Kendra Tierney's Blog, page 7
February 9, 2016
Pro-Life is Complicated, and How You Can Help
Last month we had the unfortunate anniversary of Roe v Wade. Many cities, including my own Los Angeles, hosted Walks for Life, but our family wasn't there. We weren't there because we were at a funeral, for a baby named Emily Rose Marie.
We are fortunate enough to live in a vibrant Catholic community, and the church was packed with families. And I couldn't help thinking how very pro-life that funeral was.
Because everyone there knew that Baby Emily wasn't going to live long. There was a great deal of doubt that she would survive her birth. But she did. And she lived for six weeks past it. The whole of her life, people who loved her provided meals and support to her family. Her tiny life touched others and brought them together in love.
In the circles in which I run, we often think that being pro-life means having lots of babies.
Some folks on the other side, of course, think that being pro-life means putting a bunch of uncaring rules on people.
We know THAT'S not true, but what I think we sometimes forget is that being pro-life means so much more than not having abortions. For some, it means having more kids or fewer kids than you thought you would, or none at all. For a few, like our friends, it means cherishing a life for the short time you get to have it. For many, it means accepting a child who isn't exactly who or when or what you had hoped or planned for, and finding the beauty in that.
If you've been following my blog for a while now, you might remember the story of my sister- and brother-in law.
They were one of the cautionary tales in this post:
Dear Newlywed, You're Probably Worried About the Wrong ThingThey spent many years trying everything they could try in good conscience . . . and weren't able to have a baby.
Two years ago, my sister-in-law visited the Trappist Monks of Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, VA. She and my brother-in-law decided to sponsor a giveaway on my blog, to send someone on a retreat with the monks to pray for their intentions. And four months later, they became the parents of a handsome little guy they named Luke, adopted in June of 2014.
Prayers answered, right?! Yay!
But God wasn't quite done with them yet. Because when our family went out to Washington D.C. last spring to meet baby Luke, she and I were BOTH sporting baby bumps. This despite being told by fertility experts that it was very unlikely that they would ever conceive.
So, our cousin Brendan was born in August, just a couple of weeks after Lulu was born, and ten months after his brother Luke.
Two babies in a year. The whole family was thrilled, especially after having wondered for so long if they'd have any children at all. Good to go, right?
Nope, not quite yet.
Just a couple of months later, they got a call from their social worker that Luke's birth mother was expecting again, and was hoping that my brother- and sister-in-law would adopt this baby too.
Another boy, due in May of 2016. Eleven months younger than Brendan.
And after hoping and praying for so many years, how could they say anything but, "yes."
Since the adoption is through an agency again, they are incurring all of the same expenses as their first adoption.
I told them that after all the readers of this blog have been through with them, I thought we could help. I asked them to set up a crowdfunding site, and they did.
You can find it here. I would be most grateful if you would consider donating to help them.
And, because I seriously cannot stop with the picMonkey-ing even when I am definitely supposed to be working on writing projects . . . I created new sections in both
Here are all the new printables
Adopted Too, Fictional Friends 8x10 Quote Set {digital download} Set 1: Anne of Green Gables, Princess Leia, Dorothy of Oz
Adopted Too, Fictional Friends 8x10 Quote Set {digital download} Set 2: Spiderman, Superman, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I Prayed For This Child 8x10 Quote Set {digital download}
They Prayed for Me 8x10 Quote Set {digital download}
Whoever Receives One Such Child in My Name 8x10 Quote Set {digital download}
Every Good and Perfect Gift / I Was Born to Do This 8x10 Quote Set in blue {digital download}
Every Good and Perfect Gift / I Was Born to Do This 8x10 Quote Set in red {digital download}
And here is all the new gear in the Cafe Press Shop:
Gifts for babies . . . here and here
Gifts for moms . . . here and here
Gifts for babies AND moms . . . here and here
And a whole bunch more stuff for moms, babies, and kids including gowns, onsies, bibs, blankets, burp cloths, t-shirts, sweat shirts, necklaces, key chains, journals, note cards, pillows, posters, and framed prints.
If you don't see a particular image on a particular item, just let me know and I can make it up. (Except I can't put Superhero or Star Wars images in the Cafe Press Shop.)
We would all also very much appreciate your prayers, whether or not you can contribute.
I hope you have a very festive Fat Tuesday and a most fruitful Lent!
We are fortunate enough to live in a vibrant Catholic community, and the church was packed with families. And I couldn't help thinking how very pro-life that funeral was.
Because everyone there knew that Baby Emily wasn't going to live long. There was a great deal of doubt that she would survive her birth. But she did. And she lived for six weeks past it. The whole of her life, people who loved her provided meals and support to her family. Her tiny life touched others and brought them together in love.
In the circles in which I run, we often think that being pro-life means having lots of babies.
Some folks on the other side, of course, think that being pro-life means putting a bunch of uncaring rules on people.
We know THAT'S not true, but what I think we sometimes forget is that being pro-life means so much more than not having abortions. For some, it means having more kids or fewer kids than you thought you would, or none at all. For a few, like our friends, it means cherishing a life for the short time you get to have it. For many, it means accepting a child who isn't exactly who or when or what you had hoped or planned for, and finding the beauty in that.
If you've been following my blog for a while now, you might remember the story of my sister- and brother-in law.
They were one of the cautionary tales in this post:
Dear Newlywed, You're Probably Worried About the Wrong ThingThey spent many years trying everything they could try in good conscience . . . and weren't able to have a baby.
Two years ago, my sister-in-law visited the Trappist Monks of Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, VA. She and my brother-in-law decided to sponsor a giveaway on my blog, to send someone on a retreat with the monks to pray for their intentions. And four months later, they became the parents of a handsome little guy they named Luke, adopted in June of 2014.
Prayers answered, right?! Yay!
But God wasn't quite done with them yet. Because when our family went out to Washington D.C. last spring to meet baby Luke, she and I were BOTH sporting baby bumps. This despite being told by fertility experts that it was very unlikely that they would ever conceive.
So, our cousin Brendan was born in August, just a couple of weeks after Lulu was born, and ten months after his brother Luke.
Two babies in a year. The whole family was thrilled, especially after having wondered for so long if they'd have any children at all. Good to go, right?
Nope, not quite yet.
Just a couple of months later, they got a call from their social worker that Luke's birth mother was expecting again, and was hoping that my brother- and sister-in-law would adopt this baby too.
Another boy, due in May of 2016. Eleven months younger than Brendan.
And after hoping and praying for so many years, how could they say anything but, "yes."
Since the adoption is through an agency again, they are incurring all of the same expenses as their first adoption.
I told them that after all the readers of this blog have been through with them, I thought we could help. I asked them to set up a crowdfunding site, and they did.
You can find it here. I would be most grateful if you would consider donating to help them.
And, because I seriously cannot stop with the picMonkey-ing even when I am definitely supposed to be working on writing projects . . . I created new sections in both
Here are all the new printables
Adopted Too, Fictional Friends 8x10 Quote Set {digital download} Set 1: Anne of Green Gables, Princess Leia, Dorothy of Oz
Adopted Too, Fictional Friends 8x10 Quote Set {digital download} Set 2: Spiderman, Superman, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I Prayed For This Child 8x10 Quote Set {digital download}
They Prayed for Me 8x10 Quote Set {digital download}
Whoever Receives One Such Child in My Name 8x10 Quote Set {digital download}
Every Good and Perfect Gift / I Was Born to Do This 8x10 Quote Set in blue {digital download}
Every Good and Perfect Gift / I Was Born to Do This 8x10 Quote Set in red {digital download}
And here is all the new gear in the Cafe Press Shop:
Gifts for babies . . . here and here
Gifts for moms . . . here and here
Gifts for babies AND moms . . . here and here
And a whole bunch more stuff for moms, babies, and kids including gowns, onsies, bibs, blankets, burp cloths, t-shirts, sweat shirts, necklaces, key chains, journals, note cards, pillows, posters, and framed prints.
If you don't see a particular image on a particular item, just let me know and I can make it up. (Except I can't put Superhero or Star Wars images in the Cafe Press Shop.)
We would all also very much appreciate your prayers, whether or not you can contribute.
I hope you have a very festive Fat Tuesday and a most fruitful Lent!
February 3, 2016
Sixteen Pairs of Catholic Saints Who Were Friends IRL
On the Feast of St. Brigid, on Monday, the kids and I got to talking about the saints. Of course we know that they're all friends NOW, in heaven. But we were kind of intrigued by the idea that St. Brigid and St. Patrick were actually friends IRL, as it were.
Spouses, siblings, parents and children, mentors and protegees, friends . . . it turns out that there are quite a few pairs of saints who knew and loved each other.
So, since St. Valentine's Day is approaching and we are hopefully all thinking about all the different ways there are to love your fellow man, I thought I'd share with you what we found . . .
1. St. Anne and St. Joachim Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grandparents of Jesus. These guys had their act together.
2. St. Cosmas and St. DamianTwin brothers who lived in Syria around the year 300. Both physicians. Apparently their thing was converting people to Christianity by not charging for medical services. Which is an excellent plan right up until you get martryed. (Although, long term, still good.)
3. St. Timothy and St. Maura
Newlyweds, martyred together during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian also around 300. It's all very romantic.
4. St. Adrian and St. Natalia
Also married. Also martyred. But these guys were in Nicodemia during the time of Emperor Maximian in the early fourth century.
5. St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier
Two of the founding members of the Jesuit order, these guys were actually ROOMATES IN COLLEGE before they became priests and missionaries and were responsible for ten of thousands of conversions.
6. St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin
The Mother of God and her spouse, the parents of Jesus on earth, and a perfect example to all of the love of a family.
7. St. Louis Martin and St. Zelie Martin
Speaking of good examples . . . Louis and Zelie Martin had nine children, five of whom lived past infancy. All five of those daughters because nuns. One is St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church.
8. St. James and St. John
These guys were actual brothers (as were Sts. Peter and Andrew) who were both among the tweleve apostles, and were two of Jesus' closest friends. He called them the "Sons of Thunder," so you KNOW they were fun at parties.
9. St. Monica and St. Augustine
He was a real stinker, but his mother never gave up on him. Eventually, through the tears and prayers of St. Monica, St. Augustine was converted to Christianity and rehabilitated from his wanton ways.
10. St. Paul and St. Barnabas
Neither met Jesus before his death on the cross, but both worked tirelessly alongside the apostles to spread Christianity in its early days. They had some rather public disagreements about how, exactly, to do this, and with whom. But that's okay. Friends are allowed to decide not to travel together anymore.
11. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and Bl. Claude Colombiere
Receiving a vision from Jesus asking you to spread a devotion to His Sacred Heart has got to be overwhelming, but then to have everyone around you think you're bonkers and/or a liar? That would be even worse. Fortunately for Margaret Mary, she had her confessor, Bl. Claude, who believed in her.
12. St. Benedict and St. Scholastica
The "Holy Twins," they knew from a very young age that they both wanted to enter religious life. They each founded an order, and used to meet in the middle once a year to talk about old times.
13. St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross
Both Carmelites in Spain in the 16th century, they worked together to return their religious communities to a life of prayer. But not everyone was on board with their plan. It's nice to know you've got a friend who'll get imprisoned for you.
14. St. Felicity and St. Perpetua
Perpetua was a noblewoman and Felicity was a slave, but the two young mothers were martyred together in the year 203, rather than apostatize. St. Perpetua's letters detailing their imprisonment are a rare first hand account.
15. St. Francis and St. Clare
Clare was a devoted follower of Francis, and was entrusted by him with the founding of a religious order for women. She trusted him to cut her hair.
16. St. Patrick and St. Brigid
Their friendship is noted in the Book of Armagh: "Between St Patrick and Brigid, the pillars of the Irish people, there was so great a friendship of charity that they had but one heart and one mind. Through him and through her Christ performed many great works."
So, there you go, all saints, all loved, but different times and places and types.
Now I'm looking around me, thinking how COOL it would be if I could become a saint with my husband, or my kid, or maybe a fellow blogger. I wanted my kids to think about it too, and to make such good choices in their friends that they could hope to one day all be canonized together!
So . . . I made up some Valentines for my kids to take to our homeschool parkday valentine exchange, featuring all sixteen pairs of saints.
And, just in case you're interested, I put them in the Etsy shop as 4x6 trader cards . . .
And as 8.5x11 sheets, that you can print two-sided, and cut into 2.5x4 individual valentines . . .
Each card features one pair of saints, and a little description. (Less colorful that the ones above. Just the facts.)
Have a very Happy St. Valentine's Day, and Fat Tuesday before that. I've got one more printable-type project I've been working on. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you, maybe next week? Anyway, have some fun. 'Cause Lent, she's a coming.
