According to the seasonal calendar we’ve still got over a month left of summer. According to the school calendar though, we’ve got just 6 days left here in Austin, TX. Oh my oh my time does fly too fast sometimes. In some ways our family is ready for the return. In other ways though we are hesitant to leave the late night swims and sometimes lazy days. Even on work days the schedule somehow felt less rushed, less urgent and less wrought with the endless to-dos that feel a part of school.

Time for us to regroup as a family. Time to set some intentions for the upcoming school year. Time to figure out just how we want this school year to look and feel. We’ve got this Sunday slated as a family day – a day for figuring out just how to make this very big transition. How do you do it in your house? If you’ve got a special ritual for heading back to school we’d love to know!

And it’s time too for our 3rd annual back to school clothes swap. Come join us. Bring what you can. Take what you need. We’ll have sewers, silk screeners and sorters too making nice mountains of all kinds of clothes for infants to adults. You can get the details here…

Monica Cravotta, co-owner of recording studio, Hideout Studios with husband Mark and indie singer-songwriter, Ben Kweller came up with the idea to record an album of children’s music with friends while pregnant with her first baby in 2006. She had bonded with Libby Kirkpatrick and Sarah Sharp when they were all eight months pregnant and singing together at a Strings Attached concert. At the same time, Monica’s friend Mary Londos was exploring the idea of recording her own album of lullabies. Monica suggested that everyone come together at The Hideout and contribute a song or two to make an album for the new babies and as a benefit for Mama’s Milk Bank of Austin.

Between 2007 and 2009, the project went through some stops and starts (and a little Slow Family Living) but Sweet Songs continued to grow and blossom in its own all-in-good-time organic way. During this time, Monica invited more friends to contribute songs including Noëlle Hampton, Gretchen Janzow, Elizabeth Suggs and Elizabeth McQueen. She also invited André Moran to engineer and Sara Hickman to produce. Sweet Songs really came to life in 2009 with Sara’s production leadership and Monica’s fundraising efforts to cover the album’s production, manufacturing and marketing costs.

The artists are thrilled to be contributing to the children’s music genre while advocating for the health benefits of breastfeeding for both mothers and infants and raising awareness and money for Austin’s milk bank.  100% of the profits from Sweet Songs CD sales will go to the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin.

This album has been a long time in the making and has been the direct recipient of a lot of tender loving care.  If you would like to share in the big debut, and get your own Sweet Songs to take home,  join the creators at this very family friendly, mama-inspired Mother’s Day event…

• Date: Sunday, May 9, 2010
• Venue: Big Red Sun, 1102 East Cesar Chavez, Austin
• Time: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
• Cover: $10/adult, $5/child, children age 3 and under, FREE.

Purchase tickets in advance by clicking the Sweet Songs logo in our sidebar.  Ticket price includes buffet brunch sponsored by Whole Foods and Bona Dea Bread and a lovely Mother’s Day outdoor concert – bring your picnic blanket for ground seating.

About the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin

The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to accept, pasteurize and dispense donor human milk by physician prescription, primarily to premature and ill infants. The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin collects, processes, and dispenses the donor milk that helps these medically fragile babies survive and thrive.

Milk bank donors are healthy, conscientious women who care about the health of babies. They are most often nursing their own infants, have an abundant milk supply, and donate their extra milk to the Milk Bank. For this generous act they receive no payment or compensation, except the satisfaction that comes from knowing they have helped improve the health of a fragile baby.

Executive Sponsors of the Sweet Songs album include: SetonBabyTalk.com, Weathershenker Photography, The Board Members of Anthropos Arts, Whole Foods, Wildflower Organics, Special Addition, Medela, Barton Creek Pediatrics, Slow Family Living, GB Khalsa/midwife, Jen Hellow Photography, JH Jackson Photography, Event Envy and Bona Dea Bread.

The Sweet Songs project has benefited also from many personal donations. Interested sponsors or donors may contact Monica Cravotta

Our own Carrie Contey, known on the big stage as Doctor Carrie Contey, spoke at the first Tedx Austin a few weeks ago. The theme for the whole day was Play Big. The energy created was amazing. Carrie talked about the need to pause big in the midst of all that play. It’s not just a good idea, it’s necessary for the integration of information and overall wellness. Why not take a pause right now and listen to what Carrie had to say.

Then tell us how you take the pause.

GEVER TULLEY Founder of Tinkering School and author of Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do)

with

CARRIE CONTEY, Ph D. Co-founder of Slow Family Living (slowfamilyliving.com) prenatal and perinatal psychologist, parenting coach, educator and consultant and BERNADETTE NOLL Co-founder of Slow Family Living and Future Craft Collective , writer and mother of four

CANT MAKE INNOVATION IN EDUCATION?

PLAY WITH GEVER TULLEY

Join us for a hands-on workshop for adults who want to learn the secrets of the Tinkering School approach and the structure of great learning experiences. Class size will be kept small (15 participants) so that a real conversation can take place. COST, $45 RSVP: KWILT@AUSTIN.RR.COM Sunday, 3/28, 6-8pm, Central Austin location TBA.

GOING OFF THE RAILS: PUBLIC TALK AT UT AUSTIN

Join Gever Tulley as he reveals the secrets of the Tinkering School process, explores the brain chemistry and structure of great learning experiences, and discusses the importance of danger and mystery. FREE ADMISSION

Monday, 3/29, 6:30-7:30 at the College of Fine Arts (on Trinity across from stadium), Room ART1.120 After the talk, Gever will take time to sign your copy of FIFTY DANGEROUS THINGS. The book will also be on sale at the event for $25.

