Seven Quick Takes vol 21 {+video}

1.

I suppose summer in our area of California has arrived. G got to wear shorts for the first time this summer on Sunday and I grabbed her two pairs of super cute Target shorts on clearance. Tell me she doesn't scream California summer in the ensemble seen in this video I took of her toddling around the park:

2.

There is a current news story going about a Catholic school teacher who is suing her former employer and the diocese. She claims she was fired for having in vitro fertility treatments.
First of all, according to this CNN article, her contract was simply 'not renewed.' It's not like she was abruptly fired in the middle of the school year.
Secondly, the diocese released a statement that according to the same article says, "...that teachers working in the diocese are required to 'have a knowledge and respect for the Catholic faith, and abide by the tenets of the Catholic Church.'" IVF is against the church's teachings. Whatever her personal belief about IVF is...she's a TEACHER (re: example) at a CATHOLIC school and has to lead her outward life as such.  I have encountered many Catholic women who used IVF, and don't pass judgement...so please don't think I'm anti-women, anti-family, or anything like that. God is the only one who can judge...but when you are employed by a private school, you have to make sure you follow their 'rules.' While I think it is kind of her fault for talking about having IVF (because she could have just kept that part to herself), at least she wasn't deceptive.

My big question is ... If a Catholic school teacher was found to use any type of birth control, would he or she be let go too? It's against the church teachings too. What about if a teacher was found to have cheated on her husband? What if a male teacher was found to be a pornography watcher?
I would hope the answer would be yes to all of the above because what good is sending your Catholic kid to a Catholic school if their teachers don't practice what the school/church teaches/believes.

3.

Speaking of Catholics and natural family planning... Have you read this article about that pesky little 'statistic' out there about how "98% of Catholic women use birth control"? It's a fact checker article by the Washington Post and it goes on to say that the wording of the statistic should be “Data shows that 98 percent of sexually experienced women of child-bearing age and who identify themselves as Catholic have used a method of contraception other than natural family planning at some point in their lives.”
That doesn't mean those women are currently using BC, nor does it mean they used BC when they were sexually active AND it doesn't mean they thought it was right. I can agree with the general sentiment though...it's very rare to find a Catholic woman who has never, in her entire lifetime, used any contraceptive.
ps. While I'm on this NFP kick, check out Katie at NFP and me's website: iusenfp.com

4.

I'm finally making Giada's Chocolate & Cheese Danish recipe this weekend (Sunday). I hope God understands that we are going to mass on Saturday evening so that I have plenty of time to make them Sunday morning. (Why don't I make them Saturday morning, you ask? Because my husband has to work Saturday morning...boo!) I'm excited, not because the recipe doesn't seem hard at all, but because I sure do love chocolate for breakfast. I'm slowly building my Giada recipe experience too... She's my fave :-)

5.

Did you know Mother's Day is right around the corner??? I am so excited because last year G was pretty small and her present to me came from my husband. It was a kit to make a 3D mold of her hand, and it didn't even get done until July. I have high hopes that this year he'll get her to 'create' something for me... HIGH HOPES (someone direct this to him please :-) )

6.

G and I went to our first library story time on Thursday. Our old library in Kansas didn't have baby story time and toddler story time didn't start until 2 years old, so I was pleased to see that two libraries near us have story time for birth - 2 years old. I was worried that she would be hard to reign-in because she is so social, but luckily there were several kids over 2 there and she was so mesmerized by them that she actually stayed near me with a watchful eye on them. One little girl loved jumping up and down while laughing hysterically...it was pretty cute, albeit distracting. I'm just glad she wasn't mine because the librarian kept telling her she needed a time out ;-)
They take a break during May, but we are looking forward to making story time a weekly adventure when story time starts back up in June. I hope we can score some play dates out of the gig too.

7.

In more food excitement....If you follow my blog, you've read my meal plan posts and my complaining about our food budget. Well this month I got smart and budgeted based on what we spent last month, rather than budgeting what I hoped to spend. I'm going to be UNDER budget for the first time ever. Sure it's still more than what we'd like the number to be, but it's so great to see black in the food budget column. #winning ;-)


Check out Conversion Diary for more quick takes.