Spouses, siblings, parents and children, mentors and protegees, friends . . . it turns out that there are quite a few pairs of saints who knew and loved each other.
So, since St. Valentine's Day is approaching and we are hopefully all thinking about all the different ways there are to love your fellow man, I thought I'd share with you what we found . . .
1. St. Anne and St. Joachim Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grandparents of Jesus. These guys had their act together.
2. St. Cosmas and St. DamianTwin brothers who lived in Syria around the year 300. Both physicians. Apparently their thing was converting people to Christianity by not charging for medical services. Which is an excellent plan right up until you get martryed. (Although, long term, still good.)
3. St. Timothy and St. Maura
Newlyweds, martyred together during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian also around 300. It's all very romantic.
4. St. Adrian and St. Natalia
Also married. Also martyred. But these guys were in Nicodemia during the time of Emperor Maximian in the early fourth century.
5. St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier
Two of the founding members of the Jesuit order, these guys were actually ROOMATES IN COLLEGE before they became priests and missionaries and were responsible for ten of thousands of conversions.
6. St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin
The Mother of God and her spouse, the parents of Jesus on earth, and a perfect example to all of the love of a family.
7. St. Louis Martin and St. Zelie Martin
Speaking of good examples . . . Louis and Zelie Martin had nine children, five of whom lived past infancy. All five of those daughters because nuns. One is St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church.
8. St. James and St. John
These guys were actual brothers (as were Sts. Peter and Andrew) who were both among the tweleve apostles, and were two of Jesus' closest friends. He called them the "Sons of Thunder," so you KNOW they were fun at parties.
9. St. Monica and St. Augustine
He was a real stinker, but his mother never gave up on him. Eventually, through the tears and prayers of St. Monica, St. Augustine was converted to Christianity and rehabilitated from his wanton ways.
10. St. Paul and St. Barnabas
Neither met Jesus before his death on the cross, but both worked tirelessly alongside the apostles to spread Christianity in its early days. They had some rather public disagreements about how, exactly, to do this, and with whom. But that's okay. Friends are allowed to decide not to travel together anymore.
11. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and Bl. Claude Colombiere
Receiving a vision from Jesus asking you to spread a devotion to His Sacred Heart has got to be overwhelming, but then to have everyone around you think you're bonkers and/or a liar? That would be even worse. Fortunately for Margaret Mary, she had her confessor, Bl. Claude, who believed in her.
12. St. Benedict and St. Scholastica
The "Holy Twins," they knew from a very young age that they both wanted to enter religious life. They each founded an order, and used to meet in the middle once a year to talk about old times.
13. St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross
Both Carmelites in Spain in the 16th century, they worked together to return their religious communities to a life of prayer. But not everyone was on board with their plan. It's nice to know you've got a friend who'll get imprisoned for you.
14. St. Felicity and St. Perpetua
Perpetua was a noblewoman and Felicity was a slave, but the two young mothers were martyred together in the year 203, rather than apostatize. St. Perpetua's letters detailing their imprisonment are a rare first hand account.
15. St. Francis and St. Clare
Clare was a devoted follower of Francis, and was entrusted by him with the founding of a religious order for women. She trusted him to cut her hair.
16. St. Patrick and St. Brigid
Their friendship is noted in the Book of Armagh: "Between St Patrick and Brigid, the pillars of the Irish people, there was so great a friendship of charity that they had but one heart and one mind. Through him and through her Christ performed many great works."
So, there you go, all saints, all loved, but different times and places and types.
Now I'm looking around me, thinking how COOL it would be if I could become a saint with my husband, or my kid, or maybe a fellow blogger. I wanted my kids to think about it too, and to make such good choices in their friends that they could hope to one day all be canonized together!
So . . . I made up some Valentines for my kids to take to our homeschool parkday valentine exchange, featuring all sixteen pairs of saints.
And, just in case you're interested, I put them in the Etsy shop as 4x6 trader cards . . .
And as 8.5x11 sheets, that you can print two-sided, and cut into 2.5x4 individual valentines . . .
Each card features one pair of saints, and a little description. (Less colorful that the ones above. Just the facts.)
Have a very Happy St. Valentine's Day, and Fat Tuesday before that. I've got one more printable-type project I've been working on. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you, maybe next week? Anyway, have some fun. 'Cause Lent, she's a coming.
January 31, 2016
How to Turn a Ten Bedroom House Into A Four Bedroom House
Renovations are well underway at the new old house. It's amazing to see it start to come together after playing around with it on paper on on the computer for so many weeks.
My friend Christy keeps pestering me for before and after photos, which don't exist because we are very much still in progress. (Also, because I don't have a wide angle lens and cannot figure out how to take interior shots.) But I figured I'd let you guys know what we're planning to do to turn this historic house into our big family dream house.
Here's what the layout of the house looked like when we bought it:
and, presumably, when it was built in 1920, for a family of THREE. (And their servants.) It had ten bedrooms if you count the chapel (which you can because it has a closet) and the sitting room.
We don't need ten bedrooms. We don't want ten bedrooms. We have four bedrooms now, and many nights we'll have one open, because the kids like to sleep in a big pile. Like puppies.
So, most of the bedrooms are getting repurposed.
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Starting on the first floor, here's what we are planning . . .
The kitchen is getting completely redone because it wasn't functional:
Actually the one thing in the remodel plans that I was a little bummed about was having to get rid of the butler's pantry. It was really cool.
But the original kitchen was intended for servants only, and was really small. There just wasn't room for the appliances we wanted without absorbing the butler's pantry and creating one big space. But we saved all the original glass and hardware, and the new cabinets are going to be built to look just like the old ones, so part of it will live on.
We'll have a full-sized refrigerator-only and a full-size freezer-only, but not next to each other, because that just looked too massive. We're also going to have two dishwashers, because even running ours at least twice a day, we still end up having to hand-wash after dinner most nights.
For the floors in the kitchen and laundry/mudroom we're planning to put in linoleum. I'm really excited about it because it's a way to get a fun, funky, retro-looking floor, that's also a natural material. Seriously. It's made of linseed and jute. Who knew? Those guys need better PR.
The downstairs bedrooms are going to become . . .
1. The TV room. I didn't really want a separate "formal" living room. We don't have one now. But the four walls of the living room are taken up with: french doors, the dining room, french doors, and a big fireplace. So, there really wasn't room for a TV. The plan is to remove a wall of the first bedroom to open the room to the stairs and the bathroom, and put our comfy couch and the TV in there. I have some fancy uncomfortable couches picked out for the living room, but I still have to talk the husband into them.
2. The playroom. All the toys in one place only. I hope.
3. The schoolroom. It's got amazing built-ins, french doors to the side yard, a working fireplace, and a cool old light fixture. If I didn't already homeschool, I would start just so I could do it in this room.
4. The guest room. Mostly for my parents.
Upstairs we're doing even more work.
I love having a W I D E family, but with so many different ages in the house, we almost always have someone asleep. Between the toddlers and the teenager, we could almost hot rack them, their sleeping schedules are so different.
But I'm not the kind of person who wakes up sleeping babies. Pretty much ever. So if you didn't get your shoes out of there before the baby went to sleep, you're out of luck.
That shouldn't be a problem in the new house.
We are creating three master suites: one for the boys, one for the girls, and one for the grownups. The boys and the girls will each have a sleeping room with six beds and nothing else, a bathroom, and a dressing room with individual closets and a washer/dryer. The plan is: Clothes don't come out of that room unless they are on your person.
The original floorplan had walk-through bedrooms, which doesn't work for us. The bedroom at the top of the stairs is getting split into the girls' dressing room and a nursery.
The girls will sleep in the original master bedroom. And we've moved the girls' bathroom to make it ensuite, and to create a hallway to the boys' rooms.
The girls' bathroom will have a chandelier, at their request, a shower, and a tub big enough for three little kids and/or an accidental home birth. Because you just never know.
The original sitting room will be the boys' sleeping room. The old master bedroom closet is becoming the boys' dressing room.
A weird old storage room (formerly with cable!)
is becoming the boys' bathroom with toilet, urinal, three sinks, and a shower with a shower head at either end, so two boys can use it at once.
In the new master bedroom, we took OUT the hallway to make the bathroom ensuite, and we also removed the ceiling, because it just so happens to be underneath the peak of the roof.
The husband and I really did pick the smallest room upstairs, because we figured the kids' needed more room. But now I'm pretty sure this is going to be the coolest room in the house.
The last two rooms up there will be an office and the chapel. They are both also accessible by a stairway in the kitchen.
So . . . that's the plan.
I would give you more progress shots, but they pretty much all look like this:
I've been doing a lot of important home renovation research on Netflix. And, therefore, in addition to my OWN renovation update, I can provide you with the following helpful guide.
1. The Property Brothers:
Why are they so smug? Why do they delight so in dashing people's dreams with their "psych, you can't have it" first home? Does no one who comes on the show WATCH the show? Really? WHY do they all fall for it?
2. Dear Genevieve:
Creates cool, functional spaces. Also creates language. Won't stop talking about things like the "verticality" of items, and whether particular throw pillows can be "friends" with one another.
3. Flip or Flop:
Always flip. Never flop. So awkward it makes me think I would never want to be on a reality show. Seriously just ALL the awkward talking to the camera and obviously fake phone calls and even faker drama. Every single episode (of the five I watched): 1. We're going to try to buy this house. Hey we bought it! 2. Oh, NO. Everything is a disaster. This is a big problem. We are sure to be ruined. 3. Never mind, we made forty THOUSAND dollars.
4. The Vanilla Ice Project:
Exists.
5. Fixer-Upper:
Love this show. Love them. Love their kids. Love the houses. Love Waco. Makes me want to have a reality show so we could be HALF as cute as they are. No smugness, no fake drama, no weirding of language. Just what appears to be a very genuine talent and love of homes and the people who live in them. And shiplap.
And I have shiplap!
I need Jo to come and help me know where I'm supposed to put old wooden gates up on my walls. How am I supposed to know?!
And that's my honest opinion. But this is a sponsored post.
Okay, that's all for now.
I've been maxed out with home decisions and supervisions, and all that Netflix-watching, and I still have some other projects on my to do list. Fortunately, baby Mary Jane just sleep-trained like a little champ, so I am looking forward to being able to accomplish things with both hands AND bending, which should be nice. But I'll be around. ;o)
See ya in the comments.
My friend Christy keeps pestering me for before and after photos, which don't exist because we are very much still in progress. (Also, because I don't have a wide angle lens and cannot figure out how to take interior shots.) But I figured I'd let you guys know what we're planning to do to turn this historic house into our big family dream house.
Here's what the layout of the house looked like when we bought it:
and, presumably, when it was built in 1920, for a family of THREE. (And their servants.) It had ten bedrooms if you count the chapel (which you can because it has a closet) and the sitting room.We don't need ten bedrooms. We don't want ten bedrooms. We have four bedrooms now, and many nights we'll have one open, because the kids like to sleep in a big pile. Like puppies.
So, most of the bedrooms are getting repurposed.
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Starting on the first floor, here's what we are planning . . .
The kitchen is getting completely redone because it wasn't functional:
Actually the one thing in the remodel plans that I was a little bummed about was having to get rid of the butler's pantry. It was really cool.
But the original kitchen was intended for servants only, and was really small. There just wasn't room for the appliances we wanted without absorbing the butler's pantry and creating one big space. But we saved all the original glass and hardware, and the new cabinets are going to be built to look just like the old ones, so part of it will live on.
We'll have a full-sized refrigerator-only and a full-size freezer-only, but not next to each other, because that just looked too massive. We're also going to have two dishwashers, because even running ours at least twice a day, we still end up having to hand-wash after dinner most nights.
For the floors in the kitchen and laundry/mudroom we're planning to put in linoleum. I'm really excited about it because it's a way to get a fun, funky, retro-looking floor, that's also a natural material. Seriously. It's made of linseed and jute. Who knew? Those guys need better PR.
The downstairs bedrooms are going to become . . .
1. The TV room. I didn't really want a separate "formal" living room. We don't have one now. But the four walls of the living room are taken up with: french doors, the dining room, french doors, and a big fireplace. So, there really wasn't room for a TV. The plan is to remove a wall of the first bedroom to open the room to the stairs and the bathroom, and put our comfy couch and the TV in there. I have some fancy uncomfortable couches picked out for the living room, but I still have to talk the husband into them.
2. The playroom. All the toys in one place only. I hope.
3. The schoolroom. It's got amazing built-ins, french doors to the side yard, a working fireplace, and a cool old light fixture. If I didn't already homeschool, I would start just so I could do it in this room.
4. The guest room. Mostly for my parents.
Upstairs we're doing even more work.
