http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/author/ArwenMosher en arwenelizabethblog@gmail.com Copyright 2009 2009-11-07T03:00:12+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/what_month_is_it_again Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/what_month_is_it_again#When:02:00:12Z Our culture jumps the gun, Yuletide-wise | We were still in swine-flu quarantine over last weekend, but on Wednesday I made it to the grocery store and had the brilliant idea of checking to see if there was any leftover Halloween candy on sale. A mere four days after Halloween, all evidence of it was completely gone. There was, however, plenty … Just me 2009-11-07T02:00:12+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/its_the_little_words_that_count Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/its_the_little_words_that_count#When:16:44:14Z Warming my heart with proper usage | I love grammar and proper usage. I come by it honestly; you should hear the members of my family correcting the others’ grammar. It’s obnoxious, actually. For my children’s sake I’ve never wanted to be one of those mothers who hen-pecks her children when they talk. (I should note that my mother did not … Family 2009-11-05T16:44:14+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/neti_potapalooza Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/neti_potapalooza#When:19:00:37Z An alternative remedy that works for me! | The first time I heard about neti pots I thought they sounded so weird. You pour water up your nose. Strange, right? I figured it would probably feel like it does when you accidentally inhale water while swimming. I hate that sensation, and assumed that nasal irrigation was not for me. Then I … Health 2009-11-04T19:00:37+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/quicker_than_quick_cooking Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/quicker_than_quick_cooking#When:14:00:54Z I need your help! | I posted on Friday evening that we probably didn’t have the flu. By 5:30am on Saturday the baby had a 102° fever. It’s a good thing I’m not superstitious, huh? Over the weekend my sister also came down with the flu. My husband hasn’t gotten sick so he went to work today, but the rest of … Food 2009-11-03T14:00:54+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/remember_them_with_prayer Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/remember_them_with_prayer#When:14:00:29Z List their names and we'll do it together | On the last day of one of my college theology courses, the professor surveyed the class seriously. He was an energetic man who usually told plenty of jokes, but on that day his voice was low and firm. “If you only take away one thing from this class,” he said, “I want … Faith 2009-11-02T14:00:29+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/hoping_next_week_is_healthier Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/hoping_next_week_is_healthier#When:23:14:31Z ...but thankful this one's been flu free! | We’ve had an interesting few days around our house. I’ll give you the abridged version: I have a sinus infection. For a while we thought I had H1N1 flu and we were all going to get it. It now appears that we have not the flu but a cold, and it’s just the … Health 2009-10-30T23:14:31+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/book_giveaway_redux Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/book_giveaway_redux#When:01:55:31Z Another chance to win All Things Girl and All Things Guy! | Back in June we gave away copies of All Things Girl: Girls Rock! by Teresa Tomeo, Molly Miller, and Monica Cops, and All Things Guy by Teresa Tomeo, Molly Miller, Monica Cops, and Cheryl Dickow.  We got an enthusiastic response to that giveaway, so when I recently received another … News 2009-10-29T01:55:31+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/gods_glorious_mercy_shows_itself Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/gods_glorious_mercy_shows_itself#When:15:00:42Z in a nine-pound person with a perfectly clean soul | Our first godchild is my sister’s son. His baptism was a joyous occasion, and I was proud to be there. I can’t think of that baptism without smiling. This weekend we acquired our second godchild. His baptism was also a joyous occasion, and I was proud to be there. And I … Faith 2009-10-27T15:00:42+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/my_back_is_yelping Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/my_back_is_yelping#When:01:12:21Z The ouches of parenting a baby | This past weekend we traveled to visit some friends a few states away. It was a quick trip; we flew down on Friday and back on Sunday. On Sunday evening by the time we’d gotten the kids in bed and the house in order, my husband and I were both exhausted. We plopped on … Family 2009-10-27T01:12:21+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/he_loves_her Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/he_loves_her#When:00:52:56Z A baby boy's bond with his sister | Many people told me that one of the wonderful things about having our second child would be the chance to watch our kids love one another. Since Blaise’s birth we have seen Camilla’s (sometimes overzealous) love for her baby brother in abundance. She was enamored with him the first time she met