Catholicism and Other Random Thoughts

Hello, Blog.  How've you been?  Good?  We're right in the middle of summer craziness here, but I'm feeling the need to put some of my "deep thoughs" down on paper...er...cyber-paper anyway. So, we decided back in October to give the Catholic church another chance.  As many of you may know, I kind of gave up on Catholicism when Dave and I were engaged and the Catholic church wouldn't marry us until Dave, who has never been and will never be Catholic, went through the very lengthy and complicated annulment process.  I, on the other hand, as the Catholic party, would have to go through a much less involved annulment of my first marriage train wreck.  Does that make sense to anyone?  'Cause it doesn't to me. We shopped around a few different churches, but for me, nothing really hit home.  I was doing it so that we could go to church as a family, but then I realized that Dave really didn't care an iota about being at church on Sunday.  So, if I were going to be the one doing the leg work...why not do what I felt comfortable with.  I had to first do a lot of soul searching and decide if *I* could be comfortable going to the Catholic church.  Would I feel hypocritical?  There are a LOT of things about the church I disagree with, but *theologically* I identify with Catholicism. One big thing I don't agree with, is the Church's teachings on birth control.  I'll even give them their arguments against the pill, considering the abortifacient properties.  But what about sterilization?  What about other methods?  The Church's arguments about this are that those things go against the will of God.  And that is the argument I just can't understand.  I've decided that until the Church decides to speak out just as loudly against fertility treatments, Clomid, IVF, egg and sperm donors and the like, I'm ignoring the whole "will of God" argument, as it just doesn't hold any water.  The will of God is for some people to have ZERO children.  The will of God is certainly not for people to have six children at a time.  I mean, God gave women two boobs, for Pete's sake.  It's pretty obvious by design what His intentions were. Now, I would like very much (sometimes) to have another child or two.  My husband does not and that would explain his willingness to have someone slice into his "boys" to take care of the possibility of any future babies.  I wasn't completely on board with the decision, but his arguments all make sense.  Children are expensive, I think, if you do it correctly.  Kids need sports, they need to get out of the house once in a while, they need some nice clothes to wear so they feel good about themselves, they need family vacations and college educations.  They need weddings and cars.  Those things get more and more impossible to provide the more children you have. There's this whole "Quiverfull" movement.  Have you heard of it?  Those who are Quiverfull will tell you each child is a blessing and use *one* Bible verse to defend their decisions to never, ever, ever, use *any* form of birth control.  And then the justification will start.  They will tell you that kids don't need their own bedrooms, that they don't need soccer, or nice clothes, or cars.  They'll tell you that it's perfectly normal for their 16 year old to spend more time with their one-year old than they do.  Everyone in a large family has to pitch in.  They'll try to justify why their kids are eating bologna every day.  They'll tell you that yes, in fact, God *does* want them to suffer and struggle.  I generally think to each their own.  But you know what...I have a problem with this.  I have a problem with a family having kids that they can't provide for and relying on my tax dollars to help them raise their brood.  I read a blog today by a woman who is pregnant with number nine despite myriad problems with previous pregnancies.  She's now facing the very real probability of either dying during this pregnancy, or losing the baby because of preterm labor, or both.  And you know what she has to say about it...if she or the baby die, that's God's will.  I came away from that post boiling mad.  What if, you know?  What if she leaves eight babies motherless?  What if she and her family have to go through the horror of burying another preterm baby?  Why?  Because she's so stuck in her convictions that she's taking for granted the blessings God has already given her.  God will take each one of us when He's ready, it's true.  But he gave us free will.  How is purposely getting pregnant knowing the risks (and especially if the risks are very very high) any different than refusing a life-saving medication?  Does this woman take herself to the doctor when she's ill, or does she rely solely on God's will then too?  Would she let her child bleed out in front of her citing God's will, or would she call an ambulance?  At what point do people pick and choose when to rely on God and when to rely on the gifts God gave us through modern medicine?  Why is a surgical procedure to remove a hot appendix o.k., but a surgical procedure to prevent pregnancies not? I'll never convince any Quiverfull person that they're philosophy and their arguments are just plain messed up (to put it mildly), because they've got that big book that they like to pull verses from, all the while ignoring other verses that might be just a line or two before or after.  And you know what?  Even the verse they cite is full of room for interpretation: Psalms 127:3-5 "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."  Where here does it say that my quiver can't be full of just four arrows?  Every quiver is a different size, no?  And youth?  What's youth?  Maybe God wants us to stop having children at 35? Well, there you have it.  My musings on everything from Catholicism to birth control to the lack thereof.  Have a nice day!

Kidisms

Owen:  Where's MOOOOOMMM??? Mom: I'm up here. Owen:  Awwwww, not on the computer AGAIN!  Why don't you hurry up? Mom:  I'll be down in just a minute. Owen:  Well, it doesn't seem like it.  It seems to me like you might stay up there forever until you die and then you'll leave and your bones will still be on the computer. Really, I don't spend *that much* time on the computer....

