Put Your Marriage First

Rabbi Schmuley Boteach said…

Marriage should be put before the children. Children will outgrow your love someday. They’ll move out and find the love of a stranger. You’ll want them to have the memory that love is real because they saw it at home, and to believe they’ll find a soul mate instead of dating aimlessly, like we see so much of now.

Potty Training 101

I have had a lot of questions about potty training lately. I have a 2.5 year old son. Fortunately, he isn’t attending a preschool this fall that requires him to be potty trained. The bottom line is, I don’t believe in formal potty training. If you have to do it for school, then I sympathize with you. If your child isn’t ready it can seem like a life-long battle of accidents and reminders.

Remember Quiet Mornings?

Ever wonder what it would be like to experience a morning, preferably after a night’s sleep that isn’t interrupted, to hear the silence of the sunrise?

Currently, my time in silence is at night. My eyes are heavy and my head is fuzzy, but I force myself to stay awake - I need my time!

And then I remind myself how fleeting this really is - this time when my children are young and there is so much life running through the house. It won’t be long really until I have mornings.

I think I’ll miss having this dream once I’m able to fulfill it. So, for now, *yawn*, it’s back to the late nights.

Does My Child Need Religion?

The short answer? Yes.

O Thou kind Lord! These lovely children are the handiwork of the fingers of Thy might and wondrous signs of Thy greatness. O God! Protect these children, graciously assist them to be educated and enable them to render service to the world of humanity. O God! These children are pearls, cause them to be nurtured within the shell of Thy loving-kindness.

Thou art the Bountiful, the All-Loving. ~Baha’i Prayers

Perfect Playdates Require Good Mothers

This summer we have had a string of wonderful play dates for each of my children. There have definitely been play dates from H - E - double hockey sticks in the past. I reflected on what makes all of the difference. I came to the conclusion that it has to do with the other mom involved.

Family Culture Begins With Your Marriage

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.

No Bikinis, No BRATZ, No Boyfriends

We all have to pick our issues as parents. We are bombarded by the media and the next big fad on the market that will make Disney or Mattel billions of dollars. I know it will be a challenge for me, especially now that my firstborn is going off to the big world of kindergarten, but I’m sticking to my convictions of no bikinis, no boyfriends, no Bratz dolls. So far, none of this has been an issue.

I. is surprisingly compliant when it comes to wearing a one piece bathing suit and has no problem dismissing Bratz so she can ogle over The American Girl doll catalog. Although the term boyfriend has come up, it isn’t quite a familiar term. School will introduce a lot of new things.

August Book Club!

Join me in August and read “The Ten Year Nap” by Meg Wolitzter.

For a group of four New York friends, the past decade has been largely defined by marriage and motherhood. Educated and reared to believe that they would conquer the world, they then left jobs as corporate lawyers, investment bankers, and film scouts to stay home with their babies. What was meant to be a temporary leave of absence has lasted a decade.

Being Home

Absolutely every mother has to face the big question…

“Do I stay home with my baby OR do I continue to work in my field and put the care of my child into the hands of another?”

Don’t Pay Your Kids to Misbehave

You may have read it. This month’s Mothering Magazine has a beautiful article about a mother’s new approach to the age-old time out discipline tool. I’m not crazy about what time out has become either. It’s the new spanking for our generation of moms. It’s become a tool to punish rather than to teach.