Seven Quick Takes

 1 - Is it just me or have the past couple of weeks featured a lot of posts with rap music? Well, there is no rap music here, at least not this week. Instead I offer you Vampire Weekend. They're kinda odd, but I like them. Hope you do too.


2 -Dressing when I'm super pregnant. It's not fun. It's so hard to keep the "under-womb" covered. I don't think that's an actual word but you know what I mean, right? The bottom of my pregnant belly. Shirts creep up and pants creep down.

Also, as my hips widen in preparation for birth  (look out, July 8th! or 9th... around there) it has become incredibly difficult basically impossible to keep my knees together and sit like a lady. So last Friday I bought a maxi skirt and I have worn it every day since. I will continue to wear it every day until I give birth, and probably then for weeks following. It'll get washed like twice in all that time, I betcha $5.

Here's the skirt:

 I thought I looked better but I guess we can't all be Grace Patton. 

Quick note about the shirt I'm wearing. It's the only maternity top to have survived all five pregnancies and then today, at almost 37 weeks I snagged it on a table at a coffee shop. Ruined. But judging from the picture above that's not really a bad thing. 

Am I the only pregnant woman who does this to all her shirts? Seriously, it may be more annoying than the waddle and stupid comments.


3 - Earlier this month was the anniversary of L's baptism. Her godmother arranged a special day for just the two of them including donuts, a walk to the park, crafting, and lunch. L loved every minute of it.  You can read Katie's recap of it here and you can read about the awesome pearls L gets each year here. And here's few pictures of the fun:

L and her godmother, Katie.

The bag they made. Katie wrote the phrase and L traced it. And the owl is made from L's handprint.

A treasure box L made from Modge Podge and tissue paper. She also wanted to glue a holy card of the Sacred Heart inside. Sweet.

4 - How do people decorate for summer? I have one little Uncle Sam guy I put on the buffet and some patriotic banners on the front porch but otherwise I'm clueless. My mother-in-law was just in Florida and sent the kids a bunch of seashells she found on the beach. I put them in some mason jars and set them out because seashells are beachy and therefore summery, right? But I just don't think I have an eye for this decorating stuff. Seriously, what do you do?

5 - We hung balloons for Resa's first birthday party, which was almost a month ago. Some of them are still up and I think that if they can make it just a couple more weeks they can officially be "Welcome home, baby!" balloons. Perfect!

Truly, I am not getting on a chair to take them down. Even though I got on a chair to take a picture of my skirt. Whatever. Shut up.


6- I'm part of an awesome moms' group at my parish. It is a huge blessing in my life and I look forward to Tuesday mornings and guard them with my life. We pray and eat and discuss together while our kids play. The women in the group have also become great friends and have been very generous in supporting me in my vocation. For example, I have a very large project I've been working on, along with parenting and growing a baby. Travis has also been very busy picking up my slack and working on various projects around the house. To help out, just this past week  one of the women in the group took the boys for an afternoon to make for a lighter load at home. Another woman arranged for her teenaged daughter to babysit for free so Travis and I could attend Theology on Tap Wednesday night. And another woman spend the better part of an afternoon and evening playing with the kids, reading them books, painting with them and sweeping my floors, folding my kids' clean clothes, and washing my dishes.


7 - What's Travis working on? Oh, you know, just transforming this:

 To this:

Yesterday Travis and his dad poured the sidewalk that leads from the back door to the garage. Tomorrow he, his dad, and his brother will pour the patio. In what was once a horrible, bumpy patch of ground that was too shady to grow enough grass we will soon have a large patio with two flower beds on the side, a lovely maple tree to keep it shaded all day long, and plenty of room for the kids to draw with chalk, ride their bikes, and play outside while I watch them from the kitchen window.

The only thing that will make it better will be when I have given birth and can drink a beer, as I sit in the shade, while my kids play, and Travis grills supper. That, friends, will be a dream come true.


And now I'll say good-bye. Have a great weekend, all! And thanks, Jen, for hosting!