The Fountains of Carrots Podcast

This week we have a treat for you because the lovely Rachel Balducci, mother of six,  joined us on the podcast. Rachel is the co-host of The Gist on Catholic TV, author, speaker, newspaper columnist, blogger at Testosterhome, and this year began teaching in the classroom. She’s an inspiring and encouraging lady and full of fun!

We were excited to chat with Rachel because her kids are a bit older than ours and we wanted to pick her brain about what it’s like to have big kids and how life changes as your kids grow up. She has so much wisdom to share about raising a family, how to do discipline, and all that we have to look forward to (the good and the bad).

We also laughed a lot and talked about the plight of the Catholic mom who enjoys an occasional cigar. It’s a great conversation and we hope you love it!

 

 

 

Links in this episode:

The New Dare to Discipline by Dr. James Dobson

Rachel’s book:

How Do You Tuck In a Superhero?: And Other Delightful Mysteries of Raising Boys

How to connect with Rachel:

* Rachel’s blog

* Facebook

* Twitter

* Instagram

Come hang out with us!

* The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group)

* Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog

* Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog

You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

 

 

Our first Q&A episode was a blast so we thought we’d ask listeners for more great questions so we could do a whole new Q&A in the new year. We couldn’t get to all the questions, but we enjoyed answering the ones we could!

In this episode we cover living in small spaces with lots of kids and how we deal with storage. We also discussed the big question of to save or not to save kids clothes and we dived into our daily routines and how they help us keep our sanity. So grab a cup of coffee or tea and a pile of laundry and enjoy!

Things we discussed in this episode:

Christy’s post about great games for little people.

Related posts:

How a Family of Five Got Rid of Half Their Stuff (about Haley’s family)

Large Families in Small Homes (about Christy’s family)

 

Come hang out with us!

* The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group)

* Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog

* Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog

You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

 

 

We cannot wait for you to hear this episode with the lovely Meg Hunter-Kilmer because it is all about Lent and we know it will get you  excited to begin this important season of the Christian Year!

Meg is, in her words,  a “hobo missionary.” Trained in theology at Notre Dame, she travels all over the world as a Catholic speaker and evangelizer. In this episode we got back to basics and asked Meg all the big questions about observing Lent. Why does the Church have Lent before the Easter season? How do newbies to Lent start out in practicing it? How do we decide what to give up? What are some resources and books to help us focus spiritually in this season? And more!

We were so inspired after talking to Meg that we are ready to jump in and really give Lent our all. We know you’ll love this episode, too!

In this episode we talked about:

Meg’s Lenten Boot Camp

100 Things to Do for Lent

Lenten Spiritual Reading:

The Way of the Cross by Caryll Houselander

Wood of the Cradle, Wood of the Cross: The Little Way of the Infant Jesus by Caryll Houselander

The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander

The Way of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Ligouri

The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ by Alphonso Liguori

The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas

In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

My Sisters the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir by Colleen Caroll Campbell

Modern Saints: Their Lives and Faces, Book 1 by Ann Ball

Follow Meg:

* her blog

 

 

 

We are thrilled that Ann Marie Heasley of one of our favorite design blogs, White House Black Shutters, joined us for this episode!

In our conversation with Ann Marie, we chatted about decluttering the space in our homes and how it’s possible to simplify with small children in the house. We also picked Ann Marie’s brain about how she nourishes her own creativity while balancing her role as a mother. So listen in to hear all about clean counter envy, a healthy perspective on beautiful pictures on the internet, and more!

Mentioned in this episode:

40 Bags in 40 Days

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

How a Family of Five Got Rid of Half Their Stuff: Carrots for Michaelmas

To connect with Ann Marie:

* blog – White House, Black Shutters

* facebook – White House, Black Shutters

* Ann Marie on twitter

* Ann Marie on Instagram

Come hang out with us!

* The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group)

* Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog

* Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog

You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

 

Who doesn’t love talking baby names?

We both love talking baby names and today we have the Catholic baby naming expert Kate Towne of Sancta Nomina with us to indulge in the whys and hows of baby names from a Catholic perspective.

We discuss the value of the Catholic tradition of naming our children, Kate gives both Haley and Christy a name consultation based on their children’s names, and we chat a little about Catholic hipster names and trying to get our husbands to go along with our name loves. It’s a fun episode that’s sure to get your mind spinning up new names for all your possible future children.

 

Mentioned in this episode:

Sancta Nomina

The Baby Name Wizard

Behind The Name

 

Connect with Kate:

* Facebook

* Twitter

* Instagram

 

Come hang out with us!

* The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group)

* Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog

* Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog

You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

 

We thought it would be fun to choose a book we both had been wanting to read forever and have you read-along with us! Today we’ll be discussing Wendell Berry’s Hannah Coulter; a poignant telling of one woman’s life.

This is a book about love, not just that found in marriage, but the love of family, community, and the land. We found there was much to discuss from Berry’s work and we hope that you enjoy it whether you’ve read the book yet or not.

Don’t forget we’ll be in our Facebook group discussing this great story, come join us!

