Recipes

Jackie requested the Hummus recipe so here it is:

1/4 C lemon juice
1 & 3/4 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp tahini
6 Tbsp chickpea water
1 tsp salt

Drain the chickpeas, reserving the water.
In blender or food processor mix salt, garlic and tahini (make sure you mix the tahini in the jar).
Add chickpeas and water.
Add lemon juice and blend well for smooth texture. Add more water if needed for correct consistency.
Taste for salt and lemon juice.

You can sprinkle it with paprika when it's in a serving dish. Serve with pita or Lebanese flat bread.


This recipe, Pineapple Stuffing, came from the Nashville Dominicans. I got it years ago but made it for the first time this week. It was delicious. The recipe can be halved or doubled.

Mix well:
8 eggs
1 & 1/2 C sugar
2 sticks butter

Add to above:
10 slices of white bread, cubed
2 large cans of crushed pineapple, well drained

Pour into greased casserole dish and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour, taking off foil for last 15 minutes.

More on nursing

Earlier this week I was at EC where I ran into 3 students I know - K, B & A. A, the only girl of the three, said she wanted to take Lydia because of how cute she is. I told her she couldn't do it because she can't feed Lydia. The conversation then went a little like:

A - That's so gross.
Me - Are you serious? It's not gross; it's completely natural!
A - It makes me want to vomit just thinking about it!
Me - What?! No way! K, what do you think?
K - (who is pre-med) I'm not going to allow my wife to do it. She can pump, but she is not doing that. No way.
Me - You don't care about the health benefits? Dental, ADHD, ear infections, general illness...?
K - I know all these things - but no, I don't like it. It's not going to happen.
Me - B, what do you think of this?
B - (who is a freshmen I recruited and I think was filling a little awkward) To each his own.
Me - That's it?! Oh goodness!

Seriously, there is a 20 year old girl who wants to vomit at the thought of breastfeeding, and a pre-med student who is so uncomfortable with it that he vows he won't allow his wife to do it. This is troubling.

Feeding infants

First I want to thank everyone for their comments of support when it comes to exclusively breastfeeding Lydia. It's nice to know that someone besides Travis supports my decision to delay the introduction of table foods.

I've been thinking about the situation and I wonder if part of the reason they are a little more likely to feed infants is because they formula fed. Or do formula feeding moms have the same difficulties? Usually I have found that my peers are on board with waiting to introduce table foods, which is why I was so surprised that it was Trav's cousin who was going to give Lydia the frosting. But she did formula feed her babies. Any thoughts on this?

Also, I totally agree with you, Maiasaura. I wouldn't have fed my baby salty, buttery potatoes, even if she was one. My dream is that my kids will crave fruit instead of sweets and that they'll eat their vegetables without loading them with butter. I mean, have you looked at obese America lately? I can't help but think that giving our 3 month olds cake is a part of the problem.

All of this isn't to say that Lydia won't eat cake and cookies. But I am going to wait until she's closer to one year old before I let her try it and that will only be after she has eaten bananas, beans, berries, carrots and other good foods that aren't likely to develop into a food allergy.

Right? Can I get an "Amen!"?

I went from zero to ticked in no time

Yesterday we were at a family gathering on Trav's side. It should be known that I like these people very much.

Basically since Lydia was born they have been teasing about feeding her table food. My dad does this, too, but when he does it's veggies from the garden and in a tone that very clearly establishes that he's joking. The same is not necessarily true for Trav's family. They mention things like ice cream, cake, chips and cookies and I believe that were it not for me they would have followed through on at least some of those things by now. Travis' father has even said that by the time Trav was 3 months he'd had a sip of coffee.

I have told them several times Lydia will have nothing but breastmilk through her 6 month and then after that we will take it day to day when it comes to introducing solids. But even then, the first things she eats will not be junk food.

And then yesterday it almost happened and it ticked me off. Trav's cousin, a woman I like very much and a very good mom, went to give Lydia a dot of frosting. I wasn't paying attention but some one must have said something because I looked, saw what she was about to do and flipped out. Honestly, I majorly over-reacted and thankfully she was very gracious and good humoured about it. Clearly I feel undermined in the whole exclusive breastmilk decision but I am embarrassed about the way I acted. She's going to get an apology phone call today.

But, please allow me to say it once again:

Lydia will eat only breastmilk until she is 7 months old. Do not give her anything else to eat or drink until then, and after 7 months please ask my permission first.

Yes, I am one of those moms. For me it goes along with the whole homebirth and cloth diapering decisions.

Newly Professed

Sr. Mariam Caritas of the Lamb of God is home on a visit! She professed her first vows on Friday, the Feast of the Assumption. The Sisters of Life take the same 3 vows as all religious: poverty, chastity and obedience; they also take a 4th vow to defend and protect the sacredness of life. With her profession also came a title "of the Lamb of God."

