I personally haven't seen any other pregnancy pics that are as good as these. I promise I'm not just saying this because it's me in the pics. Actually, they would probably be a lot better if I had actually taken more time doing my hair and what not, but I digress.
The reason they are so good, is because they were done by an amazing photographer at oceanlo.com. If you need any kind of pics done, I highly recommend hiring him. Not only is he good at what he does, but he is a very genuinely good guy, easy to work with and he is pretty funny too.
I also really like these pics, because they are not your average pregnancy photos. I mean how many pics do you see of pregnant women on stage with a bass in hand? Perhaps there are some like that out there, but I haven't seen them. If anyone has, send them over, I would love to check them out. In fact, if any of you out there have any pics of a typical, pregnant-bodied woman doing something atypical or extraordinary please send them my way. I would love to do a post about remarkable pregnant women, because a lot of people seem to think that once you become pregnant, you can't do anything else until you give birth. It is a common, yet annoying, misconception.
Happy Easter everyone! I hope everyone has a wonderful day today, going to church, spending time with family and taking their kids on Easter egg hunts, yada yada yada. I appreciate the holiday for what it truly stands for and that is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although, I'm not extremely religious, I am open minded enough to believe that this story could be true and I wasn't there to say that it isn't, so... Despite my religious affiliations (if I had to pick one, I'd have to say I'm Buddhist) I still respect and appreciate the holiday for what it stands for. What I don't respect is the damn Easter Bunny. What does a huge bunny that goes around and poops candy filled eggs in people's yards have to do with a dead guy coming back to life?
I'm sure there is some kind of far-fetched reason that links the bunny symbolically with the story of Jesus, but I didn't really feel like looking it up. It just seems like it would be, as I said before, pretty far-fetched.
I've never really worried about it too much until I had kids. I remember in my youth running waking up to a plastic grass filled basket with candy, jump ropes and coloring books. Then running around the yard to find the elusive hidden eggs. It was never too thrilling for me, except for the fact that my parents made finding the eggs a bit of a challenge by being very creative in where they hid them. The best part of the holiday was the fact that my Grandma would always take me out to get a fancy new Easter dress to go to church in. The time spent with her is what I cherish the most. That and the time I spent with the rest of my family who would all come over and feast on a delicious meal. I think that is what I like the most about any holiday, spending quality time with the people you love... and the food, the food is always delicious.
Now that I have children of my own, I'm expected to follow these same traditions. I still do some of them. I don't go to church like I used to, though. I hope my Grandma isn't too disappointed in me over that. I think she might understand, considering I'm thousands of miles away from the beautiful church that she used to take me to. It had huge, ornate columns everywhere, beautifully detailed stained glass windows on every wall, the service never lasted too long and it was accompanied by an amazing choir. I have yet to find a church like that here in Arizona. If I could just find a church with an outstanding gospel choir here, I would probably go. I'm sure to ask every bible thumper that comes to my door if they have a gospel choir and when they say no (as every one of them has) I say "No thank you. God Bless." I know that's not really what church is about, but for me, music touches me in a very spiritual way (which might be why I'm in a band) and it is important for me to have a church with amazing singers pouring their hearts out in song.
I tried out a church last year and the service consisted of the pastor (who couldn't have been more than a few years older than myself) trying desperately and with as much "evidence" he could muster about how Jesus really did die and come back to life. Unfortunately, he did just the opposite and very nearly convinced me that there is no way in Heaven or on Earth that this event could have ever taken place. Like I said before, I've never truly doubted the story, because I am very open to the possibility of extraordinary things in this world. And here I have this young guy failing miserably at convincing me about the "truth" of Jesus' resurrection. Also, the fact that he was so, so young really turned me off. I picture my pastor as a wise, old white haired man. Following up his speech he decided to play the most gruesome clips from "The Passion of The Christ". Epic Fail. It was so depressing. I thought this was a day to rejoice in His coming back to life, but instead we had to re-hash his darkest and most painful moments before and up to His death. It really put a damper on the day. And as I suspected, the service ended with a crappy "garage type" band playing non-traditional songs of praise (that I'm sure they wrote themselves) and we were supposed to sing along to; following the words projected on the same screen where we just saw Jesus being tortured. The best part of that Church going endeavor was that they served some pretty tasty biscuits and gravy before the service started.
Needless to say, I won't be going back to that church this year. I will, however, partake in the tradition of feasting and spending time with my family, which includes my two young children aged 5 and 6. I'm expected to get them a messy, non-earth friendly, grass filled basket of goodies and hide a bunch candy eggs around my yard, hoping my dogs don't decide to eat them. Some of you may think I'm a bad mom, but I can't bring myself to do this. First of all, it is completely meaningless and un-related to the true reason for the holiday. Secondly, there are children all over the world who go without the basic necessities and I am supposed to indulge my children in buckets of candy and cheap toys that will just end up in a land fill one day? No thank you, it just doesn't seem right. And lastly, I'm supposed to lie to my children about where all these meaningless and over-indulgent goodies came from. Which brings me back to that damn Easter bunny.
