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...
Scary Stories: Empowering Kids Since 1812
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...
Kids’ Sports and Activities: Enough is Enough
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...
So . . . Moses Has Horns?: 7 Quick Takes XXVII
--- 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...
How to be the Boss of a One Year Old
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,...
On Not Wearing Maternity Clothes
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...
Maybe I’ll Open a Bait Shop (that’s how many cans of worms are open around here): 7 Quick Takes XXIV
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...
An Open Letter to Breaking Bad and Flannery O’Connor
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...
That’s Mrs. Tierney to You, Squirt (here’s why)
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...
Hey America, Pregnancy: You’re Doing it Wrong
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...
Why I Homeschool Like That
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...
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...
An Introvert’s Guide to Stay at Home Mothering
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...
The One Secret of Championship Mothering
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...
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...
To Moms of Only Little Kids: psst, the magic number is ten
Dear Mom With Two or Three or More Small Children, Your life is hard right now. I know, I've been there. You wanted these children, or maybe you didn't at first (oops) but you do now, and you love them like you never imagined you could love anything, but also they...
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...
How Butter Proves the Existence of God (a summer re-run)
Hey, summer re-runs aren't just for network TV right? If you saw this post, you'll know that I'm planning to run some of my earliest blog posts over the summer while I try to accomplish some other things. So in case you missed it, here's a post from...
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...
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts: A Difference in Kind not Just in Degree
As a Catholic and a mother of sons, I was disappointed with the recent decision of the Boy Scouts of America to change their policy to allow the participation of "active and avowed" homosexual scouts. I have long championed the Boy Scouts an an organization that has...
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...
The Making Excuses Game
I teach my children to make excuses for bad behavior, and I don't even require that the excuses be particularly believable. It's fine if they are, but sometimes the most outlandish excuses are the most fun.And before you figure I've finally gone off the parenting...