This could be helpful

Twitter for Busy People.

(H/T: Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda)

Dishing on the Next Food Network Star

Do you watch The Next Food Network Star?

Let me start by admitting that it's contrived and the challenges are ridiculous. But, this year, I promised my daughters that I would stop saying such things as, "Oh, that's just silly! If she had her own show, she would never be put in that position! That's not fair!" (I'm big on justice, and normally not so big on so-called reality shows.)

But.

I love watching this show. Last year, it became a family event, and so it goes this year (although, I've gotta say this: they need to cut the innuendo off right now ... this is supposed to be a G-rated show.)

Okay, so, here's our take so far:

Week One: We felt bad for poor Jen. Yes, her green beans were dull, and she was a wee bit Barbie-ish, but it must be awful to be the first one to go. Ouch.

Week Two: Good-bye, Brett, and good riddance. You were a creep to Mommy Melissa. Enough said.

Week Three: Eddie, if you'd said one more word about your girlfriend and the night you had the apartment to yourselves, I would have applied my TV smacking skills to your head. That presentation was painful to watch, as were your mixed metaphors about recipes, foundations, hands and symphonies. Go fix your hair.

Last night, Week Four: We weren't surprised to see Teddy go. He should've been sent packing along with Eddie the previous week. His blatant lie about the dismal dessert that night was embarrassing to see (although, uh, Debbie? Questioning his integrity? After your Week One debacle during which you failed to purchase team members needed ingredients? Is this the pot calling the kettle black, hmmm?)

We were afraid that last night's DLT (Duck, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich) had saved Teddy, and would be the cause of Katie's demise, but we were pleased to be wrong. Especially since Teddy consulted crib notes on his hand. Really, Teddy? Really?

Our take on the remaining six finalists:


Jeffrey: You own a real estate firm? I just noticed that last night. I thought you'd have a cool job, like antique bookstore owner or Karate sensei or spiritual guru to guys with cool hair (not guys who think they have cool hair, like Eddie.) We felt sorry for you about the lobster. Those inadequate burners were not your fault. You're in our top three (four, if you count Katie, but we're afraid she'll go next week.)

Michael: Michael, Michael, Michael -- you seem like a really nice guy, and we know you have the talent. And we know you felt really bad when you walloped Debbie with that pan. Yikes. But, you're camera-shy (or camera-paralyzed, or just camera-worried) and that just doesn't work on TV.

Jamika: We just love to say your name. Ja-MEE-ka. You have a beautiful screen presence, and we think you could do this! We have not a single mean thing to say about you.

Katie: We like you, too! But, you have to resist talking about the health benefits of your food, and you've gotta cook it all the way through.

Debbie: We do not share Adam Gertler's crush on you (though we love you, Adam. You were one of our top picks last year.) You have a lot of talent, but we're still a little concerned about the integrity department. Didn't you milk that wallop on the cheek just a little too much?

Melissa: We're also rooting for the mommy of four! She personifies this quote about "ordinary" housewives. There is nothing ordinary about Melissa, who also happens to remind me of one of my best friends in the world, Heather, so I'm biased.

Whew. That was fun.

We now return to our regularly scheduled lack of gossip.

Electronics and Us

Thanks to everyone who has commented about PCs vs. Macs, and feel free to keep the comments coming. We're still in decision-making, budgeting mode. But thinking about the electronics around here got me thinking about our last TV-buying decision.

You see, we like to get our money's worth out of things. Call it frugal, call it cheap, call it an attempt at good stewardship, but we hate to replace things that still work. That's why, when our incredibly comfortable couch became so frayed that it had reached the embarrassment-saturation point:



instead of buying a new one, I bought some fabric and (yes!It involved sewing!) covered the cushions:


(Oooh, that looks almost pink on my screen. Ugh. The couch is not pink. It's a nice, dark red.)

We just couldn't see spending money on a new couch when this one still worked.

And, that's why our old car, our beloved Putty, chalked up 227,000 miles before he collapsed. As our mechanic said, "He didn't owe you a thing."

Our last TV didn't owe us anything either. Awhile back, at the age of 13, it began to sputter. The picture would distort and go kablooey, but we found that if we smacked the side, the picture snapped back into place. Frugal people know that smacking the side of a TV is doable for weeks, even months. Perhaps years.

