by Karyn Wills | Mar 6, 2013 | Family, Gardening, Nature, New Zealand, Uncategorized
We have a wonderful cycling and walkway that encircles most of Napier, some tracks wander along the beach and some meander through the countryside. Along the water front, there are strategically placed water fountains from which fresh, clean water gushes at the push of a button. And we never question its availability.
18 months ago, our family moved out of town. We now have a 15 minute drive to reach civilisation, and we have to collect and store our own water. This shouldn’t be a problem – we have three large water tanks and 2011/2012 we had a wet summer and a decently wet winter. But it has been a problem.
Unbeknown to us, the two larger tanks had a plumbing issue: no matter how much it rained they were either maintaining the same level of water or the water level was reducing. Eventually, when we realized the neighbours had a lovely green patch of grass just near one of our troughs, we found the leak. That discovery happened in October last year, around the same time the drought began. (more…)
Karyn is a teacher, writer and solo mother to three sons. She lives in the sunny wine region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in the city of Napier.
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by Karyn Wills | Nov 2, 2012 | Cooking, Family, Food, Husband, Motherhood, New Zealand, Older Children, World Motherhood, Younger Children
It began out of exasperation. Due to the logistics of Craig walking in the door at 5:45 pm and the smallest boy heading to bed at 6:30 pm, I’ve been cooking evening meals for the past few years. Craig is also allergic to cooking vegetables: something my mothering bones cannot manage with three very active boys in the house.
Then weekend meals somehow became my domain as well. Cooking on the weekend is not so bad: there’s more time to get my act together and fewer things to fit in before bedtime. I can create and extend my culinary expertise in ways that torment as much as they thrill.
I was pretty fed-up, though, at having to create reasonably healthy and reasonably quick meals every night of the week. So I invented Fend For Yourself Fridays as an attempt to cut down on my workload. And the dishes. And the grocery shopping. And my stress levels. (more…)
Karyn is a teacher, writer and solo mother to three sons. She lives in the sunny wine region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in the city of Napier.
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by World Moms Blog | Sep 8, 2012 | Canada, Eva Fannon, France, Grandparent, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Purnima, Saturday Sidebar, Scoops of Joy, Singapore, South Africa, Tara B., The Alchemist, USA, World Moms Blog
This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Karyn Van Der Zwet.
In honor of grandparents’ day celebrated in some parts of the world this weekend, Karyn asked our writers,
“What do your children call their grandparents?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Alison Lee of Malaysia writes:
“My son calls his paternal grandparents ‘Ji-Doh’ (grandfather) and ‘Nona’ (grandmother).”
Carol @ If By Yes of British Columbia, Canada writes:
“My mother in law is Grandma, because all her grandchildren call her that. My father in law is grandpa for the same reason. My mother is Nana, and my father was going to be Grampy, but Owl seems to have labeled him Ba Ba. A lot of the boys on my dad’s side of the family say “Bramy” for grandfathers.”
Eva Fannon of Washington State, USA writes:
“My kids call my parents Abuelo and Abuelita (Spanish for grandfather and an affectionate way of saying grandmother). They call my husband’s parents Pop and Grannie.” (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 Karyn Wills | Aug 15, 2012 | Family, Motherhood, New Zealand, Parenting, Sports, World Motherhood
Having spent seven years reading about how the human brain works, I am very passionate about restricting our boys’ out of school formal activities. Our ten year-old is only in his second year of playing field hockey and his second year of learning to play the piano. He also chose to learn the Double Bass this year, although I suspect that won’t top his list of things-to-do next year. We haven’t rushed our boys into learning to read (although storytelling and listening to stories are fundamental parts of our day) and we love that they go to a school where homework is limited.
But there is one out of school activity I insist our children participate in for 10 years or more: swimming lessons. (more…)
Karyn is a teacher, writer and solo mother to three sons. She lives in the sunny wine region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in the city of Napier.
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by World Moms Blog | Jun 23, 2012 | Canada, Child Care, Eva Fannon, Indonesia, Japan, Motherhood, New Zealand, Saturday Sidebar, World Motherhood
Mannahattamamma was struck by MamaMzunga’s post “The Help”.
“The help” can have different connotations in different parts of the world, so let’s hear about it! This week we asked…
“What is your relationship to hired help? Do you have any? If so, what kind? If not, why not?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Karyn Van Der Zwet of New Zealand writes:
“Most people in New Zealand do all of their own domestic chores. People with two incomes will sometimes have paid help come in to do the basics once a week, but this is not always the case. Full-time help or live-in help is rare and for the wealthy. It is my biggest ambition in life: to have a full-time cleaner!” (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 World Moms Blog | Jun 16, 2012 | Babies, Body Image, India, Japan, Malaysia, Maternal Health, Motherhood, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pregnancy, Saturday Sidebar, South Africa, South Korea, USA, World Motherhood
This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Maggie Ellison. She asked our writers,
“Pregnancy/baby weight….where are you with this? What are the social norms about pregnancy/baby weight where you are from?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Hamakkomommy of Japan writes:
“In Japan we are told the optimal weight gain is 7kg (~15.4 lbs)! Pregnant women are scolded, shamed, and berated for gaining too much weight. Women are told gaining too much weight will result in difficult labor, and often blamed when their labors are difficult. The flip side of this is that most women are able to lose the weight quickly. The average newborn baby weight here is 3kg (~6.6 lbs).” (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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