Yesterday, I shared my friend Emily's personal story of her mom's crisis pregnancy. See that post here: What’s to Gain by Saying No to Abortion: A Story of Teen Pregnancy, Grandparents’ Prayers, and . . . Me. I received the following comment over on Facebook. I...

A Mother’s Day Mailbag Can o’ Worms: Must I Be Submissive to My Husband?
Mother's Day is coming and it seems like as good a time as any to open that evergreen can 'o worms, a topic of discussion in Catholic circles since, oh, 62 AD . . . the ever-controversial question inspired by Ephesians 5:21-33: Must Catholic wives submit to their...
Abortion Jargon, Obedience, and Whether I Just Want to Kill All Priests: The Catholic + Coronavirus Can of Worms
I was hoping to get a conversation started with my previous post. That definitely happened. I Like to Think That I Would Die for Jesus I was impressed with the general tone of the dialog. I did have to delete some comments for breaking my long-standing rules against...
I Like to Think That I Would Die for Jesus
For some clarifications and considerations, see this follow up post, Abortion Jargon, Obedience, and Whether I Just Want to Kill All Priests: The Catholic + Coronavirus Can of Worms I suppose one never knows for sure until one is faced with the opportunity, but I like...
Some Thoughts on Scandal (NOT the TV show, as I have at least temporarily learned my lesson)*
It's July! Get this month's booklet of prayers and devotions here as a print-at-home pdf or here as a paperback booklet. The July installment of the Catholic All Year Liturgical Living Show is ready to go, I just need to get it captioned and write a post for it, so it...
Is the Seal of Confession Worth Protecting?
The historic sanctity of the seal of confession is being reconsidered by courts around the world—in England, Ireland, Australia, Louisiana, and in my own state of California, among others—specifically in regards to the crime of child sexual abuse. It begs the question...
Poor Nathan Pyle (I’m Thinking We Didn’t Help His Situation)
Nathan Pyle is the creator of a comic called Strange Planet, in which blobby aliens do regular people stuff and describe it in unusual ways. It’s gentle and amusing and, until very recently, utterly uncontroversial.
The Scandal That Just Won’t Stop: Sackcloth and Ashes II
One of my intentions for the forty days of prayer and fasting for #sackclothandashes has been that ALL of the evil in our Church that has been hiding in shadow will be brought into the light. . . . But I did not expect this. I respect the Church as an...
Sexual Abuse, Sackcloth, and Ashes: Meeting Scandal with Acts of Reparation
We find ourselves again rocked by scandal in the Catholic Church. On Aug. 14, a Pennsylvania grand jury released its report on an 18-month investigation into seven decades of clerical sexual abuse allegations in six Pennsylvania dioceses. The details are sickening and...
I’m Not Mad About the Met Gala, Except That I Wasn’t Invited: Catholic Stuff Saturday
Happy Saturday folks, the winner of last week's giveaway is at the bottom! If you are a fashionable celebrity who reads this blog, you're probably aware of last Monday's Met Gala. For the rest of us, the Met Gala is a yearly red carpet/costume party thing where famous...
What to Do When They Won’t Stay in Bed
It's been an AGE since we dug something out of the old mailbag. Let's take a peek, shall we? The Question: Hello Kendra, I know you are very busy but I have a few questions from something on your blog. You said the kids can’t get out of bed during nap, how do you...
Do Catholics Need the Elf on the Shelf?
I had every intention of not wading into the Elf on the Shelf debate, because it's really not a matter of faith and morals, and is therefore something about which good Catholics are free to make their own choices, and follow their own consciences, and disagree. But...
How We Discuss Imperfect Heroes with Kids
Happy Columbus Day! This is not a feast of the Catholic Church, of course, but it's a national celebration (at least it WAS a celebration, now it's more like one-more-excuse-to-be-mad-on-Facebook) of a Catholic person with admirable qualities and great failings, both....
Why My Daughters Are Not Altar Servers
Mailbag time! A few weeks ago, I argued that learning traditional homemaking skills in an all-girl environment was beneficial for my girls. I'm back today to support something for just the boys . . . the question: I had a question about your kids and altar serving. I...
