St. Joseph is the patron that we have chosen for our family this year. So needless to say I absolutely had to do something special to share about our St. Joseph traditions with you! WATCH NOW Though he was a quiet man, who left us not even a single quote, there is...

Catholic All Year at Home, Ep. 4: St. Frances of Rome
Calling all homemakers, wanna-be homemakers, and reluctant homemakers! I've got the perfect saint to introduce you to in the latest episode of Catholic All Year at Home! WATCH NOW This episode is all about St. Frances of Rome, a young woman who wanted to dedicate her...
Happy Father’s Day, now Answer Me This!
It's Father's Day here at Answer Me This! And, um, all other places in America. Let's get to it, shall we? Here are THIS WEEK's questions . . . 1. What's the best thing about your dad? My favorite things about my dad are his indomitable positive attitude and can...
How Could Jesus Have TWO Daddies? Explaining the role of St. Joseph to young children.
Today is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. And I just happen to have a mailbag question that is particularly well-suited to the day. Let's get to it, shall we? the question: Dear Kendra, Hi! First, I enjoy your blog very, very much. I am on my way into the Catholic...
Ten Quick Tips for Throwing a Great Party as Illustrated by the 2015 Hooley
This is a sponsored post. See my disclosure policy. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Did I mention we throw a St. Patrick's Day party? I DID? Once or twice? Well, this year's Hooley was last weekend, and it was our biggest. party. evah. A very fine time was had by all,...
If Irish Eyes Are Smiling, You Can Bet They’re NOT Watching an Irish Movie, or: Eleven Irish Movies That it’s Entirely Possible That You Would Want to Watch
But then again, maybe you wouldn't. I watched a LOT of Irish movies over the past few weeks, in the hopes of finding a few to recommend for a fun St. Patrick's Day family movie night. But I found that many them made me want to throw myself into the pit of despair....
Did You Miss Us? (and some thoughts on Lent so far)
Blogger was having some technical difficulties last night and this morning, so most people (including me) got a "server down" error message when they tried to access Catholic All Year and many other blogs. But it seems to have been resolved. So if you missed today's...
Idle Threats, the Miracle of Waffles, St. Patrick’s Day Printables, and a Winner
I don't do these family glimpse posts as much as I used to, because I tend to share that stuff on the Catholic All Year Facebook page and on my Instagram account now. But I forget that not all of you are all those places. And I share different stuff on Facebook than I...
Irish Songs of Drinking and Rebellion for Kids (with free playlist and printables)
I grew up listening to showtunes and pop music. I am still pretty partial to both. But, ya know, ya get married and are introduced to whole new worlds you never even knew existed. Like Irish Folk music, for instance. I wasn't aware of any such thing until I met my...
Liturgical Living for Beginners: A St. Patrick’s Day Tea Party Play Date, with help from me and CCC
This is a sponsored post. See my disclosure policy. It's March! Spring is in sight (at least in California), we are mostly in the swing of Lent (however much that's possible, anyway), and around the Tierney gaff, it's time to get super excited for the upcoming...
What I'm Doing for Lent, and Fat Tuesday and Ash WednesdayRevealed . . . and the winners!
I shared a bunch of these photos on Instagram and a couple on Facebook, but not all of them. So I figured I'd throw them up here as quick as I can, in case you didn't see them there. AND I want to announce the winners of the Lent giveaway in time for the winners to...
Feast Then Fast: Tips for Fat Tuesday, Resources for Lent, Free Printables, and a Little Contest
Lent is nigh, you guys. It is NIGH. Hope you're ready. If you're not, I might be able to help . . . with some recommendations, and some free printables, and a contest. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? Because before Ash Wednesday, comes Fat Tuesday (aka...
Celebrating Birthdays That Fall During Lent?
I'm once again striding boldly into the dangerous, churning waters of Lenten "breaks." This time to answer a mailbag question . . . Question: Hi Kendra! My youngest is celebrating his first birthday next month and I'm wondering how to celebrate a birthday in Lent. I...
Lent Cometh: perhaps everything you’ll ever need to know to have the best Lent ever
Okay, folks. Now that Candlemas is over and all things Christmas are officially behind us, it's time to quit being in denial that Lent is coming. Fast. It is for me, anyway. Two weeks from today is Fat Tuesday. Then, it's on. A pretty significant percentage of my...
Kids Don’t Forget a Thing Like Waffles for Dinner
A big part of our family culture is celebrating the feasts of the liturgical year. And heaven help me if I try to mix things up any. Tierneys have waffles for dinner on the Annunciation. They started off as toaster waffles. Now they are usually homemade waffles. One...
Eating With Your Hands for St. Joseph’s Day and How To Find Out What I Think About My Book
Hey, if you like radio or books or squeaky voices or awkward silences, you're probably going to want to check out my radio interview debut on the Son Rise Morning Show tomorrow morning. I'll be on at 8:40 am Eastern time. It's possible that we'll be talking...
My Apostolate of Parties and What a Hooley Is
As I chop and measure and mix and bake (and try to decide if finger-batter counts against Lenten disciplines) in preparation for our big annual Hooley at the Tierneys.' hooley: Irish slang for party or celebration; by extension, some substance with which you...
An Open Letter to the Internet About My Being Wrong
UPDATE: I'm now back on board with my original post, thanks to some advice from Scott P. Richert of the About.com Catholic page and your comments. Whew. But I'm leaving this up because it happened, and because the photoshopping is pretty profound. Dear...
Sundays in Lent: We Can’t ALL Be Right About This
Sundays in Lent seem to be a genuine source of confusion among Catholics. Both the "I don't cheat on Sundays" people and the "Sundays don't count" people believe that Church teaching is on their side. Or perhaps they just think there isn't a formal Church teaching on...
What We Did Ash Wednesday
Pshew, we did it. It took a whole day, and we didn't get ANY schoolwork done (double day tomorrow!) but we went to Mass, got our ashes, decorated the house for Lent, and . . . Cleaned Out the Toys! Here's our day in pictures . . . ashes remember, baby, you are...
How to Win At Lent
Don't look now, but Lent is nearly upon us. Here are a few ways to make sure we get to the end of these 40 days a bit holier than we were when we started. 1. Choose Lent Disciplines that Challenge You It took me a while to understand that tendency folks seem to have...
In Which I Get Rid of Our Toys
--- 1 --- Don't adjust your screens ladies and gentlemen (mostly ladies), you read that correctly. I am getting rid of our toys. WITH MY KIDS' BLESSING! Last year's big toy closet organization scheme helped. But the playroom is still a major source of heartache and...
Outside the Box: 66 Things to Give Up or Take Up for Lent (in beginner, intermediate, and advanced)
Through my various Lenten fails over the years, I've learned a different way of approaching Lent. In our house, we now view Lent as a time to try adding or taking away things from our personal and family lives to see if we are improved. We make it a time, not of...