Easter is a religious holiday, yet society tells me to lie to my children about a giant, sneaky bunny. Well, the bible tells me not to lie. I feel bad enough lying to them about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, but I can't bring myself to tell them the truth about those just yet.
So, here it is, Easter morning, and my kids wake up and don't find any baskets of candy and toys and don't see a yard dotted with colorful eggs. But you know what? They are still very happy. They are contently eating donuts (a little indulgence) and drinking orange juice right now. In a little while, they will help me finish the dessert we started last night and soon we will all head over to my Mom's house to spend time with family. They know what the holiday is about, not only did I tell them, but they actually did learn a couple things at the church we went to last year. Thankfully, they didn't have to sit and watch Jesus being tortured, because there was a different service for all the kids. But, regardless of the fact that the Easter bunny didn't show up at our house this morning, my kids are still very happy and so am I. Not only do I not have to lie to them, but I also don't have to "feed the machine" and buy a bunch of useless, non Eco-friendly crap. Maybe next year we will try to go to church again, that is, if I can find one with that elusive choir.
What you may have heard or suspected is true, we are expecting a new member to the family. My belly is growing nicely.. and so are my boobs, which is a nice change of pace for me. Unfortunately, I was not endowed with a generous sized chest, but when I am pregnant, look out! I have the best rack ever! I love it! But, enough about my boobs.
I've been asked, "what does this mean for Catfish Mustache? Are you still going to do the band?" And to that I answer, "Fuck yea we are still doing the band!" Most women work full time jobs while they are pregnant... right up until they have the baby. So, why should I quit my "job"? As far as I'm concerned, I have it pretty easy. I get to sit around and write songs in between eating pickles and bowls of cereal. And then I get to go out and play shows a few times a month. Each show only lasts about an hour and I am lucky to have two amazing band mates who carry all the equipment to and from the stage. So, I do think I am pretty lucky.
The timing turned out to be perfect too. We had already planned on taking a couple months off from doing shows this summer so we could begin recording our next album. The baby is due in August, so there ya go. It's quite possible that I may be breast feeding while tracking vocals... I gotta multi-task.
Some may think that having a baby at this stage in the game would pose a lot more complications for the band, but actually, it isn't going to change much. We already have two children that we have a nanny for, so the babysitter will just have one more kid to look after. Also, our other children are really easy to look after and I'm sure they are actually going to be great helpers with the baby; getting diapers, bottles, clothes, etc.... They have actually already volunteered their services.
Besides the fact that I will be rocking shows with a big ole belly making my bass stick out, it will be business as usual. Well, I also will not be taking shots of whiskey on stage for awhile either, but that is probably a good thing.
Hello. My name is Tania Warfield. I am in a band called Catfish Mustache with my husband, Eric Stewart and his cousin Brandon Frisby. We have been together as a band since late 2007 and we're still going strong. We've come a long way since we started the band having gone through many of the same trials and tribulations as any band. However, there is another aspect of our band that is not so typical with most bands. Eric and I have two amazing children together and they are just as much members of the band as the rest of us.
Most bands who write blogs talk about the recording process, partying, shows, tours, etc... We find time for all of that, but with an added attribute of kids parties, diaper changes, finding trust worthy and sometimes elusive babysitters and juggling quality family time with quality band practice time. Having small children while struggling to make our band successful is quite a challenge. Many would argue that we should quit the band and focus entirely on family. I disagree. What kind of example would we be setting for our children if we just gave up on our dreams? I want to instill in my children the importance of working hard for what you want in life and what better way to do this than to lead by example.
I don't know if I have any solid goals for this blog, other than to tell our unique story to whoever might want to read about it. Perhaps, I could provide a little inspiration to other Moms out there who have let go of their dreams a little since they have had children. I did, in fact, go through a stage after having kids, where I forgot all about myself and put everything into them. I soon found out that doing this is no better for them as it was for me. Every mom needs to have a little "me" time. And every kid does too. It's not good to smother your kids with love and affection every moment. It may sound good, but they need the opportunity to learn independance and self worth and it's not gonna happen if you are standing over them 24/7. Will your plants grow if you constantly stand over them and shadow them from the sun? no. And I don't know if that analogy is very good, but I'm leaving it in anyway.
So, this is my blog about my life. It's about everything we've gone through since the start of the band and everything we've learned along the way. I may throw in some videos of our band practice and one day I might give you a recipe for a quick and easy meal for your family. I'm just gonna go with the flow and we'll see where this ends up. This is the story of the Catfish Mustache family.