his … Family 2009-10-23T00:52:56+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/baby_whered_you_get_those_clothes Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/baby_whered_you_get_those_clothes#When:01:46:59Z The origins of our kids' stuff | Today my son wore ten different items of clothing. (He’s nine months old. He’s messy.) And just for curiosity’s sake I figured out how many of those items of clothing we’ve bought for him ourselves. It’s one. One item - a onesie, to be specific - out of all the clothes Blaise wore the … Homemaking 2009-10-22T01:46:59+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/finding_god_in_infertitily Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/finding_god_in_infertitily#When:01:24:54Z An article worth reading | Infertility is not often a much-talked-about topic in the Catholic community. Based on the responses I’ve gotten the times I’ve written about it here at Faith & Family, though, I think there are many of us who’ve been touched by fertility struggles. Recently I got an email from a reader of my personal blog who’s going … Faith 2009-10-21T01:24:54+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/a_saint_to_emulate Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/a_saint_to_emulate#When:01:17:34Z Celebrating the feast of my patron | Today is the feast of St. Isaac Jogues and his companions. He’s the patron saint I chose when I got confirmed, so it’s a special day for me. When I was a child we had a number of books about saints written for children and published by Ignatius Press. My favorite was one entitled … Family 2009-10-20T01:17:34+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/a_marvelous_meatless_meal Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/a_marvelous_meatless_meal#When:03:09:08Z Soup and biscuits for a chilly evening | I know it’s not Lent right now, but I’d be willing to bet we have some readers whose families practice abstinence from meat on all the Fridays of the year. Our family doesn’t do that particular discipline, but tonight we had my sister and her family over for dinner, and they do, so … Food 2009-10-17T03:09:08+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/using_falls_bounty Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/using_falls_bounty#When:01:56:13Z Easy, delicious apple preparations | I think that one of the best ways to eat an apple is to use God’s recipe: hold it in your hand, bring it to your mouth and just bite right in. The more recently it has been on the tree, the better. As the autumn marches on, though, temperatures drop. Eating a fresh crisp apple … Food 2009-10-16T01:56:13+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/not_a_baby_anymore Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/not_a_baby_anymore#When:01:59:11Z Our girl reaches age three | When we were waiting and praying that God would send us children, I thought a lot about babies. Sweet cuddly babies, with rosy cheeks and soft hair. Tiny ones are achingly cute, literally: I ached when I saw one. Eventually God blessed us with Camilla, and my focus on babies increased throughout my pregnancy and … Family 2009-10-15T01:59:11+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/work_for_peace_everywhere Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/work_for_peace_everywhere#When:02:15:15Z In response to Obama's Nobel Peace prize | Last Friday I was listening to Teresa Tomeo’s morning show, and they were talking about President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize win. From a political perspective there are plenty of things to say on this topic, but I think most of them have already been covered on the thousands of political blogs out there. … News 2009-10-14T02:15:15+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/hip_to_the_slang Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/hip_to_the_slang#When:01:56:31Z My three-year-old is cooler than I am | Last week in a lame attempt to be hip, I used the term “BTW,” because it’s my understanding that the kids are into abbreviations these days. (BTW means “by the way” and I have no idea why anyone would say the abbreviation when pronouncing the three words is actually shorter. But I don’t … Just me 2009-10-10T01:56:31+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/align_me_up_doc Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/align_me_up_doc#When:01:53:01Z Has chiropractic care worked for you? | Sunday night I slept funny and woke up with a shooting pain in my neck and upper back. A few years ago when I had trouble with shoulder pain, I went to an orthopedic specialist and got referred for physical therapy. The therapy worked wonderfully and I’ll happily do it again if it’s ever … Health 2009-10-09T01:53:01+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/buy_handmade_rosaries_online Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/buy_handmade_rosaries_online#When:02:28:10Z There are endless options | In honor of today’s feast, I decided to go looking on Etsy for rosaries. Did you know an Etsy search for handmade “prayer rosaries” yields 1,588 results? Even assuming some of it is accessories rather than actual prayer beads, that’s still a lot of rosaries! The rosaries for sale range in price from $1.25 up to … Faith 