My 9yo son asked me yesterday if it was easier having a baby in the house with big kid helpers or if it’s easier to just have one baby in the house and no other kids to care for. (We just had our fourth little one in August.) I had to think about it for a minute. Having big kid helpers is so different than having only toddlers! It’s downright dreamy. But life is certainly pretty busy over here, … [Read more...]
Family-Friendly Movies for the 12 Days of Christmas on Netflix and Amazon Prime
Advent is here! One of the fun activities we wait on through Advent and save for the twelve days of Christmas is watching Christmas movies together. We have a few on DVD but we usually find favorites on streaming services, too. I found some great Christmasy options as well as movies that aren't technically Christmas films but have a wintry/holiday/cozy feel. This year some of our favorites aren't … [Read more...]
Liturgical Living at a Glance: Advent and Christmas December 2018
I’m always trying to figure out how to make it easier for families to observe the Christian Year because we felt so overwhelmed when we first started that journey (which is why we wrote the book we wish we had then). I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to observe and I hope … [Read more...]
When Your Weary Heart Needs Advent
I’m sitting here bouncing a sick baby to sleep for a much needed nap between two coughing kids on the couch while another sick kid sits on the floor with a puke bucket and we all watch another episode of some stupid Netflix show between breathing treatments and baths. And I am weary. Three weekends in the past month have featured sick children (who kindly shared their afflictions with me). Sore … [Read more...]
Carrots 2018 Gift Guide! (Featuring Small Catholic Businesses and Thoughts on Gift Giving)
UPDATED FOR CYBER MONDAY I hope you're snuggled up on the couch in your jammies today eating leftover pie and not fighting the crowds! We are recovering from a somewhat dramatic Thanksgiving Day. Part of it was absolutely lovely! We cooked yummy food and feasted with new friends. But our nine-year-old, Benjamin, had the worst asthma attack he's had since he was three years old. It was … [Read more...]
How Can I Describe the Weight of You?
How can I describe the weight of you? Your warm cheek against my chest, limbs relaxed, eyes closed, breathing deep and even. The new baby smell from the top of your head that smells like heavenly bread. Your smiles in your sleep, the way your scrunch your face and stretch, almost waking and the relaxing again into my arms. I watch the soles of your feet touch together. I feel your fingers … [Read more...]
Motherhood Didn’t Squelch My Creativity, It Made Me a Maker
Having a book published has meant a lot of radio and podcast interviews in my life lately. And most of them I conduct in a HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL MANNER in my pajamas from my daughters’ bedroom, sitting on their bunk bed. If the interview is just audio than no one’s the wiser about the baby spit up stain on my shoulder or my bunk bed home recording studio. But video interviews give me away. “Are … [Read more...]
My Fall Reading Stack (and a Giveaway!)
Since I love chatting about books, I've been trying to share our family's current reads on a regular basis here on the blog. And some fabulous new books have come out lately (including a few that I'm giving away to a lucky reader!) so I wanted to share the love! Here’s a few of the great titles I’ve picked up lately (And just scroll down to see how to enter the giveaway!): (This post … [Read more...]
The Triumph and Necessity of Festivity: Why We Trick-or-Treat
To Halloween or to not Halloween? While Halloween began as All Hallows Eve, the vigil before All Hallows (All Saints Day), and certainly has Catholic roots, whether to participate in cultural celebrations of a now secularized Halloween is controversial in Christian circles. In the Protestant circles I grew up in, “Fall Festival” parties or “Reformation Day” parties were the order of the day. … [Read more...]
Liturgical Living at a Glance: November 2018
I’m always trying to figure out how to make it easier for families to observe the Christian Year because we felt so overwhelmed when we first started that journey (which is why we wrote the book we wish we had then). I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to observe and I hope … [Read more...]