I love having a W I D E family, but with so many different ages in the house, we almost always have someone asleep. Between the toddlers and the teenager, we could almost hot rack them, their sleeping schedules are so different.But I'm not the kind of person who wakes up sleeping babies. Pretty much ever. So if you didn't get your shoes out of there before the baby went to sleep, you're out of luck.
That shouldn't be a problem in the new house.
We are creating three master suites: one for the boys, one for the girls, and one for the grownups. The boys and the girls will each have a sleeping room with six beds and nothing else, a bathroom, and a dressing room with individual closets and a washer/dryer. The plan is: Clothes don't come out of that room unless they are on your person.
The original floorplan had walk-through bedrooms, which doesn't work for us. The bedroom at the top of the stairs is getting split into the girls' dressing room and a nursery.
The girls will sleep in the original master bedroom. And we've moved the girls' bathroom to make it ensuite, and to create a hallway to the boys' rooms.
The girls' bathroom will have a chandelier, at their request, a shower, and a tub big enough for three little kids and/or an accidental home birth. Because you just never know.
The original sitting room will be the boys' sleeping room. The old master bedroom closet is becoming the boys' dressing room.
A weird old storage room (formerly with cable!)
is becoming the boys' bathroom with toilet, urinal, three sinks, and a shower with a shower head at either end, so two boys can use it at once.
In the new master bedroom, we took OUT the hallway to make the bathroom ensuite, and we also removed the ceiling, because it just so happens to be underneath the peak of the roof.
The husband and I really did pick the smallest room upstairs, because we figured the kids' needed more room. But now I'm pretty sure this is going to be the coolest room in the house.
The last two rooms up there will be an office and the chapel. They are both also accessible by a stairway in the kitchen.
So . . . that's the plan.
I would give you more progress shots, but they pretty much all look like this:
I've been doing a lot of important home renovation research on Netflix. And, therefore, in addition to my OWN renovation update, I can provide you with the following helpful guide.
1. The Property Brothers:
Why are they so smug? Why do they delight so in dashing people's dreams with their "psych, you can't have it" first home? Does no one who comes on the show WATCH the show? Really? WHY do they all fall for it?
2. Dear Genevieve:
Creates cool, functional spaces. Also creates language. Won't stop talking about things like the "verticality" of items, and whether particular throw pillows can be "friends" with one another.
3. Flip or Flop:
Always flip. Never flop. So awkward it makes me think I would never want to be on a reality show. Seriously just ALL the awkward talking to the camera and obviously fake phone calls and even faker drama. Every single episode (of the five I watched): 1. We're going to try to buy this house. Hey we bought it! 2. Oh, NO. Everything is a disaster. This is a big problem. We are sure to be ruined. 3. Never mind, we made forty THOUSAND dollars.
4. The Vanilla Ice Project:
Exists.
5. Fixer-Upper:
Love this show. Love them. Love their kids. Love the houses. Love Waco. Makes me want to have a reality show so we could be HALF as cute as they are. No smugness, no fake drama, no weirding of language. Just what appears to be a very genuine talent and love of homes and the people who live in them. And shiplap.
And I have shiplap!
I need Jo to come and help me know where I'm supposed to put old wooden gates up on my walls. How am I supposed to know?!
And that's my honest opinion. But this is a sponsored post.
Okay, that's all for now.
I've been maxed out with home decisions and supervisions, and all that Netflix-watching, and I still have some other projects on my to do list. Fortunately, baby Mary Jane just sleep-trained like a little champ, so I am looking forward to being able to accomplish things with both hands AND bending, which should be nice. But I'll be around. ;o)
See ya in the comments.
January 14, 2016
Women's Work: Do I Ever Feel Guilty About Not "Using" My College Education?
Mailbag time!
The Question:
The Answer:Dear Sanasi,
I think this is a really important question to think about. And I'm not sure that young women are thinking about it enough.
Just after we were married, we lived at Stanford while my husband went to business school. I was lucky enough to get to know some of his classmates, and to interact with some of the undergrads, including my own sister, who had graduated from Stanford the year before we arrived, and was working on campus.
There was a lot of concern among the young women I met as to how they were going to balance it all. Most hoped to have a family some day, but all were also bright and determined and had professional aspirations.
We are trying to figure out how to balance all of this in a way that no one has really had to do before. For generations, "work" was mostly done in and around the home, by both men AND women. A woman's work could be done alongside her mothering. Whether you were a laundress, or a shepherdess, or a queen, whatever you were doing, you just did it with your kids around, at least to some extent. Then, after the industrial revolution, work slowly shifted to something done away from the home, and away from children.
For a fascinating in-depth analysis, check out this post by Daniel Bearman Stewart: Buttons, lard, and Old Norse: The Invention and Abandonment of Home Economics
Since you could no longer care for your children and "work" at the same time, families divided responsibilities: fathers worked, mothers stayed home with the kids. A shortage of laborers in an industrialized society during the World Wars meant women were encouraged to join the workforce. Then, eventually, the pill allowed women to avoid pregnancy even when their husbands weren't away at war, and they could join the outside-the-home workforce full time. Finally we were liberated! Right?
ummm . . . thanks?
But now, women of my and younger generations seem to be looking at this question honestly for perhaps the first time. What if we don't want to make the personal sacrifices necessary to pursue a career INSTEAD of having a family? What if we want children but also aren't content to neglect our other gifts and talents? What if, like you, we are trying to decide what to do with the whole rest of our lives at twenty, before we even know for sure that we have a vocation to marriage and motherhood? WHAT THEN?!
I got my degree (two actually) from a private university, then went to flight school after that to train as a pilot. About a year later, I began working as a flight instructor to build flight hours. About a year after that, I met my husband and in very quick succession I got engaged, married, and pregnant. I kept working until right before my due date, but then shortly after my son was born, I decided I wanted to stay home with him, and I've been home for thirteen years and seven more kids.
So, was my education and post graduate training a waste of time and money?
No, and yes.
No, because education is a good thing. My mind and my horizons were broadened by my university education and my vocational training. Even though I never made it to the airline career I had planned, I couldn't have known that when I started. If I were still a single woman, I think being an airline pilot would have been a good career for me.
And I could never regret my education. My studies in English and Comparative Literature for my degrees have probably been instrumental in my late-onset writing career. If only my professors could see all the cutting edge stuff I'm doing in the literary genres of "zombie homesteading" and "netflix sponsored post."
But, really, an educated society benefits everyone in it. I use the research and study skills I learned in college every day in my role as a mother. Especially as a homeschooling mom, (but all parents do this, I'm sure) I have the opportunity to share the subjects about which I am passionate (like grammar) with my children. The more I cared about my own education, the more I have to share with them.
Our homeschool group is full of moms who use their particular knowledge and skills to help our community. Traditional schools are the same. And there are tons of volunteer organizations who would love to have the part-time expertise of a newly-retired young mother.
On the other hand, looking back, I think I could have been more discerning in my career choice. I will encourage my own children to consider eventual marriage and parenthood when they are making education and career choices. Which, of course, my own parents did try with me. My dad always encouraged me to be a writer, it just seemed like too scary a thing to try to do at the time. It wasn't until I was settled into my vocation of marriage and motherhood that I finally realized that he was right all along.
If I had felt confident that I would be a wife and a mother, I should have studied something that I could pursue alongside my primary vocation. And airline pilot really isn't that. But, in my case, I didn't know. I really couldn't imagine being married to anyone until I met my husband.
Basically, my advice to you and other women like you, is . . .
1. study something you love, something that will be a part of your life whether or not you're getting paid for it
2. keep your options open as much as possible, and
3. realize that no decision, no matter the cost involved, is forever.
A wise woman knows when to call a sunk cost sunk and just move on to the next thing. That's allowed.
Edited to add:
THE most important aspect of keeping your options open is to avoid debt as much as possible. The comments below are full of cautionary tales and success stories about this part of the puzzle.
My parents and scholarships paid for all of my educational and vocational training, so I had no debt when I got married. My husband went to college on an ROTC scholarship, but did incur debt to go to business school. We are still paying it off, just a tiny bit at a time, but that was a good decision for us.
My lack of debt is what allowed me the freedom to decide to stop working after my son was born. I've read the advice (Kimberley Hahn, I think?) that after marriage, a couple should put all of the wife's salary into savings and live off of the husband's so that they will always be in the position to allow her to stay home should she wish to. I think that's REALLY great advice. But it's unlikely to be possible if you are hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt because of graduate school.
There are so many different ways to do this.
I know a handful of women who have had relatively large families while working outside the home and being the primary breadwinner for their families. It's a possibility. But I think the sacrifices and hardships involved in that plan are greater than most women would choose to take on. In fact, in all the cases I'm thinking about, the women ended up in that role because of a unique family situation. I'm not sure if any of them would have chosen it, if it hadn't been for their particular circumstances.
That means that, for most of us, the ideal blend of professional and personal fulfillment is going to look different than it will for men. We can say all we want about equality, but the reality is that parenthood is a physical, bodily endeavor for most women and it isn't for men. So, if you're picking a career now, and you hope to one day become a mother, maybe don't pick a career (like I did) that just is NOT going to work with pregnancy and breastfeeding and the general care and feeding of small humans.
Writing works great for me. My sister, after she had kids, was able to transition from a regular nine to five office job, into a part-time, work from home position. But neither of us is supporting our family with what we do. It's more personal fulfillment and some "nice to have" money.
If you feel like you'd want to keep working even after having kids, you need to talk to women in the fields you are interested in. What does family life look like for them? There must be disciplines within law or medicine that work better with a family.
Maybe you know you'd want to stay home full time with your kids, should you have them. That doesn't mean you don't keep up your studies now. You never know what God's plan for you might be. Maybe you'll cure cancer THEN get married and have a bunch of kids. Maybe you'll stop out of your career for a while, then resume it once your kids are older. Maybe, like I did, you'll just walk away and never look back and find out you were actually meant for something else entirely.
As long as your evaluations and choices are made honestly and prayerfully and often, you really can't go wrong.
Unless you're this lady. That's just scary.
Good luck!
Kendra
You might also enjoy . . .
A Vocation to MotherhoodThe Country Bunny and Seasons of Mothering
Disclaimer: I am not a theologian, nor am I an official spokesperson for the Catholic Church. (You're thinking of this guy.) If you read anything on this blog that is contrary to Church teaching, please consider it my error (and let me know!). I'm not a doctor or an expert on anything in particular. I'm just one person with a lot of experience parenting little kids and a desire to share my joy in marriage, mothering, and my faith.
If you've got a question, please send it along to catholicallyear @ gmail . com . Please let me know if you prefer that I change your name if I use your question on the blog.p.s. I am WAY behind on my mailbag. Like, a month behind. Maybe two. Between keeping up the blog, writing for Blessed is She (about the devil), the printables and custom work at the Etsy shop, the mugs and t-shirts and pint glasses at the Cafepress shop, the fixing up of the house we bought, and the general care, feeding, and education of my children . . . I am fresh out of time to respond to emails. But if you wrote to me to ask a question, please know that I got it. I read it. I composed an answer to you in my head. But I haven't typed it up yet. It is my sincere intention to do so sometime in the near future.
The Question:
Hi Mrs. Tierney,
My name is Sanasi and I am a 21 year old university student. I stumbled across your blog when I was looking for more Catholic blogs to read in my free time and it's kind of weird, but I feel like I see so much of myself in what you write about. Someday in the hazy future, I'd like to be a Catholic mom and it's exciting to see what a wonderful blessing that can be.
I read your post about deciding to become a stay at home mom and I was wondering if I could ask you a question about that? Do you ever feel guilty for having gained a college education and then not "using" it? I'm in my fourth year of undergrad right now and plan to continue on to medical school or law school most likely. I love the idea of being a stay at home mom in the future, but I feel guilty just thinking of having spent all this money on post-secondary education and then not getting a career afterwards.
I know that's kind of a strange question and I'm not sure if you have time to respond to this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Best wishes,
Sanasi
The Answer:Dear Sanasi,
I think this is a really important question to think about. And I'm not sure that young women are thinking about it enough.
Just after we were married, we lived at Stanford while my husband went to business school. I was lucky enough to get to know some of his classmates, and to interact with some of the undergrads, including my own sister, who had graduated from Stanford the year before we arrived, and was working on campus.
There was a lot of concern among the young women I met as to how they were going to balance it all. Most hoped to have a family some day, but all were also bright and determined and had professional aspirations.
We are trying to figure out how to balance all of this in a way that no one has really had to do before. For generations, "work" was mostly done in and around the home, by both men AND women. A woman's work could be done alongside her mothering. Whether you were a laundress, or a shepherdess, or a queen, whatever you were doing, you just did it with your kids around, at least to some extent. Then, after the industrial revolution, work slowly shifted to something done away from the home, and away from children.
