An Unfortunate Choice of Words
Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Over the weekend, I blogged at our sister site, NCRegister.com, about Jennifer Aniston’s recent use of the “R” word.
I was intrigued by the discussion that followed my comments there.
I normally scoff at most forms of “political correctness” but I have to admit that the word retard, even when used in a joking or self-deprecating way—really does bother me.
This actually isn’t about Jennifer Aniston.... READ MORE
We'll Miss These Days
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Friday, May 21, 2010
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My youngest sibling is about to graduate from high school, and he’ll be going away to college this fall. My parents are about to be empty-nesters. Compared to a decade ago, their house seems quiet these days.
I, on the other hand, cannot go to the bathroom without a child pounding on the door.
Parenting young children is physically demanding, and life is busy for us. I always say that I bend over... READ MORE
Talking Babies
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Tuesday, May 18, 2010
I am ridiculously excited about the word “ball.” I’ve heard it several times today, and on each occasion I’ve wanted to clap my hands with glee.
Why? Because Blaise is the one saying it.
He’ll be sixteen months old tomorrow, and he does not say much. He’s had the words “Mama” and “Daddy” for a while, and he hisses “pzz” while he swipes his hand down his chest, the sign that we’ve taught him for “please.”... READ MORE
Beyond Soda vs. Pop
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Just me on Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Not long before my sister married her husband, she travelled across the country to Idaho to meet his family. At one point during her visit, she got caught in a funny situation while conversing with two of her future sisters-in-law.
The topic of the conversation was gardening, and Sister A mentioned that she liked to wear thongs when pulling weeds. Sister B expressed her disbelief: how could this possibly... READ MORE
It's the Little Words That Count
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, November 05, 2009
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 do this; it was my siblings and I who pestered each other as self-appointed grammar police.)
On... READ MORE
How Do You Say That?
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, September 24, 2009
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 how to pronounce our names.
I was in school before the Lord of the Rings movies came out, so... READ MORE
Please Don't Say That
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, September 10, 2009
Yesterday Camilla and I were unloading laundry from the dryer when she suddenly said, “Stupid!”
I glanced at her, trying to play it cool, and as she began to repeat the word it became clear that she wasn’t using it as an adjective to describe either of us. She was just saying it because she liked the sound.
Still. “Stupid” is not a term we want our child using. I gently told her that she needed... READ MORE
Write or Die - Easy way to overcome Writer’s block
Posted by Sr. Patricia Proctor, OSC in Family on Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Okay, this is it. I have to write a post because I am a guest blooger.. and guest bloggers are supposed to blog about something. Doesn’t matter if they have nothing important to say.. They should have thought of that before they agreed to be a guest blogger! So here I am at Dr. Wicked dot com - with my timer set for ten minutes and my word count for 500. And I’m off.
Do you know about Dr. Wicked?... READ MORE
So Natural
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Monday, February 16, 2009
Yesterday at Mass, one of the boys started to sit back during the consecration.
“You need to kneel,” I whispered to my son.
“It’s just that I’m so, so tired,” he whimpered.
“Jesus was so, so tired when he carried that cross for you,” I said.
To be honest, I didn’t finish the whole sentence because I was caught off guard by how naturally the words flowed from my mouth. Did I really just think that, I marvelled. Where do I get this stuff?
Forming their conscience, or Catholic Mother’s Guilt—call it what you will. Either way, I think it’s a gift God gives us at the baptism of our first born child.
Enjoy, my fellow Catholic moms—and keep up the good work!
‘Banished’ Words
Posted by Danielle Bean in Just me on Tuesday, January 06, 2009
I love words.
So you can imagine my fascination with Lake Superior State University‘s 2009 List of Banished Words.
What did these words and phrases do to deserve “banishment”?
Nothing, really. They’ve only been overused to the point where some self-appointed “word watchers” have voted them out.
Making the list of overused and therefore banished words this year are environmental buzzwords like “green,”... READ MORE
