News flash: we’re having a baby in two weeks! So what does a family that puts such a big focus on Advent do when there’s a four-day hospital disruption in the middle of the season? I decided to share our Advent calendar activities list this year as a guest post for Catholic Mothers Online. I…
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Christmas in October
I know this will come as no surprise to those who know our tendency to plan, plan, plan, but we have already started Christmas shopping. In fact, we’re well into the process. And you know what? It is awesome. See, here’s the thing. Every year, Christmas shopping gets more stressful. We can always come up…
Read MoreChristmas Night
My yearly Christmas post…because I can’t say it any better than I did two years ago. May your holy day be just that…holy, and blessed. *** [picapp align=”none” wrap=”false” link=”term=night+sky&iid=309917″ src=”0306/0000306659.jpg?adImageId=8640536&imageId=309917″ width=”337″ height=”507″ /] What did the sky look like the night Jesus was born? On that cold night, two millenia before humanity washed out…
Read MoreHolding on to the Mystery
I’m beginning to realize how brief is the period of time in which the kids both understand the magic and believe in it. We spend so much time trying to get kids to grow up–talking responsibility, bigness, and so on–that it’s hard to switch gears and ask them to stay little so that things like…
Read MoreNothing Says “Christmas” like a Gingerbread House
It’s one of the critical memories of my childhood. No year went by without gingerbread–it was the single indispensable Christmas cookie. And not very many went by without some sort of gingerbread construction. Well, last Saturday, our daily Advent activity was…making a gingerbread house with Grandma! Sorry you can’t smell it (or taste it. But the…
Read MoreMotherhood Moments in Pictures
One thing about Advent activities: it translates to a lot of “moments” with your children. Moments like feeding goats, camels, and a wildebeest (I kid you not): Moments like watching my son ride a camel: Or how about getting to share a brand new baby cousin with them? Then there are the ubiquitous pictures with…
Read MoreConfessions of an Advent Zombie
It seems ironic to me that in this season of Advent—the Advent I’ve spent two years preparing for, the one in which I’m doing four radio interviews, four periodical interviews, countless blog entries, and five book signings to help families move toward a less crazed, more relaxing, and holy Advent season—that in this season, it…
Read MoreFriday Advent Adventures: Chrismon
I thought by the time I’d done enough research to write a book, a dozen or two blog posts, and a research-heavy article, I’d know about everything there is to know about Advent and Christmas. Well, guess what? Thanksgiving weekend, I learned something new, and very cool. My mother-in-law and I were looking at Christmas…
Read MoreKate goes on a Christmas song rant
In honor of the season, I present: Songs that should be banned from Christmas airwaves Anything by the Beach Boys. I mean, no amount of jingle bells can make the Beach Boys sound Christmasy. It’s just annoying. Most of the 96 million versions of “Feliz Navidad.” It’s not the song itself I object to, it’s…
Read MoreSeven Quick Takes
1. I always love to see what search parameters bring up my blog on search engines. Usually it’s boring stuff: “Kate Basi blog” and so on, but this one cracked me up: “pic of big butt tinkerbell” 2. My baby sister recently sold her Ford Focus, which has seen better days, into service as a crazy 8…
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