High-Low

Almost every evening at dinner, we play "High-Low", where we each get to tell about the high and low points of our day. The rules are you can only have one of each, and you HAVE to have one of each.  It's always interesting to see what the kids remember about the day and how their highs and lows compare to what I might think their highs and lows were.  Here are tonight's: Molly's high: Riding around in the snow in the Rhino with Dad. Molly's low:  Cleaning my room. Owen's high: Playing in the snow. Owen's low: Um....um....Maggie and Bodie are chewing with their mouths open. Maggie's high: Talking on the phone to Moshe. Maggie's low: When I was climbing so carefully up that mountain and then falling down in the snow, losing my mittens and then laying there screaming because you wouldn't pick me up. ***Disclaimer - I don't remember Maggie's low even happening, but apparently it did, because Maggie wouldn't ever lie.**** Bodie's high:  ****stares at me blankly, them purses his lips and bats his eyes**** Bodie's low: Ahhhh DAAAAAA!

Homemade Thin Mints

Yes, you read that title correctly.  No longer do you have to hunt down the little twerps in the green sashes and pay a bunch of money for cookies that seem to shrink every year, and decrease in number in the package every year.  Plus, these cookies are made with all natural ingredients.  No weird hydrogenated oils, no preservatives.  And they are YUM-O!  Homemade Thin Mints 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup cornstarch 6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/3 cup milk (any kind) 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 3/4 tsp peppermint extract In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look curdled. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated. Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches (or about 4 cm) in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm. Preheat oven to 375F. Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick - if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp - and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate. Dark Chocolate Coating 10-oz dark or semisweet chocolate 1/2 cup butter, room temperature In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating. Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm. Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into. Makes 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.

Three

I love all my kids...equally.  Though perhaps not at the same time, but that's another post. I love Maggie.  She's spunky and sassy and fun.  She loves babies, animals, tattoos, her blankie, dark fingernail polish, chocolate, coffee, and Johnny Depp.  Yep, she's my kid.  She also love to cuss, and spit, and alternate beating up on her brothers.  She's cuddly and sweet, but she has quills and she won't hesitate to let them fly.  She's got an elaborate, explosive vocabulary.  Here's an example of a few Maggie-isms we've heard lately: "I'm gonna kill those cops....with a sharp knife." (we were watching the Santa Clause on Christmas Eve.  There's a scene where the police actually arrest Santa.) "Hee hee....get off of me before I rip your face off"  (said while I was wrestling with her on the floor) Me: "Maggie, pick up these stuffed animals."  Maggie: "Um, actually, I'm going to suck my thumb." "Where is my f*cking horsey?" Maggie is three, and as much as I LOVE my kids, I do not like three.  Three seems especially difficult for my little curly-haired spitfire.  Maybe we'll make it to four, but I'm sure we'll all be a little scarred, both physically (she packs a mean punch) and mentally (like the mortification that occurs when she lets fly with a "dammit" just as the priest is performing the consecration).  Maggie's always been demanding.  Remember this is the baby the neonatal nurses spent the night bouncing up and dow the halls when she was 12 hours old. This is the baby that screamed when strangers *looked* at her.  This is the child that has always, always been able to look a hole through you.  I'm interested to see what the future holds for her.

Happy Solstice!

The kids and I started a fire outside in the chimnea (can't wait to have an actual fireplace), and threw in the log from last year. I fully intended to keep the thing going all night, but jeepers it's cold out there. So I let it die and lit my candles inside instead. I'm sipping hot spiced cider, watching the flame, and anxiously awaiting the Sun's return. Happy Solstice everyone!

Preparations

We've been knee-deep in getting ready for Christmas here. Usually, this time of year I'm stressed beyond belief, but I feel somehow better this year. We've been taking it slow and easy, doing little things everyday to get ready, reading lots of stories, decorating, baking and doing some simple crafts. It's been very relaxing and fulfilling. I'm not feeling the need to go crazy trying to get every little thing done. I've slowed down. We string popcorn for the tree in the evenings. I'm crocheting Bodie a pair of mittens. I won't get the rest of the outside lights put on the fence, and I don't really care.

Two weeks ago, Dave went out to get a tree. I knew when I saw it hanging off the bed of his truck that it was going to get interesting. This is one gargantuan tree! I grew up with a huge tree, so I'm used to it. It smells wonderful!We made orange pomanders a few days ago. This is such a stress-relieving activity! Even the littlest ones can take part - just pre-poke the holes for them. Or if you're like me, heck, just hand your 20 month-old a metal skewer and let him do it himself!
Remember this ? Here's the sequel. Note that this year, Mommy's nativity is up high, and the kiddie nativity is on their level. Did that stop her? Of course not. Look closely and you'll see that there is a pig hanging where the angel goes, and the angel is in the manger. Today I woke up to Balthasar making an offering to what appeared to be either a dead or very tired sheep.

Last night we hosted a playdate and made sun ornaments to celebrate the solstice. It was a lot of fun and very messy. I love hosting playdates because having people over is the only thing that will motivate me to really clean my house. The fact that 6 preschoolers have a tendency to wear each other out is a nice bonus.