But if, on the other hand, you have NOT already taught your kids everything they need to know about their faith, if you MEAN to teach them stuff, but sometimes don't get around to it, if you'd LIKE to teach them stuff, but don't know where to start . . . I've got...
I already wrote and posted quick takes this week. But it turns out I am bursting with takes. So here we go again . . . --- 1 --- The husband took the five big kids to our homeschool group ice skating trip. The kids were abuzz about it all week. SO excited. How...
Hooray! I've been blogging for one year. To celebrate, I'm going to attempt two linkups, a recap, and a giveaway all in the same post! 1. Post With the Most Clicks I love the idea of a "Most" of 2013 linkup. What a fun idea, right? And easy. The posts are...
Last week, I wrote my thank you notes to some bloggers who have helped me along my bloggy way this last year. And you guys were mostly all, "Duh. Obviously. Those are all great blogs and we already totally like them." So now I'd like to share the love with some...
Dear people who are good at NFP, Have you ever found yourself saying things like, "Oh, I don't really even have to chart, I just KNOW," or "I'm sorry, what did you say? I was just noticing myself ovulate," or "You just need to try Creighton, it's made of...
It has been almost a year since I started this here blog. And what a year it's been. You guys are the BEST! I can't believe I get to harangue the interwebs with my opinions on everything from Irene Adler to Cryin' Babies to Quitting NFP and you good folks are here to...
Merry Christmas to you from the gang at Catholic All Year. It's been quite a day. (And we haven't even had dinner or the Nativity Play yet!) Yesterday we chopped down our tree and decorated it, despite the (sunny and 85) weather . . . This morning we awoke early...
At our house, we've been making a concerted effort to wait to celebrate Christmas, until . . . about now. It gives us at least a chance of keeping up with the kids' enthusiasm for the whole twelve days. (Or however many days of Christmas you like.) So, in case you're...
If despite reading my review of the first installment of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, you (as I did) still held out hope for improvement and wanted to see the second movie: The Desolation of Smaug, here's what I have to say about it . . . If you like no-look...
Maybe it's the new baby, but Advent has FLOWN by in our house. Christmas is almost here! I just had to re-type this because I'm pretty sure I have to say my favorite part of our Christmas celebration is the Mass. But a VERY close second is our At Home Family Nativity...
On the off chance that I don't have your address, I figured I'd share our Christmas card for this year with all of you! And I've got seven kids, and a take on each. So, I'm calling this my quick takes . . . So, here's the front, middle, middle, and back of the card:...
I mentioned this technique in a post in which I used it on Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke, and MTV, and I can't remember hearing much about any of them since, so I'm going to assume it was a big success and they've all decided to turn their lives around. In which case,...
It's pick on three-year-olds week here at Catholic All Year, which is odd since I don't even have a three-year-old right now. But I have had five three-year-olds previously, so I can say with some level of expertise, that those guys are generally up to something....
Guys? I need everyone to promise not to tell Grace about this post. She pretty much explicitly forbade its writing. But I wrote it anyway. INTJ and all that. Here's the thing: I really DO think twos are better than ones, and better than threes as well. I have written...
--- 1 --- CCM Just when I think I'm the controversial Catholic blog, Haley goes and makes the internets mad by insulting CCM (that's Contemporary Christian Music for those of you who, like me, didn't know what CCM was). Anyway, I think her larger point was lost on the...
I've been working on our Christmas cards this week. Every year, sending and receiving Christmas cards is one of my favorite parts of the season. We have friends all over the country and all over the world from the various stages of our lives: childhood, college,...
On the surface, two shows that I have recently watched (and reviewed on this blog) wouldn't seem to have much in common. The Walking Dead is a modern fictional dystopia about a rugged band of travelers trying to outlast a zombie apocalypse. Call the Midwife is the...
I really can't say that any of my babies has been "planned." Most, in fact, were conceived while we were actively (albeit inexpertly) attempting NFP. I guess Frankie would be the closest to a "planned" pregnancy. After finally figuring out how to use NFP effectively,...
--- 1 --- . . . by a Saint Happy St. Nicholas Day! Think Santa is all pipe-smoking and belly-laughs? Think again. Dude totally punched a heretic in the face AT THE COUNCIL OF NICEA! Seriously, you're going to want to read all about it here: When Santa...
Here's a little glimpse at what the first few days of Advent have looked like at our house . . . Journey to Bethlehem (the board game) It's pretty much the best advent-themed board game ever. But it's a very limited edition, since Jack made it when he was in the first...
Reading this post from Haley at Carrots for Michaelmas and this post from Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda has made me realize that I really, really, really want our family to have 24 Advent/Christmas picture books that we love. Books that are pretty to look at and fun...
A few weeks ago, I wrote about our family's advent philosophy, but now that advent is actually upon us, I wanted to share a little more about our three favorite advent family traditions. 1. Little People Nativity We have many nativity sets. We've got a big outdoor...
Quick Takes late Saturday afternoon, because I just had a baby and I can . . . --- 1 --- So, things are still mostly great around here. Thanksgiving was delicious, Baby Lulu is sweet and squishy and sleepy. But also, there was barfing. Some on Thanksgiving, but...
"The life of a family is filled with beautiful moments: rest, meals together, walks in the park or the countryside, visits to grandparents or to a sick person… But if love is missing, joy is missing, nothing is fun. Jesus gives always gives us that love: he is its...
The way things were going with pregnancies number five and six, I have to admit to being a bit worried when I turned up pregnant for a seventh time. I had been pretty ill for three months with Anita, then really ill for six months with Frankie, so I had to allow for...
Louise Marita Tierney! I wrote up my last post about how <sigh> I hadn't gone into labor yet and set it to post at midnight, then I went to bed and started having contractions at 12:18! Birth story to follow sometime after we get home, but the facts are she was...
Well, as it turns out there's still time to enter the baby pool to win a copy of Haley and Daniel's new ebook: Feast. (Since I haven't had this baby yet.) It isn't even my due date until Wednesday, so I really shouldn't complain. But I will anyway, just a bit. My...
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how we were able to start celebrating the liturgical year in our home only by taking baby steps. And I mentioned how overwhelmed I had felt reading the first book I found about the celebrating the liturgical year in the home....
I had intended to write up a few posts in advance of the new baby, and schedule a couple each week. But that hasn't happened. Instead, this is my tenth post in as many days. Apparently, the new plan is to make you all so sick of reading my blog that you'll be grateful...
As baby number seven's due date fast approaches, I figured I ought to do a Birth Story Week of all six births so far. Need to catch up? Here are birth story #1, birth story #2, birth story #3, birth story #4, and birth story #5. And, finally (for...
