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...
It’s ALL YOUR FAULT Miley Cyrus
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 . . . ...
Touchy Subjects and Kids: how we talk about the stuff we’d rather not talk about
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...
Please DO NOT Change for Simcha: 7 Quick Takes XXIV
--- 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...
We DO In Fact Have Our Hands Full, Do We Not? (A Summer Re-run)
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. ...
So You Guys Are DONE, Right? How having the right friends changed my answer.
It's a question I have heard many times. Not as much anymore, though. I think people figure that with six kids already, I must be a lost cause. But I used to hear it a lot when I had three and four kids, and even when I had two (since I got my boy and my girl right...
The Beauty of Backyard Birthday Parties
I love backyard birthday parties. That's what we had when I was growing up, and that's what we throw for our own kids now. Anita jumping for joy at her 4th Birthday Party, held yesterday in the lovely Chicago backyard of my generous in-laws (we're visiting for the...
Let Freedom Ring
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....
Lactivism, aka I’ll Teach YOU How to Feel About Nursing
A couple of weeks ago, in a Sunday post about Kids and Modesty, I made kind of a throwaway mention of the fact that I consider nursing in public without a nursing cover to fall into the category of immodest. Since you guys have such excellent reading comprehension, it...
An Open Letter to My Facebook Friends Who Have This as Their Profile Picture
Especially the "Catholic" ones (oh yes I did)*. I intended this to be just a Facebook post, but you know me, it got long. So it's here. I've been pretty silent about the gay marriage debate on Facebook, not because I don't have an opinion about it, but because I know...
Kids and Modesty or, How I Got My Kids to Quit Getting Naked in the Yard
I think it's easy to fall into one of two errors when dealing with kids and modesty. One is the idea that the human body is bad and that we must ensure that our children hide their 'naughty bits', the other is a reaction too far in the other direction: that we...
Another Award and Some Things About Me and My Blog
Thanks to Stephanie at I Found Him Whom My Soul Loves, who nominated me for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award, you get to learn seven MORE things about me. If you also saw this post, then you now know 40 whole things about me. one My husband asked me to marry him 10...
I’m on a Retreat Right Now: Here’s How
By the time you're reading this I'll have been on a retreat for a whole day with another day to go. I know I OUGHT to make time to go on a retreat every year. I know I'm always glad I went when I get back home. But there were a few years, those years with all little...
The Three Stages of Right and Wrong
The Gosnell verdict + Abby Johnson's post + unpleasant comments on Abby's post + The Making Excuses Game + unpleasant comments on MY posts = my thoughts on the Three Stages of Right and Wrong. As a teenager my moral sense was a product of high school culture, rather...
Why I Don’t Do NFP
And I don't just mean because I'm pregnant, I mean I don't do it ever (anymore). Not to worry, I don't do anything ELSE either. I just find, that in my particular circumstances, NFP is WAAAAAAY more trouble than it's worth. And way more trouble than just having...
We DO In Fact Have Our Hands Full, Do We Not?
Back a few years when we lived in Chicago, and I only had three kids, something horrifying happened to me. The kids and I were in line at the cutting table at the fabric store (which takes a long, long time) behind a young black man with a big pouffy afro. Jack was...
The Problem With Me and Pop Music
My children seem to genuinely not much care for pop music, which is a blessing, since if I ever do flip on the radio I can get through one song, maybe two, even on the "soft rock" station before I have to dive for the buttons over something inappropriate (Your sex...
“Your” Beauty Isn’t Yours (anyone who says differently is selling something)
The Dove Real Beauty Sketches took Facebook by storm last week: filling my newsfeed with passionate comments about how TRUE it was and how all our daughters needed to see this. I have some thoughts. Baby Jack posing with some rival soap. 1. This is an ad for...