So, we smacked the TV on its right side until the day a bit of plastic fell off. Hmmm. Time to smack it on the left.

For awhile, anyway. Until you-know-what happened. So, there was still the top, right? And the picture was still snapping to attention with a well-executed smack.

Then one day, a bit more plastic fell off the side, and we worried that the thing had become a safety hazard. But, removing it from its home and carrying it to its burial place was easier said than done.

When Atticus hefted the body out of the entertainment center, it ... disintegrated. There was a sort of implosion of dust and aged plastic and the effects of repeated smacking. It was sad and ugly. I tried to shield the children from this wretched sight, but Anne-with-an-e jumped for the camera, and documented the TV's final moments:




Yup. That TV didn't owe us a thing.

Summer Boredom Setting In?

I honestly don't remember the last time I was bored. I have too much to do, and too much interest in doing it to get bored. I can always think of something to do. Or read. Or write.

But, my kids have sometimes been tempted to use that awful word, that bored word. When they do, I tell them that I'll start clearing the house right, this minute of all the clutter -- the books, the puzzles, the games, the toys, the crafts ... if it's all too dull, we may as well get rid of it, no? They generally scatter and find something at that point.

If that doesn't work, or if you're too nice to do that, then don't forget to have your kids check out these great lists from Sherry at Semicolon:

100 Things to Do When You're Bored

100 More Things to Do When You're Bored

To PC or to Mac ... That is the Question

Our current computer is dying a slow, ugly death.

We're researching.
We're talking.
We're looking at the budget.


I am trying to decide if my crush on Mac is justified or not. I just love Apple commercials. Love them. And their choice of music? Sends me into some sort of otherworldly, hypnotic state that reduces me to muttering, "Want ... one ...."

I've been known to simply stop what I'm doing during an iPhone commerical, just to stare dreamily at the TV and envision an iPhone and me running through a spring meadow together. That music leaves me brainwashed into thinking that the universe will melt away and leave me alone in perfect happiness, if only I marry dish out a lot of money for an iPhone ....

Am I just a hapless victim of clever manipulation? (That's exactly why I hate advertising, of course -- I admire the talent behind a really well-done commercial, but I abhor it for knowing how to get to me.)

Or are my friends (and you know who you are ... you've already told me, "Get the Mac!") right?

If you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it.

(And, uh, Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates? You might need to have those Apple guys be your Cyrano de Bergerac ... that's all I'm gonna say.)

Recently Heard

Betsy: "Mary Worth has five exclamation points in it today."

*****

Anne-with-an-e: "Incidentally, did you know that horses can't vomit?"

*****

Ramona: "Oh! Sorry I paused, Mommy. But did you ever have a time when you just had to pause and ponder something?"

*****

When Good Googling Goes Bad

Betsy said:

"Mom, I had a dream where Anne and Ramona were kidnapped and then I said, 'Mom, what are we gonna do?' and then you started Googling for What to do when your children get kidnapped."

I really hope I got some helpful results.

Meet Me at Faith & Family Live today!

I'm over at Faith & Family Live today, talking about listening to God's scheduling memos.

When to volunteer? When to pull back? It's an ever-changing push-me-pull-you, but when I read the memos, the message is usually clear.

Visit Faith & Family here to read it.

Another post about "Up" that is decidedly not funny ...

... but is heartbreaking and so moving.

Read the story about a little girl's last moments, here, at Jimmy Akin (post from Steven Greydanus) and find the full story here.

May she rest in peace.

"It is funny because the squirrel gets dead."

You'll have to see the wonderful, creative, original, touching (I cried within the first ten minutes) hilarious (I have deep admiration for that dog humor) movie Up to get the post title.

We took out a small loan and carted the whole family to the film. It was worth the monthly payments we'll be making. Atticus (and the rest of us) laughed out loud, and Anne, Betsy and I all cried. Several times. And, the 3-D was spectacularly fun.

So, if you're debating a bathroom makeover vs. going to the movies with your family, opt for the movies. Who really cares what your vanity looks like, anyway?

And, the squirrel gets dead (but not on camera, and no actual squirrels were harmed in the making of the movie.)

Is there an ornery degree for that?

