"That special power of loving that belongs to a woman is seen most clearly when she becomes a mother. Motherhood is the gift of God to women. How grateful we must be to God for this wonderful gift that brings such joy to the whole world, women and men alike! Yet we can destroy this gift of motherhood, especially by the evil of abortion, but also by thinking that other things like jobs or positions are more important than loving, than giving oneself to others. No job, no plans, no possessions, no idea of "freedom" can take the place of love. So anything that destroys God's gift of motherhood destroys His most precious gift to women-- the ability to love as a woman."
-Mother Teresa’s Letter to the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995
Happy SAINT Teresa of Calcutta feast day!
Spanakopita... pronounced with the accent on the "o" sounding like "oh" and with a soft "i" sound like "if". Apparently it's Greek in origin. After several attempts I'd like to share my spanakopita triangles with you. Every now and then you discover two ingredients that make a perfect marriage... like peanut butter and chocolate, or black beans and cumin. And with spanakopita I discovered spinach and dill.
Ingredients:
3 circles of filo dough (massa folhada), cut in half
2 packages of cottage cheese (or requeijão)
about 3 or 4 eggs
a pinch of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of dried dill
2 bags of spinach leaves, wilted (dipped in boiling water)
some feta cheese
Instructions:
Mix it all together. Cut the filo circles in half and lay them, gently folded in half, on two oven trays. Gently lift them open, distribute the filling evenly, then pinch the sides all together. Cut two holes in the tops with a knife. Cook in a hot oven (175-200ºC) until the dough is golden (about 20 minutes).
PS My two-year-old loves this... hooray for recipes that get toddlers to eat spinach!
I have an article up called "The Devil Wants You Isolated" here: http://www.catholicstand.com/the-devil-wants-you-isolated/
Yes, it's about.. the devil... boo!
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." - C.S. Lewis (apparently borrowed from French poet Baudelaire)
Things really do get a lot better about a month and a half after a baby born, methinks. It really all depends on his sleep and the predictability of it... which is tricky, obviously. I've discovered I identify much more with attachment parenting than I thought I did (see babywearing picture above). Except for co-sleeping and strict schedules. I looooove kids sleeping in their OWN beds on strict schedules.
Speaking of attachment parenting, I found out about a wonderful band called Scythian through a blog (which subscribes to attachment parenting) here. Do you like folk rock/Irish/americana? I've been listening to them non-stop. The article about their mother who homeschooled 10 kids and is linked to in that post is amazing.
Having a baby is hard. Having two small children is hard. Having two small children, cooking and cleaning is hard. We are only now getting to the "extras" like an attempt at a social life and online time. I feel like I need to stop complaining about how hard it is to people or it will reinforce the anti-life mentality. It's hard but it's worth it.
Like I wrote about in one of the first articles I ever wrote (here), the world says "if you want to be happy, get pleasure quickly" while God/the Church says "if you want to be happy, give beauty slowly". That has been my mantra lately. It is a task just to get everyone (including myself) dressed, fed, clean and out for a little bit each day. It's a herculean task just to make a meal and vacuum. The day is done. But to go out with my adorable, chubby baby and my sometimes tantrumy but also adorable spunky toddler with the bow in her hair is extreme beauty. And we are giving it slowly.
Waiting to get her first ever haircut with Olaf... he got his carrot cut.
