When it comes to discipline, spanking has become sort of like quicksand to me. My own particular quicksand.  I almost never spank my children anymore. I’ll make the rare exception for things that are truly dangerous, things that they must learn right this second to never do again, like wandering out into the street or sticking a fork in the VCR. But for behavioral issues, spanking has become a place that I can’t go.  I haven’t talked about this much... Read more

#7 Simcha’s post this morning at the Register cracked me up. I firmly believe that when people do something idiotic intentionally, like name their child Apple or La-a (pronounced La DASH a) the rest of the world has a moral obligation to make fun of them. How have I come to this conclusion? Let me explain. When I was a child, I had an obsession with the name Jocasta Starr. I know. Words cannot express the hideousness of that name.... Read more

So…well…er….I picked a fight over at Virtuous Pla.net today. Wanna read it? As an added bonus, you’ll get to see a Demotivational Poster of Jeff Bridges as the Dude! On to more important things. Sasha Feroce has started watching Buffy, of her own volition, completely without my insane pushing. (No, really, she actually has.) I am excited about this turn of events for two major reasons. First, I get to re-watch all seven of the most glorious (well, okay, four... Read more

I was planning on writing a post tonight about our first real homeschooling test, and how I failed it, and the realization that led me to. I’ll still write that post, but not tonight. I happened to click over to Dr. Nadal’s blog before I started writing, and everything that has happened in the last few days which I was completely unaware of have made my own trials seem much less important. Students for Life of America has lost Kortney... Read more

I detest, abhor, and loathe rain. Not me.  I actually like the idea of rain. I like rain at night, when I’m going to sleep. I like the sound it makes on the roof as I burrow under the covers. I also like rain in the morning. I like to watch it while I drink coffee. I like the rain when I’m at Starbucks, because somehow it makes buying ridiculously overpriced coffee seem more practical and less excessive. But say... Read more

So it’s Friday, again, like it is this day every week. Somehow the usual sweetness of Friday is totally lost to me today. Maybe it’s because we went to the fair on Monday and skipped schoolwork, so we have to make it up today. Maybe it’s because our usual weekend at my parent’s house is cancelled this weekend because my mom just had surgery and needs to recover in peace. Or maybe it’s because it’s cloudy outside. Yeah, I’m pretty... Read more

Yesterday, my kids and I went with my parents and my sister to the state fair. I haven’t been since I was little and my kids have never been. I was totally pumped to eat fried food, ride dangerous carnival rides, and watch my little girls get their faces painted. Toward the end of the day, we finally found the face-painting booth. Sienna had been talking about this all day, so the hour-long wait could not deter us from patiently... Read more

First. Doctor Who. Oh Holy Frak-tasticness First, I realize that there are those of you out there who do not understand (nor cannot understand) the…how shall I say it?…earth-shattering AWESOMENESS that is Doctor Who.  And to you I say (in the words of David Tennant), I’m so sorry. So very sorry.  Look, you can remedy this. Go right now and get a Netflix watch instantly account. Ignore all the recent brouhaha about Netflix; Netflix is awesome, and people don’t handle... Read more

over there ——————————–> My first blog award! Thanks, Vincenzo! Also, stop by The Crescat’s new place at Patheos! I was seriously worried about losing the Fulton Sheen quote, but it’s still there, so my loyalty remains. I’m sure the Crescat is relieved to hear it. Happy Saturday! Read more

I imagine this is how the Ogre felt upon arrival. We spent that night, the first night of the Ogre’s arrival, on a mattress in the play room. The play room has wood floors, making cleaning up the vomit easier than in any other room. The girls were beside us on camp mattresses, and between them was a thoroughly lined trash can. By 11 o’clock, I was beat. You’ll remember that I had spend the entire night previous throwing up... Read more