I also enjoyed seeing their blissed-out post-birth reflections as they cuddle with their gorgeous new baby boy.

See, and enjoy, for yourself:

Made in San Francisco from Patrick Ewers on Vimeo.

Birth Story of the Week

Welcome to the second installment of Birth Story of the Week here on Marvelous Kiddo.

I first saw this sweet video over a year ago on one of my favorite blogs, Free-Range Ramblings, (it has since become invitation-only). As you will see, it details the painless birth of a mother's fifth baby, at home, attended only by her husband (a Neurologist). It is a joy to watch an entire brood of children welcome a new sibling into the world. I hope you will find this little piece as moving as I did!

Let me know if you want to share your own birth story. Email me at leigh(at)leighpennebaker(dot)com if you're interested in being featured here.

Birth Story of the Week

I saw this amazing birth story on The Unnecesarean yesterday (have you subscribed to that blog yet? Because it is awesome -- one of my favorites on the topic of birth) and I felt that I had to share it. What a beautiful journey this video depicts. It got me thinking about all the interesting, informative, inspiring birth stories that are out there, and how cool it could be to explore some of them on Marvelous Kiddo. So consider this the first installment in a regular feature on my blog: "Birth Story of the Week"! On that note, I would love to hear YOUR birth stories...so if you feel like sharing, email me at leigh(at)leighpennebaker(dot)com. Thanks!

My New Favorite Carry

This is a video I made yesterday to demonstrate a fabulous new-to-me way of wearing the baby in a woven wrap. I love how neat and organized the final look is -- like a cute little package of baby! Another great aspect of this carry is that you can easily adjust the placement of the baby without taking it out of the wrap -- simply untie the ends of the wrap and raise or lower the baby by creating slack or tightening the ends (I find myself utilizing that adjustability aspect for easy breastfeeding on the go!)

Watch, and let me know what you think.

(NOTE: Please excuse the slight cropping of the video on my blog template...I'm a html novice and I couldn't manage to adjust the width of my main column without deleting the right-hand column entirely! To see the best version of the video click through to view it on YouTube and watch full-screen. Meanwhile, let me know if you have any references for a good blog designer, LOL!)

Made My Day

I found this via Capucha's Tumblr and we couldn't stop dancing along!