Talking
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Let’s Talk About … Breastfeeding
Let’s talk about breastfeeding — that’s not controversial, is it? 🙁 I know that this can be a sensitive topic, and maybe this is a bad idea, but please take whatever I say in this post as just one opinion among many — I don’t want to make anybody feel bad about their own choices, especially those made in the past. Do you ever feel afraid to share your mothering tips with people because you don’t want to hurt feelings or offend? I do — but I’m more convinced than ever that we need to be willing to step out of our comfort zones and share what we’ve learned. Take my own…
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Educating Our Kids for Life
I am often asked how I manage to homeschool my children, maintain the family business, keep on top of 6 kids and their activities, and do everything else that I have to do on the daily to keep our family life from imploding. On most days, my answer to that question, “How do you manage?” is an honest, “Not very well”. 🙁 But despite my failings — somehow — at the end of most days, we have accomplished what needs to get done for that day. I honestly believe that if we try our lousy best to educate our children and keep our eyes on heaven, that God will take care…
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Are You a Judgy Judge? Part 2 (Now What?)
If you haven’t read part 1, start here. If you have read part 1, and are back for more, God bless you 🙂 So yesterday I shared a little about how I got to that place of becoming a little too “judgy” for my own good. Now, how to deal with it so that you can share the truth, defend the truth, and still love the people who don’t necessarily agree with you. It’s the Year of Mercy, people, and sometimes I think we get mercy wrong. It’s not merciful to allow someone to continue in their ways when those ways are harmful to themselves and others — is it? Our job…
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Are You a Judgy Judge? Part 1 – (How I Got There)
Public Service Announcement: I’m about to rant about Catholicism in the 80’s, but let’s be honest, EVERYTHING WAS BAD IN THE 80’S! I do have a point to the rant, and I hope you’ll read to the end. I was a parishioner of a typical 80’s parish in the suburbs of Chicago. We used to sit right up front for Mass, and I can remember the countless times my mother looked at our parish priest with laser eyes, knowing that she and my father were going to have to correct the heresy that he had stirred up with his homily — yeah, she could never hide her thoughts very well. I like that…
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Surviving Houseguests
I recently survived 6 days of guests at my house! If you’re thinking, “Um, I fail to see the difficulty in that feat” — then you’re most likely an extrovert and you are going to want to read this to gain perspective on your poor, introverted friends. If you are an introvert — well, you get it already, but I’m going to share my tactics for surviving and actually enjoying (yes, it is possible) houseguests from time to time. I have to begin by saying that introverts are a thing, and I’m making that point right up front because my husband tries to insist that introverts don’t really exist. If you fall into that…
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Whole 30 And Dying…
I don’t know what it is, but I feel like writing a post about food is kind of superficial — why is that? Is it a Catholic thing? A mom thing?– I don’t know. But just because some people might focus too much on their bodies, it doesn’t mean that we have to go to the other extreme and shun anything to do with our bodies, right? After all, our bodies are the way that we give and receive love, they help us to serve God, and they are intimately linked to our souls. Our bodies are temples, they are holy, they are sacred to God, and they deserve our respect. Based on all…
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Let’s Talk About….Babywearing
Babywearing: it’s a THING. If you google “babywearing” you will find hundreds of videos and entire sites dedicated to babywearing. I guarantee, if you spend any time perusing these videos, you will find a rainbow-haired, colorfully-tattooed Dutch mama who is particularly good at wrapping her babies; that girl can wrap like a ninja! I have only recently purchased my first woven wrap. It wasn’t cheap, and you’ll probably be shocked at the fact that this is just a really long piece of woven fabric, and yes, you could probably make your own for less, but a mom only has so much time to invest in her day. For me, it was worth doing the research and buying one ready-made.…
