When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? October goodness.

Pumpkin spice, colorful leaves, crisp winds. It's October baby! I added the pumpkin spice for Bookworm Brandee. The girl loves the stuff! Fall also means football, spiders, and premature Christmas products in stores. I'm choosing a couple songs from my birthday mixed CD my sister made for me. Thanks Shann.

Hard to be grumpy listening to this song.

Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer

Here's one for all those looking for a bit of inspiration because it's so pretty.

Lost Boy by Ruth B

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? It's all about the ukulele!

I just realized it's November! It was the spectacular show of color this morning that clued me in. Plus the very unhappy kid raking a mile of yellow on the sidewalk. I smiled huge at the thought of sending my petulant teenager to rake and scoop leaves. My mind jumped from that thought to the first fall I spent in Washington. I was homesick and surrounded by strangers, but the colors fed a part of my soul that has never gone hungry since. There was this one day I was determined to rake leaves just like in the movies. Since I didn't have a lawn because I lived in the dorms I walked and walked looking for some old person who should not be raking leaves in the first place. Apparently, Tacoma is filled with spry elderly because I had not a single taker. So happy fall! Here's to yummy hot coffees and colors that make our hearts sing. And on that note (I'm killing with these puns!), here's my November theme song. It's all about the ukulele (for no good reason).

Joe Brown singing I'll See You In My Dreams

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? Movie trailers have the best songs!

Happy October! I drive by a park on my way to work with the best trees for fall. Tall and ancient, standing stoically beautiful in a tight traffic zone. Last week the colors took my breath away and had me daydreaming at the start of my day. So I think it's time for a wistful dreamy kind of song. The second I heard it during a preview for the movie Pan, I was hooked (haha, get it, hooked, Peter Pan). Here's I Believe by Christina Perri.

Domestic Camp, I made it up and now I'm camp crazy! Plus a movie soundtrack for September's theme song!

I had a fit one day after my youngest made the biggest crumb mess possible. Really, it was like some snack bomb went off. My problem wasn't the mess, not really, it was my brain jumping to a thousand scenarios in my future where this was my world, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, and it was my brain throwing in the upcoming school year with work, trying to write, homework with reluctant learners, exhaustion. So it was a real fit you see. Then quiet little words sifted through the chaos, "Mom, I can help you. I'm a good helper." It all stopped. The whirlwind thoughts, the pounding of blood in my head, the vacuum cleaner. I looked at John totally coated in crumbs. "Let me help."

After some time cleaning together, I shouted across the room, "Next week we're having Domestic Camp!" John heard camp and cheered. We worked through what he should learn to do around the house and what fun snacks he should have (Gatorade, Doritos, and cookies). 

Since this was supposed to be a genuine camp we needed to do crafts. I jumped on Pinterest (not a hardship since I'm addicted) and checked out the board I created in case I ever fell into fantasy land and became a crafty person. I sent out an SOS to Bookworm Brandee for ideas on the camp and she mentioned creating badges and licenses. Ha! So I made "Super Clean" Superman style badges I attached to lanyards. After they learned a certain task I made them licenses, like a license to vacuum the floorboards or mop the floor or carry the laundry upstairs. Oh and every morning John got to have fried bologna for breakfast. 

I did not include my 13 year old in the planning process because he's currently working very hard at being 13. That means he's moody, hostile, and perfecting the fine art of calling everything lame. He did not appreciate his badge as much or enjoy leaning how to fold and put away his laundry (day 1), but he loved the rewards. He liked vacuuming and mopping and cleaning the windows in my car. Yes, I did take advantage of camp to get my car cleaned. But we did get to go to the car wash and we all enjoyed that. He also took it as a personal affront to do any type of crafts. 

Even with the 13 year old telling me I was crazy every time I gave him a directive, the camp was a huge success in all the ways I hoped, but also in ways I never imagined. I'm a get it done kind of girl, always have been. Meaning I don't share tasks well...meaning I didn't even know how, but Domestic Camp opened my eyes to a whole new world. I liked doing chores with another person. Pretty neato, you know.

I got a little camp crazy once I realized I could create my own kind of camp. We moved onto "catch up camp with a bit of adventure." My 6 year old named it. We brushed up on math and vocabulary and paired that with an adventure we wanted to do this summer but never got the chance. Tomorrow we're having "Cyber Monday Camp" where we'll work on computer skills and play computer games together.

So if you have a to-do list to do with the kids, if you keep saying to yourself, "I need to teach them that," create a camp. And then another one. They're like tattoos. I'm telling you.

Now for some music! I just watched the movie Song One. So dang good! The music is the movie and the characters are just a way to give us the songs. I loved it! 

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? It's going to take an album.

August is going to require an entire album. And I have just the one. Man, it's so awesome. Elle King, Love Stuff. I'm crazy about the entire album. Rocker chick, soulful, takes you places. So dance and rock it out this last month of summer. What about you? What are you listening to?

