People seem to believe that cell phone use is this new, unprecedented behavior about which there are no established customs that could govern our conduct. George Washington and I beg to differ. The technology might be different, but human desires remain pretty...
Baby Barbara and I recently accompanied two-year old George for most of his five week stay in the hospital as he fought and recovered from bacterial meningitis. I've had people mention since then that I should do a post on what I learned during our little sojourn, but...
Last December, my book launch was over. We had had some time to sit with the diagnosis and treatment decisions. The current baby was almost a year and a half old and pretty easygoing, and I was un-expectant for almost the longest time in our marriage. I was finished...
It's been a while since I've updated you all on the goings on around here, so here goes . . . BABYMOON The husband and I ran off for a little pre-baby vacay on Santa Catalina Island, to celebrate our 18th anniversary and our 10th baby. The trip was a perfect mix of...
You've probably heard about the troubling study recently released by the Pew Research Center, stating that only one-third of self-professed Catholics believe in the Catholic Church's teaching that the Eucharist is the actual body and blood of Christ, and nearly half...
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...
Spy Wednesday "Spy" Wednesday 🕵️♂️ is the name traditionally given to the Wednesday of Holy Week. This is the day Judas betrayed Jesus, telling the high priest when Jesus would be in a place where he could be more conveniently...
Rather heavy things loom on the horizon around here in general, and on Friday specifically (click for details here, but only if you have a hankie handy) . . . and Lent is here and Holy Week is coming for all of us. But we Christians know there is always a light in the...
New prayer booklets for April, and other new printables for Easter and the sacraments are up in the shop, details at the bottom of the post, or see here. If you're new around here, you can get up to speed on this particular issue here. And the recent, not so great...
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...
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....
The week leading up to Mother's Day was certainly brightened for me by the news of the birth of baby Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. I'm a proud American and whatnot, but my love of babies, fanciness, and tradition can't help but rejoice in a royal baby...
There are people who have blogs who eventually learn that there are things you're just not allowed to write about on the internet: vaccines, spanking, breastfeeding in public, crying it out, etc. I am not one of those people. And I get a lot of reader questions...
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...
At my high school in San Diego, you could see the ocean from the upstairs classrooms and if the surf was good, there were a lot of open desks in my math class after lunch. The coolest guys in school weren't football players, they were on the water polo team. Water...
They have taken the word "naughty." They have taken it and made it about ridiculous Halloween costumes. It's gone so far that it feels off somehow for upstanding citizens to even say the word. It did for me, anyway. It seems like "bad" is the word most commonly...
New motherhood is a beautiful thing. There's nothing quite so glorious as a sweet squishy brand new little person, full of possibilities. Everything is new and wonderous and you are experiencing it all for the very first time.New motherhood is a terrible thing....
I made a vlog for the about page. But in case there are some of you who don't check my about page for updates on a super regular basis, I'm going to put it here, too. If you're particular about comprehension, I'd suggest clicking that little cc button on the bottom...
In the comments to my post about the time it took us thirty-nine hours to fly to France, Erica noted that I was wearing a dress. And I was. The same dress the whole time, as a matter of fact, since while WE were hanging out in Toronto, our bags were kickin' it...
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 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...
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...
This is me. I'm 37 years old. My hair is probably sixty percent gray now. And neither one of those things bothers me. Here's why: 1. I have no interest in misleading people about my age. Mostly because I would much rather people think I look good...
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...
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...
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...
Guys? I need everyone to promise not to tell Grace about this post. She pretty much explicitly forbade its writing. But I wrote it anyway. INTJ and all that. Here's the thing: I really DO think twos are better than ones, and better than threes as well. I have written...
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,...
I really can't say that any of my babies has been "planned." Most, in fact, were conceived while we were actively (albeit inexpertly) attempting NFP. I guess Frankie would be the closest to a "planned" pregnancy. After finally figuring out how to use NFP effectively,...
--- 1 --- . . . by a Saint Happy St. Nicholas Day! Think Santa is all pipe-smoking and belly-laughs? Think again. Dude totally punched a heretic in the face AT THE COUNCIL OF NICEA! Seriously, you're going to want to read all about it here: When Santa...
Kaitlin from More Like Mary wrote me asking about how we deal with toddlers' picky eating habits. I fired off a quick email back to her before I remembered the super-frustrating food allergy issues her family is dealing with. Our family does not have any allergies or...
We are big fans of the National Park System. Each year, we head out on a different National Park trip, to appreciate God's majesty and Teddy Roosevelt's foresight, and to meet some Germans (who are usually the only other people we see in the National Parks). This...
Well, since at least 1812. That's when the Grimm brothers set out to scare the dickens out of generations of children. But clearly these stories, and the concept that scary stuff is good for kids, existed well before they started gathering the stories up. What we...
Here's another installment in my occasional series of answering Caitlin's questions! It's our goal to allow our kids, even though there are a lot of them, to have enough access to extra-curricular activities to experience the fun and exercise and enrichment and...
--- 1 --- If you have ever seen Michaelangelo's Moses at St. Peter in Chains in Rome . . . okay, now you have You may have noticed that he has, um, horns. Odd right? We saw it in person in Rome and were all rather perplexed. Well, since the Feast of St. Jerome was...
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,...
After last week's What I Wore Sunday post, my friend Mandi pointed out that it seems like, even at the pretty darn pregnant phase in which I find myself now, I don't really wear maternity clothes. And she's right, I don't. It's not really something I set out to...
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 not you, it's me. I get that. I totally get that you guys are brilliant and challenging and that people love you. But I don't. I just can't. You guys are huge bummers and you make me want to drown myself in the bathtub to escape the futility and pointlessness...
When it comes to being addressed by children, I prefer "Mrs. Tierney" to "Kendra." I also prefer "Mrs. Tierney" to "Miss Kendra," on account of me having all these kids and preferring to give off more of a married vibe (although I do secretly like the Austen-ness of...
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 . . . ...
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...
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...
Unless you were homeschooled yourself (which I wasn't) the decision to homeschool your own kids can feel overwhelming in a thousand different ways. It's easy to look at a really easy-going homeschooling Mom and say, "I couldn't live like that, I need order and...
--- 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...
Perhaps this will be surprising in light of all my posts about traveling the world and throwing parties big and small, but I am an introvert. Totally. (Or maybe you saw this, so you already knew.) I'm not shy and I do enjoy interacting with people, but I don't find it...
Just a couple of weeks ago, in my seventh quick take, I mentioned that I'm not a believer in that oft-spouted mantra: "Hey kids! You can be anything you want to be!" Well, I still believe that (or I still don't believe it, I guess), but I recently read something that...
After last week's post about not judging other moms, I figured it might be good to re-run this post about how other moms really aren't judging us anyway! Back a few years when we lived in Chicago, and I only had three kids, something horrifying happened to me. ...