2009-10-08T02:28:10+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/getting_you_all_to_themselves Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/getting_you_all_to_themselves#When:01:27:39Z One-on-one time with kids? | This past weekend, visiting my parents, Bryan and I planned to take advantage of their generosity and leave our kids with them while we went out to lunch. It didn’t work out that way, because at the last minute Camilla said, “Can I come too?” We love that little curly-headed monkey, and we couldn’t say no. … Family 2009-10-07T01:27:39+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/hatting_it_up Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/hatting_it_up#When:00:12:08Z Happy headwear for small people | Our eight-month-old Blaise is teething (endlessly) and grumpy (apparently also endlessly). So this morning Camilla and I entertained him, and ourselves, by putting various things on his head. We enjoyed it, and surprisingly he did too. The orange plastic bowl pictured was the crowd favorite. Next time, I’m going to try to get a shot … Family 2009-10-06T00:12:08+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/2016_olympics Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/2016_olympics#When:22:30:39Z Rio de Janeiro wins the bid | My husband was excited when he found out that Chicago had a shot at hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics. “We’ll have to go!” he said, and I thought he was kidding, because how could we afford to do that? But Bryan - eminently reasonable man that he is - pointed out that with seven … News 2009-10-02T22:30:39+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/gods_hand_and_the_little_flower Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/gods_hand_and_the_little_flower#When:02:03:03Z A lesson from the lives of St. Thérèse's parents | I love St. Thérèse of Lisieux. What an inspiration she is! Years ago when I was in college, we read Story of a Soul and studied the life of St. Thérèse in my Catholic Spirituality course. Here is something interesting about St. Thérèse: did you know that she almost wasn’t? Louis … Faith 2009-10-02T02:03:03+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/mama_hold_me Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/mama_hold_me#When:02:27:07Z Weathering infant separation anxiety | The good news is: someone loves me. With constant, unswerving devotion. The bad news is: it’s my eight-month-old, and when he doesn’t have me? He’s very vocal about it. My daughter went through this phase starting at around six months, and her separation anxiety was very severe. I couldn’t leave her in my husband’s arms and … Family 2009-10-01T02:27:07+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/pita_adventure Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/pita_adventure#When:01:52:12Z Fun, easy-to-make little breads | Today I tried making pita bread for the first time ever. It was an adventure, and there were a few mishaps, but the end product was delicious. I’m not sure how much of the warm, fresh bread my daughter ate, but I think it was almost as much as I ate myself! I’m a big fan … Food 2009-09-30T01:52:12+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/mass_from_across_town Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/mass_from_across_town#When:19:00:58Z Participating when you can't be there | I’ve caught a cold from my kids, and yesterday I was sick as anything and barely got out of bed all day long. This was sad because it was Sunday. I strongly dislike being sick on Sundays.  Even with the baby-wrangling that’s involved, Mass at our parish always revitalizes me.  I love going. Unfortunately, … Faith 2009-09-28T19:00:58+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/impossible_request_novena_continues Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/impossible_request_novena_continues#When:23:50:38Z Six months down, three to go | Last March I mentioned that my husband and I were going to say the Novena for Impossible Requests this year.  It’s a nine-month novena, lasting from the Feast of the Annunciation to the Feast of the Nativity. Today I realized that it is two-thirds done. After six months, the novena has become such a … Faith 2009-09-25T23:50:38+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/how_do_you_say_that Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/how_do_you_say_that#When:22:23:53Z Navigating name pronunciation | This time of year brings my school memories rushing back. There were a lot things I loved about being in school, especially in college.  I miss many of them.  I do not, however, miss the job that comes to me and all the unusually-named whenever we are in new situations: explaining to a fresh crop of people … Family 2009-09-24T22:23:53+00:00 http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/gross_fly_city Arwen Mosher http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/gross_fly_city#When:01:32:32Z in which my housekeeping pride is squelched | I could not figure out where the fruit flies were coming from. It seemed like they were everywhere, touching down on any piece of fruit I left out in the kitchen.  Two even turned up inside a bag of bread. I checked under the edges of the cupboards, under the table, behind the … Homemaking 2009-09-24T01:32:32+00:00