Please bring cash or check, credit cards are not able to be accepted.

Thanks to Kami for organizing this amazing event. And to Jennifer too.

Last Saturday Carrie and I spent the day in the Austin City Limits studios, at the inaugural Tedx Austin conference. It was an amazing event with the theme of Play Big!  Tedx is an offshoot of the amazing Ted series which is an annual event celebrating the world of ideas worth sharing. Tedx is its younger sibling so to speak – the x signifying that it is an independently organized Ted event. There was nothing smaller about this day though as speaker after speaker after performer hit the stage sharing their big ideas, big notions, big lessons learned, big projects and big dreams for ways we, as creative humans, can Play BIG!

Our own Carrie Contey was one  of those speakers and spoke on the idea of allowing and appreciating the pauses in life. Starting with the explanation of the growth and development of the infant brain, she explained to us all that taking a pause isn’t just a nice idea, it’s necessary to the unfolding and integration of knowledge and understanding.  In less than 15 minutes she taught all in the room, a roomful of people no doubt highly plugged in to a variety of devices and people, that the pause isn’t wasting time. It’s crucial to our human development. When we’re infants and all the way through childhood and adulthood too. We can’t keep taking in, if there is no pause there to allow for integration of information. Well, we can but that is when there is overload and possible implosion. In order to find the balance we have to do. be. do. be. do. be. Always ending on the being.

I have found ways throughout the day to take these necessary pauses. Waiting at a stoplight I close my eyes and tell my children to alert me to a green. Standing at the kitchen sink I spread my feet shoulder width apart and slowly drink a glass of water. I have learned the art of the 20 minute nap. I know that turning off the phone on occasion connects me more to self and to my family. I have learned that time for conscious breathing can/should come as the first item on the list. Not the last. I have learned all of these things and yet I was both in need of and grateful for the scientific reminder from Slow Family’s own Dr. Carrie Contey.

Her message wrapped up at the end: Do less. Be More.

Stay tuned for the video of Carrie’s talk and, lucky us, of the entire day. In the meantime, how are you going to take a pause?

I have known Ginger Webb for many years now and have long been a fan of her herbal work known as Texas Medicinals. She makes a wide variety of tinctures, teas and tonics of the herbal variety – gathering many of the herbs herself during her wild harvest walks. I could list a whole host of my favorites -  with the number one being the mama’s little helper known as Stress Less. The names alone give comfort with tinctures such as Cough Calm, Digestive Cordial, Mental Clarity and more. And her teas too with names such as Strong Mama tea and Romanticka, which tends nicely to the heart and all it encompasses.

Ginger occasionally leads wild herb walks around Austin during which she shows and discusses the edible and medicinal plants that live amongst us. This month we are honored to be included in the first, of what we hope will be many, Slow Family Wild Herb Walk.

If you are going to be in Austin over Thanksgiving weekend we hope you will join us as we walk through Roy Guerrerro Park in East Austin and explore the edible and medicinal plants in our fair city. Here’s the details…

• Sunday, November 29th
• 10:30 a.m. to noon
• $15.00 per person or $25.00 per family
• 8200 Grove Boulevard, 78741 – (oddly it is not allowing a link to the proper address so just type it into google maps!)
• Please r.s.v.p. to Ginger Webb if you plan on attending

Seems like a way better option than heading out to the mall.

Saturday November 21 from 3-5 pm. in Butler Park.

Bring your balls, bikes, blankets, bubbles and bring your friends too! We’ll make it a Slow Family party in the park.

Thanks friends! We look forward to gathering with all of you.

Our good and incredibly poetic friend Liz Garton Scanlon has a new book which came out out just a week ago. It’s one of the most beautiful picture books I’ve ever read. And as if her lyrical words aren’t enough, the illustrations by Marla Frazee are a perfect match.

If you’re in Austin on Saturday 9/26, Liz is having a big release party for her new book this coming Saturday at Austin’s Book People. Future Craft Collective will be there to honor Liz’ latest and greatest picture book by way of a little Prayer/hope/wish flag making crafting.

So come on out this Saturday for a little  celebration, a little crafting, and a reading and signing of what will surely become a classic. It’s at  Book People at 11:30. We’ll see you there. No library voice necessary.

We’re getting ready for back to school at our house. Sort of. We’re still swimming until dark at Barton Springs and sleeping in late in the morning and taking each day as it comes, but in our heads, we are preparing. Sort of.

Our big nod towards back to school comes this Saturday at Zilker Elementary school in Austin, TX where we’ll be holding our 2nd annual Back to School Don’t Shop;Swap! We’ll have sewers and silk screeners and sorters on hand ready to rad-ify any finds. We’ll have oodles of piles of clothes all sorted by gender and size. And we’ll have hundreds of folks from the school and the community there to swap out what they don’t need and get what they do. It was a huge success last year and a definite example of abundance – enough for EVERYONE!!! And all the kids were back to school in total Green fashion following the Future Craft Collective creed: Reduce, reuse, recraft, UPCYCLE!!! Join us if you can as a sorter, a sewer or a swapper.

Then in September, if you’re a mama looking for a night out and a little crafting fun too, you can join me at our Mama’s Collective Craft night where we’ll be making totally cool postcard and greeting card collage. No muss, no fuss and a totally creatively crafty night out. You can read more about it here…

Back to school means major shifting in our house. We just have to figure out how to make it work for everyone.

Carrie represented Slow Family Living on The Today Show today with Kathie Lee and Hoda. She did a great job sharing the information and spreading the word on ways people can really slow down, connect and enjoy family life together.

Check it out!