Last night, Betsy was in the middle of exasperating Ramona.

"Mommy," Ramona told me, "she is being so honorary!"

Danielle Bean reviews The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary

Danielle Bean's review of The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary can be found here, at Faith and Family Live. She calls the book "a gift for every Catholic" .... Thank you, Danielle -- I'm truly honored!

That Time of Year

That time of year
thou may'st in me behold
when curriculum catalogs
or none or few
or many
do hang about the house.

Happy Father's Day

To Atticus,
who is
the kind
of daddy
who dances
with his
daughters








A dad who teaches them daily,
simply by sharing his life
and his loves with them





A dad,
a daddy,
a husband
who blesses us
beyond measure
and
beyond dreams.

Happy Father's
Day, Atticus!










And Happy Father's Day to my dad, to my dad-in-law, and to all our spiritual fathers -- our priests -- who tirelessly and faithfully serve us.

Now that's busy

It's chore day at the Edmisten Palace, and Ramona just said:

"Mommy, I'm busier than a flower blooming in springtime."

Poetry Friday: Seamus Heaney and Father's Day

A poem in honor of Father's Day, Seamus Heaney's Digging, which reminds me a bit of Atticus and his father --



two men who are very different, whose lives have taken very different paths, but who remain connected and grounded in their shared history.


Digging

by Seamus Heaney

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked,
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.


Read the whole poem here, at the Poetry Foundation.


The Poetry Friday round-up is at Carol's Corner.

Ramona Wilts

After buckets of cool, rainy days, we finally had a hot one yesterday. I haven't turned on the air conditioning though, as Atticus hates the stuff.

But, he had baked bread for dinner, and the kitchen was stuffy. So, after dinner, Ramona was a bit cranky (we call the quick onset of such behavior the e-crabola virus) and complained that the house was "roasting!" I suggested we go outside and take a walk.

"It's cooler outside -- you'll feel better," I encouraged.

On the front porch, as I was sweeping her hair up into a ponytail, I said, "See? Isn't it much nicer out here?"

"Yes," she said, with relief. "And I'm much nicer out here."

The Ultimate Compliment from Ramona

"Mommy," she said
last night,
reaching up
to touch my cheek
as I tucked
her into bed,

"you're like cake."

Ramona Loves: A Quietly Lovely Book by Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry's Whitefoot: A Story from the Center of the World is a little bit of profundity disguised as a picture book.

It appears that it was originally published in Orion Magazine and it contains gems like this:

She lived at the center of the world. This is one of the things every mouse knows. Wherever she was, she was at the center of the world. That one lives at the center of the world is the world’s profoundest thought. So firmly was this thought set in Whitefoot’s mind that she did not need to think it. Like humans, she lived in the little world of what she knew, for there was no other world for her to live in. But she lived at the center of her world always, and of this she had no doubt.

Oooh, this begs discussion, doesn't it?

Or you can skip discussion altogether as I did with Ramona on a recent cool, rainy day. We simply curled up on the couch under a quilt and shared in the life and adventures of Whitefoot for awhile, as she was carried away by flood waters and did her best to survive, one moment at a time:

At the center of the world, on the silted and soiled floor of the woods, among the shadows of the moony night, she went about her still-unfinished task of staying alive.

Corpus Christi

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, perhaps more commonly called the Feast of Corpus Christi (though there's a difference between a Feast and a Solemnity, but I digress ....)

On this Solemnity eight years ago, Anne-with-an-e received her First Holy Communion (if Ramona were already seven years old, I would have been aiming for this day for her, too.) It was a perfect day, a beautiful day -- it was a day on which we were a Catholic family, something just two years prior I had never thought we could be.

Sometime in 1999, I began to pray that Atticus would be drawn into the Church before Anne's First Communion. To my astonishment, God answered that prayer. Not because I'm a particularly good pray-er, or because I deserved anything along the lines of such joy, but because God is God, and He had decided that the time was right for Atticus. And because Atticus has a heart of such integrity that once the Truth began to reach his ears, he couldn't deafen himself to it.

Today at Mass when I receive our Lord's Most Holy Body and Blood, I will give thanks for His astonishing work in my life, for saving a wretch like me.

Take, eat ... and give thanks, with hope and with prayers for all who are praying for the conversion of a loved one.

