World Wednesday: Quinoa

Would anyone care to share their favourite quinoa recipe? My repertoire is too small.

Although I knew that this seed was a good gluten-free grain replacement, I had no idea what a protein powerhouse it was until my midwife recommended it during pregnancy. My body craves protein like water. It's what I miss the most if lacking in a meal.

And a little goes a long way, so quinoa is definitely worth taking advantage of! We buy ours from Costco, the organic Ancient Grains brand. 

But quinoa is sooooo bland and boring when cooked on its own. It needs a lot of flavour to back it up!

Our favourite (and pretty much only) quinoa dish is Mexican quinoa, basically a meatless chili. Beans, tomatoes, corn and quinoa all cooked together in a pan with lots of spices. Avocado can be a nice addition, although Ben doesn't like it. But he will happily eat Mexican quinoa as long as there is cheese on top!

I occasionally use quinoa to bolster up chicken soup as well, or mix a little with some veggie for the baby, but there ends my use of it.

I know Pinterest could yield hundreds of suggestions, but if anyone has a well known and loved recipe I would love to hear it and to benefit from your experience! :)

Surrexit Christus Alleluia!

Happy Easter! The strife is o'er, hope is renewed, and we are celebrating with all the food and drink and music and joy we can muster.

Perrin watching Daddy make a pussy-willow bough at Babcia and Dziadzia's house.

Our basket for the food blessing.

Ben made a lovely early breakfast for the two of us <3

And the warmth and sunshine made for the best sap flow yet!

Mindful Monday: Screen Addiction Confession

I am coming to the realization that I am addicted to screens. My phone and laptop are like silent sirens, constantly calling to my subconscious, reminding me that they are oh-so-available, and without even thinking about it I am drawn back again and again.

It's been hovering in the back of my mind to write this for a while, except the weakness is so strong (oxymoron much?) that I haven't even been sure if I want to change. I know that I want to - want to.

A couple days ago I sat down on the floor by our sliding glass door to eat my lunch and realized with horror that I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten by myself without a screen in front of my face.

Ben and I eat sit down meals together (which, btw, would be one of my top pieces of marriage advice), but when he's away or eating lunch at work, my go-to is a seat on the couch with the laptop. A sandwich in one hand, typing or browsing with the other. The baby is usually playing on his mat or tucked beside me with some toys.

But I wish I could say this was only at lunch. 

For the very few things I actually have to check online (email, weather, Facebook, Pinterest), I spend a surprising amount of time checking them. I even find myself staring at the empty browser wondering what else I can come up with to look at. Over and over throughout the day, I put myself to some task or pursuit, but before I know it, there I am back at the computer again. Even my Lenten resolution to make a difference in this area wasted away to the bare minimum of its initial form.

Why is it so addictive? I suppose because it is just so effortless. Most other activities take at least a bit of brain power or elbow grease, whether designing a piece of art, washing dishes, or even singing! Looking at a screen is the easiest, laziest, most passive pastime. So much so that it becomes a default, a resting spot in between anything that requires more exertion. 

The addiction is also fuelled by conditioning to constant entertainment. I grab my phone to "have something to do" while eating my cereal or nursing the baby, and forget to simply immerse myself in eating my cereal, and nursing the baby!

In my heart, I don't do it :) I'm not "that type of person", haha. I've always been one to sing the praises of real life, and to remonstrate with my brothers for their hours of gaming. Yet here I am. 

It's time to be honest with myself. This addiction looks so innocent, yet it steals from everything: productivity, the cleanliness and order of our home, my relationships with Ben and Perrin, prayer, exercise... It even eats away at my peace of mind, for after spending a while online I feel discouraged and guilty.

I don't think I'm a hopeless case, or that I should stop using the devices. Nor am I alone. This whole generation has its task cut out to find balance in such an abundant availability of digital reality. What I do need to do is start being really mindful about my screen use. Pare down to only the useful, not the wasteful. Make a conscious decision to put it down, away, out of my mind, to take a deep breath, and to open myself fully to the world around me. Hopefully putting this out there in written words will help my resolve :)

So here's to embracing life! There is so much wonderful life to be lived. The air is fresh and chilly, full of health and the promise of spring, if only we take the chance to breathe it. The chicken is such fun to watch, trotting around the yard, paying calls to the bunnies and investigating the compost pile. There are new spices in the cupboard to tweak an old recipe. Who knows what interesting conversations might result from just relaxing with the husband? And there is that round, bright baby face right beside me, waiting to laugh at the first sight of fun, ready to be delighted when I turn to him, watching for attention and affection and all the neat things I can help him to experience. 

Hopefully in time, when I remember to check my email, pulling out the laptop from some forgotten corner and dusting it off, I will find that even before I am finished, the bugle call of real life has summoned me back into its wholeness.

Seasonal Sunday: Dreaming of Summer...

Mmm. I needed that.

   In reality, it is mid-February and -34 degrees when I woke up this morning. The insides of all our windows have ice formations piled up at the bottom from frozen condensation. We didn't go to Mass cause the car wouldn't start. The rabbits have frost-coated whiskers. 

