So Sweet!

Just wanted to pop into share this video. Totally made me tear up! So precious!

Post by Mara Si Nicoleta Calinescu.

Onward and Upward

It has been three months since I have written for this blog.  During that time, I have done a ton of thinking and praying.  My husband and I have done a lot of discerning.  In that process, I have come to accept that, while my ideals are important in an aspirational “never stop improving” sense, it is equally important that I accept myself, my family, my career, and my life in the moment.  Because, in a larger sense, I only have each moment, one moment at a time, and there is no guarantee that I will ever get another moment.  Wasting my moments with disappointment over “what might have been” or “what I wish could have been” is not productive.  It is not the way to live life, build relationships, raise children, and support a family.  Most importantly, it is not the way to reflect Jesus in my life.  Better to celebrate and make the most of the days, hours, minutes, and moments we have, irrespective of what “could have been”.  Time to move onward and upward.

End of the Innocence

Note: I wrote this post back in May.  I just haven’t had the guts to post it.  Even though my blog is anonymous, it just felt too personal.  But it also has not felt right to post anything else (hence, the looooooooong silence on this blog), so I’m going to just put it out there and move forward.

Back when I was young and naïve (or, ahem, about 6 years ago), I had this tremendously idealistic sense of optimism and freedom when I considered my future.  Grandiose visions of my future family, marriage, career, and children—all lived out in perfect line with my fledgling, newly reverted Catholic faith—danced in my head.  Pondering the possibilities breathed such freedom and hope into my life.  The prospects and potential was intoxicating.

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 10 – Boy Antics, the NY Times, Once in a Lifetime, and He Stands!

It’s been awhile since I’ve come a-quick-takin’.  Busy, busy, busy!  But here I am!  Happy to be here!

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CATHOLIC take:

One of the things I worry about a lot as a mom is whether I am doing enough to instill faith in my children.  How do you raise faithful Catholic children?  And, how oh how, do you survive the teenage years? 

This One's for Jen

Okay, so stop me if you have heard this one:

Young, struggling, Catholic mother seeks solace on the Internet.  (Okay, not *THAT* kind of solace . . . get your mind out of the dirt, sheesh . . .).  Said mother seeks like-thinking, similarly situated women in solidarity to reassure herself that she is not alone.  Said mother—who has never

The Calvin and Hobbes Infographic that Stole My Heart

So, it is no secret that I have been spending a lot of time discerning lately. A *LOT* of time, actually.  (For some context, click here.)  And I know I am overdue on an update re: those efforts and where I stand with the changes I am contemplating making to my life. However, in the meantime,

How the Other Half Lives

In my senior year high school history class, we read the book by Jacob Riis with this title.  How the Other Half Lives.  It took a candid look at the harsh conditions in the immigrant tenements of New York City in the late 1800’s.  The conditions were deplorable, really and truly appalling.  Squalor at an inhumane level.  Filthy, putrid, unsanitary, over-crowded, congested, stifling, unhealthy, abhorrently degrading conditions.  Worse still, the only escape

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 9 – One Catholic, One Lawyer, and Mostly Mama!

Well, it’s sure been awhile since I’ve found the time to put together some quick takes.  Here goes.  Hopefully, I’m not too rusty!

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CATHOLIC take:  Okay, I’m going to cheat a tiny bit to open this take.  I blogged earlier this week on NFP and the struggles I’m having with determining whether it is an appropriate time in my life to be spacing (as opposed to conceiving), which completely coincidentally (or due to God?) was written and posted on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord where we celebrate Mary’s tremendous faith and openness to and acceptance of life and God’s will through her “yes”.  In any event, this subject is an ongoing tug-of-war in my head, so I’d love some feedback. 

Alternatively, check out

NFP, Serious Reasons, and Spacing: More Questions than Answers

I struggle.  I know it is not a profound statement, but I struggle.  A lot.  It’s tough being mom to three under 5, a wife of barely 5 years, and keeping up appearances at work (assuming I can even just keep up with work), all while trying to keep an open mind to what is next for me career-wise.  There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t feel completely and utterly overwhelmed by it all. 

To complicate matters,

The Wheels on the Bus, Ping Pong, and Other Life Metaphors: An Update

Okay, so it’s been awhile.  Almost a month.  Yikes.

Funny story: Before I started this blog, I wondered why I couldn’t find any blogs to follow written by Catholic moms engaged in the full-time practice of law. 

