Cheap, Homemade, Safe Easter Egg Dyeing, Recycled Decorations

Waited till the last minute to buy Easter egg dyeing kits for the kids? Now you have to pull a rabbit out of a hat (pun intended) and come up with your own egg decorations. Take it from this mom of four--been there, done that. Never fear--super DIY mom is here! Here are homemade Easter egg decorations using recycled and on-hand materials. And best of all--they're cheaper and safer than store-bought egg coloring kits!  Cheap, Homemade, Safe Easter Egg Dyeing, Recycled Decorations

Free Printable Palm Sunday Crafts, Coloring, Activities

Palm Sunday, in the Christian faith, celebrates the Biblical triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem one week before His crucifixion. It begins Holy Week and the countdown to Easter. Palm Sunday is a floating holiday; linked as it is to Lent and Easter which fall at a different time each year. Here are crafts, coloring and activities for parents to use with children. Use as lessons in homeschool, Christian school, Sunday school or Catholic religious education. These printables provide inexpensive, hands-on ways to explore and celebrate the Palm Sunday.  Free Printable Palm Sunday Crafts, Coloring, Activities

Diet-Friendly, Vegetarian Rice Recipes

 As a Catholic mom, I fast during lent and on Fridays by serving and eating meatless meals. I'm also dieting and have had success eating vegetarian. Rice is a great non-meat food source, but gets a bad rap for being high in starch and calories. Here are rice recipes that give you the most nutritional bang with the lowest caloric intake. I've written these recipes to meet other religious dietary restricitions. Recipes of Asia gives a guide. Islamic halal, non-kitniyot Jewish kosher. Kitniyot foods, like rice, are sometimes restricted by Jews, particularly Ashkenazi, during Pesach or passover. To observe kitniyot, quinoa could be substituted for rice. AISH says this is okay. These recipes follow eastern Ahimsa practices (except for the recipe with tuna). They can be made vegan by using soy for dairy or fish or by omitting. For all recipes, use brown or white jasmine rice (white has fewer calories). Diet-Friendly, Vegetarian Rice Recipes

Papal Conclave Lessons, Printables, Activities for Kids

An historic event starts March 12, 2013. The Catholic College of Cardinals begins it papal conclave at the Sistine Chapel to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI. Benedict resigned due to ill health last month, says Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. On March 13, Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis, the first American pontif. The the Catholic Church, in fact many around the world rejoices in the cardinals' election. Parents, educators and homeschool families, if you're looking for activities to explain papal selection process to kids, here are free printable lessons to help. Papal Conclave Lessons, Printables, Activities for Kids

Metro Detroit's Most Traditional, Authentic Irish Pubs

For many, St. Patrick's Day means drinking green beer, eating corned beef, and sporting emerald-colored shamrocks and leprechauns. If you're looking for that pedestrian St. Paddy's experience in and around Detroit, pubs and parties abound. For the authentic Irish, however, look to these places. And Saint Patrick's Day is a feast day but also a Sunday. If you're enjoying the festivities don't forget mass, first. Most Holy Trinity or St. Patrick's in Corktown are great places to visit. With a maiden name of Kinney, I know of what I speak. Oh, and don't miss the St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday, March 10, at 2 p.m. It happens in Corktown, Detroit's oldest neighborhood. The parade route goes up Michigan from Sixth to 14th in Southwest. Metro Detroit's Most Traditional, Authentic Irish Pubs

Free Printable Catholic Easter Coloring Pages

Easter for Catholics isn't just about candy and bunnies. It's about the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here are free printable stations of the cross, rosary, saints and Easter bible story coloring pages.
The Catholic and Orthodox churches, and some protestant Christian churches, observe the season of Lent for forty days before Easter. Lent "follows" Jesus's during forty days of fasting in the desert when He was tempted by Satan. in preparation for His sacrifice on the cross. During Lent, we pray, fast and do acts of mercy, almsgiving and penance to imitate Jesus. We follow the "Way of the Cross" or Stations of the Cross and pray the rosary.  Free Printable Lent and Catholic Easter Coloring Pages