For a fascinating in-depth analysis, check out this post by Daniel Bearman Stewart: Buttons, lard, and Old Norse: The Invention and Abandonment of Home Economics
Since you could no longer care for your children and "work" at the same time, families divided responsibilities: fathers worked, mothers stayed home with the kids. A shortage of laborers in an industrialized society during the World Wars meant women were encouraged to join the workforce. Then, eventually, the pill allowed women to avoid pregnancy even when their husbands weren't away at war, and they could join the outside-the-home workforce full time. Finally we were liberated! Right?
ummm . . . thanks?But now, women of my and younger generations seem to be looking at this question honestly for perhaps the first time. What if we don't want to make the personal sacrifices necessary to pursue a career INSTEAD of having a family? What if we want children but also aren't content to neglect our other gifts and talents? What if, like you, we are trying to decide what to do with the whole rest of our lives at twenty, before we even know for sure that we have a vocation to marriage and motherhood? WHAT THEN?!
I got my degree (two actually) from a private university, then went to flight school after that to train as a pilot. About a year later, I began working as a flight instructor to build flight hours. About a year after that, I met my husband and in very quick succession I got engaged, married, and pregnant. I kept working until right before my due date, but then shortly after my son was born, I decided I wanted to stay home with him, and I've been home for thirteen years and seven more kids.
So, was my education and post graduate training a waste of time and money?
No, and yes.
No, because education is a good thing. My mind and my horizons were broadened by my university education and my vocational training. Even though I never made it to the airline career I had planned, I couldn't have known that when I started. If I were still a single woman, I think being an airline pilot would have been a good career for me.
And I could never regret my education. My studies in English and Comparative Literature for my degrees have probably been instrumental in my late-onset writing career. If only my professors could see all the cutting edge stuff I'm doing in the literary genres of "zombie homesteading" and "netflix sponsored post."
But, really, an educated society benefits everyone in it. I use the research and study skills I learned in college every day in my role as a mother. Especially as a homeschooling mom, (but all parents do this, I'm sure) I have the opportunity to share the subjects about which I am passionate (like grammar) with my children. The more I cared about my own education, the more I have to share with them.
Our homeschool group is full of moms who use their particular knowledge and skills to help our community. Traditional schools are the same. And there are tons of volunteer organizations who would love to have the part-time expertise of a newly-retired young mother.
On the other hand, looking back, I think I could have been more discerning in my career choice. I will encourage my own children to consider eventual marriage and parenthood when they are making education and career choices. Which, of course, my own parents did try with me. My dad always encouraged me to be a writer, it just seemed like too scary a thing to try to do at the time. It wasn't until I was settled into my vocation of marriage and motherhood that I finally realized that he was right all along.
If I had felt confident that I would be a wife and a mother, I should have studied something that I could pursue alongside my primary vocation. And airline pilot really isn't that. But, in my case, I didn't know. I really couldn't imagine being married to anyone until I met my husband.
Basically, my advice to you and other women like you, is . . .
1. study something you love, something that will be a part of your life whether or not you're getting paid for it
2. keep your options open as much as possible, and
3. realize that no decision, no matter the cost involved, is forever.
A wise woman knows when to call a sunk cost sunk and just move on to the next thing. That's allowed.
Edited to add:
THE most important aspect of keeping your options open is to avoid debt as much as possible. The comments below are full of cautionary tales and success stories about this part of the puzzle.
My parents and scholarships paid for all of my educational and vocational training, so I had no debt when I got married. My husband went to college on an ROTC scholarship, but did incur debt to go to business school. We are still paying it off, just a tiny bit at a time, but that was a good decision for us.
My lack of debt is what allowed me the freedom to decide to stop working after my son was born. I've read the advice (Kimberley Hahn, I think?) that after marriage, a couple should put all of the wife's salary into savings and live off of the husband's so that they will always be in the position to allow her to stay home should she wish to. I think that's REALLY great advice. But it's unlikely to be possible if you are hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt because of graduate school.
There are so many different ways to do this.
I know a handful of women who have had relatively large families while working outside the home and being the primary breadwinner for their families. It's a possibility. But I think the sacrifices and hardships involved in that plan are greater than most women would choose to take on. In fact, in all the cases I'm thinking about, the women ended up in that role because of a unique family situation. I'm not sure if any of them would have chosen it, if it hadn't been for their particular circumstances.
That means that, for most of us, the ideal blend of professional and personal fulfillment is going to look different than it will for men. We can say all we want about equality, but the reality is that parenthood is a physical, bodily endeavor for most women and it isn't for men. So, if you're picking a career now, and you hope to one day become a mother, maybe don't pick a career (like I did) that just is NOT going to work with pregnancy and breastfeeding and the general care and feeding of small humans.
Writing works great for me. My sister, after she had kids, was able to transition from a regular nine to five office job, into a part-time, work from home position. But neither of us is supporting our family with what we do. It's more personal fulfillment and some "nice to have" money.
If you feel like you'd want to keep working even after having kids, you need to talk to women in the fields you are interested in. What does family life look like for them? There must be disciplines within law or medicine that work better with a family.
Maybe you know you'd want to stay home full time with your kids, should you have them. That doesn't mean you don't keep up your studies now. You never know what God's plan for you might be. Maybe you'll cure cancer THEN get married and have a bunch of kids. Maybe you'll stop out of your career for a while, then resume it once your kids are older. Maybe, like I did, you'll just walk away and never look back and find out you were actually meant for something else entirely.
As long as your evaluations and choices are made honestly and prayerfully and often, you really can't go wrong.
Unless you're this lady. That's just scary.
Good luck!
Kendra
You might also enjoy . . .
A Vocation to MotherhoodThe Country Bunny and Seasons of Mothering
Disclaimer: I am not a theologian, nor am I an official spokesperson for the Catholic Church. (You're thinking of this guy.) If you read anything on this blog that is contrary to Church teaching, please consider it my error (and let me know!). I'm not a doctor or an expert on anything in particular. I'm just one person with a lot of experience parenting little kids and a desire to share my joy in marriage, mothering, and my faith.
If you've got a question, please send it along to catholicallyear @ gmail . com . Please let me know if you prefer that I change your name if I use your question on the blog.p.s. I am WAY behind on my mailbag. Like, a month behind. Maybe two. Between keeping up the blog, writing for Blessed is She (about the devil), the printables and custom work at the Etsy shop, the mugs and t-shirts and pint glasses at the Cafepress shop, the fixing up of the house we bought, and the general care, feeding, and education of my children . . . I am fresh out of time to respond to emails. But if you wrote to me to ask a question, please know that I got it. I read it. I composed an answer to you in my head. But I haven't typed it up yet. It is my sincere intention to do so sometime in the near future.
Women's Work
Mailbag time!
The Question:
The Answer:Dear Sanasi,
I think this is a really important question to think about. And I'm not sure that young women are thinking about it enough.
Just after we were married, we lived at Stanford while my husband went to business school. I was lucky enough to get to know some of his classmates, and to interact with some of the undergrads, including my own sister, who had graduated from Stanford the year before we arrived, and was working on campus.
There was a lot of concern among the young women I met as to how they were going to balance it all. Most hoped to have a family some day, but all were also bright and determined and had professional aspirations.
We are trying to figure out how to balance all of this in a way that no one has really had to do before. For generations, "work" was mostly done in and around the home, by both men AND women. A woman's work could be done alongside her mothering. Whether you were a laundress, or a shepherdess, or a queen, whatever you were doing, you just did it with your kids around, at least to some extent. Then, after the industrial revolution, work slowly shifted to something done away from the home, and away from children.
For a fascinating in-depth analysis, check out this post by Daniel Bearman Stewart: Buttons, lard, and Old Norse: The Invention and Abandonment of Home Economics
Since you could no longer care for your children and "work" at the same time, families divided responsibilities: fathers worked, mothers stayed home with the kids. A shortage of laborers in an industrialized society during the World Wars meant women were encouraged to join the workforce. Then, eventually, the pill allowed women to avoid pregnancy even when their husbands weren't away at war, and they could join the outside-the-home workforce full time. Finally we were liberated! Right?
ummm . . . thanks?
But now, women of my and younger generations seem to be looking at this question honestly for perhaps the first time. What if we don't want to make the personal sacrifices necessary to pursue a career INSTEAD of having a family? What if we want children but also aren't content to neglect our other gifts and talents? What if, like you, we are trying to decide what to do with the whole rest of our lives at twenty, before we even know for sure that we have a vocation to marriage and motherhood? WHAT THEN?!
I got my degree (two actually) from a private university, then went to flight school after that to train as a pilot. About a year later, I began working as a flight instructor to build flight hours. About a year after that, I met my husband and in very quick succession I got engaged, married, and pregnant. I kept working until right before my due date, but then shortly after my son was born, I decided I wanted to stay home with him, and I've been home for thirteen years and seven more kids.
So, was my education and post graduate training a waste of time and money?
No, and yes.
No, because education is a good thing. My mind and my horizons were broadened by my university education and my vocational training. Even though I never made it to the airline career I had planned, I couldn't have known that when I started. If I were still a single woman, I think being an airline pilot would have been a good career for me.
And I could never regret my education. My studies in English and Comparative Literature for my degrees have probably been instrumental in my late-onset writing career. If only my professors could see all the cutting edge stuff I'm doing in the literary genres of "zombie homesteading" and "netflix sponsored post."
But, really, an educated society benefits everyone in it. I use the research and study skills I learned in college every day in my role as a mother. Especially as a homeschooling mom, (but all parents do this, I'm sure) I have the opportunity to share the subjects about which I am passionate (like grammar) with my children. The more I cared about my own education, the more I have to share with them.
Our homeschool group is full of moms who use their particular knowledge and skills to help our community. Traditional schools are the same. And there are tons of volunteer organizations who would love to have the part-time expertise of a newly-retired young mother.
On the other hand, looking back, I think I could have been more discerning in my career choice. I will encourage my own children to consider eventual marriage and parenthood when they are making education and career choices. Which, of course, my own parents did try with me. My dad always encouraged me to be a writer, it just seemed like too scary a thing to try to do at the time. It wasn't until I was settled into my vocation of marriage and motherhood that I finally realized that he was right all along.
If I had felt confident that I would be a wife and a mother, I should have studied something that I could pursue alongside my primary vocation. And airline pilot really isn't that. But, in my case, I didn't know. I really couldn't imagine being married to anyone until I met my husband.
Basically, my advice to you and other women like you, is . . .
1. study something you love, something that will be a part of your life whether or not you're getting paid for it
2. keep your options open as much as possible, and
3. realize that no decision, no matter the cost involved, is forever.
A wise woman knows when to call a sunk cost sunk and just move on to the next thing. That's allowed.
But there are so many different ways to do this.
I know a handful of women who have had relatively large families while working outside the home and being the primary breadwinner for their families. It's a possibility. But I think the sacrifices and hardships involved in that plan are greater than most women would choose to take on. In fact, in all the cases I'm thinking about, the women ended up in that role because of a unique family situation. I'm not sure if any of them would have chosen it, if it hadn't been for their particular circumstances.
That means that, for most of us, the ideal blend of professional and personal fulfillment is going to look different than it will for men. We can say all we want about equality, but the reality is that motherhood is a physical, bodily endeavor for most women and it isn't for men. So, if you're picking a career now, and you hope to one day become a mother maybe don't pick a career (like I did) that just is NOT going to work with pregnancy and breastfeeding and the general care and feeding of small humans.
Writing works great for me. My sister, after she had kids, was able to transition from a regular nine to five office job, into a part-time, work from home position. But neither of us is supporting our family with what we do. It's more personal fulfillment and some "nice to have" money.
If you feel like you'd want to keep working even after having kids, you need to talk to women in the fields you are interested in. What does family life look like for them? There must be disciplines within law or medicine that work better with a family.
Maybe you know you'd want to stay home full time with your kids, should you have them. That doesn't mean you don't keep up your studies now. You never know what God's plan for you might be. Maybe you'll cure cancer THEN get married and have a bunch of kids. Maybe you'll stop out of your career for a while, then resume it once your kids are older. Maybe, like I did, you'll just walk away and never look back and find out you were actually meant for something else entirely.
As long as your evaluations and choices are made honestly and prayerfully and often, you really can't go wrong.
Unless you're this lady. That's just scary.
Good luck!
Kendra
You might also enjoy . . .
A Vocation to MotherhoodThe Country Bunny and Seasons of Mothering
Disclaimer: I am not a theologian, nor am I an official spokesperson for the Catholic Church. (You're thinking of this guy.) If you read anything on this blog that is contrary to Church teaching, please consider it my error (and let me know!). I'm not a doctor or an expert on anything in particular. I'm just one person with a lot of experience parenting little kids and a desire to share my joy in marriage, mothering, and my faith.