Here's one of their most popular songs Ex's & Oh's! I love it.

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? [19] Teasing your favorite character!

July people! It's hot here, not Southwest hot or Midwest hot or east coast hot. Okay, it's not really hot unless you're a Pacific Northwesterner. Last time we had a summer like this, and I can remember vividly, my oldest was brand new to this world and I was so very lost. I'm not so lost anymore and the feeling, the feeling of distance and perspective and knowing what I've pushed past, well it's time for some fun!! I've been on a Fever Series reading bender. If you haven't dived into the world of Mac and Barrons by Karen Marie Moning and you like your urban fantasy on the unscrupulous side, what's keeping you? Pick up a book. Anyways, Barrons is beyond an Alpha male. He's an endless storm always free of human shackles like morals. He's not big on words though his actions require a very open mind to remain judge-free. After devouring seven books I heard Hugh Laurie's "You Don't Know My Mind" and I laughed the whole time imagining Barrons drunk crying in his beer or warm blood (whatever sauce he gluttons himself on). So here's my July pick. He'd kill me hard if I played it for him and told him "This is you, Barrons, you whiny baby!" Oh, by the way, you know who Hugh Laurie is right? House from the retired doctor show of the same name on Fox?

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? [16] Blogger's choice!

April. I have no words. Just kidding, I'm a chatty girl. It's going to be a busy month since I'll continue to work almost double the hours at my job due to an incident that took out two members of the team for a while. I don't have all the tools to blend such long hours at work with my full time mom gig, but it will get sorted out. In the mean time how about a song? Here's a Battle Round song from the NBC show The Voice. I get all emotional watching it. So what song is on your mind right now? Do share. I'll be away from my blog for a bit because it's spring break time and that means Colorado, my dad and step mom and apparently new floors but no furniture (we'll see how that goes), and super awesome Bookworm Brandee.

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? [15] The perfect song for that book!

March is here. Impossible! My oldest starts up Special Olympics swimming this month and my youngest will continue with his art classes. My list is filled with author girl goals and find my spirit goals and hopefully wake up early and workout goals. What's your March look like? Whether you're just going to sit back and enjoy the cherry trees blossoming or you plan to kick your butt into action, how about doing all that to music? This month we're tapping books for inspiration.

Into the Mystic drops me into the book Slammed by Colleen Hoover. There's a part of the song where I can see the main characters dancing together, not giving into the temptation of crossing the line, but unable to resist having this one moment that says everything. Great freaking song.

Give Into Me from the movie Country Strong is so the book The Gamble by Kristen Ashley. I don't want to say anything about the book because I'm buddy reading it with Brandee only I accidentally read it before her. I'm a bad buddy, but awesome book and song, right?

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? [11] Foreign language time!

Did November sneak up on anyone else? The year is almost over and I haven't been the most productive author girl. But the kids are good and I'm loving my job and it's fall! So it's all good. I've been wanting to do a foreign language song theme for a while now and here it is! I'm cheating and doing a runner up just so I can have two songs. hehe

I fell in love with Via Con Me by Paolo Conte from the French Kiss soundtrack.

And I just had to include "I Love You for Sentimental Reasons" by Karl Zero from the X-Files episode titled "Improbable" guest starring Burt Reynolds. It's one of my favorites!

How about you all? Are there any songs you love that you try to sing along to even though you have no clue what the words are?

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? [4] Silliness!

Ally McBeal knew what she was doing with her baby dancing theme song, Hooked on a Feeling. Let's give it a shot. I think it's working because my kids are scolding me more than usual for all my singing and dancing. We all need to sing and dance a little more. 

So spring is here along with torrential rains and kids who refuse to wear their coats anymore. I think silliness is in order. I'm choosing Folding Chair by Regina Spektor. I love singing along to this song. Check out a few lines..."I've got a perfect body, but sometimes I forget. I've got a perfect body 'cause my eyelashes catch my sweat. Yes they do. They do-oo-ooo...." I love that!

Do you have any songs that pull you into silliness? I'd love to check them out, sing along, maybe do a weak thumbs at my hips dance in the kitchen while I cook. I hope you all have a fantastic April! Here are my mom and sister's silly songs.

Mushaboom by Feist is one of my favorites, but I just saw the video for the first time. Totally oddball silly! So of course it's my sister's pick.

I accidentally listened to this song with John in the car. Maybe I forgot he was there, that was until I heard a little voice sing, "I don't care. I love it!" So of course this is my mom's pick!

DISCLAIMER!

(These are not my kids, but they have the exact same reaction to this song. They could be fighting and driving me crazy and then I put on Watermelon Meow Meow by The Imagination Movers and magic!)

You can find April's Youtube playlist link HERE!