Welcome to the July 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Learning About Diversity This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how they teach their children to embrace and respect the variety of people and cultures that…
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Paleo Parents pen new book, Beyond Bacon
My daughter learned how pigs sound from our trip to Polyface Farms just after she turned two. Since then, every time she’s gleefully snorted, I smile knowing she gleaned that skill right from the source, frolicking right alongside the pasture-raised pigs at Joel Salatin’s farm in Swoope, Virginia. Maybe she’d first picked it up in…
June events for the green and healthy family
Here is a round-up of June 2012 events for your green and healthy family. Leave a comment for others I should add! I hope that in May you submitted your school’s information to the International School Grounds Alliance so they can document what is happening in schoolyards around the world. See http://greenschoolyards.org/ for more info!…
Parenting in the land of compromise
Welcome to the June 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting in Theory vs. in Reality This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants are sharing how their ideas and methods of parenting have changed. *** The surprises…
Sharing our stories: a friend documents war rape
There’s been plenty of talk lately about sexual assault in the U.S. military. I have a friend who has been trying for years to share the stories of women who have been the victims of war rape. When she and I were seniors at Kalamazoo College, Ivana Ivkovic helped put on an impressive feminist conference…
A snapshot of health: tired adrenals
In the past few weeks, I’ve had to cancel some appointments for my own healing because my children were sick and I didn’t have childcare. I got so down, I canceled even more that I could have made; I got overwhelmed and started to question how I was ever going to feel better. It felt…
May events for the green and healthy family
Looking for events for your natural-minded family? Here’s an evolving sampling of what’s on tap in May. Before the end of the month: Be sure to submit information about your school’s outdoor space to the International School Grounds Alliance. Register your school at http://greenschoolyards.org/. They’d like to know the name of your school and what…
April events for green and healthy families
April in the DC area is bursting at the seams with events to help you get connected to the earth and focus on your health Here’s a quick look at some of the great offerings for natural-minded families around DC this month. April 13: NoVA Outside Early Childhood Outside Conference: Lens on Outdoor Learning, 9:00-1:00,…
Morning with a high-maintenance mama
If “high-maintenance” means “requiring a lot of attention,” put my picture by the definition. With all the things I’m having to do these days just to make my body function (or to figure out what that even means in this shifting landscape of health), I feel like my children’s lives are passing me by, and…
Making the scary or different okay
Welcome to the March 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Tough Conversations This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have spoken up about how they discuss complex topics with their children. Please read to the end to find…
Yoga as birthday gift
I turned 40 on Monday. On my birthday eve — last Sunday — I had the most beautiful yoga class with a small group of friends. I walked in anxious and grumpy and walked out grateful and open-hearted. This weekend, I am off on a retreat through Beloved Yoga at the lovely Kent Manor Inn….
Reading is fundamental (and so is writing)
I did not go to my child’s school to read in my pajamas today. Does this make me a bad parent? I’m going to vote no. I did have his dad pick him up some new non-flame-retardant-sprayed pj’s at Hanna Andersson yesterday (for the “it’s organic and in the mall” price far above Costco rates)…
A retreat and a reboot
Parenting really does make you tired. That’s the conclusion I reached after being away from my family for 32 hours and returned full of pep. For someone who’s had one of the toughest emotional months in her adult life recently and some physical challenges, it’s saying a lot to feel so good about the weekend….
Chameleon season, in weather and in health
Something bizarre this way comes. And goes. Last week was the most bizarre week in the atmosphere outside my windows — and also the one in my body and heart. It went from a chilly Sunday to a rainy Monday (after the school system made a super snafu and called for a snow day) to…
A day of focus
That crazy sound you hear is my head spinning so fast I think my eyeballs will melt from the inside out. In other words, today blew my mind. I left the house at 9 a.m. for a workshop with healer Dr. Claudia Welch on breath, Ayurveda, and hormones. I left that gig an hour early…
Yoga festival season gets underway
Yoga festivals might seem counterintuitive for those seeking a peaceful, quiet practice, but they are great opportunities to try different styles and experience a sense of community. There’s something special about doing sun salutations in a group of two hundred people from around the country; it’s as though you all agree, which somehow makes lofty…