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Minnesota Mom

Lots of Coffee, lots of kids. It's a peaceful life.

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A Prayer for Parents who Worry too Much

September 6, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: #StreamTeam, Motherhood, Spiritual Growth 3 Comments

Or: On Being Intentional About What We Watch Yesterday  I woke up feeling fretful—about my kids, about their safety...and so I did something that almost always helps: I drank a fifth of vodka and went back to bed. (Totally kidding! In truth, I’m currently taking a break from booze.) What I did do was go to daily Mass, and while there  I … [Read more...]

Oh dear, I fear I missed the Eclipse.

August 25, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: Family Fun, Keeping It Real, Minnesota Me, Spiritual Growth 1 Comment

Alas, the solar eclipse was neither total nor partial for this Minnesota family. We had clouds, clouds and more clouds, with just one or teensy random peeks at the pac-man-like appearance of the sun.   We were giddy regardless, as evidenced by this Facebook video: ...because a solar eclipse is a fun and familial … [Read more...]

Sacred Space: (Or) How to Keep your Brain from Completely Exploding

August 17, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: Gratitude, Marriage, Motherhood, Spiritual Growth 4 Comments

August is amping up, is it not? I hate to say it, but with BACK-TO-SCHOOL!  looming in the back at the front of our minds, the last two weeks of this month can be pretty much a wash. Well, you know what? It doesn't have to be this way. I have spent most of my summer fighting the many mental lawn gnomes that try their pint-sized best to drag … [Read more...]

{Selfish} Gains

August 2, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: Blogging, Minnesota Me, Motherhood, Spiritual Growth 9 Comments

Improvement

I'm being somewhat tongue-in-cheek with this blog post's title, because I have to admit that the more improvement I make in achieving some of my goals, the more I tend to obsess about them! It's a win-win-lose scenario: 2 Steps Forward (i.e. logging 15,000 steps, making a great new recipe from the Trim Healthy Mama book, reading two more … [Read more...]

Boot Camp: Ten Ways to Cope with Missing Your Recruit

July 24, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: Boot Camp, Health & Wellness, Jem, Spiritual Growth 42 Comments

Boot Camp

In Brief:  Our son left for boot camp one short week ago, and this mom's gonna do what this mom's gotta do to survive 13 long weeks of basic! First of all, some background for those of you that don't know me. I'm a 50-year-old stay-at-home mom of seven—yes, seven—although as of last Monday, we've only got five kids at home. As of last Monday! … [Read more...]

On Having (or not Having) an Addiction-Filled 4th

June 30, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: Addiction, Special Events, Spiritual Growth 4 Comments

In a nutshell: The food & the booze are meant to give glory to God but can become an addiction when used as a means to an end. How's that for a happy 4th of July blog post? :-)   This morning I went to confession face-to-face.  "My mom died two months ago," I began. "My dad is dying and my son leaves for the Marines in two weeks. … [Read more...]

Words of Advice from a Grateful Heart: Ten Funeral Tips for the Grieving

May 30, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: Going Home, Gratitude, Letting Go, Motherhood, Spiritual Growth 14 Comments

This blog post has been on my heart since the funeral. Many of you are or will be going through this process with your parents. With that in mind, I'd like to share ten funeral tips to hopefully help you along the way.   * * * We buried our beautiful mother on May Day, four short weeks ago.  We laid her to rest on the Feast of St. Joseph the … [Read more...]

Rest in Peace, dear Mama

April 26, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: Going Home, Marriage, Motherhood, Prayer, Spiritual Growth 10 Comments

We’re never ready to lose the people we love, even when we know they are ready to go. My dear sweet Mama passed away on Monday morning—peacefully, in her sleep, around 9:00 a.m. in Breckenridge, Minnesota. It was a bittersweet departure, as she was to be joining my father that day at his Assisted Living facility. God has a greater plan, … [Read more...]

A God Moment Morning for a Poor Miserable Mom

April 10, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: Living Liturgically, Spiritual Growth 1 Comment

I had a God Moment this morning—greatly needed, believe you me, after the sad, self-pitying night before! I took this picture on my way to bed. Much like the random spoon lying on our book of poetry, I felt out of place in my own home, annoyed by the "selfish" behaviors of certain family members (while completely ignoring my own wooden beam) … [Read more...]

That Time that Netflix Gave Me the Finger

March 1, 2017 by Minnesota Mom Filed Under: #StreamTeam, Cultural Commentary, Minnesota Me 9 Comments

Warning: This post contains two extremely gory images from the zombie comedy "The Santa Clarita Diet". If blood and dismemberment are offensive to you, as they are to me, you may want to click away. That said, I include these images to make my point. Disclaimer: I'm a member of the Netflix Stream Team, which means that I get a year's worth of … [Read more...]

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Hi there!

I’m Margaret in Minnesota, and this is my mom's-eye perspective of a kid-heavy life. I love the Lord; I take lots of photos; and I always try to tell it like it is, from sex to depression and everything in between! I hope you enjoy your time here. ♥

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Hi there!

I’m Margaret in Minnesota, and this is my mom's-eye perspective of a kid-heavy life. I love the Lord; I take lots of photos; and I try to always tell it like it is, from sex to depression and everything in between! I hope you enjoy your time here. ♥

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All original material on this site copyright © 2006–2025 by Margaret Berns