First Day of School

I cannot believe that I have a BIG FIRST GRADER! He has his own desk now and everything! The half day yesterday went well in spite of (my) nerves. He is disappointed not to have a couple of friends from kindy in class but thrilled to have some old friends there and the new teacher seems super nice. He did ask me why they are doing the same stuff as in kindergarten. I guess he decided to jump from coloring to calculous?! He says he "loves first grade" and I am SOOO glad!

summer adventures

It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over. My kiddo starts back to school on Thursday for a half-day! I must say that he has had quite the summer, swim camp, bug camp, lots of pool time and we just got back from an almost two week vacation to New York/New Jersey. On the flight to Laguardia he lost his first front tooth. Somehow the tooth fairy found him twice on the East coast! We started the trip off at my sister-in-laws apartment in the Upper East Side of Manhattan where Little Man enjoyed seeing his cousins. On a record-breaking hot day we met up with old friends of mine at Central Park and let our kids run through the sprinker/ fountains. The next day he got to go to his first Broadway show and he LOVED it!!! We saw Mary Poppins and it was a magical experience...particularly when Mary Poppins flies out over the audience and just happened to take a route right over our seats! We also got to visit with some friends of mine AND go to the children's museum AND the Central Park Zoo. (Highlight was seeing the sea lions getting fed, just like on Curious George) It was an acton-packed few days!
Then it was off to the Jersey Shore for lots of fun with friends, Grandparents and cousins. Boardwalk rides, beach and great summer-fun. Lots of pizza, ice cream, etc etc etc. Though it literally made me sick, I rode about 10 rides in a row with him (why didn't those spinny rides make me feel sick as a kid?) and he wanted to ride the log flume so I had a nervous break down as I had to clutch him (behind me!) with one hand and clutch the hand rail with the other as we went up up up the steep ramp and doooooowwwwwwwwwn --only to make it all worth it with the splash and his giggles at the end.
The times have definitely changed. We were in a cab in NY and the cabbie yelled the F-word at a pedestrian (something that wouldn't have fazed me in the least when I lived there) but this time I dressed him down for using inappropriate language in front of a child- ha!
When looking through the eyes of a child you want to keep everything so pure and innocent. There were two incidents that happened our trip that I wish I could have sheltered him from. On a lovely sunset cruise with my in-laws another boat intentionally came up next to our tour boat, going the same speed and there was a completely nude couple, totally having at it, on the deck of the boat in broad daylight. I kind of tackled my little boy and tried to distract him, but geeez! Then, driving back to New York on the last day of the trip we witnessed a bicyclist get hit by a car right in front of us. My little boy saw the whole thing--the cyclist laying still on the ground, my call to 911 (by the time I got them on the phone an NYFD vehicle had stopped) . It was very traumatizing. I took the moment to tell him how important it is to wear helmets and to always be careful around traffic. I haven't been able to find any news about the cyclist so hopefully no news is good news and he survived it/is okay.
But mainly I would say it was a trip of magic and wonder. Litte Man is literally into magic now and asks everyone if they know magic tricks. My friend Sandy told him about a magic store in Manhattan called Abracadabra so I took him there. An in-house magician took a good 30 minutes showing us magic tricks and little guy was enthralled.
I hope he will look back and view his sixth summer as magicall!

Little Man's first acting gig!

Little Man had his first acting gig yesterday! It was a music video for Clay Dustin and it went really well! You just don't know how well a six-year-old little boy is going to take direction but he did great! I was so proud. It was a perfect first gig as we were in and out in just over an hour. He got to run around a table in shot one...perfect...and he got it in two takes! And in the second scene (which may or may not be used) he got to give a "bad guy" the stink-eye he had been practicing, which was pretty comical. He got paid cash too--woo hoo-- and promptly wanted to go spend it on a Wii Mario game...ha!
When we first walked onto the set he walked up to the first woman he saw and said "you must be my pretend mommy" He asked about the make-up lady and when they offered to let him get a little make-up if he wanted he matter-of-factly said "no, I am already beautiful" Hahaha! Better work on modesty, kiddo! He told me right before he did it "this is a dream come true" and hugged and thanked me when I told him he was going to get to be in a video. We'll see if the acting bug bites him like it bit his mama!

Face the Music

It was my great pleasure a couple of weeks ago to take part in a benefit here in Nashville at the Red Rooster for the tornado victims of Hacklesburg, Alabama. The event was aptly named "Face The Music" because Bob Schieffer, the host of CBS's Face The Nation who also moonlights as a country songwriter, was one of the hosts, and guest of honor, of the event. I was thrilled to get to sit in along with some other girlfriends on background vocals while he sang his song "TV Anchorman". It was great to spend a little time with him and his lovely wife as well. I was also honored to get to sing with my dad, Bobby Braddock, on his song D-I-V-O-R-C-E and to do the "oohs and ahhhs" with him while he performed "He Stopped Loving Her Today". (both cowrites with Curly Putman) Very proud of my daddy (who recently got inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame!) and thank him for letting me tag along :) Here are a few pics from the event. There were a lot of talented people there that night that I enjoyed hearing and getting to know. I love my hometown! Thank you Kat Speers for the great pics and Rebecca McCabe/Tamy McDonald for your talents/work in putting it together!

Jumping off the diving board...

Little Man has had a busy, fun summer so far. I am loving taking time to just chill with him as well. Last week he had swim camp and "bug camp" put on by a real-life biology professor at Belmont college. I think what impressed him the most was the live tarantula that was shown off there.
But the big deal last week was swim camp. It is no secret that my kiddo is a wee bit impulsive and pretty fearless, but the water has always scared him. That is why i signed him up for swim camp, to give him a full week to work on it and it has worked.. he is swimming now! He was pretty horrified about the finale of the week...jumping off the diving board to the swim coach. The first day he did nothing but stress out about it. The final day though, in spite of his fears he went for it! Sure the coach was holding his hands from the water and caught him...but then he swam to the wall in the 9 feet all by himself. Then he did it again two more times! He was so proud of himself and I am so proud of him!
So--that brings us to today. A songwriter that I met at the Face The Music event I did a couple of weeks ago asked me if I would participate in a songwriter night tonight. I don't usually accompany myself alone on guitar (like never...I usually like to sing while someone else plays) but I decided to be brave like my little guy and do it even though it is slightly out of my comfort zone. Here is to jumping off the diving board!

Palin sarah-nades the President

Paul McCartney is having a "Maybe I'm Amazed" covers contest so we decided to have a little fun with it and do a "what if" scenario.. Pleeease check out the link and "like" it and I will be ever so grateful! The one with the most likes on you tube wins some cool Paul McCartney merch and I am a lifelong fan. Thanks!!!!! :)

Find it here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGAFfW6Tzks
(Lauren Braddock, Maybe I'm Amazed Covers Contest, Palin srah-nades the president).

The graduate

I cannot believe that my little boy has graduated from kindergarten! When I went to pick him up on the last day of school the music teacher was cranking Alice Coopers "School's Out For Summer" from the PA and everyone, including the principal, was jamming out! It was a year of transition, but a year of huge growth. He made "good choices" all second semester long and he is reading like a second grader! I am so proud of my "rising first grader"!!!!!!!!