I quit. I just can’t do it anymore. I give up. I surrender. I call “Uncle.” For years, I’ve stood at the intersection of parenting and politics, trying to point out the myriad ways in which we are letting our culture change our children, only to anticipate with certain alarm …

As I write this, the girl and the boy are both pretending to nap (so am I – myself on the couch and they in their beds). Most likely they are awake and quietly destroying something, messing up the room or re-arranging some precious paperwork in my bedside cabinet. I’m …

“Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) In many ways, the Internet has opened many doors for new evangelization opportunities. Bringing the message of Christ to The Worldwide Public Square is only a mouse click or a finger tap away. It’s easy. Almost …

Today I had a temper tantrum.  I became impatient with all of the little things, like one child’s barely worn clean clothes thrown in the laundry anyway, another child’s barely worn clean clothes found on the floor, and a waist belt that broke as I was walking out the door.  …

Two snow days on each end sandwiching a weekend proved to be an ideal experimental bubble on the effects of screen time on our family.  I had been cracking down on our boundary of an hour a day max of screen time and none for Ian, our middle schooler, except …

Editor’s note: If you are the in the Central Ohio or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area you can take advantage of a great offer through the same CSA used by Erin Giddens (this column’s author), Isidore Foods, LLC. St. Isidore of Spain is the patron saint of farmers and farm workers, hence the …

A mom friend told me that she is sick of the mountains of laundry, and she asked me to share my laundry system as well as any tips and tricks.  Here is my response: Two years ago, I finally decided to create a system for tackling the laundry.   I used …

From the beginning of time (Adam and Eve) marriage has been about a man and a woman coming together to form a union and to create a family.  Not one or the other, but both.  It has not even been a mutual decision, sometimes being the decision of parents or …

So now that Lent is over, we can go back to eating chocolate! This is the perfect way to celebrate Easter. This bread pudding is irresistibly good with just the right amount of richness. It is best served with a warm caramel sauce and some vanilla bean ice cream. You …

As the dad of two young boys, I’m definitely worried about bullying. Bullying is a serious problem in our schools today. Three million kids miss school every month because they’re afraid of being bullied. And don’t think Catholic schools are immune. So, how should I prepare my kids to handle …

Stress can create writer’s block.  It seems to shut out the truth from being set free.  I have a difficult time discovering what is bugging me when a lot is going on in my life.  Just living in the moment becomes a challenge.  Poetry is easier to produce as my …

This week my husband and I announced our big news: we’re expecting our 5th child in September.  “Really?”  is the most common reply.  Here are some of the other zingers we have heard: “Do you hate money?” “Are you done now?” “Are you crazy?” “Was this planned?” “Don’t you know …

I spent this morning at my OB/GYN’s office having that joyful annual experience — my gynecological exam. Oversharing? Perhaps. But I’m willing to risk personal embarrassment and immodesty if this post will help one of my fellow moms get off the dime and make the doctor’s appointment you’ve been procrastinating over for …

Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms #14: Video Link Embracing Motherhood by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle offers more great support for Catholic moms. Also, be sure to check out Donna-Marie’s new book Rooted in Love: Our Calling As Catholic Women.

As my husband and I knelt before the relics of the manger at St. Mary Major on Christmas, I asked the Child Jesus to bless us with a baby.  We’d only been married a few weeks, but I’d had fears of infertility looming over me for months.  So with fear, …

It was once said to me that Americans have a 10 percent chance of being sued in any given year and a 33 percent chance of being sued in their lifetimes. That means that a large portion of us will experience a lawsuit. You can do all you can to …

“Look, she’s still playing school,” my mother told my father the first time they visited the seventh grade classroom of my first teaching job.   As a little girl, I played school nearly every day, even sending friends home with homework and decorating the door of my room with holiday themes …

The day finally came when it was time to pack up the majority of my office suits. They used to be so important to my daily life that they had the privilege of living in their very own closet. But I recently resigned from my decade-long government career, am hugely …

When my husband and I built our house 4 years ago, we had big dreams for ourselves, our growing family, and our brand new neighborhood. We were eager to make this new house our home. We were hopeful that we’d find friends inside the homes around us. Then, life happened. …

Being in a few social circles as well as active in our Catholic school, we hear often the value of ‘formation’.  As a young mother, I remember quite well, when I first heard such a word, and proceeded to ask those around me what exactly does it mean?  Aren’t we …