It's so fun being Catholic and friends with nuns.

Sr.'s visit was her first time seeing the house and Lydia in person. We talked a lot about married life and being a mother and her experiences at World Youth Day and assignments at the convent. She also taught me how to make hummus which makes me and my husband very happy and very grateful. Real Lebanese hummus! So much better than anything I've found on allrecipes.

One of the things I realized while we were speaking is how much I actually am enjoying being a SAHM. Sr. asked me to tell her what I liked best about being a mom and I couldn't say, although I did eventually tell her about when we sleep in together and then Lydia awakes cooing and all smiles. But really, the reason I couldn't come up with an answer is not because there's nothing I like about being a SAHM, it's because there's nothing I like best about it. I love taking care of her and interacting with her. I don't even mind the poopy diapers. The only thing I dislike is when she won't stop crying, but that's not too often any more.

It seems that the Gates of Heaven were open pretty wide on the Feast of the Assumption. My heart has been changing a great deal since that day.

Milestone

Yesterday Lydia rolled over for the first time. She only did it once but we'll see if she'll do it again. It started by grabbing both feet and rolling to her side so she could see me and her toy better. And then she let go of the feet and reached for the toy and over she went!

Quick clarification and some new pics

Two posts ago I talked about how I don't like where I am at in my life right now. But I need to expound on that and clarify some of my statements. When I pictured myself and where I wanted to be at age 27 it was always happily married to a good, Catholic man and being a stay at home mom. (I always pictured myself thinner though.) So in that sense I have what I wanted.





What I didn't foresee, was that I would still be struggling with feelings of inadequacy. Why can't I just accept that I am good enough and get on with my life? Travis is pleased, Lydia is happy, my mom thinks I'm great and - to top it all off - I'm positive that God has found favor with me; I wouldn't be so blessed if He hadn't.

The main reason I wonder if I should have a career is because I compare my life with other women's lives and see that they are working. Never mind they're all fresh out of college and single. Add to that the fact that motherhood as been a tough adjustment. Lydia and I are just now getting in some sort of a groove and fine tuning our relationship.





It may be hard, but it is a joy. And I don't want to work! I don't want to put my baby in day care! I want to be the one to play with her and love on her and care for her. I guess, though, I'm still getting over the freedom that I had and, again, adjusting to life as a mom and finding my footing when it comes to being a competent mom.

What I'm gonna do today

Today is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. (Catholics believe she was taken into Heaven body and soul - think Elijah minus the chariot of fire.) So Happy Feast Day to you!

On this day, my very good friend and Lydia's godmother are going to start praying together. I desperately need a strong Catholic to help keep me accountable, someone who will pray for me, over me and with me. I greatly esteem Katie and asked her if she would do this with me so we can become stronger Christians and better friends.

We'll begin by going to confession, then attending Mass and finally by praying. Hopefully we'll top it all off with gelato or Starbucks.

As you can tell by the previous post, I need this. I'm pretty certain that my current laziness in my faith is part of the reason I'm feeling so lost and uncertain right now.


Postscript: I used the picture I did, which is not a picture of Mary being assumed, because it was a staple in my childhood. You'll notice the rays of light coming from her hands. As a girl, any time I saw sunlight breaking through clouds in similar rays I believed Mary was in the spots the light touched upon. I still love that idea.

Where I'm at

What should a woman be? What should she want and what should her life look like?

Is it better to be a stay at home mom or a working woman?

How do you not lose your sense of worth and importance when the most impressive part of your day is making a baby laugh? There is no hob-nobbing with impressive people, traveling to exciting places or being admired and respected by a crowd of people when you're at home trying to stick to your cleaning schedule, nursing your infant and planning dinner.

I love my daughter and I love my husband, yet sometimes the life I'm living just isn't what I thought it would be. I feel like I am not the person I wanted to be at this stage in my life and that worries me for their sake.

But in the back of me there is a little voice telling me that I need more humility. Where I more humble I'd be more grateful, compassionate, generous, merciful, patient and loving. I think that if I were those things this blog post wouldn't have been written.

tisk tisk

Yesterday Trav and I were listening to the Christian radio station. The dj's were talking about a woman who had a c-section (they didn't say why) and gave birth to a 8lb 10oz, 20.6" long baby girl. The female dj, after hearing the size of the child made some comment similar to:

"It's a good thing she had the c-section then!"

Travis and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

There are a lot of good reasons to have a c-section and to be thankful that there are skilled doctors who can perform the operation. But I am confident that recovering from major abdominal surgery is much, much worse than the pain of delivering a 9lb baby vaginally.