If you've got a question, please send it along to catholicallyear @ gmail . com . Please let me know if you prefer that I change your name if I use your question on the blog.p.s. I am WAY behind on my mailbag. Like, a month behind. Maybe two. Between keeping up the blog, writing for Blessed is She (about the devil), the printables and custom work at the Etsy shop, the mugs and t-shirts and pint glasses at the Cafepress shop, the fixing up of the house we bought, and the general care, feeding, and education of my children . . . I am fresh out of time to respond to emails. But if you wrote to me to ask a question, please know that I got it. I read it. I composed an answer to you in my head. But I haven't typed it up yet. It is my sincere intention to do so sometime in the near future.
The Question:
Hi Mrs. Tierney,
My name is Sanasi and I am a 21 year old university student. I stumbled across your blog when I was looking for more Catholic blogs to read in my free time and it's kind of weird, but I feel like I see so much of myself in what you write about. Someday in the hazy future, I'd like to be a Catholic mom and it's exciting to see what a wonderful blessing that can be.
I read your post about deciding to become a stay at home mom and I was wondering if I could ask you a question about that? Do you ever feel guilty for having gained a college education and then not "using" it? I'm in my fourth year of undergrad right now and plan to continue on to medical school or law school most likely. I love the idea of being a stay at home mom in the future, but I feel guilty just thinking of having spent all this money on post-secondary education and then not getting a career afterwards.
I know that's kind of a strange question and I'm not sure if you have time to respond to this, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Best wishes,
Sanasi
The Answer:Dear Sanasi,
I think this is a really important question to think about. And I'm not sure that young women are thinking about it enough.
Just after we were married, we lived at Stanford while my husband went to business school. I was lucky enough to get to know some of his classmates, and to interact with some of the undergrads, including my own sister, who had graduated from Stanford the year before we arrived, and was working on campus.
There was a lot of concern among the young women I met as to how they were going to balance it all. Most hoped to have a family some day, but all were also bright and determined and had professional aspirations.
We are trying to figure out how to balance all of this in a way that no one has really had to do before. For generations, "work" was mostly done in and around the home, by both men AND women. A woman's work could be done alongside her mothering. Whether you were a laundress, or a shepherdess, or a queen, whatever you were doing, you just did it with your kids around, at least to some extent. Then, after the industrial revolution, work slowly shifted to something done away from the home, and away from children.
For a fascinating in-depth analysis, check out this post by Daniel Bearman Stewart: Buttons, lard, and Old Norse: The Invention and Abandonment of Home Economics
Since you could no longer care for your children and "work" at the same time, families divided responsibilities: fathers worked, mothers stayed home with the kids. A shortage of laborers in an industrialized society during the World Wars meant women were encouraged to join the workforce. Then, eventually, the pill allowed women to avoid pregnancy even when their husbands weren't away at war, and they could join the outside-the-home workforce full time. Finally we were liberated! Right?
ummm . . . thanks?But now, women of my and younger generations seem to be looking at this question honestly for perhaps the first time. What if we don't want to make the personal sacrifices necessary to pursue a career INSTEAD of having a family? What if we want children but also aren't content to neglect our other gifts and talents? What if, like you, we are trying to decide what to do with the whole rest of our lives at twenty, before we even know for sure that we have a vocation to marriage and motherhood? WHAT THEN?!
I got my degree (two actually) from a private university, then went to flight school after that to train as a pilot. About a year later, I began working as a flight instructor to build flight hours. About a year after that, I met my husband and in very quick succession I got engaged, married, and pregnant. I kept working until right before my due date, but then shortly after my son was born, I decided I wanted to stay home with him, and I've been home for thirteen years and seven more kids.
So, was my education and post graduate training a waste of time and money?
No, and yes.
No, because education is a good thing. My mind and my horizons were broadened by my university education and my vocational training. Even though I never made it to the airline career I had planned, I couldn't have known that when I started. If I were still a single woman, I think being an airline pilot would have been a good career for me.
And I could never regret my education. My studies in English and Comparative Literature for my degrees have probably been instrumental in my late-onset writing career. If only my professors could see all the cutting edge stuff I'm doing in the literary genres of "zombie homesteading" and "netflix sponsored post."
But, really, an educated society benefits everyone in it. I use the research and study skills I learned in college every day in my role as a mother. Especially as a homeschooling mom, (but all parents do this, I'm sure) I have the opportunity to share the subjects about which I am passionate (like grammar) with my children. The more I cared about my own education, the more I have to share with them.
Our homeschool group is full of moms who use their particular knowledge and skills to help our community. Traditional schools are the same. And there are tons of volunteer organizations who would love to have the part-time expertise of a newly-retired young mother.
On the other hand, looking back, I think I could have been more discerning in my career choice. I will encourage my own children to consider eventual marriage and parenthood when they are making education and career choices. Which, of course, my own parents did try with me. My dad always encouraged me to be a writer, it just seemed like too scary a thing to try to do at the time. It wasn't until I was settled into my vocation of marriage and motherhood that I finally realized that he was right all along.
If I had felt confident that I would be a wife and a mother, I should have studied something that I could pursue alongside my primary vocation. And airline pilot really isn't that. But, in my case, I didn't know. I really couldn't imagine being married to anyone until I met my husband.
Basically, my advice to you and other women like you, is . . .
1. study something you love, something that will be a part of your life whether or not you're getting paid for it
2. keep your options open as much as possible, and
3. realize that no decision, no matter the cost involved, is forever.
A wise woman knows when to call a sunk cost sunk and just move on to the next thing. That's allowed.
But there are so many different ways to do this.
I know a handful of women who have had relatively large families while working outside the home and being the primary breadwinner for their families. It's a possibility. But I think the sacrifices and hardships involved in that plan are greater than most women would choose to take on. In fact, in all the cases I'm thinking about, the women ended up in that role because of a unique family situation. I'm not sure if any of them would have chosen it, if it hadn't been for their particular circumstances.
That means that, for most of us, the ideal blend of professional and personal fulfillment is going to look different than it will for men. We can say all we want about equality, but the reality is that motherhood is a physical, bodily endeavor for most women and it isn't for men. So, if you're picking a career now, and you hope to one day become a mother maybe don't pick a career (like I did) that just is NOT going to work with pregnancy and breastfeeding and the general care and feeding of small humans.
Writing works great for me. My sister, after she had kids, was able to transition from a regular nine to five office job, into a part-time, work from home position. But neither of us is supporting our family with what we do. It's more personal fulfillment and some "nice to have" money.
If you feel like you'd want to keep working even after having kids, you need to talk to women in the fields you are interested in. What does family life look like for them? There must be disciplines within law or medicine that work better with a family.
Maybe you know you'd want to stay home full time with your kids, should you have them. That doesn't mean you don't keep up your studies now. You never know what God's plan for you might be. Maybe you'll cure cancer THEN get married and have a bunch of kids. Maybe you'll stop out of your career for a while, then resume it once your kids are older. Maybe, like I did, you'll just walk away and never look back and find out you were actually meant for something else entirely.
As long as your evaluations and choices are made honestly and prayerfully and often, you really can't go wrong.
Unless you're this lady. That's just scary.
Good luck!
Kendra
You might also enjoy . . .
A Vocation to MotherhoodThe Country Bunny and Seasons of Mothering
Disclaimer: I am not a theologian, nor am I an official spokesperson for the Catholic Church. (You're thinking of this guy.) If you read anything on this blog that is contrary to Church teaching, please consider it my error (and let me know!). I'm not a doctor or an expert on anything in particular. I'm just one person with a lot of experience parenting little kids and a desire to share my joy in marriage, mothering, and my faith.
If you've got a question, please send it along to catholicallyear @ gmail . com . Please let me know if you prefer that I change your name if I use your question on the blog.p.s. I am WAY behind on my mailbag. Like, a month behind. Maybe two. Between keeping up the blog, writing for Blessed is She (about the devil), the printables and custom work at the Etsy shop, the mugs and t-shirts and pint glasses at the Cafepress shop, the fixing up of the house we bought, and the general care, feeding, and education of my children . . . I am fresh out of time to respond to emails. But if you wrote to me to ask a question, please know that I got it. I read it. I composed an answer to you in my head. But I haven't typed it up yet. It is my sincere intention to do so sometime in the near future.
January 4, 2016
State of the Blog Address
I hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas!
School starts up again around here today, for better and worse. I do like a break, but . . .
Especially this year. This holiday season has been an absolute blur of new house stuff.
There was some back and forth as to whether we would be able to remodel the house, henceforth to be known as Gramblewood,* before we moved in. I assured the husband that I loved it so much that I would have lived in it without a kitchen. Or electricity. Or plumbing. But I think he knew better.
Anyway, it was weeks of back and forth of figuring and planning and first we were just going to do a couple things, then all of a sudden we were going to do pretty much everything it needs, right this very second.
Which meant finalizing designs and supervising demolition and spending entire days in flooring and tile and furniture and appliance and fixtures stores making ALL the decisions for the rest of my life. But no pressure.
I think most of the big plans and decisions are done (and on pinterest) and I'm still enjoying the process and am really REALLY excited to see how it all comes together.
We also had a lovely Christmas and a lovely visit with my sister and her family and went to the parade and shot each other with silly string and ate all the treats and watched all the shows and had all the fun.
Let's pause for a quick holiday photo dump.
Christmas:
New Year's meant silly string and writing in the air with glowsticks and Mass and parade and football:
All that, and none of it got blogged, (gasp) and that was okay. Necessary even, for now.
January 2nd marked the beginning of the fourth year of this blog. I love it. Really, I do. I love all the parts of it: the writing, the photography, the graphic design, the Facebooking, the Instagramming, the comments, and emails, and community.
But because I like it all so much, I do it to the exclusion of other hobbies and projects. Even when I get way out ahead on writing posts, like I did before Mary Jane was born, comments and emails and social media manage to fill my free time.
I have many non-blog writing projects in various stages of completion that have been floating about for months and years, plus projects for the house that I really want to be able to do with my own two hands (assuming Mary Jane will relinquish her claim on them sometime in the near future).
Like refinishing this actual Victorian copper clawfoot bathtub, stamped 1891!
The original ad!
And that means I will have to be here less, for a while anyway. I plan to still post regularly, just less frequently. I plan to still be available via email and on social media, but maybe not as much as I have been.
I have a few commitments for sponsored posts that you'll see, and I'm not going to be able to resist blogging the remodel every now and again, and I WILL catch up on my emails if it's the last thing I do. And you'll see some of those here.
So, here's to new opportunities and getting out of my comfort zone in 2016, but with every intention of ending up right back here spending way too much time blogging sometime in the not too distant future.
Happy New Year and Merry (still) Christmas!
*when Jack was a little guy and he was having trouble with something, he would complain that it had gotten "grambled up." Somehow, the husband and I turned that into the name of our fictional dream home: Gramblewood. As in, "That renaissance masterpiece would be lovely over the mantle at Gramblewood." It was always just an inside joke, but when our friends universally demanded that this crazy house have a name, we realized that this is it: our dream home. Our Gramblewood. Let's hope we don't gramble it up TOO badly.
School starts up again around here today, for better and worse. I do like a break, but . . .
Especially this year. This holiday season has been an absolute blur of new house stuff.
There was some back and forth as to whether we would be able to remodel the house, henceforth to be known as Gramblewood,* before we moved in. I assured the husband that I loved it so much that I would have lived in it without a kitchen. Or electricity. Or plumbing. But I think he knew better.
Anyway, it was weeks of back and forth of figuring and planning and first we were just going to do a couple things, then all of a sudden we were going to do pretty much everything it needs, right this very second.
Which meant finalizing designs and supervising demolition and spending entire days in flooring and tile and furniture and appliance and fixtures stores making ALL the decisions for the rest of my life. But no pressure.
I think most of the big plans and decisions are done (and on pinterest) and I'm still enjoying the process and am really REALLY excited to see how it all comes together.
We also had a lovely Christmas and a lovely visit with my sister and her family and went to the parade and shot each other with silly string and ate all the treats and watched all the shows and had all the fun.
Let's pause for a quick holiday photo dump.
Christmas:
New Year's meant silly string and writing in the air with glowsticks and Mass and parade and football:
All that, and none of it got blogged, (gasp) and that was okay. Necessary even, for now.
January 2nd marked the beginning of the fourth year of this blog. I love it. Really, I do. I love all the parts of it: the writing, the photography, the graphic design, the Facebooking, the Instagramming, the comments, and emails, and community.
But because I like it all so much, I do it to the exclusion of other hobbies and projects. Even when I get way out ahead on writing posts, like I did before Mary Jane was born, comments and emails and social media manage to fill my free time.
