My family has an ugly history with mouse infestation. I largely attribute my first descent into postpartum depression (back in 2006) to the pregnant mice of West Philadelphia who set up their labor and delivery unit in our one-bedroom apartment right around the time I brought home my second newborn. But, praise God, the memories have faded. We have been living mouse-free since 2009. Until today. When I found mouse scat sprinkled in and around my baby’s highchair (a midnight... Read more
Focus your attention not on the bacon (yum!) or the boy in the foreground, but rather on the pile of papers on the windowsill in the background, and you will have a small example of the piles of “stuff” that are scattered throughout my house. We have piles of artwork, piles of school papers, piles of mail, piles of books to be read, and of course, piles of Legos…You name it, and we probably have a pile of it somewhere... Read more
Besides the mustache, this is a great video talking about the benefits of roughhousing with your kids.  Macho parents of the world unite and go body slam a toddler. And while you are at it, check out the website for The Art of Manliness.  h/t to Fr. Dave for the link Read more
Mary Alice has written the following post – enjoy! My first four children were born in three years, so while some families change and develop gradually, milestones seem to hit us more like a tidal wave. There was the intense, exhausting and sometimes very lonely time of 4 children in diapers who made lots of little messes and needed vigilant care. I was up many times during the night. There was another period, when the tone of life changed, of... Read more
Donna Frietas’ book, The End of Sex: How Hookup Culture Is Leaving a Generation Unhappy, Sexually Unfulfilled, and Confused About Sexual Intimacy, is getting a lot of attention in the mainstream media. In the book, Ms. Frietas analyzes surveys of 2,500 students from 11 campuses to discover that hookups (defined as “fast, uncaring, unthinking, and perfunctory sex”) are perceived as the only romantic option on campuses, even though many of the students interviewed wished it were otherwise. For excerpts from her book, you... Read more
What am I cooking? Last night the baby puked 20+ times until we were rescued by late-night doc call-in of Zofran…  Whatever it is I make for dinner tonight, I hope we can all keep it down!  It will probably be leftovers of Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Parmigiana  that I made last night–it was so delicious, but none of us got to truly relish it thanks to the sick baby.  Encore night tonight, for sure!!  If you’re looking for a recipe that... Read more
…disdainfully eschewing the milk bottle and reaching for some strong coffee during the AM hours. Welcome to the not-a-morning-person club my sweet little buddy! Read more
One of the benefits of having a clan of early risers is that we can squeeze in a whole birthday celebration – celebratory breakfast, opening cards and presents, and even trying out one of the new gifts – before having to head off to school at 8 a.m.! Our oldest turned 9 years old yesterday! Since he had to go to school during the day and play in a baseball game in the evening, we did some of our celebrating... Read more
When I was a popular 13-year-old eighth grader at a privileged public middle school in glamtastic Southern California I shocked my parents silly. I requested to be driven across the bridge to take the placement exams for an all-girls-Catholic, uniform-wearing high school in the larger San Diego area. They complied with my request and I actually ended up attending that Catholic school as a freshman. What I did not tell my parents was that this school switch was an attempt... Read more
For the whole schoolyear, I have been putting off sewing my daughter’s badges onto her scout troop vest. Because I don’t know how to use a sewing machine. What? I graduated from college with a degree in public policy and started having babies 4 seconds later. I’ve been taught to use a sewing machine a handful of times, but it never stuck. Proficiency with machines and domestic arts are two skill sets that I lack–by nature and by choice. Anyway,... Read more
Building Cathedrals
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In