   It's also Valentine's Day, however, so there's a little extra cheer to warm the deepest winter. Ben got up early with the baby (who seems to have decided that sleep is optional to existence) and I had left little corny Star Wars valentines stuck about the house for him. "Yoda one for me" on his i-watch, "You R2 cute" on the shaving cream, and "Ewok my world" stuck to the steering wheel. Thanks Pinterest :D

   His kind acts of service to me today have been to fix the home button on my phone and do all the piles of dishes in the kitchen. What a dear man.

   We're also going to have our first baby-free date for supper, as my mom is coming over to babysit for a couple of hours. Hooray! Hopefully our car will start by then. 

   On the animal front, we are daily taking small bunnies out to Wanda for feeding and bringing them back inside to stay warm. We hadn't intended to breed this winter, but we accidentally left one of the boys from the last batch in with his mother too long. Oops :/ I am calling them Oedipus Rex bunnies.

    Fox went out on a chilly night, prayed for the moon to give him light, and we sadly have only one chicken left as a result. Hence I have had to start buying store eggs again. Boo hoo. 

    Peregrine is growing by leaps and bounds, and I am also very excited for warm weather to return so that I can bring him outside more. His interest in his surroundings is continually expanding. 

    We just need to wait it out. This too shall pass, and spring will come again! It always does :)

Mindful Monday: Ode to Mindful Motherhood

 

  Remember to smile - smile when 5 am brings unexpected baby chatter, soft hands pawing at my face, the first cup of tea sooner than planned.

    Remember to enjoy - enjoy the brand new sounds being discovered, the explorative "mum mum" which one day will mean me, the delight which flashes into his eyes when I answer back.

   Remember to laugh - laugh when a eruption of spit up drenches us once again. What's a bit more laundry compared to keeping our home joyful?

   Remember to focus - focus on now. Don't get lost in the never-neverlands of fear, selfishness or sticky virtual-webbiness. Open eyes - open heart! This is my life! This is real!

   Remember what I am thankful for - self-pity and resentment are my enemies (especially when it comes to sleep, or lack thereof!), gratitude is my friend. I am thankful for all the other lovely things which ease the tiredness: food and drink, cuddles, music, schedule flexibility. Thankful that it's my first child and I know I'm still just learning. Thankful for my supportive Ben and all his good cheer. Thankful that I get to be "working out my salvation" in the best way I can imagine.

Seasonal Sunday: Deep Winter Duvet

   Outside the fluffy white blanket is growing, and we are cozied up indoors. It's a very indoorsy time of year. Sipping lots of hot drinks, watching tv shows, cuddling with Mr. Droolface. Enjoying family time. Almost the only times I venture out into the cold are my twice-daily trips to take care of the chickens and bunnies, who are huddled under heatlamps in their own small houses.

  I do miss sunshine and long walks, but they will come again. So for now, it's time to embrace the season of hibernation - unless you are one of those admirable folks out cross-country skiing or such like. Then enjoy yourselves and I'll see you inside sometime!

   Ben's newest toy is an i-watch, which he found for a steal price. He's been itching to get one of those around his wrist since they were announced, so he's as happy as a clam trying out all it's features.

   And Perrin is growing quickly. All that boob milk is like a powerful elixir, even more potent than Treebeard's ent water. I had to put away all his cute little 0-3 month clothing a while back, reminding myself that it will probably be worn by another baby some time in the future, that way I don't get too sad about it.

 

Mindful Monday: Slow Down

   A new week has begun, a fresh start on our family routine. Mornings before Ben leaves for work are a special little window of time when we make our hot drinks, cook and eat breakfast together, chat about our sleep and our dreams, say a morning offering (if we remember), and share bright smiles with the baby.
 
   My intention is to always enjoy these events, and all of life, really, with an attitude of mindfulness, or "living in the moment". But it is just so easy to forget.

  This morning when Peregrine, who had slept a little longer than us, awoke, I got him up and immediately proceeded to the change table to remove his heavy soggy diaper. He began to cry, but I ploughed ahead with the diaper change. I mean, it had to get done, right?
   Ben, though, came over to us and said "just let me comfort him for a minute". He picked up Perrin, walked about cuddling him briefly, and returned him to me contented and smiling. Then the job was finished while all three of us conversed in baby language.

   My love's intervention didn't take much time, but it was a great reminder to me that there is no need to force life along for the sake of "getting things done". This is our life, right now, right in this moment. Not in ten minutes, not tomorrow, but now. It is ok to go at whatever pace allows this moment to be one of love and peace, not of hurrying. Even if less gets accomplished, so to speak, it is a better accomplishment to be living well. Thanks hubby.

Jumping ahead to 2015

Living in Corner House (on a tiny lake in Combermere), lots of laughs with my hilarious hubby Benedict, raising meat rabbits, trying to survive winter, and lots of energy going to growing the little baby tucked inside my belly.

How do only two people produce so many dirty dishes? Something to ponder...

Every season is an inextricably woven mixture of joy and suffering, in ours and all the lives around us. I'm not sure it's remotely possible to make sense of, but hopefully that's not the point. Accepting changes as they come, without ever letting go of hope, growth in wisdom, and doing our best, is our attempted outlook. And savouring the little things, of course.

Christmas archery