by Catherine | Jun 12, 2019 | Podcast
Revisiting Last Week’s Episode:
- What books/shows/articles have you read or seen that are challenging you lately?
- I’m rereading Brené Brown’s The Power of Vulnerability (and I’m not usually a re-reader!)
- Parenting insight that we can only love our kids as much as we love ourselves. Good gut punch!
Today’s Topic: Summer Jobs for the Kids
- Laminated, personalized kid chore charts on mini clipboards on the fridge
- One day of completed chores on chart earns the kid a saint coin from Happy Saints (kids keep track of own chores)
- Cash in 1 coin for 1 show (our solution to limiting screen time!)
- Bad behavior = saint coin gets taken away
I have some questions for YOU! Discussion Starter:
- What’s happening in your area to support couples preparing for marriage in the area of NFP? What about infertility? Or ongoing support for couples trying to space kiddos or who are feeling the burden of what I call uber fertility? I’m going to be meeting with a group of people who are forming a little think tank for our Diocese, and I’d like to get your input on what’s working, what’s not, and what kind of support you need in this area. I’ll be talking about this with an awesome guest on an upcoming episode, but I thought I’d pick your brain in the meantime.
Get in touch!
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by Catherine | Jun 5, 2019 | Podcast
While You Were Folding is BACK!
New format:
- Shorter episodes
- Shooting for 1 guest interview per month
- Embracing the imperfect – interrupted recordings, imperfect audio, recording while I’m folding my laundry or walking around the neighborhood with a friend
Getting Caught Up:
- Vision problems
- Nesting
- It’s a girl! Gloria Benedicta (more information on her namesake, Edith Stein)
- Milestones
How my latest read is inspiring and challenging me:
Please get in touch!
- Topic or guest ideas for future shows
- Books/movies/shows you’ve read or seen lately that have challenged you
- Contact me:
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by Catherine | Dec 12, 2018 | Podcast
Catch up:
- Health update
- Plans for the podcast in the New Year
- My 34th birthday, Thanksgiving, a marriage retreat
How we’re Advent-ing this year:
- “We have a lot of time with our family” – Jane
- Keep quiet calendar as much as possible
- Say “no” whenever possible and limit commitments
- Making time for silence and prayer
- Feast of St. Nicholas
- Clementine, chocolate coins, Christmas jammies, saint/faith book
- Books our kids got this year
- Dinner
- Decorating
- Slooooooooowly decorate to build up anticipation of Christmas
- Nativities
- Little People Nativity
- Fontanini Nativity – past years added people slowly, this year put everyone out. It looks like a huge party at the stable with all of the people and animals!
- Will put Baby Jesus in both nativities on Christmas morning and sing “Away in a Manger”
- Gaudete Sunday
- Hot chocolate and look at Christmas lights around town
- Christmas tree – the day we put it up and decorated in past years. This year, we put up the tree the 2nd Sunday of Advent, and we are going to decorate it on Gaudete Sunday.
- Baking
- Basket of Christmas books – wrap them up, unwrap one each day. This year, I just put them all out at once!
- Christmas morning
- Kids can come down and open stockings while we snooze
- Everyone up, warm breakfast (overnight French toast soufflé and scrambled eggs)
- THEN open presents
General Tips
- Remember: Christmas is a season, so you don’t have to do ALL THE THINGS before or on December 25th.
- Keep those reasonable expectations
- Add ONE tradition each year
- Adjust as necessary year to year. Let the tradition go when it’s not working – Christmas cards, etc.
- Philip and I like to do an Advent/Christmas recap convo before the New Year to talk about what went well, what we NEVER WANT TO DO AGAIN, etc. If we’ve had any regrets, it usually revolves around being stressed about the wrong things – usually gifts – and not spending the time connecting with each other or other loved ones
Please get in touch!
- We would love to add a service opportunity to our Advent traditions. Do you or your family have a way of adding service to the season?
- Let me know how Advent is going for you, and as always, keep sending along your book/tv/movie recommendations!
- Contact me:
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by Catherine | Nov 14, 2018 | Podcast
First, I shared my laundry list of excuses why I haven’t recorded a podcast episode the past few weeks.
My Holiday Mental Health Saving Tips:
- Healthy expectations – people don’t magically change because of the holiday
- Treat everyone in your family (including yourself) like a toddler
- Meet the primary needs (rest, hunger, affection, down time, routine whenever possible)
- Know your and your family’s limits, discuss them with your spouse, and advocate for yourselves
- Don’t agree to a family gathering in the middle of naptime
- Don’t agree to stay well past bedtime on Christmas Eve
- Clarify rough expectations ahead of time and communicate yours as well
- Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. You can’t please everyone.
- BUT be flexible(ish)
- Get creative – on/off years, gathering the weekend before or after the holiday with one family
- Plan ahead and do things starting now, little by little
- Get Advent candles now (First Sunday of Advent is 12/2)
- Christmas cards?
