The good news is that I WON a Sheenazing Award. Seriously. I'm flabbergasted. Unless someone calls for a recount, or I wake up . . . Catholic All Year won Smartest Blog and came in second place for Best Lifestyle Blog (Congratulations Haley!) ...
In the comments of this blog and on the blogs of others, there has been speculation that I am a robot. Today, I am here to say that . . . I am probably not a robot. Now, I have watched Battlestar Galactica so I know that no one can really be sure...
It's time for the Sheenazing Awards over at A Knotted Life! These awards last year were kind of my coming out party as a blogger. So I have a very special place in my heart for them. Last year, I was nominated as Best Lifestyle Blog. I lost to Like Mother, Like...
Move over Grilled Cheese Virgin Mary, make room for Toothpaste Jesus. That's right. Toothpaste. Jesus. He miraculously appeared on the back of my medicine cabinet nearly two years ago. Probably as an encouragement of my lax inner-cabinet housekeeping, but I...
First things first, can you spare a moment to say a prayer for Bonnie's son and Micaela's friend? And now for the quick takes . . . --- 1 --- Heather sent me a link to an article that claims that the eldest children in big families are exploited by their...
Sure, you could send some cute baby clothes, babies definitely need those. But these are my five favorite outside-the-box new mom gifts. If you know a new mom, I'm willing to bet she'd appreciate one or all of the following . . . 1. A Shower Not a baby...
Here's why I don't like babywearing: 1. I can't physically do everything I'd be able to if I had a baby who slept in a swing or bassinet: like sew, or exercise, or bathe, or unload the dishwasher, or not be touching someone. 2. It can get a little achy. 3. They...
--- 1 --- Contrary to reports you may have heard . . . the blog is not dead. Maybe it's different than it used to be (it is according to Waltzing Matilda). Maybe it's not what teenagers are doing (it's not according to this guy). But, I'm not a teenager, and I'm okay...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
"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...
There's still time before Thursday at 9pm Pacific to enter to win the giveaway. (To enter by leaving a comment on the original post go here.) The giveaway is over, thanks to everyone who entered! In case you didn't win, some of you wanted to be able to make your...
Now that Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls are behind us, I'm going to make like the mall and jump right in to Christmas. Thanksgiving schmanksgiving, amitrie? (I'm kidding, we do celebrate Thanksgiving. In fact this year we'll be having 15-16 family members at our...
I like scary stories. I like them for me, and I like them for my kids. Especially in October. On our recent family vacation, I knew we'd have many, many hours in the car, so I downloaded some spooky audiobooks I thought could be enjoyed by all three generations along...
As a parent, I want to figure out how to pay enough attention to each child so that he knows he is precious and valued, but not so much that he ends up an entitled brat. Fortunately, we have enough kids that I think it would be really, really hard for us to err...
update: now includes photos from today's celebrations! A Very Happy Fourth of July to You and Yours! The kids all had new duds for the occasion, thanks Gramma! Please don't let the freedom FROM religion types convince you that the founding fathers were on their side....
One of my least favorite children's movie conceits is the whole "Dad's an idiot, but if junior can just manage to disobey him loudly enough, he's sure to come around" thing. (See: Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, How to Train Your Dragon, Ratatouille, Happy...
Let's face it, as awesome as it is to have all these kids, it does make some things more complicated. Mealtimes, driving, traveling, okay, most things I guess. But it's worth it, of course. All my efforts are rewarded with love and laughter and jewels in my crown...