I have many non-blog writing projects in various stages of completion that have been floating about for months and years, plus projects for the house that I really want to be able to do with my own two hands (assuming Mary Jane will relinquish her claim on them sometime in the near future).
Like refinishing this actual Victorian copper clawfoot bathtub, stamped 1891!
The original ad!
And that means I will have to be here less, for a while anyway. I plan to still post regularly, just less frequently. I plan to still be available via email and on social media, but maybe not as much as I have been.
I have a few commitments for sponsored posts that you'll see, and I'm not going to be able to resist blogging the remodel every now and again, and I WILL catch up on my emails if it's the last thing I do. And you'll see some of those here.
So, here's to new opportunities and getting out of my comfort zone in 2016, but with every intention of ending up right back here spending way too much time blogging sometime in the not too distant future.
Happy New Year and Merry (still) Christmas!
*when Jack was a little guy and he was having trouble with something, he would complain that it had gotten "grambled up." Somehow, the husband and I turned that into the name of our fictional dream home: Gramblewood. As in, "That renaissance masterpiece would be lovely over the mantle at Gramblewood." It was always just an inside joke, but when our friends universally demanded that this crazy house have a name, we realized that this is it: our dream home. Our Gramblewood. Let's hope we don't gramble it up TOO badly.
December 24, 2015
Merry Christmas from the Tierneys!
Dear Gentle Readers,
Thank you so much for being the best online community a gal could have. Thanks for your comments and opinions, your questions and your encouragement. Thanks for making this blog one of my favorite spaces. I wish you and yours a most beautiful Christmas season!
And since I may have misplaced your address, here's a copy of this year's Christmas card, just for YOU!
Photo credit: my friend Micaela from California to Korea
Well played, two thousand fifteen. Seriously.
You started out pretty regular: house, job, homeschool, family vacation to the East Coast. Saw the sights around Washington DC, visited the homes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and our cousin Luke, battled on the fields of Gettysburg, let the kids attempt to seek employment as child-reenactors at Colonial Williamsburg. (They were turned down: blah, blah, blah, child labor laws.)
So, regular.
Then, towards the end of the school year, things took a turn for the . . . interesting. Jack got expelled from homeschool decided eighth grade would be the appropriate time to transition to traditional schooling. So we needed to move. We spent the next five months negotiating with sellers, agents, bankers, and inspectors until we finally became the owners of the most amazing 1920 tumbledown mansion you ever did see. Weedy tennis court? We got one. Cabana full of bees? Two. We have two cabanas full of bees. Nine bedrooms? Check. Secret chapel? Yep. And a moldy butler’s pantry and a rickety servants’ staircase. But we can’t seem to find those guys.
It needs . . . some work. If we had an unlimited budget, it would end up the awesomest house ever. As it is, it’s probably barely going to crack the top ten. But still.
And that’s only the second craziest thing we did this year. First prize goes to . . .
Mary Jane (5 months) who, after forty-five minutes of labor, was accidentally born at home, in the bathtub. She has continued to make our lives exciting and memorable.
Lulu (2) has got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in her heart. Her favorite things are getting her hair done, putting toys away, rosaries, milk, and boots. She asked for a Pride and Prejudice birthday party, and it was as adorable as you’re imagining.
Frankie (4) also has joy, but it’s deeper down. Like really REALLY deep. He enjoys breaking things, making loud noises, the dead guy in the floor at church, and being the first one up in the morning. He also likes taco trucks. And Mary Jane.
Anita (6) is an intrepid little thing. She attacks everything she does with gusto, be it schoolwork, or preparing for her First Holy Communion, or keeping an eye on the doings of all her brothers and sisters. She WILL tattle if necessary. Or punch.
Gus (8) is looking forward to the new Star Wars movies with an excitement that borders on hysteria. He enjoys watching USNA football, and can totally keep up with the pushups each time they score, which he thinks makes him a shoo-in for acceptance.
Bobby (10) wanted his and Gus’ birthday party to be going to see the new Star Wars movie. When it was pointed out to him that his friends live all over town and their parents wouldn’t want to drop them off at a movie so far away, he suggested that WE do all the driving and that the party be IN our twelve passenger van. So that’s the plan. The party is IN the van.
Betty (almost 12) is the tennis ball around which our homemade model of the solar system rotates. She comforts the sorrowful, she feeds the hungry, she clothes the naked, she returns to bed those who have gotten up during nap time. And she learned how to cross stitch.
Jack (13) is, in a word, flourishing. He loves his new school, his teachers, and classes, and friends. He’s playing football and basketball, and is doing science and chess clubs. He is the owner of a provisional patent for a boomerang zipline, and has plans to start a business planning dangerous backyard birthday parties for kids. There are still some details to work out. But, really, he’s a force to be reckoned with.
Kendra highly recommends being the mother of a teenager and a newborn. It’s amazing. She’s a fan of the forty five minute version of labor. She is grateful for loving parents, spunky kids, and a husband with whom she can tackle even the craziest of renovation projects.
Jim’s proudest achievement this year is either having delivered a baby or having finished reading aloud the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books to the kids. Both were a pretty big deal.
Here’s hoping that two thousand sixteen is just as great, if a little less dramatic. And we wish you a Merry Christmas!
Love,
the Tierneys
Here are a couple Christmasy printables I made for you.
Please feel free to print or share them as you please, for any personal (but not commercial) use. To request a custom printable, visit my Etsy shop here.
I'm going to be signing off of the blog for a bit for Christmas here. But I'd love to see you around Facebook or Instagram. Some other Catholic bloggers and I will be using the hashtag #twelvedays as we share about how we are celebrating Christmas for all of, ya know, Christmas. I hope you'll join us.
I would especially love to see it if you put on a Family Nativity Play, like, for instance, this one, that I typed up a few years (and kids) back. If you do one at your house, you can let me know via email or on the Catholic All Year Facebook page or tag me on Instagram (@kendra_tierney). And that would be AWESOME.
You may also enjoy these Christmasy-type posts, from Christmases past and present, but not future. Sorry.
PHOTO CHRISTMAS CARDS: WHY THEY ARE AWESOMEAN AT HOME NATIVITY PLAY FOR INCREASED CHRISTMAS AWESOMENESSKEEPING CHRISTMAS: HOW WE KEEP CELEBRATING FROM THE PARTRIDGE ALL THE WAY TO THE DRUMMERSNOT BELIEVING IN SANTA CLAUS IS LIKE NOT BELIEVING IN JESUS . . . OR GEORGE WASHINGTON12 DAYS OF FAMILY CHRISTMAS MOVIES -MOSTLY- ON NETFLIX STREAMINGSEVEN QUICK REASONS I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH "HAPPY HOLIDAYS"WE'RE HAVING AN EPIPHANY, ARE YOU?
Thank you so much for being the best online community a gal could have. Thanks for your comments and opinions, your questions and your encouragement. Thanks for making this blog one of my favorite spaces. I wish you and yours a most beautiful Christmas season!
And since I may have misplaced your address, here's a copy of this year's Christmas card, just for YOU!
Photo credit: my friend Micaela from California to Korea
Well played, two thousand fifteen. Seriously.You started out pretty regular: house, job, homeschool, family vacation to the East Coast. Saw the sights around Washington DC, visited the homes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and our cousin Luke, battled on the fields of Gettysburg, let the kids attempt to seek employment as child-reenactors at Colonial Williamsburg. (They were turned down: blah, blah, blah, child labor laws.)
So, regular.
Then, towards the end of the school year, things took a turn for the . . . interesting. Jack got expelled from homeschool decided eighth grade would be the appropriate time to transition to traditional schooling. So we needed to move. We spent the next five months negotiating with sellers, agents, bankers, and inspectors until we finally became the owners of the most amazing 1920 tumbledown mansion you ever did see. Weedy tennis court? We got one. Cabana full of bees? Two. We have two cabanas full of bees. Nine bedrooms? Check. Secret chapel? Yep. And a moldy butler’s pantry and a rickety servants’ staircase. But we can’t seem to find those guys.
It needs . . . some work. If we had an unlimited budget, it would end up the awesomest house ever. As it is, it’s probably barely going to crack the top ten. But still.
And that’s only the second craziest thing we did this year. First prize goes to . . .
Mary Jane (5 months) who, after forty-five minutes of labor, was accidentally born at home, in the bathtub. She has continued to make our lives exciting and memorable.
Lulu (2) has got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in her heart. Her favorite things are getting her hair done, putting toys away, rosaries, milk, and boots. She asked for a Pride and Prejudice birthday party, and it was as adorable as you’re imagining.
Frankie (4) also has joy, but it’s deeper down. Like really REALLY deep. He enjoys breaking things, making loud noises, the dead guy in the floor at church, and being the first one up in the morning. He also likes taco trucks. And Mary Jane.
Anita (6) is an intrepid little thing. She attacks everything she does with gusto, be it schoolwork, or preparing for her First Holy Communion, or keeping an eye on the doings of all her brothers and sisters. She WILL tattle if necessary. Or punch.
Gus (8) is looking forward to the new Star Wars movies with an excitement that borders on hysteria. He enjoys watching USNA football, and can totally keep up with the pushups each time they score, which he thinks makes him a shoo-in for acceptance.
Bobby (10) wanted his and Gus’ birthday party to be going to see the new Star Wars movie. When it was pointed out to him that his friends live all over town and their parents wouldn’t want to drop them off at a movie so far away, he suggested that WE do all the driving and that the party be IN our twelve passenger van. So that’s the plan. The party is IN the van.
Betty (almost 12) is the tennis ball around which our homemade model of the solar system rotates. She comforts the sorrowful, she feeds the hungry, she clothes the naked, she returns to bed those who have gotten up during nap time. And she learned how to cross stitch.
Jack (13) is, in a word, flourishing. He loves his new school, his teachers, and classes, and friends. He’s playing football and basketball, and is doing science and chess clubs. He is the owner of a provisional patent for a boomerang zipline, and has plans to start a business planning dangerous backyard birthday parties for kids. There are still some details to work out. But, really, he’s a force to be reckoned with.
Kendra highly recommends being the mother of a teenager and a newborn. It’s amazing. She’s a fan of the forty five minute version of labor. She is grateful for loving parents, spunky kids, and a husband with whom she can tackle even the craziest of renovation projects.
Jim’s proudest achievement this year is either having delivered a baby or having finished reading aloud the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books to the kids. Both were a pretty big deal.
Here’s hoping that two thousand sixteen is just as great, if a little less dramatic. And we wish you a Merry Christmas!
Love,
the Tierneys
Here are a couple Christmasy printables I made for you.
Please feel free to print or share them as you please, for any personal (but not commercial) use. To request a custom printable, visit my Etsy shop here.
I'm going to be signing off of the blog for a bit for Christmas here. But I'd love to see you around Facebook or Instagram. Some other Catholic bloggers and I will be using the hashtag #twelvedays as we share about how we are celebrating Christmas for all of, ya know, Christmas. I hope you'll join us.
I would especially love to see it if you put on a Family Nativity Play, like, for instance, this one, that I typed up a few years (and kids) back. If you do one at your house, you can let me know via email or on the Catholic All Year Facebook page or tag me on Instagram (@kendra_tierney). And that would be AWESOME.
You may also enjoy these Christmasy-type posts, from Christmases past and present, but not future. Sorry.
PHOTO CHRISTMAS CARDS: WHY THEY ARE AWESOMEAN AT HOME NATIVITY PLAY FOR INCREASED CHRISTMAS AWESOMENESSKEEPING CHRISTMAS: HOW WE KEEP CELEBRATING FROM THE PARTRIDGE ALL THE WAY TO THE DRUMMERSNOT BELIEVING IN SANTA CLAUS IS LIKE NOT BELIEVING IN JESUS . . . OR GEORGE WASHINGTON12 DAYS OF FAMILY CHRISTMAS MOVIES -MOSTLY- ON NETFLIX STREAMINGSEVEN QUICK REASONS I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH "HAPPY HOLIDAYS"WE'RE HAVING AN EPIPHANY, ARE YOU?
December 23, 2015
The Blessed Virgin and the Blasting Out of the Baby Jesus
When I was expecting my second baby, lo those many years ago, my oldest would happily tell anyone in earshot that the new baby was going to "blast out" of mommy sometime soon. He also thought that maybe it was going to be a baby elephant, "like Dumbo."
He was wrong . . . on both counts. It was a baby person. And she was born the regular way, through and down and out and whatnot.
And there were the "pangs" (how's that for euphemistic, huh?) of childbirth to go with it. A challenge, to be sure, but I think it's kind of cool that women across the world and throughout time are united through the shared experience of pain in giving birth. Whether you went natural or opted for the epidural, be it regular or c-section, there's pain involved in there somewhere. It unites us in community with each other and with generations past.
But guess who's NOT in the club?
The Virgin Mary. That's who.
