As Mother's Day approaches and Baby Gwen's due date nears, I've been thinking about motherhood and trying to wrap my mind around the idea of the labor that will begin any day and the reality of a new little soul waiting to join our family. I also have about 4 brain cells left in my 38 week pregnant brain (I forgot what we planned to eat for dinner 3 times yesterday and had to keep asking Daniel), … [Read more...]
8 Reasons Molly Weasley Is a Great Literary Mama
Since becoming a mother, I read my favorite children’s books with different eyes. I find myself more interested in Marmee than Jo March and more fascinated by Caroline Ingalls than by Laura. One of my favorite mamas from literature is Molly Weasley. But what exactly makes this stay-at-home mom of seven so admirable? (Note well! Spoilers within!) 1. She opens her heart. Although she loves her … [Read more...]
Women Speak on NFP: How NFP Got Me Pregnant
This is a guest post by my dear friend Kaitlin of More Like Mary~More Like Me. in the Women Speak on NFP series. In this series you will hear from women using various methods of NFP, some to avoid pregnancy, some trying to conceive, and their experiences. Disclaimer: This series is not meant to be a substitute for any method of training in NFP! If you are interested in one of the methods … [Read more...]
Sanity-Saving Moments of Renewal for Mamas
Find me over at Mama and Baby Love today sharing what I've learned about staying refreshed while mothering little ones... "When I had my first baby, I was so focused on the pregnancy and preparing myself for a natural birth that I didn’t do a lot of mental preparation for motherhood. And I soon discovered that motherhood is hard. For me, one of the most difficult transitions was getting used to … [Read more...]
Catholicism: Empowering Women for 2000 Years (Part IV: “My Body Isn’t Broken,” The Church and Contraception)
Another post about birth control, Haley? Really? It's true. Sorry, folks. But I think Catholic teaching on contraception is really crucial to understanding the respect for womanhood that the Church affirms. This is Part IV of this series, so be sure to read about how Marian doctrine, the Catholic understanding of vocation, and the female saints and doctors of the Church empower women before … [Read more...]
A Letter to My Former Self On the Day I Became a Mother
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...]
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...]
The Adventure of Motherhood
You can find me today over at Mama and Baby Love talking about The Adventure of Motherhood: We recently got the wonderful news that we’re expecting Baby #3. (Yay!) I thought by the third time around, discovering we were pregnant would feel old hat. It didn’t. I was just as shocked and in awe at this news as the first time we found out we were expecting. Truly. I literally screamed “I’M … [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...]