- Work on addresses now
- Order card next week
- Make it fun – set aside evening to stick labels with husband while watching current Netflix binge
- Gifts
- Start creating lists of all recipients (bonus points if you’ve been jotting down ideas throughout the year)
- My goal is to have everything ordered and if possible delivered and wrapped by the time Advent starts (this year, 12/2)
- Important to remember: The kids will remember the overall feeling of what the holidays were like and not necessarily the gifts. If you’re stressed out and miserable trying to make it the “perfect” day, the kids will remember stressed out and miserable Mama instead of the picture perfectness of the day.
- Keep # of gifts limited – they’ll be getting plenty of gifts
- You can encourage parents and in-laws in a certain direction for gifts (some families want lists or explicit instructions). There’s a growing trend to ask grandparents for “experience gifts” like a fun weekend getaway with grandparents or swimming lessons, zoo/museum memberships.
- Some of your parents or in-laws might be on-board with this idea. If not, let them give gifts how they want. You might be a minimalist and get stressed out by the number of gifts you’re hauling home from the various family gatherings. Don’t let this dampen the holidays. If gift giving is a certain family member’s love language, let them do their thing. If the worst that happens is having to make a return or letting that thing come and live at your house until it gets ignored a week later, then so be it. It’s not worth hurting that family member’s feelings.
- Do a toy purge ahead of time with the kids to make room for new gifts.
- We tell our kids that it’s time to donate things when we get to the point that they’re no longer picking things up and we’re spending more time picking things up than playing.
- No need to feel guilt for donating things that are fairly new. Don’t feel guilty exchanging gifts for things your family will actually use or can enjoy together.
- Revisit the family’s gift-giving approach between adults or for nieces/nephews/grandkids if it’s no longer working
I’ll share more about how we approach Advent and the Christmas season over the next few weeks!
Get in touch!
- What are YOUR holiday mental health tips and strategies? What did I forget? Do you have anything you want to add?
- Share your “Shine a Light” stories, let me know how the gratitude challenge is going for you, and as always, keep sending along your book/tv/movie recommendations! You guys haven’t led me astray yet!
- Next week, I’ll have my husband, Dr. Philip Boucher, Catholic dad and pediatrician extraordinaire on the show to answer your questions! Please send whatever parenting or pediatric-related questions my way, and we’ll try to get to all of them on the show next week.
- Contact me:
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by Catherine | Oct 24, 2018 | Podcast
Today, I thought I’d “Shine a Light” on two awesome things that happened in our parish family this last week.
Before I got to that, I gave a quick update on my spiritual challenge to cultivate a spirit of gratitude. How’s the challenge going for you? What areas do you notice yourself struggling with gratitude?
My 2 “Shine a Light” stories from this week:
- Aiden, a second grader in our parish, who got an opportunity to live out his dream to serve on the altar
- A surprise spiritual bouquet from my daughter’s third grade class for myself and my baby that came at a perfect time
What are YOUR “Shine a Light” stories?
- I want to hear you share about something awesome happening in your parish, school, or local community.
- Do you have a great priest, sister, school administrator, teacher, or lay person that’s blessing your family?
- Did your family experience an unexpected grace or blessing that you want to share about?
- Please send those stories my way! It’s my goal to share at least one story each episode about something happening in your community that you’re thankful for
- I hope this is a way for us to shine a light in the darkness when our Church can use all the light it can get
- I look forward to hearing your stories and sharing them on a future podcast
Get in touch!
- Share your “Shine a Light” stories, and keep sending along your book/tv/movie recommendations!
- You can e-mail me at podcast AT catherineboucher DOT com or find me on FB or IG
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by Catherine | Oct 17, 2018 | Podcast
I asked my spiritual director to help me come up with a daily, practical way to work on cultivating a spirit of gratitude.
His challenge to me (that I’m passing along to you!):
- Choose a time of day that is generally interruption-free
- Take the time to relax my mind and body!
- Relax muscles from toes to the top of my head (contract muscles and relax them, count to 5)
- Focus on breathing
- Inhale: Come, Holy Spirit
- Exhale: Fill me with Your Presence
- Choose 2 things to be grateful for that day, and then:
- Be more consciously aware of that thing
- Work on gratitude for that thing
- Journal about it if that’s helpful for you. I’m going to mark down my 2 things each day and then journal about how the previous day went. This will help me to reveal patterns/habits/triggers and mark down moments of growth where God worked through me
- Examples
- Marriage: Struggling with nitpicking husband.
- Choose to be more aware of his acts of service
- Verbally thank him for everything I see him doing
-
- Parenting: Two-year-old being extra clingy and not letting me focus on my to-do list
- Choose to be more aware of her affection for me and desire to be with me
- Show her that I receive her love by putting aside my task
Get in touch!
Let me know how it goes! What areas/things do you need to cultivate a spirit of gratitude for?
As always, you can find me on FB or IG or e-mail me at podcast AT catherineboucher DOT com
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