In addition to being different from us in things like talking with angels, and being a virgin when she conceived her baby, and not sinning . . . ever, she also had a very different experience of childbirth than the rest of us.
It's been the long and unbroken tradition of the Church that Jesus was born miraculously, blasting out, as it were, without breaking the seal of the womb and without pain to Mary.
It seems like, perhaps in an effort to make Mary more identifiable somehow, we've lost track of that deep and ancient tradition. In popular movies we see Mary giving birth the old fashioned way, with pain and pushing and all that.
Granted, she's considerably calmer than most of us can claim, but the birth depicted here seems like a regular, non-miraculous one.
But NOTHING about the incarnation was regular. Mary isn't someone we get to identify with, she's aspirational. She's perfect. She's sinless. And she gave birth painlessly, with her physical virginity intact.
The three essential aspects of Our Lady’s Virginity were defined by Pope St. Martin I in 649 at the First Lateran Council: she maintained her perfect virginity before, DURING, and after the birth of Jesus. This has always included the traditional patristic and magisterial understanding that Mary gave “miraculous birth” to Jesus (in the words of Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, 1943), without any violation to her virginity. As the Fathers of the Church explained, as “light passes through glass without harming the glass," so Jesus was born without affecting Mary physically.
The mystery of Mary’s virginity in giving birth to the Savior was preached and taught consistently by the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. One finds beautiful expositions of it in the homilies and catecheses of St. Gregory of Nyssa (+ c. 394), St. Ambrose (+ 397), St. John Chrysostom (+ 407), St. Proclus of Constantinople (+ 446), Theodotus of Ancyra (+ before 446), St. Peter Chrysologus (+ 450), Pope St. Leo the Great (+ 461), Severus of Antioch (+ 538), St. Romanos the Melodist (+ c. 560), St. Venantius Fortunatus (+ c. 600), and Pope St. Gregory the Great (+ 604). (Dr. Mark Miravalle)
As Christians, we hear plenty about Mary's virginity before Jesus was conceived. And Catholics are clear on the point of her remaining a virgin after Jesus' birth. But I can't personally ever remember hearing a homily that mentioned Mary's virginity during birth.
However, the Church Fathers were quite clear about it back in the day.
St. Ambrose: There is a gate of the womb, although it is not always closed; indeed only one was able to remain closed, that through which the One born of the Virgin came forth without the loss of genital intactness (per quam sine dispendio claustrorum genitalium virginis partus exivit).
Pope St. Martin I: [Mary] gave birth to (God the Word) without corruption.
The Catechism of the Council of Trent:
For in a way wonderful beyond expression or conception, he is born of his Mother without any diminution of her maternal virginity. As he afterwards went forth from the sepulcher while it was closed and sealed, and entered the room in which his disciples were assembled, although “the doors were closed” (Jn. 20:19), or, not to depart from natural events which we witness every day, as the rays of the sun penetrate the substance of glass without breaking or injuring it in the least: so, but in a more incomprehensible manner, did Jesus Christ come forth from his mother’s womb without injury to her maternal virginity. …To Eve it was said: “In pain you shall bring forth children” (Gen. 3:16). Mary was exempt from this law, for preserving her virginal integrity inviolate, she brought forth Jesus the Son of God, without experiencing, as we have already said, any sense of pain.
It's all a part of the fact that Christ's incarnation and birth are inextricably, wonderfully, beautifully bound together with his death and ressurection. The wood of the cross recalls the wood of the manger. Jesus was born without breaking the seal of the womb just as he rose from the dead without breaking the seal of the tomb.
How could she not have gazed at her son with awe and wonder on the night he was born?
How could we not do the same?
He was wrong . . . on both counts. It was a baby person. And she was born the regular way, through and down and out and whatnot.
And there were the "pangs" (how's that for euphemistic, huh?) of childbirth to go with it. A challenge, to be sure, but I think it's kind of cool that women across the world and throughout time are united through the shared experience of pain in giving birth. Whether you went natural or opted for the epidural, be it regular or c-section, there's pain involved in there somewhere. It unites us in community with each other and with generations past.
But guess who's NOT in the club?
The Virgin Mary. That's who.
In addition to being different from us in things like talking with angels, and being a virgin when she conceived her baby, and not sinning . . . ever, she also had a very different experience of childbirth than the rest of us.
It's been the long and unbroken tradition of the Church that Jesus was born miraculously, blasting out, as it were, without breaking the seal of the womb and without pain to Mary.
It seems like, perhaps in an effort to make Mary more identifiable somehow, we've lost track of that deep and ancient tradition. In popular movies we see Mary giving birth the old fashioned way, with pain and pushing and all that.
Granted, she's considerably calmer than most of us can claim, but the birth depicted here seems like a regular, non-miraculous one.
But NOTHING about the incarnation was regular. Mary isn't someone we get to identify with, she's aspirational. She's perfect. She's sinless. And she gave birth painlessly, with her physical virginity intact.
The three essential aspects of Our Lady’s Virginity were defined by Pope St. Martin I in 649 at the First Lateran Council: she maintained her perfect virginity before, DURING, and after the birth of Jesus. This has always included the traditional patristic and magisterial understanding that Mary gave “miraculous birth” to Jesus (in the words of Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, 1943), without any violation to her virginity. As the Fathers of the Church explained, as “light passes through glass without harming the glass," so Jesus was born without affecting Mary physically.
The mystery of Mary’s virginity in giving birth to the Savior was preached and taught consistently by the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. One finds beautiful expositions of it in the homilies and catecheses of St. Gregory of Nyssa (+ c. 394), St. Ambrose (+ 397), St. John Chrysostom (+ 407), St. Proclus of Constantinople (+ 446), Theodotus of Ancyra (+ before 446), St. Peter Chrysologus (+ 450), Pope St. Leo the Great (+ 461), Severus of Antioch (+ 538), St. Romanos the Melodist (+ c. 560), St. Venantius Fortunatus (+ c. 600), and Pope St. Gregory the Great (+ 604). (Dr. Mark Miravalle)
As Christians, we hear plenty about Mary's virginity before Jesus was conceived. And Catholics are clear on the point of her remaining a virgin after Jesus' birth. But I can't personally ever remember hearing a homily that mentioned Mary's virginity during birth.
However, the Church Fathers were quite clear about it back in the day.
St. Ambrose: There is a gate of the womb, although it is not always closed; indeed only one was able to remain closed, that through which the One born of the Virgin came forth without the loss of genital intactness (per quam sine dispendio claustrorum genitalium virginis partus exivit).
Pope St. Martin I: [Mary] gave birth to (God the Word) without corruption.
The Catechism of the Council of Trent:
For in a way wonderful beyond expression or conception, he is born of his Mother without any diminution of her maternal virginity. As he afterwards went forth from the sepulcher while it was closed and sealed, and entered the room in which his disciples were assembled, although “the doors were closed” (Jn. 20:19), or, not to depart from natural events which we witness every day, as the rays of the sun penetrate the substance of glass without breaking or injuring it in the least: so, but in a more incomprehensible manner, did Jesus Christ come forth from his mother’s womb without injury to her maternal virginity. …To Eve it was said: “In pain you shall bring forth children” (Gen. 3:16). Mary was exempt from this law, for preserving her virginal integrity inviolate, she brought forth Jesus the Son of God, without experiencing, as we have already said, any sense of pain.
It's all a part of the fact that Christ's incarnation and birth are inextricably, wonderfully, beautifully bound together with his death and ressurection. The wood of the cross recalls the wood of the manger. Jesus was born without breaking the seal of the womb just as he rose from the dead without breaking the seal of the tomb.
How could she not have gazed at her son with awe and wonder on the night he was born?
How could we not do the same?
December 22, 2015
A Star Wars Birthday Party (in the van) *with spoiler-free movie review*
Okay, here it is you guys. Finally. I have been having exasperating computer issues that have been a drain on my already limited blogging time. But I just know you guys have been dying -dying- to know what I think about The Force Awakens and whether or not it's a good idea to have a birthday party for eleven little boys in your twelve passenger van. So here goes . . .
As you'll recall from this post, Bobby and Gus wanted to go see the new Star Wars movie with their friends for their birthday, and they wanted to have the party in our van. And since we are gluttons for punishment love them very, very much, that's just what we did.
We went to see The Force Awakens on opening day.
With our eight kids.
And eight extra little boys.
Here's how it all went down . . .
The Prep
This party was actually less work than our normal parties. I didn't even have to clean the house!
Bobby designed 4x6 Star Wars character trading cards in PicMonkey, and we had them printed up at the one hour photo place (I threw in some of the quotes and prayers I made as well). They turned out really cute and the kids had a blast playing with them.
I put the character cards in the Etsy shop in case you need a last minute gift! All proceeds go to Bobby. :)
I made candymelt cupcake toppers, again, because my cake pans are still packed up. But also because cupcakes are quite portable. And I made them like this . . .
because it's how I do most things. (The trading cards also make excellent candymelt templates.)
Betty did the baking. We're turning into quite a team in the kitchen.
Jack typed up a trivia game for the boys to play during the drive.
The morning of the party, Bobby and Gus cleaned out the van, and decorated it with a few hanging decorations we got at the party store.
And I called to order some pizzas.
The Pre Game
We met up at our regular homeschool parkday, and the boys ran around in a barely-containable frenzy of excitement until the husband arrived to pick them up.
It wasn't Mary Jane's party, but she was pretty stoked about it nonetheless.
Jack, Bobby, Gus, and eight of their friends filled up the big van, and my parents and I in two minivans with the rest of the kids joined the caravan to the movie theater.
We ate pizza on the sidewalk.
We sang happy birthday and had cupcakes.
The Main Event
I just picked a random movie theater on Fandango for its proximity to the park, and it turned out to be one of those fancy recliner ones. I may be spoiled forever. Those chairs are excellent for nursing.
The boys liked them too.
I got reuseable plastic Star Wars cups from the party store, to hand out to the kids in the theater for snacks and as their party favor. We bought two large popcorns and I brought a big bag of m&ms and we all shared those between us.
It goes without saying that they LOVED the movie. Listening to them gasp in wonder as the movie started is something I will always cherish. Seriously. I'm not a super sentimental person. But it really felt like a special moment to be able to share together.
The Post Game
After the movie, I drove the rest of my kids home, and the husband spent two hours dropping boys off at various locations. His take: "How was it? It was fine. I don't know if I'd recommend it, necessarily. But now I can say I've done that."
The boys had a great time trading their cards. There were only five of each card and eleven boys, so they had to make deals with each other to end up with the ones they wanted.
They also played the trivia game and no one barfed. So . . . sounds like it was a success to me.
Spoiler Free Thoughts on the Movie
I watched it surrounded by ecstatic little boys, who loved every second of it, from the opening credits on. So, I would have had to have a heart of stone or it would have had to be truly terrible for me not to like it. But, really, I did like it.
I thought the effects were excellent. There's been a lot of talk about the return to models and real stunts and film cameras (alongside digital effects), and I thought it was all worth it. There was a realness and heft to the traditional effects that was refreshing.
I liked the new characters. BB8 is uhDORable. Rey is a strong female character. Finn is a charming, if reluctant, hero. I LOVED that there was no language or innuendo or suggestiveness at all. (There are some battle scenes, but nothing gory.)
I liked the old characters. It's wonderful to see them again, having aged as actual people do. The mature relationship between some of them is bittersweet, but seems in character. Han spoke almost exclusively in action movie one-liners, which got old. But I get what they were trying to do.
I appreciated that they went simple with the plot after the prequels and their Senate resolutions and trade agreements and Midichlorians and other unnecessarily complicated plots. But I think maybe they over corrected. Pretty much the whole plot was trying to find a map . . . to a person. Which A. Isn't a thing (unless you're Maroon 5) and B. Wasn't even really explained (who made the map? Why not ask that guy? What if the person you're looking for has, ya know, changed location? People do that.)
Clearly the nostalgia factor was high. Mostly I liked it. But what I liked was when they put nods to the original movies in a new setting, like the lightsaber in the snow, wiggling. I didn't love how the plot itself was so self-derivative. There's a Death Star. BUT ITS REALLY BIG! People get killed and fall down shafts. Why do they even have shafts? (I kept thinking of The Emperor's New Groove.) There's a death that is very reminiscent of a death in the original trilogy.
The surprising twist is VERY surprising. I was shocked!
Basically, it felt like they were going for . . . safe. Don't go too deep or too edgy or too complicated, just make sure people don't hate it.
Anyway, I'm hoping the plots gets better and the rest stays good. Overall I think it's enjoyable. And appropriate for kids of all ages.
Thoughts on Parties in Vans
I think it was cool. And certainly something the boys will remember fondly. I might even be talked into doing it again on May 26, 2017. It just happens to be exactly one month before Jack's 15th birthday . . .