Why We Feel Better if We Care About Cecil the Lion
I'm going to start here by saying that I don't feel particularly protective of this particular big game hunting dentist (but I do feel for his wife and kids). There are hunters in my family, bow-hunters even, but they do the hunting themselves, and there's an...
Four Reasons I’m NOT Boycotting the Forty Companies on that List
Planned Parenthood is yucky. I hate that they exist. I hate that they use lies and doublespeak to prey upon the most vulnerable among us (the women AND their babies). I was not one tiny bit surprised by the latest Planned Parenthood scandal. Sad, yes. But not...
Maybe We CAN’T Talk About NFP Without Giving Offense
It's NFP awareness week. A quick glance at my header will tell you where the husband and I fall on the ol' sliding scale of fertility/NFP competency (but just in case it's: high/low). This is a mommy blog. This is a Catholic blog. This is the PERFECT place to be able...
Gay Marriage: Why Do We Care? (and what do we do now?)
In the wake of Friday's Supreme Court ruling that made gay marriage legal across the United States, I figured I'd share a few thoughts and a mailbag question. Especially in light of all the social media frenzy over the SCOTUS decision, all the unfriending and name...
In Case I Get Arrested Today . . .
This article is the scariest thing I've read in a long time. A zombie apocalypse has nothing on "good" Samaritans hell-bent on protecting children from the reasoned decisions of their parents. “What a horrible mother:” How a call from a “good samaritan” derailed these...
Weaning: my hows, whys, and whens
Sometimes when I get a mailbag question, I can't believe I really haven't ever written on the subject before. This was one of those. I've written about breastfeeding (those posts always spark quite a discussion) and getting babies to sleep (conversation AND, um,...
Eeny Meany Miny Moe People Make Bad Choices
The recent stories of Brittany Maynard and Jennifer Lawrence are quite different in circumstance and gravity. But both women are suffering. And both have a skewed way of rationalizing what is happening to them. My glioblastoma is going to kill me, and that's out of my...
Apologies, Retractions, Clarifications, and Sweeping Generalizations
Just some quick updates to the great breastfeeding debate of '14. I think the most noteworthy thing about the hundred or so comments it inspired was how friendly and respectful all the disagreers were. I didn't have to delete a single comment. I love that about you...
I Want it All: a Nourished Baby AND Good Manners (also superpowers)
I want all of the awesome things that go along with nursing my baby. I want the convenience. I want the health benefits. I want the bonding. I want the no mess and the no planning and the eye contact. I want the right here and the right now. AND I want to not flash...
An Open Letter to People Who Are Good at NFP
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...
How to be the Boss of a One Year Old
I'm going to start this by saying that plenty of people do not discipline as early as I do. Which is fine. I am a firm believer in doing what works for your family. I also believe that the level of discipline in your home is up to you and can be changed at any time,...
Maybe I’ll Open a Bait Shop (that’s how many cans of worms are open around here): 7 Quick Takes XXIV
It has been an interesting week on the ol' blogstead . . . --- 1 --- One of the main goals of my blogging has become trying to affirm the different but still good choices that different moms make. My audience is mostly other Catholic moms. We share the primary goal of...
It’s ALL YOUR FAULT Miley Cyrus
Why, oh why, won't this Miley Cyrus thing just go away from my Facebook? the reaction of Will Smith and his family seems about right And I tried, I really did try, to just not say anything about it. But I kept having thoughts. And I have a blog. So . . . ...
Touchy Subjects and Kids: how we talk about the stuff we’d rather not talk about
This is not going to be one of those posts where I tell you what to do, because so much of this is going to depend on your particular kids and their particular environment. But I know it's something that young moms struggle with, that I struggled with, that I continue...
Hey America, Pregnancy: You’re Doing it Wrong
I've debated writing this post for a while, because really -- who wants to be the poster-child for "irresponsible pregnancy?" But, you know me, I can't resist a can of worms. And I think it needs to be said. So, here goes: You know all that stuff you're not supposed...
Please DO NOT Change for Simcha: 7 Quick Takes XXIV
--- 1 --- Simcha, Hallie, and Charlotte have opened up a can o'worms (which is great, I do love me a can o'worms) about how different types of blogs affect different people. the header graphic from Simcha's Blog: I Have to Sit Down Apparently, some moms (including...