One thing at a time

Every summer, I feel the need to clean up the vestiges of our school year and then prep our space (oh, heaven help me, I sound like HGTV -- our home) for the next one.

Yesterday, tired of overflowing books in the basement, books with no home base -- the ones that end up in piles and shoved into cupboards -- I enlisted the sorting help of Atticus. We gave some (not enough) away then bought a bookcase that was 50% off its already low price (insert excessive patting of one's own back here.)

I assembled it (minus the frustration described halfway through this post -- victory!) and escorted books to their new home upstairs. I tidied the basement bookshelves, which are no longer overflowing and felt immense satisfaction. (I hesitate to mention it, but in the interest of full disclosure I must admit that I have not allotted space for all the To-Be-Read piles which seem to grow unchecked next to my bed, on Atticus' dresser, on the end table in the living room, in the basket under the end table .... But, that's another post. So is the subject of the kids' bookshelves.)

Then I walked into the kitchen (which had gotten no attention all morning, since I devoted all my energy to the books) and groaned in that way that says, "I'm being a big baby and acting as if my life is just one huge chore after another." I voiced this big baby-ism aloud: "Oh, no ... this kitchen is a mess."

"But," said Anne-with-an-e, quite cheerily, "the bookshelves look great!"

She was right.

Thanks for reminding me, Anne.

One thing at a time.

We can't do it all.

Nancy C. Brown reviews the Rosary book

Nancy Brown, of Flying Stars offers this review of The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary.

Thanks so much, Nancy, and get well soon!

The Ghost of Homeschooling Past

Yesterday I was cleaning out some old files, and found some articles about homeschooling that I'd saved many years ago.

Tucked in among the articles were emails I'd printed out. It was 1998 -- Anne-with-an-e was four, and Betsy was 20 months old. I'd been reading about homeschooling and was drawn to it, but I had doubts. So many doubts. I joined a homeschooling e-list (e-lists and the internet were new to me; can you imagine? It's like telling my children that we had only three TV stations when I was young.)

I posted my questions:

"Is anyone else married to an agnostic? How is that working out, re. your homeschooling and differing views?"

"How do I know I can do this?"

"I just don't know if I'm cut out for homeschooling -- how do I know if I have the right temperament, if I'll succeed?"

"I'm in my late thirties and I'm already tired all the time -- how will I have the energy to do this?"

How interesting and funny to see this ghost of myself, this woman who had somehow, by the grace of God, been given a glimpse of what a homeschooling life could be like, and was intrigued enough to peek into the future, to wonder if it could be a life that could be hers.

And the women who generously wrote back to me, the women whose emails I saved, helped me tremendously. They helped me do more than merely peek into that future. They reassured, and sympathized, and wanted me to know that my doubts were normal, and universal, and okay. And that yes, I would seek naps in that future, and that, too, would be normal and okay.

They helped me to take a leap of faith and to try -- just try -- something so foreign and frightening.

And so today, I am sending out a thank you to these women:

Liz, Laurel, Nancy M., Nanette, Carol, Yvonne, Noel, Donna, Dawn
(and so many more, but these are the names on this particular set of emails ....)

Thank you for taking the time to calm and reassure a newcomer, a novice, a nervous mom. Your kindness and patience have borne fruit in my life, and I'll look forward to a day in heaven, God willing, when we can all compare notes again.

Poetry Friday: The Cuckoo's Haiku

The Cuckoo's Haiku: and Other Birding Poems by Michael J. Rosen captivated Ramona and me.

"Let's look at every bird, and read every poem, Mommy!"

And so we did.

Are you a birder? Love haiku? Want some stunning visuals? The Cuckoo's Haiku has it all in one deeply satisfying package. Stan Fellows' watercolor illustrations are positively gorgeous.

And though it's the kind of beauty-in-a-book that I love to share with my children, it's not just a children's book. This one went on my wish list immediately. I loved everything about it, and I think you will, too.

(For a wonderful interview with Michael Rosen, visit Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. I don't know how I missed that Poetry Friday post back in February, but thanks, Mr. Rosen, for clueing me in via the comment box. Though we'd missed it before, happily we still stumbled on this book at our library.) And, see Michael Rosen's website, here, for more reviews.

