So, in my last post for Family Culture, I shared just how logical it is for parents to co-sleep with their young children.  It is not a mistake to bring your baby or toddler in your bed.  And, in fact, we, the Americans, are the freaks of the world because we’re the ones separating ourselves from our babies in the “hopes” to train our baby to be independent.  I do encourage families to co-sleep; most mothers intuitively want to bring their babies into the bed.  Listen to yourself!  This is …

I was helping my 6 year old prepare her first school report on giraffes.  It struck me as odd and neglectful when I read that adult female giraffes leave their calves in a hidden spot for up to a month and come back to nurse them 3 or 4 times each day.  The calf remains alone, hidden, without the comfort and care of the mother.  After a month, the cow (that’s what female giraffes are called), brings her calf into the “nursery” with the other calves and their mothers for …

It’s never too early to pick a night of the week that pulls everyone together to do something special together.  Since we’ve limited television viewing in our house we’re making Friday night “family night” for making homemade pizza and borrowing a movie from the library that we can all watch together. This last week was especially nice because we had Noni here - my children’s paternal great grandmother.  She’s full-blooded Italian and LOVES to bake pizza crust.

I thought it would be fun, but I had no idea how much …

Whew.  That was a long title.  I think we moms are always looking for a solution to the age-old problem of wanting our sweet cherubs to find something creative and engaging to do without our constant involvement.  We adore our children.  Why else would many of us nurse on demand and co-sleep?  At the same time, we are thrilled when our toddler discovers that building towers or marching zoo animals around the living room is great fun, long enough for us to check email or pay some bills.
The key is …

What if I told you that there’s a simple ritual you can do with your family every day that will:
* help them eat better
* encourage them to have a better connection with you
* build their vocabulary
* help them get better grades
* develop fewer eating disorders
* engage in fewer risky behaviors as they get older

The Fudus and their gorgeous babies with their Persio-Arabic names, Tajalli & Dayyan, managed to melt the hearts of even the toughest of skeptics, proving that theirs is a bond deeper and truer than those of most other marriages. The Fudus share a culture that all humans have in common: the spiritual one.

I hope you had as much fun as we did this 4th of July. We had the opportunity to spend 4 days in Black Mountain, NC with my Aunt & Uncle and my cousin and her family at their get-away mountain house. The cooler NC summer air and the lush mountain range really gave me a chance to renew. A big part of being a great parent is being able to find ways that help you get some steam back! It’s amazing what one can do in …

One of my own passions is discovering local places that I can enjoy that have an element of exploration for the kids. This week I found a local bait shop that was converted into a neighborhood coffee place. My 2.5 year old and I had a great time - I got some counter culture coffee and he enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie.

My husband and I had the opportunity to attend a wonderful marriage enrichment workshop this weekend facilitated by Marriage Transformation Project founders, Susanne Alexander and Craig Farnsworth. We attended with eight other couples - engaged, married without kids, married with kids, and empty nesters. It was a really rewarding experience. Developing as a married couple is critical to creating the kind of family culture we believe is important for our children.

Something that is really helping me through these young years is figuring out what I’m passionate about. Hopefully many of you haven’t lost your passions when you entered motherhood.