Not to mention the difference in cost. I was told by my ob/gyn office (before I switched to my homebirth midwife) that the average cost of a normal vaginal birth with one day in the hospital was $4,210 for the mother and $1,674 for the baby. The average cost of a c-section without complications was $10,199 for the mom and $4,400 for the baby. And that was just the hospital bills! That doesn't include what we would have paid our doctor for prenatal, postnatal and delivery.

And if you're curious, the total amount owed to Bernice for prenatal, delivery and postnatal care was $2,475.

Lydia's First Fishing Trip

We were at the pond at Jubilee College State Park.

Trav didn't catch anything too big.

Except for this snapping turtle. Which, I think, Travis had more fun catching than any old fish anyways.

Working on the house

The beginning of the destruction. This is the upstairs living room.

More deconstruction. The carpeted area was the spare bedroom.

After a little bit of mudding and sanding, Travis looked like this.

It was so hot that the dust on his arms turned back into mud and when it dryed, it dryed in clumps on his arm hair.

The room is now one big living room, complete with new windows, insullation and new walls.

Quick Catholic Rant

I hate tambourines at Mass! Seriously!

And while I'm at it, I also have a strong disliking for:
- using pop Christian songs in place of the responsorial psalm.
- choir members who refuse to sing the Latin because they "don't know Latin", even though they know that "miserere nobis" means "have mercy on us".
- Fr. Feelgoods who personalize and change the words to the Liturgy of the Eucharist and Gospel readings.
- drums at Mass (just ask me about my experience at a Newman Center in MO.)
- overhead projectors at Mass (it's so undignified).

What's entertainment?

Recently I read something that made me think about what I consider entertainment. Namely, Law & Order. Why do I watch these shows about heinous sexual crimes, murders, suicides, violence, perversions, addictions, etc? What is entertaining about people doing horrible things to other people or themselves? Is this our version of the Colosseum and hangings in the town square?

The images and emotions stirred up by the show (and other movies or shows like it) often remain with me well after it's over. I lay in bed some nights listening to the baby monitor trying to figure out if someone is in our house hurting my baby or if it was just the ice maker in the fridge. (This is after I've made sure the doors are dead bolted. And we live in a town were people ask us if they can take the copper pipes laying in our yard instead of just stealing them!)

I don't need that. And I also don't think I should be helping the ratings of a show that makes its money off the sickness of man. So I've decided to stop watching Law & Order.

At this point I am not getting rid of all tv though. My top 3 shows will remain since Life is about finding the truth, Heroes is about people with special abilities and House is about a jerk but his interns are good people and they do help people. So they each contain an element that makes them fantastic (in the literal sense) or rooted in benevolence. (Am I just finding an excuse because I don't want to let them go? In my head there is a real difference between the tones, styles and outcomes of the episodes of these shows verses Law & Order. I hope I'm not being a hypocrite.)

New Tennet

We recently had a friend of ours move in to our upstairs apartment. I shall call him MVV. We know him from EC - he was the president of the Newman Center there and, a recent grad, he has taken over my old job and office in Admissions. He's super friendly and laid back and has fairly good taste in music, which is good because last night we could hear it. :)



To live in our house is pretty simple, you help out with a small amount of rent and pay 1/3 of the utilities. And you live by these simple rules:
#1 - No premarital sex in our house.
#2 - No drunken parties in our house. (Alcohol is fine, we just don't want people drunk.)
#3 - If you are going to have a big party just give us a head's up. (Big party means 10 or more people. We'll do the same.)
#4 - Never feel bad about telling us if we're too loud!
#5 - Since the thermostat for the heat is downstairs, let us know if it's too hot or too cold. We're all paying the bills here and everyone should be comfortable. (Though we usually kept the house cool in the winter to save money.)

Yay for baby boys!

Congrats to Jade and Nathan on the birth of their new little one!

Many prayers that everythings going well!

You were right

We do not like prefolds. The old school cloth diapers that everyone pictured when we said we were going to use cloth diapers are just as bad as you remembered them being.

Travis and I have abandoned the prefolds because with the wetness right on her skin, Lydia gets fussy fast. With her current sleep pattern wherein she only naps for 1.5-2 hours, when it should be more like 5, and she therefore gets a little cranky, we needed to make our lives a little easier - at least until she naps better.

So right now we have only 7 diapers to cycle through and then we go back to disposable. However, once the rent checks start coming our way I am buying a load of BumGenius one-size-fits-all pocket diapers. They are the best of all the ones I've worked with - the velcro stays fastened in the wash like it's supposed to, the velcro is still firmly attached to the diaper, and I just prefer the way the look and feel.