Just A Swingin'

Just a few pictures we captured on the Pittards' front porch Sunday ...

Me and my babies

Me and my girls

Me

My fella

Joe and his cousin Joel

Selah and her cousin Sarah - two peas in a pod!

And I haven't posted many preggo pictures of me this go 'round, mainly because I haven't bothered to take any. But I got Jeff to snap some this afternoon. Here you go:

~35 weeks!

I did a quick search back and found that I posted a picture of when I was 35 weeks along with our then-unnamed little Selah.

Kaity's First Piano Recital

This has been Kaity's first year taking piano lessons. She has picked it up quite well (not the piano, the ability to play) and we're glad she's doing such an amazing job!

Jeff's parents came to see the recital and then to eat dinner with us afterward. My parents came, too, but they ended up hitting a deer on the way up! Sadly, they had to return home since, though they were all right, Bambi vs Volvo did not turn out so well.

Joe, Nannie and Selah waiting to hear Kaity play!

Someone may have gotten a little restless. And someone else might have had to take her out to the front porch to burn off some energy.

Her shirt says, "Free Spirit"- they printed it just for her!

Ken, Cheryl, Jeff and Selah

Katie and Kaity! Sweet girls.

Kaity played "Inspector Gadget" and did a wonderful job! Though she got kind of a late start, I think we could have the next Mozart on our hands! Wait, who am I kidding ... knowing this family it'll be more like the next Victor Borge!

Laundry Room Makeover

It seems that someone in the house decided to spice up the everyday work of doing laundry ...

We had some nice quality time together cleaning the marker off. Thankfully, it all came away cleanly.

And always remember, when you ask a toddler what she's doing, and her response is a really quick, "Nuffin'!" ... it's sure to be "Someffin'!"

The Status is Not Quo

One good thing about this blog is that when I actually have the time/space/energy/opportunity to scrapbook, I can open this up and create pages from blog posts. I also open up my Facebook account and look back over the funny things my kids have said that I've posted in status updates. Since my mom and stepdad have been vacationing in New York for several days, I know they've missed more than a few funny little happenings with the kids. Mostly for their benefit, and my future scrapbooking endeavors, I'm going to repost a few things here:

"The downside of getting a shower and getting dressed first thing in the morning is that all day my kids want to know what we're doing, where we're going, what is this madness??" The older kids are content, like their mother, to stay at home. Selah, however constantly wants to be on the go - to the extent that when we've been gone (no matter how long!) she protests when we turn onto our street. "No, no, we not going home yet." 

So the follow-up to that status came later in the afternoon:
"Disappointed at my continually telling her we are NOT going anywhere today, Selah pointed her finger at me and said, in a very sweet, instructive tone, "I need you to listen ME. You say, 'Yes, ma'am'." This child is a mess!" Maybe I should have sent her to New York with Grammie and Bobba! 


"I told Jeff I have heartburn ... his response is, "If coffee doesn't fix it, I don't know what will." I'm rapidly reaching the this-is-all-your-fault stage of pregnancy. lol" In the interest of full disclosure, this conversation happened via text message and his first response was, "Eat some spicy food. That usually helps." (Clearly, I'm married to a comedian - who's never had heartburn!) To which I replied, "I'll have some coffee." That's when he responded with his own coffee remark. It seems like a good motto for him. 


"Selah's response to the crib's arrival today: "Warren's" gonna come out and she's gonna love it!""  We're in the process of cleaning out and organizing the kids' rooms to accommodate the crib and a new baby, which includes swapping their rooms. Kaity will share with Lauryn, and Joe and Selah will bunk together. I'll post about it when we get it all done over the next couple of weeks. 


"Big Sister Level: Boss. Kaity, several nights this week, has talked in her sleep. She fusses at Joe. LOL" As is typical at this stage, I haven't been able to sleep at night on occasion. As a result, I have heard Kaity talking in her sleep. While Joe sleeps soundlessly and innocently in his own bed across the hall, Kaity will holler out at him in her best annoyed-big-sister voice, "Jo-o-oe!" It's a full-time job, keeping your little brother in line. 

The Beetles

It's no secret that my sweetie pie is a Volkswagen nut. He's also a history nut, so it's only natural that he can tell you pretty much whatever you want to know about the history of the Volkswagen. For one thing, the VW symbol we're all familiar with is not the original. The first symbol included cogs around the outside. After World War II one of the changes at VW was to remove the cogs to make the symbol look less militant. All that aside, Jeff has always liked the look and recently modified the symbols on his Beetle to reflect their "heritage".

This Is (Not) Jeopardy!

So I got to thinking the other day about my Jeopardy! tryout. Every once in a while someone will ask about what the latest news is, and honestly, there isn't any! I did realize that I never posted any pictures on here from the actual trip, either, and I've decided to make this kind of the conclusion post. If you don't know/remember the beginning of the story, you can read all about it in "This ... Is ... Jeopardy!"

