On Thursday, the husband's Aunt Maureen passed away after a battle with lung cancer. On Sunday afternoon we were all in Chicago at the wake. A real, no kidding, Chicago Irish wake. The whole family and close friends, kids included, spent the afternoon and...
If you know me in real life, fair warning, I have every intention of doing this to you over the next fifty days or so. The Paschal greeting, also known as the Easter acclamation, is an Easter custom among Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic...
Before you rush out the door to the dollar store to put together an Easter Basket, here are a few ideas for lovely and edifying Easter gifts that you can make happen in a hurry. And sometimes for nearly free! Printables Shining Light Saint Printables! Just a word of...
Updated! (now even MORE stuff at the bottom) Welcome to Answer Me This, a new Sunday link-up here at Catholic All Year. If you missed the big introduction post, here's a quick recap of the rules: I ask you questions, you answer them. You can answer in the...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Happy Feast of the Chair of St. Peter! Yes, there is an actual, physical "Chair of St. Peter" housed at the Vatican. I've seen it! Jimmy Akin, can tell you everything you need to know about it and this feast, if you click here. But what to do about it, today, with...
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...
Dear People Who Are Mad About Valentines, There is a post going around called Overachieving Pinterest Moms Should Stop Making Valentines for Their Kids. "You know which parents I'm talking about. They spent hours on Pinterest, scrolling through idea after...
Today you get links. Lots of 'em. And me trying to be smart in order to keep up appearances. etsy, obviously Wait, not THOSE kind of links. Although, can I just say that is totally amazing? --- 1 --- This nonsense has taken the interwebs by storm: I Look Down On Young...
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!) ...
When my eldest son was in preschool, I made the mistake of handing the buck to the Pope when it came to some of our parenting practices. When Jack would ask why he couldn't watch a particular show that his friends were watching, I'd say, "Well, we're Catholic and...
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...
You guys. I love these books. When I was a kid I my grandmother gave me one of those personalized children's books where you fill out a questionnaire about the child and get a book back. It said something like "Only KENDRA and her best friend KRISTEN could...
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...
I wanted to go see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, because Iris said it was good (and made such a pretty cake). BUT that was sold out, so we went to go see the husband's first choice instead: Lone Survivor. I expected it to be a well-done war movie, and it was....
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...
movies. It's a movie about the creative process, and the investment of creators in their creations. It's a movie about charming doggedness triumphing over crabby nitpickiness. But mostly, it's a movie about fathers. A really good movie about fathers. The Big...
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...
