Watching: Parenthood. I've heard so much about it, for so long, that I finally started watching from the beginning to see what all the fuss is about. I AM HOOKED. I'm 5 episodes in to the first season, and I've managed to cry during every episode so far.  A good kind of cry. They love each other so hard. They fight. They're there for each other. They're complicated. It's all so real. I love it. I'm hoping to catch up to the current season, soon!


Listening to: Muddy Waters and other blues artists. Maja has shown a definite liking to blues. She can't help but move her body and head to the rhythms. I have to say, I can't help myself either. Something about that music puts me in a terrific mood. We've been starting our days with it for the past week. Love.

Thinking about: how angry I feel towards organized religion - Catholicism specifically - right now. I've never really talked about religion here. But, I am not a person of faith.  I was raised around religion, went to church-based schools through my formative years, but had way too many questions and very little faith in the entire idea.  Don't get me wrong, I think faith is a beautiful thing...I just don't have it.  I think the idea of God is wonderful, and believe in something. I just have issue with the rules that people have put into place. I'm a good person and do good things for the sake of being a good person, not for the promise or fear of going to Heaven or Hell. And don't even get me started on same-sex marriages! LOVE IS LOVE.  Anyway, back to the point...A dear friend was hoping a family member would be a surrogate for her pregnancy. The family member was totally on board, and originally offered to do it, until she spoke to her deacon. He informed her that IVF and surrogacy are mortal sins and strongly advised her against it.  So she won't do it because she believes in her relgion and wouldn't want to sin in such a way. Why deny people of love and happiness?! Why deny someone of parenthood? Why deny the joy of helping someone, who lost two babies and had two miscarriages, be a parent like they'd always dreamed of.  Mortal sin? She wasn't asking the family member to kill someone! How beautiful is the gift of life? Gah. I find this completely outrageous. And this solidifies my feelings about the Catholic church and their rules.  Sorry for the rant, I'm just really upset by the whole thing. And, if you're Catholic, I'm sorry if this has offended you. In no way did I mean for this to be hurtful or offensive. I'm just stating my feelings about this particular subject.

Trying to figure out: this whole parenting thing. I wrote about our trouble with food and behavior recently, and we're trying some new ways of parenting to see if they'll work. Don't get me wrong, she's an amazing kid. There are a few areas that need improvement.  Hitting is one. Screaming is another. I know they're just fazes that most kids go through, but we'd like to speed through them as fast as possible.

Looking forward to: Ivo's parents coming home on Sunday! They live in Croatia for over half of the year and have been gone for over 7 months, so it'll be so nice to see them.  Maja's changed SO much in this time, I'm super excited to see them together.

Reading: I just started reading The Happiness Project and am really liking it! And re-reading French Kids Eating Everything.

Making me happy: how close Maja and my Mom are. Their bond seems to grow daily and it makes me so  happy. Maja is always super excited to see my Mom (which is just about every day) and loves to kiss and hug her, and recently, telling her that she loves her.  Sigh. So sweet.

Thanks to Danielle for the inspiration for the Currently posts!


What about yours?


xo