by Tara Bergman (USA) | Apr 18, 2011 | Humor, Motherhood, Parenting, Tara B., USA
My first son, who is now 5 years old, inherited my gift of gab. He used sign language as soon as physically possible, said his 1st real word (“duck”) around 12 months old, had a ton of partial words by 15 months old, and by 18 months old, could pretty much say anything he wished.
Those who’ve met him will confirm that he is a talker. A BIG talker. One of his nightly wind-down rituals is “chat time,” which he created. Instead of watching TV or playing a game, he prefers to spend some time each night having a discussion of the topic of his choice with one of his parents over a snack. These topics tend to revolve around science, engineering or vehicles, with an emphasis on learning every itty bitty little detail possible on the selected subject. (more…)
Tara is a native Pennsylvanian who moved to the Seattle area in 1998 (sight unseen) with her husband to start their grand life adventure together. Despite the difficult fact that their family is a plane ride away, the couple fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and have put down roots. They have 2 super charged little boys and recently moved out of the Seattle suburbs further east into the country, trading in a Starbucks on every corner for coyotes in the backyard. Tara loves the outdoors (hiking, biking, camping). And, when her family isn't out in nature, they are hunkered down at home with friends, sharing a meal, playing games, and generally having fun. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and sharing her experiences on World Moms Network!
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by World Moms Blog | Apr 17, 2011 | Eva Fannon, India, International, Kids, Parenting, Tara B., USA, World Moms Blog Itinerary
Join us in the Pacific Northwest of the USA on Monday with writer, Tara B. from Seattle on Monday!
Tara’s son has “the gift of gab”, and she often hears herself through her son’s words. Be sure to check out her top 5 “kid comebacks” in her post this week, “The Comeback Kid.”
Tuesday, we fly east to Cape Cod, Massachusetts to hear from Courtney Cappallo! She asks, have you packed a “Go-bag” for your family to have handy in a disaster situation?
In light of recent world natural disasters, Courtney takes us through what she has packed for her family in her “Go-bag” in her post, “The Bare Necessities.”
Wednesday, we head south to Arkansas, USA, where Margie Bryant takes time from her busy parenting and student schedule to tell us about life in the deep south!
Get your passports out on Thursday and fly with us to Chennai, India, where we meet up with writer, Fire Crystals! **This is truly a “Wow!” post.** She writes about fertility treatment in India in the 1920s and her great-grandmother’s undying persistence to conceive a child, Fire Crystal’s own grandfather. An inspiring read for all mothers, and also one to forward to that good friend going through fertility treatment.
And, be sure to chime in with our writers on Friday for this week’s Friday Question presented by Eva Fannon at the end of the week.
In news, we have added Malaysia to the blog — welcome Alison! We’re soon to be writing from 11 countries! Thank you to our readers and writers who have been helping us spread the word about World Moms Blog!
We also hit a 200+ fan milestone on Facebook. We love our fans! Do you want to help us inspire and unite more mothers around the globe? If so…
Share your favorite WMB posts on your Facebook Page and tell your friends all about us!
Our writers would be thrilled if you did! Thank you!
— World Moms Blog
Our World Moms Blog logo was designed by the creative Erica Joyner Designs in Virginia, USA.
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
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by Shaula Bellour (Indonesia) | Apr 14, 2011 | East Timor, Family Travel, International, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, Shaula Bellour, Transportation, Twins
Sometimes driving here drives me a little bit crazy.
To be fair, driving in Dili can’t really be compared with most other urban areas in this part of the world. Though it is a capital city, it’s more of a sleepy town than a sprawling metropolis. Traffic rarely moves faster than 35 mph, so it doesn’t feel particularly dangerous or difficult to navigate.
The curious one-way system can make things tricky at times (and the fact that most streets don’t have names), but even the busiest main roads are just two lanes.
However, driving can still be frustrating. According to the US State Department: “Driving in Dili is especially hazardous, with large trucks and military vehicles sharing the streets with vendors, pedestrians, and livestock.” Yep. (more…)
Shaula Bellour grew up in Redmond, Washington. She now lives in Jakarta, Indonesia with her British husband and 9-year old boy/girl twins. She has degrees in International Relations and Gender and Development and works as a consultant for the UN and non-governmental organizations.