Ha!  There just aren’t enough hours in the day . . . .  The shame of it is that I have a list of blog post ideas and half-written blog posts that total, no joke, 9 ½ pages, single spaced!   One of these days . . .  I need to commit to something like Jen’s “7 Posts, 7 Days”, but for like a year.

Good news: I’m not going to stop trying, even if it feels like I’m waging a losing battle.

So, an update?  Yes, that’s probably in order.

Emotional Mish-Mash, Parental Angst, Encouragement Theory, and Satan to Boot!

It’s been a tough week.  Or really 8-9 days.  Last Monday, I could feel myself starting to get sick, but I had so much to do for work.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all 14-hour days.  My body resisted.  I started to run fevers, and it was all I could do to keep from shivering uncontrollably in the office under my wool coat and ear muffs.  Thursday, I couldn’t do it anymore.  Despite the need for me to be in the office, I stayed home.  Went to the doctor.  They thought it might be Strep.  Got an antibiotic.  Then, over the next few hours, the fever really started to spiral high.  Hit 103.  On Friday, it hit 104. 

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 8 - Roe-ing, Litigating, Mama-ing, Resoluting, Kung Fu Panda-ing, and Disney-ing!

Well, these takes may not be “Quick”, but they are meaningful (in the sense that I’m not just sharing “cool things that I’ve read” as I do with a lot of my takes).  So, here they are – 7 Quick Takes on the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the complexities of litigating a case (probably a yawn!, but I find it interesting and it is my blog, after all), my sweet and caring boys, a New Year’s Resolution check-in, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Disney, Disney, and more Disney!  Heck, I had so much content for these takes that I even had to do an overflow post to cover

A Kid Week in Review

Okay, so I was typing up my 7 Quick Takes for the week, but realized I have waaaaaaaaaay too many cute kid moments for one set of takes.  Hence, this post.  It is moments like these that rock my mom-world, so I had to document them.  And, heck, I’m sure you’re hankering for them?  Right?  (Don't answer that.)  So, who am I to deny you?  

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 7 - Gospel, Endless Law, The Sky, Rapping, Praying, Phoning, and Disney-ing

As I mentioned last week, I’ve decided to theme the first three takes each week as follows: Catholic.  Lawyer.  Mama.  Catchy, right?  J  Here goes.

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CATHOLIC take: One of the things I try to do on a daily basis is read the Gospel reading for the day.  I subscribe to Notre Dame’s Faith website (FaithND), and so I receive the daily Gospel readings and reflections (along with info on the saint for the day) in my email inbox each morning.  The reflections are short, so I can manage them along with the Gospel; and, since I can’t make it to mass each day, it’s a great way to stay in touch with the Church on weekdays.  Highly recommend! 

Anyway, last Wednesday,

Forgive Me My Sins (and Vanity)

Warning: This Blog Post contains content that some readers may find disturbing, namely vanity and sarcastic humor.  (Oh, and, lest I forget, #firstworldproblems.)  Translation: I know this content is not very Catholic (or law/mom-related), but it’s on my mind, and I hope you will forgive the momentary lapse (and all of the angst-filled parentheticals and ellipses that go with it).  Viewer discretion advised. 

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 6 - Order, Laughter, Social Conventions, and Milestones

I like organization (read: I’m neurotic).  And themes (read: I was a writing major in college).  In fact, I LOVE them!  But, as the mother of three under 5 with a busy career, I also like a bit of the random (read: chaos).  So, with that in mind, I’ve decided to “theme” three of my quick takes each week.  My life is probably 3/7ths of the way organized at any given time, so that ratio makes sense.  And since I

7 Quick Takes - Vol. 5 - Advent and Christmas Moments 2013

Okay, so I may have taken December off from blogging, but I definitely didn’t take December off from enjoying my amazing children and the endless humor they bring to my life.  So start smiling because these “moments” will definitely brighten your day! 

Getting Back on the Horse . . .

Well, let’s just say it was an abysmal December for blogging.  For me blogging, that is.  Abysmal, as in an abyss.  An empty abyss.  Hollow.  Void.  Absent.  Cricket . . . cricket . . .

Now, that it’s the New Year, and I’ve proceeded to make a bunch of resolutions (some of which I actually hope to keep, maybe . . .), I’m planning to see more of you all.  (I know, I know, you can’t contain your joy!!!  . . . I’ll interpret your silence as acknowledgment.)