You might also enjoy . . .
So I Hear There's This Movie . . . Star Wars?The Force is Strong With These Guys (but you already knew that)DIY Chewbacca Sleepsack Mod and a Homemade X-Wing Bomber
As you'll recall from this post, Bobby and Gus wanted to go see the new Star Wars movie with their friends for their birthday, and they wanted to have the party in our van. And since we are gluttons for punishment love them very, very much, that's just what we did.
We went to see The Force Awakens on opening day.
With our eight kids.
And eight extra little boys.
Here's how it all went down . . .
The Prep
This party was actually less work than our normal parties. I didn't even have to clean the house!
Bobby designed 4x6 Star Wars character trading cards in PicMonkey, and we had them printed up at the one hour photo place (I threw in some of the quotes and prayers I made as well). They turned out really cute and the kids had a blast playing with them.
I put the character cards in the Etsy shop in case you need a last minute gift! All proceeds go to Bobby. :)
I made candymelt cupcake toppers, again, because my cake pans are still packed up. But also because cupcakes are quite portable. And I made them like this . . .
because it's how I do most things. (The trading cards also make excellent candymelt templates.)
Betty did the baking. We're turning into quite a team in the kitchen.
Jack typed up a trivia game for the boys to play during the drive.
The morning of the party, Bobby and Gus cleaned out the van, and decorated it with a few hanging decorations we got at the party store.
And I called to order some pizzas.
The Pre Game
We met up at our regular homeschool parkday, and the boys ran around in a barely-containable frenzy of excitement until the husband arrived to pick them up.
It wasn't Mary Jane's party, but she was pretty stoked about it nonetheless.
Jack, Bobby, Gus, and eight of their friends filled up the big van, and my parents and I in two minivans with the rest of the kids joined the caravan to the movie theater.
We ate pizza on the sidewalk.
We sang happy birthday and had cupcakes.
The Main Event
I just picked a random movie theater on Fandango for its proximity to the park, and it turned out to be one of those fancy recliner ones. I may be spoiled forever. Those chairs are excellent for nursing.
The boys liked them too.
I got reuseable plastic Star Wars cups from the party store, to hand out to the kids in the theater for snacks and as their party favor. We bought two large popcorns and I brought a big bag of m&ms and we all shared those between us.
It goes without saying that they LOVED the movie. Listening to them gasp in wonder as the movie started is something I will always cherish. Seriously. I'm not a super sentimental person. But it really felt like a special moment to be able to share together.
The Post Game
After the movie, I drove the rest of my kids home, and the husband spent two hours dropping boys off at various locations. His take: "How was it? It was fine. I don't know if I'd recommend it, necessarily. But now I can say I've done that."
The boys had a great time trading their cards. There were only five of each card and eleven boys, so they had to make deals with each other to end up with the ones they wanted.
They also played the trivia game and no one barfed. So . . . sounds like it was a success to me.
Spoiler Free Thoughts on the Movie
I watched it surrounded by ecstatic little boys, who loved every second of it, from the opening credits on. So, I would have had to have a heart of stone or it would have had to be truly terrible for me not to like it. But, really, I did like it.
I thought the effects were excellent. There's been a lot of talk about the return to models and real stunts and film cameras (alongside digital effects), and I thought it was all worth it. There was a realness and heft to the traditional effects that was refreshing.
I liked the new characters. BB8 is uhDORable. Rey is a strong female character. Finn is a charming, if reluctant, hero. I LOVED that there was no language or innuendo or suggestiveness at all. (There are some battle scenes, but nothing gory.)
I liked the old characters. It's wonderful to see them again, having aged as actual people do. The mature relationship between some of them is bittersweet, but seems in character. Han spoke almost exclusively in action movie one-liners, which got old. But I get what they were trying to do.
I appreciated that they went simple with the plot after the prequels and their Senate resolutions and trade agreements and Midichlorians and other unnecessarily complicated plots. But I think maybe they over corrected. Pretty much the whole plot was trying to find a map . . . to a person. Which A. Isn't a thing (unless you're Maroon 5) and B. Wasn't even really explained (who made the map? Why not ask that guy? What if the person you're looking for has, ya know, changed location? People do that.)
Clearly the nostalgia factor was high. Mostly I liked it. But what I liked was when they put nods to the original movies in a new setting, like the lightsaber in the snow, wiggling. I didn't love how the plot itself was so self-derivative. There's a Death Star. BUT ITS REALLY BIG! People get killed and fall down shafts. Why do they even have shafts? (I kept thinking of The Emperor's New Groove.) There's a death that is very reminiscent of a death in the original trilogy.
The surprising twist is VERY surprising. I was shocked!
Basically, it felt like they were going for . . . safe. Don't go too deep or too edgy or too complicated, just make sure people don't hate it.
Anyway, I'm hoping the plots gets better and the rest stays good. Overall I think it's enjoyable. And appropriate for kids of all ages.
Thoughts on Parties in Vans
I think it was cool. And certainly something the boys will remember fondly. I might even be talked into doing it again on May 26, 2017. It just happens to be exactly one month before Jack's 15th birthday . . .
You might also enjoy . . .
So I Hear There's This Movie . . . Star Wars?The Force is Strong With These Guys (but you already knew that)DIY Chewbacca Sleepsack Mod and a Homemade X-Wing Bomber
December 16, 2015
A Very Netflix Christmas 2015: Win it!
Last year, I wrote about all our favorite Christmas movies, but I had to update it for this year because -- you guys -- Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is no longer available on Netflix. If you missed it, all I can say is I'm so, so sorry.
But there ARE still some other Christmas movies available. Lets take a look at a few, shall we? And in true Christmas spirit . . . I get to give away a six month subscription to Netflix to one lucky reader, yay!
If you are logged in to Netflix, clicking on the title will start it right up for you.
1. A Christmas Carol, 1938
A classic version of the classic story. It's in black and white, and the effects are old fashioned, but neither of those things is a problem for me. My kids haven't seen this version yet, but we've been doing A Christmas Carol as a family read aloud, and I figure we'll watch this once we've finished.
2. White Christmas
This was on the list last year, but I still love it. And so do my kids. The boys love the first half, the girls love the second half . . . everyone wins. It's a colorized version, about which I have mixed feelings.
3. It's a Meaningful Life
Veggie Tales! It's no substitute for the real It's a Wonderful Life, which we watch as a family each year. But it's good as something to put on for the kids some afternoon.
4. Mickey's Magical Christmas
There are three Disney compilations of Christmas movies on Netflix. THIS one, I like. The backstory part is is annoying, but the cartoons themselves are mostly great. Especially Pluto's Christmas Tree, and Mickey's Christmas Carol. There's a super weird Nutcracker one in there, maybe skip that one, or use those four minutes to go sneak some cookies.
The other two are Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas and the sequel, Twice Upon a Christmas. I really don't much like either. The first one has a Goofy cartoon with a "bullies telling you Santa's not real" story line, plus The Gift of the Magi, which always just makes me writhe in discomfort. Please. No one EVER do anything permanent to buy me a present.
But I digress.
Twice has bad CGI and most of the cartoons are about how even the most terrible of people still get to have Christmas. I'm pretty sure my kids have watched them all in previous years. But I don't have plans to put them in this year's rotation.
5. Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Film Collection
This collection is uh-mazing, and occasionally it's seasonally appropriate. But many, nay, most of the shorts are really intense and might be too much for young kids to handle.
John Henry dies heroically and The Little Matchgirl dies tragically, but both are beautiful stories. Lorenzo features a cat who gets his tail cursed and then tries to kill himself a bunch of ways before the same witch cat who cursed him gives Lorenzo a knife so he can chop off his cursed tail. It will freak your kid out. But the animation and music are beautiful. That's the thing with these shorts, they are really intended as art, so they challenge as much as they entertain.
Except for the two princess ones, those are not scary OR challenging, or that entertaining. Elsa's ice powers that also make dresses and . . . create LIFE are on full display. But I won't start. I'm moving on.
Tick Tock Tale features a main character who sacrifices himself dramatically to save the shopmates who tease him. Get a Horse has an old-timey damsel in distress/bad guy plot that is certainly not the kind of thing we're used to seeing in children's entertainment these days.
Paperman is adorable and sweet and romantic and Feast is adorable and sweet and romantic and has a super cute ending.
But the only reason the collection on this list is because of Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa. It's Christmasy, and cute enough, but it does feature Mrs. Santa, which is always a little weird if you're trying to focus on the St. Nicholas being a bishop thing. We just laugh and say, "That's silly, Santa isn't married." But it's your call if you even want to open that can of worms in your house.
And, that's kinda it. I really did want to find some undiscovered treasure for you guys this year. I even watched a badly dubbed Norwegian movie called Journey to the Christmas Star for you. But it was . . . not good.
I didn't hate the Bill Murray Christmas special, it's not scandalous or anything, it's just not that . . . special.
And that's my honest opinion. But this is a sponsored post.
And NOW . . . I get to give away a six month subscription! If you'd like to get to see all this for yourself, just leave a comment telling me your favorite Christmas movie. I'll announce the winner on Friday. You can use the subscription yourself or give it to a friend, and it works in Europe too!
But there ARE still some other Christmas movies available. Lets take a look at a few, shall we? And in true Christmas spirit . . . I get to give away a six month subscription to Netflix to one lucky reader, yay!
If you are logged in to Netflix, clicking on the title will start it right up for you.
1. A Christmas Carol, 1938
A classic version of the classic story. It's in black and white, and the effects are old fashioned, but neither of those things is a problem for me. My kids haven't seen this version yet, but we've been doing A Christmas Carol as a family read aloud, and I figure we'll watch this once we've finished.
2. White Christmas
This was on the list last year, but I still love it. And so do my kids. The boys love the first half, the girls love the second half . . . everyone wins. It's a colorized version, about which I have mixed feelings.3. It's a Meaningful Life
Veggie Tales! It's no substitute for the real It's a Wonderful Life, which we watch as a family each year. But it's good as something to put on for the kids some afternoon.
4. Mickey's Magical Christmas
There are three Disney compilations of Christmas movies on Netflix. THIS one, I like. The backstory part is is annoying, but the cartoons themselves are mostly great. Especially Pluto's Christmas Tree, and Mickey's Christmas Carol. There's a super weird Nutcracker one in there, maybe skip that one, or use those four minutes to go sneak some cookies.
The other two are Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas and the sequel, Twice Upon a Christmas. I really don't much like either. The first one has a Goofy cartoon with a "bullies telling you Santa's not real" story line, plus The Gift of the Magi, which always just makes me writhe in discomfort. Please. No one EVER do anything permanent to buy me a present.
But I digress.
Twice has bad CGI and most of the cartoons are about how even the most terrible of people still get to have Christmas. I'm pretty sure my kids have watched them all in previous years. But I don't have plans to put them in this year's rotation.
5. Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Film Collection
This collection is uh-mazing, and occasionally it's seasonally appropriate. But many, nay, most of the shorts are really intense and might be too much for young kids to handle.
John Henry dies heroically and The Little Matchgirl dies tragically, but both are beautiful stories. Lorenzo features a cat who gets his tail cursed and then tries to kill himself a bunch of ways before the same witch cat who cursed him gives Lorenzo a knife so he can chop off his cursed tail. It will freak your kid out. But the animation and music are beautiful. That's the thing with these shorts, they are really intended as art, so they challenge as much as they entertain.
Except for the two princess ones, those are not scary OR challenging, or that entertaining. Elsa's ice powers that also make dresses and . . . create LIFE are on full display. But I won't start. I'm moving on.
Tick Tock Tale features a main character who sacrifices himself dramatically to save the shopmates who tease him. Get a Horse has an old-timey damsel in distress/bad guy plot that is certainly not the kind of thing we're used to seeing in children's entertainment these days.
Paperman is adorable and sweet and romantic and Feast is adorable and sweet and romantic and has a super cute ending.
But the only reason the collection on this list is because of Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa. It's Christmasy, and cute enough, but it does feature Mrs. Santa, which is always a little weird if you're trying to focus on the St. Nicholas being a bishop thing. We just laugh and say, "That's silly, Santa isn't married." But it's your call if you even want to open that can of worms in your house.
And, that's kinda it. I really did want to find some undiscovered treasure for you guys this year. I even watched a badly dubbed Norwegian movie called Journey to the Christmas Star for you. But it was . . . not good.
I didn't hate the Bill Murray Christmas special, it's not scandalous or anything, it's just not that . . . special.
And that's my honest opinion. But this is a sponsored post.
And NOW . . . I get to give away a six month subscription! If you'd like to get to see all this for yourself, just leave a comment telling me your favorite Christmas movie. I'll announce the winner on Friday. You can use the subscription yourself or give it to a friend, and it works in Europe too!
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