by Fiona Biedermann (Australia) | Aug 18, 2011 | Education, Family, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Oceania, Parenting, Pregnancy, Technology, Working Mother, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live in Adelaide, which is the capital city of South Australia. I was born in a small country town called Inverell in New South Wales, which is on the east coast of Australia. We moved around a lot when I was a child because of my father’s work, moving to Perth, the capital of Western Australia when I was 5 and then several years later to Kalgoorlie which is a mining town 700km north-east of Perth. From Kalgoorlie we moved to Adelaide when I was 13, and I’ve been here ever since.
I attended four different primary schools and two different high schools, yet in contrast, my children all live in the house they were born in. (more…)

Fiona at Inspiration to Dream is a married mother of three amazing and talented MM’s (mere males, as she lovingly calls them) aged 13, 16 and 22, and she became a nana in 2011!
She believes she’s more daunted by becoming a nana than she was about becoming a mother! This Aussie mother figures she will also be a relatively young nana and she’s not sure that she’s really ready for it yet, but then she asks, are we ever really ready for it? Motherhood or Nanahood. (Not really sure that’s a word, but she says it works for her.)
Fiona likes to think of herself as honest and forthright and is generally not afraid to speak her mind, which she says sometimes gets her into trouble, but hey, it makes life interesting. She’s hoping to share with you her trials of being a working mother to three adventurous boys, the wife of a Mr Fix-it who is definitely a man’s man and not one of the ‘sensitive new age guy’ generation, as well as, providing her thoughts and views on making her way in the world.
Since discovering that she’s the first blogger joining the team from Australia, she also plans to provide a little insight into the ‘Aussie’ life, as well. Additionally, Fiona can be found on her personal blog at Inspiration to Dream.
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by Jill Barth | Aug 17, 2011 | Being Thankful, Childhood, Family, Family Travel, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, Travel, USA
My family has just settled back home after a 2,300 mile road trip from Illinois to Colorado, and back. Our primary destination was Rocky Mountain National Park, a most spectacular place composed of mountain elevations ranging from 8,000 to over 14,000 feet. To place perspective on this height, our home in Illinois is at 600 feet.
American citizens are blessed with a national park system. It is a collection of some of the most spectacular and varied natural places in the world, protected for all to experience, free from progress and destruction. It’s an understatement to call this a treasure, especially after you’ve experienced the indefinable thrill and beauty of such a stunning natural place. (more…)
Jill Barth lives in Illinois with her husband and three kids. She reminds you to breathe. She is a freelance writer and consultant. Also, she is the green content Team Leader and columnist at elephantjournal.com and reads fiction for Delmarva Review.
Jill's writing can be found on her blog, Small Things Honored.
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by Ambre French (Norway) | Aug 16, 2011 | Bilingual, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting
Have you ever thought about what Noah’s Ark might have sounded like? A pair of all the animals in the world in one big boat would have been loud! If you crept into the eating quarters, would you have seen Mr. and Mrs. Duck talking to Monsieur et Madame Chien over a cup of tea? “Quack, quack.” “Ouaf, ouaf.” “Slurp, slurp?”
Well, we don’t live in a boat, and our animals are mostly in 2-D, but you can hear some pretty international animal sounds blaring from our windows lately.
I am French, and my husband’s Norwegian, and we both talk English to each other. Therefore, there are three strong languages, our mother tongues plus English, under our one roof. (more…)
by Purnima Ramakrishnan | Aug 15, 2011 | Culture, Eye on Culture, Food, Friendship, Holiday, India, Kids, Language, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, Preschool, Religion, The Alchemist, World Events
When I think of my country, India, I am reminded of a small snippet from the collection of poems” Geetanjali” by the world-famous Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up
into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action—
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
And, on August 15th, 1947 India awoke into that freedom. It was born as a nation, perhaps, for the first time. I say, “first time” here because before British colonization, India was a collection of small kingdoms ruled by individual kings, chieftains and tribes. It was never a single large entity as in a country before this time. Then, after the British left, all of India formed into a single whole country, and I am proud to say we still are. (more…)
by World Moms Blog | Aug 12, 2011 | Childhood, Education, Family, Friday Question, Husband, Israel, Japan, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, Susie Newday
This week’s Friday Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Ambre French. She asked our writers,
“What is your biggest fear regarding your child(ren)’s future?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Ambre French of Norway writes:
“In the short term I was told that most of what you teach your children should be brought in by the time the kid reaches three, after that it’s just consolidation. I’m scared to mess those years up! In the long term I am very afraid of drugs.” (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 Purnima Ramakrishnan | Aug 10, 2011 | Child Care, Husband, India, Motherhood, Parent Care, Parenting, The Alchemist, Working Mother
Where I live in India, you hear a lot of criticism or praise about whether you are a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) or a working-mom (WM) or even if you convert from one to the other.
It has been almost ten months since I became a SAHM, but I still receive judgments about my decision. Just check out these conversations…
Conversation # 1
Me: Wait a minute, why should you say sorry because I left my job? I am actually enjoying it…
Person X: No, No, I am still sorry that it had to happen this way…
Me: What? You insist that I should receive your apologies? Fine. Thank you. Oh well, it’s not like anyone died or anything.
Conversation # 2
Person Y: You lost it? I know, hard times… Economic recession, right?!
Me: I DID NOT LOSE my job. I just quit because that’s what I wanted and that’s what I chose to do. (more…)