**********

Poetry Friday is being hosted today at Critique de Mr. Chompchomp.

Ramona: A Writer at Play

The other day Ramona said:

"Mommy, I just haven't been able to play with the little ponies lately because I can't think of a good plot."

Fun Stuff from the Catholic Channel

Last Tuesday, I was on the radio with The Catholics Next Door, the delightful Greg and Jennifer. When I visited their site the next day, I found this fun story about their producer, Adam Hamway. Adam followed a Tweet from Jimmy Fallon and ended up on Late Night (via street interviews) doing impressions. You can watch the video clip here.

I think that by six degrees of separation, I'm practically -- since I spoke to Adam on the phone -- related to Jimmy Fallon now.

Blessed Among Reviews

Suzanne, at Blessed Among Men, has posted a beautiful and touching review of The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary. She shares a great story about a friend (who became her husband) and the Rosary.

Thank you so much, Suzanne!

Bits and Pieces of Our Days

Every year, our subdivision has a Garage Sale Day. There are loads of sales within walking distance of one another and we always hit a bunch of them. This year we snagged a great bicycle, a couple of games, a much-longed for Lite Brite for Ramona, and this guy (for fifty cents.) The girls have named him Steve:



*****

Today we attended an open house for the newly renovated Benedictine monastery here. The sisters spent eighteen months crammed into a tiny apartment complex while the monastery was being completely remodeled, and they've just moved back in. Being Benedictines, they naturally and hospitably welcomed the public today so that we could nose around their new home. The new retreat floor is lovely, and now I'm feeling the tug toward a retreat ....

But, ummm, next time? Remind me not to wear high heels on a walking tour of a four-story monastery.

*****

Last week, we saw Wicked and found it delightful. Fun and funny -- touching, too. And a visual feast. I liked it much more than I expected I would. We've been listening to the soundtrack -- songs designed to tug on you in all the right places. Even Ramona (who did not see the show) says of some of the music, "It's that kind that makes you feel every emotion in one emotion, like you want to laugh and cry at the same time."

*****

Tonight, we're no longer in Oz but will be found in the comfort of our living room watching The Next Food Network Star. Anyone else?

Poetry Friday

Peanut Butter Brownies in the oven
Children, just stirring ....
Ah, cool summer mornings.





Sara Lewis Holmes, author of the sweet, sad and funny Letters from Rapunzel (which Anne-with-an-e has read roughly a gajillion times) is hosting Poetry Friday today.

And, of course, you need the recipe for Marbled Peanut Butter brownies.

Extraordinary Mom Ponders New Book

Here.

Thank you, Heidi!

Uh-oh

Ramona: Mommy, we have such a patient cat! Come see what I did to him!

Updated to add:

A Book Meme!

Got this one from Jennifer, Faith and Alicia:

1. What author do you own the most books by? C.S. Lewis, William Faulkner, Shakespeare, and Dr. Seuss. (Now there's a group I'd like to put together in a room -- what would they create? A sing-songy, nonsensical, incomprehensible, lyrical, heart-probing and classical defense of Christianity....)

2. What book do you own the most copies of? I think it's the Bible. Or Shakespeare. Or a Harry Potter book (I blame the children for that one.)

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions? It is something of which I had not thought.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with? It's no secret that I adore Atticus Finch and hope to spend the rest of my life with him.

5. What book have you read the most times in your life? Actually, it's probably a little paperback called My Name is Elmo.

6. Favorite book as a ten year old? Nothing startlingly classic -- I didn't even read some of the most wonderful stuff until I was an adult, such as Anne of Green Gables. No, my favorite was something from the Daytona Beach, Florida library. We lived by the ocean for a year when I was ten, while my father was stationed in Korea, and I read and reread a book about a woman who had twenty or thirty cats, one of them named Felicity. I vowed I would one day name a child (or a cat) of mine Felicity.

7. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year? The worst half of a book I read was Twilight. I do not care for the "alluring bad boy" theme with which it drips.

8. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year? Ginger Pye with the kids. For me: Malcolm Gladwell's Blink and his Outliers, and Charles Shields' Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. And my reread of To Kill a Mockingbird. So fun to share it with Anne.

9. If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be? To Kill a Mockingbird. But they can't have Atticus. He's mine.

