I deliberately made this image too small so you’d have to click on this link to see it bigger! My brother Joe Prever, who recently started writing for Catholic Phoenix, pointed me in the direction of the artist, Nicholas Roerich, a Russian painter of the early 20th century. A fascinating guy with varied interests, he did a number of religious paintings. I’m always on the look-out for new religious art, just to reassure myself that you can combine theology with... Read more
Yesterday, I was less of a person and more of a heap of pulverized bits of exhaustion. So, while my husband took seriously my explanation that everything was horrible, there was no hope, and nothing was ever going to go well ever again no matter how hard we tried, he also figured out that I should get some sleep. So he got up with the kids, got them breakfast, made sure they were dressed and brushed and had all their... Read more
THE FIVE STAGES OF EXHAUSTION Stage 1: You wake up feeling tired. You stumble around the house all day, misplace your keys, and go to bed early. Stage 2: You wake up feeling lousy. You stumble around, maybe drop a few things, and find it hard to finish sentences. You go to bed early. Stage 3: You wake up feeling dead. You fall asleep on the baby while you’re changing her. You give the kids cereal for supper because... Read more
(image source) Hey, I have a post up on the blog of TODAYMoms! They’re doing a series about home school, and asked me to write a short piece on . . . burrrrrrrrrn ouuuuuut. It starts like this: What does it take to be a great home-schooler? Passion, energy, creativity, high ideals and whole-hearted devotion to your kids. What does it take to spoil home-schooling? Passion, energy, creativity, high ideals and whole-hearted devotion to your kids. OK, not always. But... Read more
If I could go back in time, I’d tell new-mother self that this is perfectly normal. The mirror-writing stuff, I mean (and actually it makes perfect sense in this context, since the two guys are clearly zapping in opposite directions). So, young mothers, don’t freak out — it doesn’t mean your child is dyslexic, autistic, schizophrenic, or has his heart on the wrong side of his body. All of my kids did mirror-writing when they first started writing, and now... Read more
Good bye, guys, good bye! Have a good day — have a good hike! It’s gonna feel so good to get to the top of that mountain! I got you those peanut packs, did you– okay, okay. Good bye, I love you! Okay, little ones, now back home. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Give me patience, give me supernatural patience, not like yesterday. Blessed art thou among women, help L. know I love her, yesterday... Read more
A few years ago, I declared that my new motto was “Praise God and cut corners.” Pretty good, eh? Although these days I’m only managing about a 50% success rate (guess which half). My poor husband has been working long, long hours as he covers a murder trial, and we have four kids at home, three in one school, and one in another, and I somehow scheduled four doctor’s visits, two dentist and one orthodontist visit, and two parent-teacher... Read more
I usually try and have a point, a theme, or at least a joke when I sit down to write. Today, though, I think I just want to talk about my kids. They are so nice and good, and I know I don’t say that enough. I can be a regular old mommy blogger from time to time, can’t I? Yesterday, we had one of those mornings where you fall out of bed and just start running. Up! Up! Eat,... Read more
Today’s post was written by “Pansy” for her blog, Pansy and Peony — and she graciously allowed me to re-post it here today. Pansy is a young and lovely mother of seven, who discovered a year ago that her husband was having an affair. She wrote to readers for prayers, and has this grateful update. I was going to edit it for length, but it’s a fairly quick read, and I think you will appreciate her candor and her expressive... Read more
Okay, for real this time: come see what I wrote for Faith and Family Live. It’s about how, even though I have abandoned four of my children to the netherworld of not-homeschooling, I still have four kids at home, and I still know a thing or two about a thing or two. Read more
I Have to Sit Down
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