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7 Quick Takes Friday: Homework counting, a favorite food, who needs toys, what are yellow pages, breaking the rules, and a hot air balloon festival

As far as I can tell, the best thing about being the mother of a first grader is that your child can do his homework during the afterschool program. By the time I pick Leo up from school, his homework is finished. Some nights I still have a job to do,
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The power of a smile: Words of wisdom to keep you smiling all day

A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.―Proverbs 15:13Praying for peace with the boating community:When my husband George retired last March, he bought his first boat from one of our neighbors in Florida. And when we returned to our home on Singer
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The importance of a Catholic high school ring: Sharing memories and traditions with the John Carroll Class of 2016

The John Carroll Ring (Photo: JC Patriot) Congratulations to the John Carroll Class of 2015!!At 7 p.m. tonight, they will gather with classmates and loved ones for one of the best traditions of their high school experience in Bel Air: the reception of their John Carroll ring.This ring ceremony —and all
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7 Quick Takes Friday: Peonies, popsicles, no bologna, a trip to St. Anthony Shrine, anxiety dreams about silverware, a tour of The Catholic Review, and our caterpillar craze

Our peonies are blooming! In my second spring as an owner of a peony bush, I knew to watch for the ants crawling over the flowers before they bloomed.Who would ever think to put wax that ants love to eat over flower bulbs? Isn’t it amazing to watch the ants
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7 Quick Takes Friday: A little too much excitement in the kitchen, tuna for dessert, our new mattress, a fake iPad, disappearing caramels, and Billy Joel memories

Today John is taking our sons to visit his parents. Last night I thought I would be a good daughter-in-law and send a homemade blueberry cake with him.This is what was supposed to happen. (Photo from the archives)Sadly, the pans I picked were too small for the amount of batter I
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7 Quick Takes Friday: Counting quick takes, buying Halloween costumes, a forgotten Nerf gun, simultaneous soccer scrimmages, and Pete the Cat’s visit

Guess how many editions of “7 Quick Takes” I have written! I’ll tell you the answer after the 7th take. It’s more than you think. Or maybe it’s fewer. I was surprised by the number, but my most faithful reader guessed it almost exactly when I asked her last night.
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Looking back with gratitude and forward with hope: My top ten blogs for 2015 and a prayer for the new year 2016

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called “Opportunity” and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” —Edith L. PierceHappy New Year:It is a mystery as old as life itself when we realize how quickly the~
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7 Quick Takes Friday: My swordfish relative, April Fools’ tricks, a day of fun, baseball season, and what I found at the Tot Swap

When I was growing up, we had a fish tank full of tropical fish. One was a little swordfish and my younger brother named him Tom Swift, Jr., after the book character.At the time there were surveys that would come in the mail. We would fill out surveys in his
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