pettifog /vt. / to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters. to argue over petty things. to practice chicanery of any sort. to raise unnecessary or trivial objections. pick to pieces. carp. cavil. niggle. nitpick.
pettifog /vt./ 1. This week was the final week of swimming lessons (for Ethan) and diving lessons (for the other three). I think we're all happy they're over. Ethan is a great swimmer, but I put him in lessons anyway this year so that he could improve his strokes. He did not enjoy his lessons (that's putting it mildly) and spent much of his time in the lessons crying and much of his time outside of his lessons begging not to go. It was clear that he thought learning to "use his arms" and "kick his legs" was just pettifogging his own natural technique. Plus there's no chicken fighting in swim lessons.
pettifog /vt./ 2. One of my favorite things about my children is how much they enjoy being with each other. Without much pettifogging, they can spend hours and hours playing together. I snapped these two pictures, the first after a long day of swimming followed by warm baths, and the other on Sunday evening.
I wish I could freeze my life right here.
pettifog /vt./ 3. The girls had their dance recital this week, which meant a dress rehearsal as well, which really meant that they got to wear mascara and red lipstick twice in one week. Their idea of heaven. This past year has been a difficult one in my girls' dance "education," with a studio move and a change in studio ownership. Throughout the year I had pettifogged my grievances to David, but all of that faded away as I watched my girls on stage last Friday night. Beaming. Dancing beautifully. And so happy. Savannah blew kisses as she lept offstage. I blew them right back.
I snapped this picture after we did their hair...just waiting for the curlers to dry. They are decorating David's Father's Day gifts...all I had was Christmas wrap, so we turned it wrong-side up and they made their own personalized wrapping paper. Darling girls.
pettifog /vt./ 4. David took Caleb and four of his friends to the Diamondback's game on Saturday night to celebrate Caleb's 11th birthday. We used to have a rule about parties only every four years [Marie, try not to die], but the kids (and especially David) have worn me down. They all had a great time (Caleb's review: "It was wonderful!") and the only thing they had to pettifog about was that the Diamondbacks got beaten badly. Caleb acknowledged that they did get to see a lot of home runs though. Too bad the Royals were the ones hitting them.
The ballpark was giving out free hats...the perfect party favor, I think.
pettifog /vt./ 5. I started yoga classes this week, and I'm completely hooked. There is a moment in every class where I just about burst into tears though. The teacher is so gentle and the invitation to relax and release all the tension I'm carrying around is so sweet, that I just about start bawling. My favorite part is that there is no pettifogging. My teacher doesn't even let us pettifog ourselves. She encourages us to just observe, not judge. So I accept and observe my tight hamstrings and the poses I can't do and (at least in this one area of my life) I don't judge. It is unbelievably tender to be so kind to myself, and it feels so good that I am even considering practicing this outside of yoga class. My husband would be thrilled.