Mentioned in this episode:

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

Jayber Crow

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (discussed in this previous podcast)

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (discussed in this previous podcast)

Through the Shadowlands

 

Come hang out with us!

* The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group)

* Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog

* Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog

You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

 

Today we’re happy to have Emily Stimpson on the show. Emily is a renowned Catholic writer, speaker, and author who has recently begun sharing her wonderful recipes, hospitality tips, and home decor ideas on her new blog, The Catholic Table. We thought she’d be the perfect guest to discuss the importance of food as a sign and symbol of God’s love and it’s inherent connection to the Eucharist.

We also have a great time talking about hospitality; why it matters and why we should make it a priority in supporting the community around us. Emily talks about her 100 year old home and how she’s discovered her own style and why bringing beauty to your home is a spiritual practice.

We have a lovely conversation that’s perfect for this time of year when we think of hosting, cooking, and taking time to treasure our loved ones, we hope you enjoy it!

Links to Emily’s posts we talked about today:

Sometimes You Just Need To Eat Cheesecake…And Other Important Truths About Food

Good To Eat: How I Said “Goodbye” to Anorexia and “Hello” to Cheese

A Window to God: Five (Affordable) Ways to Bring Beauty Into Your Catholic Home

Let’s Get Personal: Making Your Catholic Home “Your” Catholic Home

 

Where to find Emily:

* The Catholic Table

* Emily’s speaking and writing website

* Facebook

* Twitter

 

Emily’s books:

These Beautiful Bones: An Everyday Theology of the Body

The American Catholic Almanac: A Daily Reader of Patriots, Saints, Rogues, and Ordinary People Who Changed the United States

We’ve been looking forward to chatting with author, blogger, and podcaster Cari Donaldson for ages! And it was even more fun than we imagined.

We asked Cari all about her family’s recent move from suburbia to an old house with plenty of land and what life is like on their new-to-them homestead. There was also some fangirling about a few of our favorite TV shows: the respectable and the embarrassing. And we finished things out by chatting about the challenges of raising large families. Cari is awesome and we know you’re gonna enjoy all she has to share!

Mentioned in this episode:

Cari’s homestead (first floor house tour and garden tour)

The Walking Dead (read Cari’s recaps here)

Firefly

True Detective

 

Cari’s book:

Pope Awesome and Other Stories

 

To connect with Cari:

* blog – Clan Donaldson

* blog – Ghost Fawn Homestead

* Ghost Fawn podcast

* facebook – Clan Donaldson

* facebook – Ghost Fawn Homestead

* Cari on twitter

* Cari on Instagram

* Ghost Fawn Homestead on Instagram

* Ghost Fawn Homestead on Twitter

Come hang out with us!

* The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group)

* Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog

* Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog

You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

In this episode we had the pleasure of interviewing the wonderful Nancy C. Brown about one of our favorite topics: the Harry Potter series. Nancy is the author of The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide and The Woman Who Was Chesterton (about G.K. Chesterton’s wife Frances).

We had a nerdfest sharing about our love for the books. We discussed how they can be positive for both the moral imagination of the child and for family bonding and we examined some of the Catholic themes in the series. We also went into some of the concerns parents have about the series.

If you haven’t read the Potter books and aren’t sure if you want to share them with your children, I highly recommend reading Nancy’s book. She covers every concern I’ve seen raised about the books, so definitely start there to discern whether they’re right for your family!

Mentioned in this episode:

Harry Potter!

Lepanto by G.K. Chesterton

Nancy’s books:

The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide

The Woman Who Was Chesterton

To connect with Nancy:

* blog

* podcast

Come hang out with us!

* The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group)

* Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog

* Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog

You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

 

 

 

Today we’re happy to have author, blogger, master of the new media, and content director for Word on Fire, Brandon Vogt. He’s here to discuss Pope Francis’s visit to the United States and to hash out the things you’ve seen in the media and on your Facebook feed with what Pope Francis really said.

We recorded this episode last Thursday, so only two days into the Papal visit, but we think we touched on a lot of important themes from the Holy Father’s visit.

We have Pope Francis fever and we know if you do too you’ll enjoy this episode!

 

Mentioned in this episode:

Brandon’s new project, Help Them Return

Robert Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

Brotherhood of Hope

Pope Francis’s address to Congress

A little bit more about Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton

Christy’s post on Dorothy Day’s autobiography, The Long Loneliness. 

Pope Francis responds to reporter, “…if they want me to recite the Creed, I can!”

Highlights from Bishop Barron’s World Meeting of Families keynote speech

The Onion articles: Pope Francis Reverses Position On Capitalism After Seeing Wide Variety Of American Oreos and Pope Francis Kills 3 Hours Milling Around Atlanta Airport During Layover To D.C.

Brandon’s favorite Catholic news sources: John L. Allen, Jr. on Crux, National Catholic Register

Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si’

 

Brandon’s books:

Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to Changing the World

The Church and New Media: Blogging Converts, Online Activists, and Bishops Who Tweet

To connect with Brandon:

* website

* facebook

* twitter 

Come hang out with us!

* The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group)

* Connect with Haley on Facebook,