SakshiFamily Traditions
Keeping with the family traditions is something very dear to Natalie Suleman’s heart, so that means the weekly Saturday family night is taken very seriously in the Solomon household. The tradition was created by Natalie and her kids. They call it “Family Fun Night.” Every Saturday night is dedicated to spending some quality time together watching scary movies and documentaries, conducting educational and stimulating discussions, or playing board games together. Some of their favorite activities are to watch The Shining, and to play chess. The older four kids usually go to friends and “cringe” at the tradition now that they are teens, but as it still stands, Natalie’s 10 youngest children love fun nights in with the fam.
Dress Up Time
All Natalie Suleman’s kids are aware they are different from other families, but the octuplets embrace their uniqueness and enjoy school and fun activities together just like other children. In fact, they are all very talented individuals and Natalie is proud to share that. Who would have thought they’d grow up so quickly?! Here are her eight gifts of life enjoying their role play in an Orange County school play. They are all posing beautifully for the camera here, but the next image shows that this isn’t always the case, but that even the failed pictures make for the best-captured memories.
Going Raw
Natalie Suleman posted this on her Instagram with the funny title “Could we be anymore vegan?” That’s right, the older six kids are not vegan, whereas the octuplets enjoy a raw vegan diet consisting of health shakes, organic kale, chard, collard greens, bell peppers, and red or golden beets. They also love home cooked vegan meals consisting of quinoa and sprouted lentils. To top that off dessert usually consists of green apple with raw almond butter. Natalie Suleman grew up as an ethical vegetarian so it wasn’t hard for her to convert to the vegan life. The diet change has also helped her deal with the medical conditions she endured from carrying octuplets to nearly eight months. She believes this way of life makes the family cheat/treat meals and nights all the more worth it.
The Whole Familia
Capturing the whole family in one picture — yes, that’s all 14 kids and the mama bear Natalie Suleman — isn’t always an easy feat. So when almost the whole clan are snapped smiling and laughing away, it’s definitely one for the books. Natalie captioned the Instagram post with, “So THIS is what happened when we attempted to take a fun family photo with as many family members as possible. Per usual, Elijah, Amerah, and JJ are absent from the pic.” Luckily for Natalie, she’s able to share many special family moments with the world on her social media. However, what’s even more intriguing are the everyday, raw moments she shares that capture what it’s really like to be a single mother of 14, raising all of them as happy and healthy individuals.
YouTubing Away
As a self-made part-time counselor to help people suffering from substance abuse, Natalie Suleman thought it would be a great idea to launch her very own YouTube channel. The first video she posted was a six-minute clip of her eldest daughter Amerah reading a letter she wrote to her mother for Mother’s Day at a women’s event in Long Beach, California. After Amerah’s speech, all her children lined up and each bestowed her a gift. Natalie created the channel to share her life testimony, but she said she planned to let her kids manage it with vlogs of fun activities, grocery shopping, vegan food challenges, and any creative ideas they come up with.
Thanksgiving Madness
Even special times like Thanksgiving are moments Natalie Suleman educates her children to keep active and make a difference in the world. Pictured here are 10 out of her 14 kids who participated in the Turkey Trot five kilometer family run. We just love the team spirit and matching T-shirts! Natalie had a lot to be proud of and celebrate that day — Maliyah, Josiah, Noah, and Isaiah were all winners for their age group of the race. They even got pumpkin pies as prizes! The best part of this all is that Thanksgiving is still a very important festival for the Suleman family even though more than half of them are vegan. So we guess it’s more pie that stuffed a turkey for them.