It is springtime, but instead of the sweet smell of grass and the twitter of birds my senses are being assaulted — by landscapers! We live on a block with small yards, perhaps 200 square feet or less, and yet every day a huge truck with a trailer of equipment pulls up in front of one of my neighbors’ homes. Out of the truck pour 4 or more men with various gas-powered equipment, including ride on mowers, trimmers, blowers, and... Read more

Before my senior year in college, I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a 4-week fellowship/retreat to Mariazell, Austria, with many other amazing young Catholics. Every morning we prayed morning prayer together in a beautiful, simple chapel, and this prayer has stuck with me. I may not say it every morning, but when I remember to, my day is the better for it. I’d like to share it with you today: God my Father, Lord of heaven and earth,... Read more

Yesterday I awoke at 9am!!! to a beautiful breakfast feast: bismark donuts from my favorite bakery, omelets prepared by Mr. Red, and champagne! It is a rare treat for this mama to eat a meal prepared by someone else. Mr. Red did a fantastic, and almost perfect job. Almost. Apparently, Mr. Red left a paper towel too close to one of the burners while preparing the omelet. Later that day, just when Mr. Red started feeling good about his Mother’s... Read more

To celebrate, watch this video from Spain. And pray the rosary. Happy Mother’s Day! Read more

As a follow-up to our Cloth Diaperdom discussion, I begged my friend to give us the inside scoop on her experience with the bumGenius brand of cloth diapers… and she delivered. Thank you, Jenica, for passing along your wisdom. Blessings to all on this Mother’s Day!We use the All-In-One version of Bum Genius, without inserts or covers. I think they are made up of cotton, fleece and polyester with velcro tabs. They come in 4 sizes: XS, which is for... Read more

So what is a Dad’s role during labor and delivery? Is Dad an active coach? A quiet bystander? An anxious disaster and distraction? The perfect support person? Or just another family member in the waiting room?!? When Mr. Red and I were attending law school and expecting our 2nd baby, we took a course in husband coached childbirth (the Bradley Method). One particular woman attended the course–alone. Her husband wasn’t “comfortable” attending the births of their children. It was her... Read more

My husband emails me stories like this one on the compensation that a mother deserves ($117,000/year) just to get me riled up. I’m not sure which is more ridiculous…that someone is trying to quantify the value motherhood or that they think a mom only works 94 hours a week! Read more

In the spirit of the recent Earth Day and some folks’ desire to grow evermore “green”, I wanted to pass along some personal cloth diapering insights… I wrote these to a friend who was considering the switch awhile back. The description below provides the Gasperini-Ville approach to cloth. Feel free to add your ideas in the comments! Also, I’d love to hear from users of other brands of cloth so as to have full representation across the board. Do yours... Read more