by Maman Aya (USA) | Oct 17, 2011 | Breastfeeding, Family, Motherhood, Parenting, Pregnancy
My baby’s turned 1… I should say my last baby’s turned one.
I only have 2, but will not attempt to have any more after this. Making the decision of having the first 2 was very difficult for me, since there are some genetic issues at play in my family.
I told my then fiancée, while we were discussing future family plans, to be prepared to adopt, that I will probably not have my own children.
I had prepared for that my entire life and was sure that I would never carry and give birth to my own child. After running tests and having discussions with geneticists, we decided to tempt fate and ‘go for it’ — attempt to have our own, and hope for the best. I had an amnio, monthly and then weekly ultrasounds. (more…)
Maman Aya is a full-time working mother of 2 beautiful children, a son who is 6 and a daughter who is two. She is raising her children in the high-pressure city of New York within a bilingual and multi-religious home.
Aya was born in Canada to a French mother who then swiftly whisked her away to NYC, where she grew up and spent most of her life. She was raised following Jewish traditions and married an Irish Catholic American who doesn’t speak any other language (which did not go over too well with her mother), but who is learning French through his children. Aya enjoys her job but feels “mommy guilt” while at work. She is lucky to have the flexibility to work from home on Thursdays and recently decided to change her schedule to have “mommy Fridays”, but still feels torn about her time away from her babies. Maman Aya is not a writer by any stretch of the imagination, but has been drawn in by the mothers who write for World Moms Blog. She looks forward to joining the team and trying her hand at writing!
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by World Moms Blog | Oct 15, 2011 | Cooking, Eva Fannon, Exercise, Family, Family Travel, Gardening, Hobby, Husband, International, Kids, Language, Living Abroad, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, Relocating, Saturday Sidebar, Social Good, The Alchemist, Travel, Working Mother, World Voice
This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Maggie Ellison. She wanted our writers to look ahead and asked them to finish this sentence,
“In five years, I want to …..”
Read on to see how some of our World Moms responded.
Dr. Lanham of Arizona, USA writes:
“In five years I will be impacting lives by being a syndicated columnist managing my family’s careers all while owning and running my teen nonprofit Hodge Podge the Teen Cafe™.” (more…)
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 Eva Fannon (USA) | Oct 12, 2011 | Being Thankful, Childhood, Cooking, Eva Fannon, Family, Kids, Motherhood, Nutrition, Parenting, Working Mother
Wild blackberries in Seattle, WA
Now that the girls are asleep, I am sitting at the computer downloading pictures off my camera. I haven’t done this in a while, so there are a lot…and I have found some pictures that have inspired this post. The pictures put a smile on my face as I recalled memories of this summer, but summers passed as well.
This post is about blackberries (not the smartphone, the fruit!) Blackberries grow wild in the summer in so many places in Seattle…in your backyard, on a fence in an alley, along leafy vegetated edges on the Burke Gilman Trail, and even at our neighborhood playground…which brings me to my story. (more…)
Eva Fannon is a working mom who lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her hubby and two girls. She was born and raised on the east coast and followed her husband out west when he got a job offer that he couldn't refuse. Eva has always been a planner, so it took her a while to accept that no matter how much you plan and prepare, being a mom means a new and different state of "normal".
Despite the craziness on most weekday mornings (getting a family of four out the door in time for work and school is no easy task!), she wouldn't trade being a mother for anything in the world. She and her husband are working on introducing the girls to the things they love - travel, the great outdoors, and enjoying time with family and friends. Eva can be found on Twitter @evafannon.
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by Dee Harlow (Laos) | Oct 11, 2011 | Family, Living Abroad, Motherhood, Parenting
It really does take a village to raise children. I am convinced of it.
In the beginning, I managed the twins with my husband and a 24/7 baby nurse for six weeks. After my husband went back to work, it was just me and a full time nanny for three months.
And when that didn’t work out, it was only me and a housekeeper who came around two, then three times, a week. This arrangement lasted until the kids were over a year old when I asked her to come everyday.
I stopped caring about the cleaning and only wanted her full attention on the children. (more…)
One of Dee’s earliest memories was flying on a trans-Pacific flight from her birthplace in Bangkok, Thailand, to the United States when she was six years old. Ever since then, it has always felt natural for her to criss-cross the globe. So after growing up in the northeast of the US, her life, her work and her curiosity have taken her to over 32 countries. And it was in the 30th country while serving in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan that she met her husband. Together they embarked on a career in international humanitarian aid working in refugee camps in Darfur, Sudan, and the tsunami torn coast of Aceh, Indonesia.
Dee is now a full-time mother of three-year old twins and continues to criss-cross the globe every two years with her husband who is in the US Foreign Service. They currently live in Vientiane, Laos, and are loving it! You can read about their adventures at Wanderlustress.
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by Dee Harlow (Laos) | Oct 4, 2011 | Culture, Education, Family Travel, International, Motherhood, Parenting, Relocating, Travel, Twins, USA, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I was born in Thailand and have lived in so many places that there is not one place that I can genuinely say I am “from.”
At this moment, I live in northern Virginia but it is really only a pit stop until next July when my husband and I, and our two kids, will go live in Vientiane, Laos for two years. And this is after having just lived in Mexico for two years…thus is life in the US Foreign Service.
What language(s) do you speak?
I speak Thai like a six year old, English like a native speaker, can recall some Uzbek, trying to retain Spanish, and now learning Lao.
When did you first become a mother?
I gave birth to my twin son and daughter the day before I turned 42 in 2009.
Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?
I have been a stay-at-home mom since my children were born up until three weeks ago when I started Lao language training at the Foreign Service Institute. (more…)
One of Dee’s earliest memories was flying on a trans-Pacific flight from her birthplace in Bangkok, Thailand, to the United States when she was six years old. Ever since then, it has always felt natural for her to criss-cross the globe. So after growing up in the northeast of the US, her life, her work and her curiosity have taken her to over 32 countries. And it was in the 30th country while serving in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan that she met her husband. Together they embarked on a career in international humanitarian aid working in refugee camps in Darfur, Sudan, and the tsunami torn coast of Aceh, Indonesia.
Dee is now a full-time mother of three-year old twins and continues to criss-cross the globe every two years with her husband who is in the US Foreign Service. They currently live in Vientiane, Laos, and are loving it! You can read about their adventures at Wanderlustress.
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by Maureen | Oct 4, 2011 | China, Indonesia, Motherhood, Parenting, Scoops of Joy
I’ve been lucky enough to look at motherhood from different cultural aspects. From the American side, the Indonesian side and to a glimpse of the Chinese side.
When I was still in the States, I lived a life like most American stay-at-home moms do. I cooked; I cleaned; and, I took care of my son, the ex husband and my stepsons to the best of my ability with the help of my ex husband, of course.
Then I came home for the first time to Indonesia when my son was 9 months old. We flew over 23 hours to introduce him to my parents and my family, just him and me. (more…)
My baby’s turned 1… I should say my last baby’s turned one.
