I feel pretty glum about the length of my 2012 completed reads. It was a year of sleep-deprivation and pregnancy nausea but I think that if ahead of time I'd had a plan for completing all the books I wanted to finish, maybe I wouldn't have dropped the ball? So, to have some accountability, I want to post my reading goals for 2013 and leave a little breathing room for your suggestions (I added … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2013
How My Kids Didn’t Ruin Mass
Confession: my kids are not typically little angels at Mass. ‘Typical” Mass behavior being our 3-year-old banging the kneeler open and closed and then dropping it on his own foot. Commence siren-like wailing. Or the kids tussling over who gets to hold the Baby Jesus finger puppet. And, to no one’s surprise, the preschooler throwing the St. Joseph finger puppet at his baby sister’s head doesn’t … [Read more...]
This Week’s Miscellany: Vol. 38
Happy Friday! In the Liturgical Year: We finished our celebration of the 12 Days of Christmas with a bang at a local historical mission site where they had a "First Christmas in the New World" event. They had Las Posadas and our bishop said Mass there (but we missed out on those because of baby naptime). The kids loved the rest of it, though! We haven't taken down our Christmas decorations … [Read more...]
Baby Carrots Has a Name!
Like I said, this whole “having another girl” situation completely threw me for a loop. I was so convinced we were having a boy! We picked out an awesome boy name that we both loved. (But no, I won’t tell you what it was in case you are sleuthing the internet for the world’s best baby boy name and try to snag it before (if) we’re blessed with another boy. Because that’s the sort of folks my … [Read more...]
Books I Read in 2012
I adore perusing everyone's reading lists from the previous year, so I thought I’d share mine as well. Though, I warn you, it’s not at all impressive! An infant that woke several times a night for the first half of the year, and the terrible morning sickness accompanying a new pregnancy during the second half of the year meant that any brain cells left for reading were in short supply. But without … [Read more...]
10 Ways to Avoid the Flu (And Recipe: Immune-Boosting Lemonade Jello)
I have a treat for you today, a guest post from Chef Karen, Catholic mama to an adorable 8-month-old baby girl, good friend, and certified natural chef. We were childhood friends and got reconnected when we both moved back to our hometown. Enjoy her awesome wisdom about avoiding the flu by strengthening your immune system! - Haley Hello, Carrots-For-Michaelmas-ites! I am so excited to be … [Read more...]
A Downton Abbey Children’s Book List
Since I'm bursting at the seams to start watching the new season of Downton Abbey, I thought I'd repost a wonderful guest post today from my dear friend (and new mama!) Katherine Grimm Bowers, children's literature expert extraordinaire. It combines two of my very favorite things: Edwardian Children's Lit and Dame Maggie Smith. Enjoy! - Haley I’ve been watching a lot of Downton Abbey, lately, … [Read more...]
This Week’s Miscellany: Vol. 37
Thursday was Tolkien's birthday. It was also this handsome fellow's 28th birthday: I am so grateful for another wonderful year with Daniel, bane of raccoons, my chicken-wrangling, poetry-writing, sushi-making, ultra-marathon-running, urban farming husband. I love him so much more than I did when I fell head over heels for him almost 12 years ago. I made this Ginger Cranberry Pork … [Read more...]
Backyard Chicken Tips
Find me today over at Mama and Baby Love giving you the scoop on getting started with backyard chickens. Free, delicious, healthy organic eggs whenever you need them? A pet that can help teach your kids about nature, reproduction, and responsibility? There are so many benefits to having backyard chickens, but getting started can be a little intimidating. Here are some guidelines to get you … [Read more...]
The Big Reveal: This Baby Carrot Is a…
No, I didn't bake a pink or blue cake to show you. I don't have any fancy, crafty pinteresty reveal planned. This craft-challenged gal is just gonna straight up tell you the news! Well, after a little background story: Have I ever told you about how my husband is a gender prediction wizard? He was NEVER wrong until he guessed "boy" for some friends of ours a couple of months ago and we were all … [Read more...]