Shaula has lived and worked in the US, France, England, Kenya, Eritrea, Kosovo, Lebanon and Timor-Leste. She began writing for World Moms Network in 2010. She plans to eventually find her way back to the Pacific Northwest one day, but until then she’s enjoying living in the big wide world with her family.
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by Ambre French (Norway) | Apr 12, 2011 | Family, International, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting
I am a mother of one little girl of 15 months. I am in the early stages of motherhood, and among the trillion questions my new life brings, there is one that is starting to be present on a daily basis. Here it is:
Whether I “like” it or not, I am one day (please not today) going to be a role model. How does one define a role model, and how does one accept that who you are is good enough?
During this first year I concentrated on how the baby is, how my marriage was doing, and I did my best to survive the transition from two to three in the house. I wasn’t really concerned about what I did and how I did it, as long as I managed one day after the next.
But suddenly, this little ball of love is starting to walk, to express herself, to see and interpret what I am doing. Does this mean I already have to be aware of what I am doing in front of her? I sort of knew this day would come, but I DON’T KNOW IF I AM READY!
I have very basic and obvious determinations regarding bringing up my child. I want her to be polite, well-behaved, healthy, respectful of others, be a good citizen, be a good friend… All in all, be a good person.
Now, I am wondering if I have to be this person first… (more…)
by Jennifer Burden | Apr 11, 2011 | Family, Food, Gardening, Hobby, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, USA
Several years ago we moved into our house, and we wound up having the previous residents’ vegetable garden filled in. My husband had never held a spade or planted anything in his life, and I was too busy with a toddler to even think about taking care of a garden by myself.
Then, a year later, we both read Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food”, and it motivated us to change how we ate. We are eating more fresh foods (and cutting out foods from a box), and we think about where our food is coming from.
Growing our own vegetables in our backyard cuts the time it takes for the food to be harvested and get to our table, which means that the vegetables will retain more of their nutrients when eaten.
So, we found ourselves creating a new vegetable garden (yes, close to the one we had filled in a couple of years prior. Eek.). Our goal was simple: to grow our own vegetables, and here we were doing it in our nation’s “Garden State”… (more…)
Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India.
She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls.
Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
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by Kyla P'an (Portugal) | Apr 6, 2011 | Education, Family, Family Travel, Husband, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, Travel, USA
Shortly before I met my husband, I spent three years living abroad. Two of them in one place and the final in transit back from Kumamoto, Japan to the east coast of the United States, the slowest way possible.
Three months after I met my husband, he invited me to join him for a destination wedding in Brazil. Four months later, he lost his job and decided he wanted to see more of the world too. He spent the next six months traveling around China and SE Asia and for five, blissful weeks during the holidays I joined him in Thailand and Laos.
In our four years together pre-kids, we traveled to nine different countries. Our attraction to one-another had a lot to do with our mutual desire to live abroad someday and raise our future kids that way too .
So it comes as somewhat of a surprise to me that here I sit, ten years later, just 11 miles from where we first met.
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Kyla was born in suburban Philadelphia but spent most of her time growing up in New England. She took her first big, solo-trip at age 14, when she traveled to visit a friend on a small Greek island. Since then, travels have included: three months on the European rails, three years studying and working in Japan, and nine months taking the slow route back from Japan to the US when she was done. In addition to her work as Managing Editor of World Moms Network, Kyla is a freelance writer, copy editor, recovering triathlete and occasional blogger. Until recently, she and her husband resided outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where they were raising two spunky kids, two frisky cats, a snail, a fish and a snake. They now live outside of Lisbon, Portugal with two spunky teens and three frisky cats. You can read more about Kyla’s outlook on the world and parenting on her personal blogs, Growing Muses And Muses Where We Go
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My first son, who is now 5 years old, inherited my gift of gab. He used sign language as soon as physically possible, said his 1st real word (“duck”) around 12 months old, had a ton of partial words by 15 months old, and by 18 months old, could pretty much say anything he wished.
