Hey guys. 👋 I'm still not back. The book is coming along, but there's still a ways to go. But. I got this mailbag question via email and answered it via email, and wanted to share it here, just in case any of you are facing the same criticisms. I really hope...
Mailbag time! The Question: Hello, my name is Mollie and I am a big fan of your blog. I lost my pet of 17 years this weekend and I am struggling with the thought of breaking the news to my seven year old son this afternoon. We have been preparing him for her passing...
Hey Guys. Today is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. In light of current events, it seems especially important to remember what we celebrate today. According to Pope Benedict: This is a very ancient tradition, proven to have existed in Rome since the fourth...
Last month we had the unfortunate anniversary of Roe v Wade. Many cities, including my own Los Angeles, hosted Walks for Life, but our family wasn't there. We weren't there because we were at a funeral, for a baby named Emily Rose Marie. We are fortunate enough to...
When I was expecting my second baby, lo those many years ago, my oldest would happily tell anyone in earshot that the new baby was going to "blast out" of mommy sometime soon. He also thought that maybe it was going to be a baby elephant, "like Dumbo." He was wrong ....
This is a sponsored post. See my disclosure policy. I had such fun last spring putting together a St. Patrick's Day play date that I decided to do another one . . . this time for the upcoming feasts of St. Juan Diego on December 9th and Our Lady of Guadalupe on...
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...
Advent is less than two weeks away . . . are you ready, TO WAIT? Advent is a beautiful time of year. But for those of us attempting to live the liturgical year in our homes (at least a bit) it can be a tricky season to get right. Sometimes it feels like whatever we...
Another excellent year of Catholic Costumes y'all. I just love the variety. Here's a look at how the Tierney kids' costumes turned out this year . . . I had all but given up on a costume for Mary Jane and I. Then, the morning of our homeschool group All Saints...
November is the Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. If you aren't in the habit of hanging out in cemeteries and praying for the dead with your kids . . . well, you're really missing out. And so are your kids. AND so are the dead. As Christians, we believe that the...
Last year's costume contest was really cool. I loved seeing all the great Catholic costumes you good folks and your kids can up with. So . . . even though I'm not sure the world needs any more of my All Saints Day costume posts, I decided to do it again. And, as it...
Mailbag time! Here's one about how we maintain our family's religious practices on vacations with friends or family members who aren't living their faith the same was we do. -question- Hi, Kendra! My question for you has to do with traveling. We currently travel a...
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...
Knowing just what is required of faithful Catholics can be confusing. Especially in this time of blogs and social media. Blogs can be a really great way to learn about our faith, but it's easy for bloggers (even yours truly) to make it seem like particular practices...
Well, I was away from the blog for a couple weeks. And many things happened. This happened, more than would have been my personal preference, but I'm not in charge. But that wasn't the ONLY thing that happened. And I felt LESS horrible in the mornings, and didn't get...
Every year, I see rabble rousing Christian websites trying to get folks to boycott businesses that use Happy Holidays in their advertising. Obviously, I support people's right to do as they please with their own money. But as for me, I'm not a boycotter to begin with,...
I'm turning the blog over today to reader Sarah Kaye, who has had an Advent to remember this year as she and her family learn to cope with a diagnosis of celiac disease and what that means for their Catholic faith, particularly reception of the Eucharist. With 0.5 -...
Is that too strong? Well, it's what WE are going to do anyway: CLEAN OUT THE COAT CLOSET! It's something we can ALL do, no matter our financial circumstances. We can take a look in our coat closets and see if we have anything to spare. Maybe we do, maybe we don't. But...
I was so amazed at the awesomeness of your entries in the Catholic Costume Contest, that I decided to post, not just the winner, not just a handful of favorites, but almost 200 awesome Catholic costumes, made by real parents and kids just like you and yours. It seems...
So, you're all set for Hallowtide, right? Your kids have got a Halloween costume and an All Saints Day costume all set and ready to go? No? Not to worry. These costumes can be thrown together in a couple of days, and if you have Amazon Prime, you might not even need...
We spent this afternoon and evening at our parish's annual festival. A good time was had by all. Even Frankie. But you wouldn't have known it to look at him. Kid has a bad case of grumpy resting face. There were just too, too many to Instagram them all, so I decided...
A quick tour of recent headlines regarding the Synod . . . in which we see that folks are, as usual, flipping the flip out over nothing new. The Globe and Mail: Bishops say homosexuals should be accepted by the Catholic church Pope Benedict, from then-Cardinal...
Okay, so where were we? Flew to Barcelona, saw modern masterpiece; went to Lourdes, prayed for intentions; went to Torreciudad, saw mosaic of Virgin Mary on her iPhone . . . which means . . . LOOK OUT TINY TOURISTS! THERE'S A GIANT BABY IN FRONT OF THE...
Can you believe it's October?! With the weather we've been having in Southern California . . . I cannot. But, there you have it. Probably, you want to be an awesome, totally organized mom who remembered that All Saint's Day and Halloween were coming up. But probably...
In my post about how we do and do not shelter our kids, I mentioned that we choose not to shield our kids entirely from pop culture influences. As with most things, we try to find a middle ground. We don't have cable, but we do have Netflix. They mostly don't listen...
We've been meat-free on Fridays for a couple of years now, and it's been good for our family. It's a great way to make a sacrifice that we can share with each other and with other Catholics all over the world and through time. I think it's terrific. Except, of course,...
I've mentioned it before, but I wanted to make sure you all know about my newest project. Blessed Is She is a daily devotional website for women. Right into your inbox, every day, you'll receive a link to the readings from daily Mass, plus a short reflection on one of...
So, are you totally sick of this mailbag thing yet? No? Good. Because I have (at least) one more (so far) that I want to share with everyone. Jessica asked me about something near and dear to my heart . . . the Little Flowers Girls' Club. She's thinking about starting...
I hope you've already seen this great campaign by Bonnie of a Knotted Life . . . Kelly from this Ain't the Lyceum has two sons with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Their family loves to visit the beach, but a beach chair that would allow him to get across the sand and...
A couple months ago, Bonnie asked me to make her some suitable-for-framing graphic images of some prayers: The Morning Offering, and The Act of Contrition. So I did, and I made them downloadable, for YOU. Then I made a St. Michael Prayer, because that's my favorite....