10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie? They already did it. To Kill a Mockingbird is probably the closest thing I've seen to a beautiful translation to screen.

11. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read? I'm sure it was something by William Faulkner, and I blame him. And alcohol. His, not mine.

12. What is your favorite book? I can never choose just one! Don't torture me with sadistic mind games! (And that is a stolen quote from, not a book, but an episode of a Bob Newhart show.)

Doesn't "my favorite book" depend on one's mood? One's season in life? The season of the year? I love different books in different moments. Don't you? Who created this meme, anyway? Is this a psychological test?

Now, I'm not saying that love depends on a mood (don't get me started) but to choose a favorite book is akin to choosing a favorite child. And, I'm not saying that I have different favorite children on different days, depending on my mood. Anne, Betsy, Ramona, you know that, correct? I would hate to have a little blog meme inflict some deep and lasting psychological damage on my children. But, I digress.

Loads of favorite books that everyone should read at some time or another:

To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Fr. Elijah, The Fire Within, Mere Christianity, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Abandonment to Divine Providence, My Antonia, all the Martha and Charlotte books, everything about Beezus and Ramona, Little Women, Brave New World, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Miss Rumphius, Dandelion Wine.

And that's just one mood.

13. What is your favorite play? The first play I ever fell in love with (via reading) was Romeo and Juliet, so of course it still holds a place of privilege. And sniffles.

14. Poem? Too many to name. See all those Poetry Friday posts.

15. Essay? Every one that C.S. Lewis wrote, and Annie Dillard's "God in the Doorway" (which I would probably never have found if not for my friend, Jack.)

16. Who is the most overrated writer alive today? I'm gonna have to say Stephanie Meyer. I just don't get it. Well, I do get it, but I don't care for it.

17. What is your desert island book? In this book meme from awhile back, I said I wanted something with practical tips and hut organizing strategies.

18. And . . . what are you reading right now? I just finished the reread of Fr. Elijah (which falls for me under "spiritual reading" much more strongly than under "fiction" ... such a beautiful book) that I began on Mother's Day; I'm reading Fruitless Fall, by Rowan Jacobsen, and The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Also, Mother Teresa's Secret Fire, by Jospeh Langford. And, I'm reading The Silver Chair aloud to the kids.

Did I Mention We Have a New Archbishop?

The story is here.

Homeschooling Catch-up

If you don't read mater et magistra magazine, I have two words for you: You should.

*****

Maureen Wittmann is a busy woman. As co-owner of Homeschool Connections (you can also visit the Homeschool Connection blog here) she is spreading the word about:

• Online Classes offered through Homeschool Connections

• Free Webinars, such as the upcoming: Choosing Worthwhile Homeschool Materials, with Alicia Van Hecke

And, we can always count on Maureen to keep us posted on Thrifty Homeschooling-- here and here.

*****

Michele Quigley's gorgeous and oh-so-useful planners are available for the 2009/2010 school year!

She also has great student planners and these lovely nature journals.

And, be sure to check out the free offerings in the sidebar at Family Centered Press.

*****

Maria Peceli is a homeschooling mom with a lovely home business -- handmade jewelry. Spread the word, or drop a hint to someone you love.

*****

A Bonny Review

I'd really like to know:

Who is the lovely woman Melissa Wiley talks about in this review of The Rosary?

I don't think she lives at my house.

Thank you, Lissa!

On The Catholic Channel Today!

Later this morning, I'll be joining Greg and Jennifer Willits on The Catholics Next Door!

Tune in to The Catholic Channel (found via Sirius Satellite Radio) at 10:20 a.m., central time, to hear us talk about The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary.

And, be sure to check out Greg and Jennifer's Rosary Army site, which is loaded with tremendous resources, including Rosary-making instructions, and free audio downloads of the Rosary.

Yup, she's the third child

I've been trying to catch up on ordering prints of photos so that I can finally get Ramona's photo album up to date (that would be the album that needs to start with her birth.)

The other day, she said, "So, if I ever get a baby book .... "

I interrupted her with, "That's not an 'if,' sweetie! Of course you'll get a baby book!"

"Yes, Mommy," said this solemn six-year-old as she looked me steadily in the eye, "but the question remains .... when."