In a nutshell, it's my belief I won't be on the show. I was told by the producers that names are kept for 18 months, and given that it's been 15 months since my tryout and I'll have a newborn in several weeks ... I am so not flying to California anytime soon! I'd turn it down at this point even if I got The Call.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the trip - it was a hilarious, once-in-a-lifetime, whirlwind trip that involved literally running to make the flight, a very tasty latte, helpful airport employees, not-so-helpful airport employees, a disappointing Philly Cheesesteak (sad Jeni), interesting people, LOTS of walking, and not nearly enough time to see all the history we wanted to see! Amber and I had a blast and I would do it all again in a heartbeat! ... When life calms down a little.

Carpenter's Hall

"The Signer"

Independence Hall

The Liberty Bell - I'm not the only one that thought it was a lot bigger than this, am I?

Different view of Independence Hall

At the coffee house where I had the tasty latte.

One Crazy Summer ... Weekend

Friday morning I loaded up the little crumbsnatchers and headed out to do something very rare - we went shopping! The kids were invited to come to a pool party on Saturday, so they really needed swimsuits. I love how their shopping totally reflects their personalities:

Kaity: Tried on several different suits, checking them for color to match the swim skirt she already has, modesty, fit, look, price comparisons, etc. She found two she really liked at Old Navy and wanted to hold out to see what Target offered. After striking out at Target, she made a list of pros and cons regarding the two suits she'd liked at Old Navy. She tried them both on again, asked my opinion, and made her decision.

Selah: Could not fall asleep Thursday night from the excitement of going shopping in the morning. She kept getting up and asking me about it. "Mommy, we goin' shopping? In the morning? I get a swimmy suit! And fop-fops!" She tried on every suit with equal enthusiasm. "I take dis one home wif me!" She danced in the mirrors and hugged each suit to herself. With uncanny precision, she chose a pair of flip-flops in her exact size from the dozens on display and only hesitated a moment over pink or purple.

Joe: Walked over to a display of swimsuits. Immediately spotted one in green and blue (his favorite colors). Grabbed his size - done. He chose his flip-flops in the same way. That's my boy.

Handsome little mischievous bugger.

"Cheese!"

To round out our crazy busy weekend, we went to the party Saturday afternoon, then to an outdoor concert in a nearby downtown.

Headliner: Eli Carlan! Otherwise known around here as Selah's beloved "Ollie" although she does occasionally say his name correctly. He came to dinner Thursday night and it made her week!

You can hear some of Eli's original music here.

'Cause it's only natural that the Pittard kids bring books wherever they go.

With her Curious George mask.

Snuggling mommy and Lauryn.

Snapshots

One evening last week, it was so nice outside I just wanted to lay out on a blanket to read a good book. I sent Kaity out with my blanket and a pillow while I finished up a few things inside. By the time I made it out, this is what I found:

Those little stinkers commandeered my spot!

Naturally, though, it wasn't long before Selah teased her big brother into chasing her!

A few days ago Selah brought me the camera and entreated, "You take a picture me? And Joe? And Kaity? Here's your 'cammer' ... C'mon, guys! Let's sit on the couch!"

Then she had me snap one of her in her car. Silly goose ... I have no idea where she gets it. Certainly not her staid, serious-minded mother.

At the Drive-In

Going to the drive-in looks a little different these days ...

My Birthday

To sum up, I had a really good birthday this year. I normally like surprises and am not one of those women who picks out her own gifts and tells her husband what he got her. But this year, Jeff announced, "I know what I'm going to get you for your birthday, and I want you to do the research and pick it out." Okay, then! So I spent a good part of the next day researching "e-readers" - basically Nook vs. Kindle. As I kept a running tally of pros and cons in an open e-mail to my sweetie pie the clear choice was Nook. I know that an e-reader seems like the perfect gift for me, but I admit I've been a bit of a snob concerning them. I truly love the feel and smell of a good book in my hands. And I don't think I'll ever let go of them altogether - too "Fahrenheit 451" for me. But I do like my new Nook. I didn't want a lot of bells and whistles, though I did go for the one that is lighted - lots of long nights nursing ahead, not to mention reading in the car after dark.

With soon-to-be 4 little crumbsnatchers, a cover was pretty much a necessity.

Screensaver: Brontë Sisters.

I love having "bookshelves"!

All I have on there right now are some free classics - which has been my only complaint so far. I have the Kindle app on my laptop and have never had issues with the free books available through that. With Nook, however, I downloaded several that I ended up having to delete off because they were very poor quality - major typographical errors, gibberish in the middle of words, etc.

Currently (re)reading "Wives & Daughters" - absolutely LOVE Elizabeth Gaskell. She's often overshadowed by Jane Austen, but they're both wonderful.

On my actual birthday, my sweet friend Kim stopped by with a lovely frappuccino, and even lovelier flowers.

On Saturday, Jeff took me out to lunch (Italian food, of course!) and then to see Star Trek! Ever since we saw the release date of the new movie, we had an understanding that would be my birthday date. I have loved Star Trek since I was a little girl and JJ Abrams since Alias. A perfect match, in my opinion. (Speaking of  a perfect match,  how spot-on is Karl Urban as Bones? Is he DeForest Kelley's secret grandson or what?!) I'm also having lots of fun plotting how to spend the birthday money from Mom and Berk. I've splurged on a pedicure so far, and am hoarding the rest until I decide on what to do.