On the eve of my firstborn's fourth birthday... Dear Former Self, You think today is memorable because you’re recovering from the Great Gatsby-themed college graduation party you threw last night and looking forward to a trip to see Radiohead. But that’s not why you’ll remember this day in May for the rest of your life. The funny thing is, the reason today is memorable won’t even occur to … [Read more...]
How My Kids Didn’t Ruin Mass
Confession: my kids are not typically little angels at Mass. ‘Typical” Mass behavior being our 3-year-old banging the kneeler open and closed and then dropping it on his own foot. Commence siren-like wailing. Or the kids tussling over who gets to hold the Baby Jesus finger puppet. And, to no one’s surprise, the preschooler throwing the St. Joseph finger puppet at his baby sister’s head doesn’t … [Read more...]
A Downton Abbey Children’s Book List
Since I'm bursting at the seams to start watching the new season of Downton Abbey, I thought I'd repost a wonderful guest post today from my dear friend (and new mama!) Katherine Grimm Bowers, children's literature expert extraordinaire. It combines two of my very favorite things: Edwardian Children's Lit and Dame Maggie Smith. Enjoy! - Haley I’ve been watching a lot of Downton Abbey, lately, … [Read more...]
Getting Kids to Sleep Later
So here’s the thing: we did get our kids to sleep later. But I don't want to mislead you. Our kids still wake up way too early. However, the fact that they no longer wake at 4:30am is a huge success. In fact, they now sleep two hours later and get up at 6:30am. So, in comparison it’s a win but let’s not pretend that 6:30am isn’t obscenely early. So we couldn’t cure our kids of the horrid … [Read more...]
Orange Pomanders: A Festive Kid-Friendly DIY
One of my favorite festive scents is the combination of orange and cloves. I made orange pomanders once or twice as a little girl and decided to share the experience with my 3-year-old this year since it's such a fun and kid-friendly activity. And because I have no crafting skill and they're so easy to make. Basically, an orange pomander is an orange decorated with whole cloves. They've been … [Read more...]
Little HolyDays: The Feast of St. Nicholas
Welcome to our first Little HolyDays link up and Happy New Year! No, I haven’t gotten the months confused, it’s the beginning of a new liturgical year. Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent. Let’s hope you were more organized than I and didn’t spend part of your Sunday scrambling around looking for your Advent wreath (don’t worry! I found it!). Anyhow, for our very first Little HolyDays … [Read more...]
The Cost of Parenthood: The Best Isn’t Something Money Can Buy
A friend sent me the link to the recent NYTimes article “Opting Out of Parenthood, with Finances in Mind” by Nadia Taha, probably because she knew it would get me all riled up. She was right. Here’s Taha’s premise: Children cost an unfathomable amount of money (her absurd estimate is close to 2 million per kid). If you want financial security and a comfortable retirement, your best option is to … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday, Bright Star!
Sweet Lucy's first birthday was almost three weeks ago, but in typical "I'm pregnant and behind on everything" fashion, I'm way overdue for a Happy Birthday reflection: Dear Lucy, The afternoon before your first birthday my morning sickness suddenly improved a little bit. After weeks of barely functioning, I wasn't sure how long this no-vomiting spell would last so we called your … [Read more...]
Should You Limit Your Child’s Reading Choices?
I am surprised by the popularity of a post I wrote a few weeks ago: “Why You Can’t Read Twilight: A Letter to My Daughter,” and I’m simply fascinated by some of comments it’s received. Some folks love it, but boy does it rub some people the wrong way! Many commenters think the idea that I would tell my daughter at say, age 11, that she can’t read Twilight is downright loony and they refer to … [Read more...]
Today’s Attitude Shift
I'll spare you all the details, but it's been over 6 weeks since all four members of our family were well at the same time. We've passed around a terrible cough, Benjamin's asthma has been bad, and now Lucy has the cough/fever. And here's the thing, having sick children completely exhausts me. Sure, the bajillion night wakings due to illness wear me out (I think last night's count was 4 wakings … [Read more...]
