by Alison | Mar 28, 2012 | Malaysia, Motherhood, Sleep, Sleep and Children, World Motherhood
Sleep is a big topic in my house.
I’m willing to bet a dozen cupcakes it is in yours, too.
Does the 2 year old get enough sleep? Will I ever get a full night’s sleep ever again? Will we co-sleep with the second child? Do we have a good bedtime routine for the toddler? How will the new baby sleep when he arrives? Will the baby wake the toddler or vice versa?
Sleep does not come easy for any of us in my household.
Due to the nature of his work, and that he suffers from insomnia off and on, my husband goes to bed late (think after 2.00 a.m.). There is also a lot of tossing and turning going on before sleep finally comes. (more…)
Alison is a former PR professional turned stay-at-home mother to two boys. Growing up in a small city of Ipoh, Malaysia, Alison left home at 17 to pursue her studies in the big city of Kuala Lumpur. At 19, she headed to University of Leeds in England and graduated with a degree in Communications. Returning home to Malaysia in 1999, she began a 10-year career in public relations, event planning, and marketing, working for various PR agencies and one of the world's biggest sports brands. After a decade of launch parties and product launches, concerts and award shows, international press junkets and world travel, Alison traded all that in for a life as a first time mother in 2009, and has not looked back since. Aside from writing for her blog, Writing, Wishing, Alison is the Founder and chief social media strategist for Little Love Media.
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by World Moms Blog | Mar 24, 2012 | Domesticity, Eva Fannon, Family, Husband, Japan, Rox is Brilliant, Saturday Sidebar, South Korea
This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Kyla P’an. She was wondering,
“How often does laundry get done in your home and who does it?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Maggie Ellison of South Carolina, USA writes:
“Laundry gets done by me every day of the week, except the weekends. I take weekends off!”
Kyla P’an of Massachusetts, USA writes:
“Ironically, I’m sitting down to e-mail after folding two baskets (one light, one dark) of laundry. But it is for the very response posted above by Maggie, and echoed by so many of my friends, that I posed this question in the first place. I cannot fathom doing laundry every day.
For our family of 4 (two adults, a 6yo girl and a 3yo boy) we do laundry every 7-10 days. And typically my husband washes (he finds it therapeutic to combat stains) and I fold. We are by no means slovenly people, we’re just conservative I suppose. Aside from undergarments, workout clothes and socks, many things get refolded and put back in a drawer at the end of the day. I simply cannot get my head around having enough wash to justify a daily load…could someone please enlighten me?” (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 Mamawearpapashirt (Singapore) | Mar 22, 2012 | International, Motherhood, Singapore, Working Mother, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, World Motherhood, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live in the tiny red dot on the map called Singapore. (It’s the dot right next to Malaysia.)
I was born here, but my ancestors (that means great-grandfather and beyond) were from China. Based on my basic understanding of the Hakka people, my dialect group (which means “guests” in Chinese), we were a bunch of nomads, so I guess you can say I’ve got the travelling genes. I constantly bug the hubby to ship us off to somewhere. Still working on it (him) though.
What language(s) do you speak?
I speak English, Mandarin Chinese, Babblese, and Wifese.
When did you first become a mother?
On that fateful day in February 2009, when suddenly (okay, not so suddenly, it took nearly 24 hours) out (more…)
June, born and bred on the sunny and sometimes rainy shores of Singapore, is a mother of two - a chatty 4 y.o. girl and a toddler boy who babbles. She works part-time as a communication consultant, and she is deeply passionate about family, writing, faith, and good old-fashioned love. She can be found on her blog, Mamawearpapashirt.
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by Mamasgotwanderlust (China) | Mar 20, 2012 | Babies, China, Cooking, Food, Health, Motherhood, Nutrition, Parenting, World Motherhood
Ever since Charlotte started eating solids, we’ve paid a great deal of attention to what goes into that tiny, growing body. Yes, we are those parents–those hippie-granola troublemakers who refuse to feed our child refined sugars, processed foods, non-organic when possible, and anything with ingredients we can’t pronounce. There is just so much crap out there masquerading as food; while we can, we’d like to keep that stuff out of Charlotte.
Since arriving in China, our food philosophy has taken on a new spin. Of course, we’ve had to adapt to local circumstances: there is no Whole Foods-type superstore nearby selling certified organic everything. Indeed, organic is a serious issue here. Official certification is very difficult to obtain. Those who do manage to are often looked at with suspicion (what did they have to do to get it?); those who don’t are unregulated and often unreliable. And it’s not just local Chinese brands and stores; Walmart was recently in hot water in China when it was discovered that their organic pork was not in fact organic. (more…)
You could say that Taryn has travel in her blood: a South African-born Canadian, Taryn has lived in Toronto, Vancouver, and Indiana, and has travelled extensively to Iceland, Israel, Italy, India, and a few places that don't begin with the letter I. After a brief stint as a
travel guide writer, where she realized that her dream job was actually a lot of work for not much pay, she gave in to the lure of a steady job (and pay cheque) and settled in Canada's beautiful capital, Ottawa.
In 2010, she embarked on her biggest adventure when her daughter Charlotte was born. A few months later, her hubby J. accepted a work assignment in Russia, and the family moved to Moscow. In 2011, Taryn accepted a work assignment of her own in Beijing, China where she currently lives. While excited about the opportunity to live in the world's biggest up-and-coming country (and to practice herMandarin skills), moving to China has meant leaving J. behind in Russia while he finishes up his work assignment before moving to Beijing this summer.
In the meantime, Taryn juggles career-dom, living in a foreign culture, and being a temporary single-mom to a spunky toddler. Taryn is also the blogger behind Mama's Got Wanderlust, where she writes about her adventures in travelling, parenting, and living abroad.
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by Martine de Luna (Philippines) | Mar 15, 2012 | Philippines, Working Mother, World Interviews, World Moms Blog, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I’m from the sunny Philippines! I reside in the capital, Manila, with my husband and son. I was born here and I’m Filipino, though I spent my childhood abroad, as we were expatriated in 1985. I actually met my would-be-husband while in school in Singapore, during the mid-1990s.
What language(s) do you speak?
Despite growing up in Hong Kong and Singapore until I was in my mid-teens, I don’t know how to speak Chinese! (Then again, I went to British schools.) English is my first language. I learned to speak Filipino (Tagalog) when we moved back here; I was 15 then.
When did you first become a mother?
I gave birth to my son, Vito, in 2009. Friends, however, said I was “mommy material” because I liked kids so much (I used to teach in a progressive school), and because I (more…)
Martine is a work-at-home Mom and passionate blogger. A former expat kid, she has a soft spot for international efforts, like WMB. While she's not blogging, she's busy making words awesome for her clients, who avail of her marketing writing, website writing, and blog consulting services. Martine now resides in busy, sunny Manila, the Philippines, with her husband, Ton, and toddler son, Vito Sebastian. You can find her blogging at DaintyMom.com.
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by Ms. V. (South Korea) | Mar 13, 2012 | Family, Motherhood, Parenting, South Korea, World Motherhood
A few weeks ago, the Saturday Sidebar question here on World Moms Blog was about how we chose the name for our children. As I shared, we named our little one after his great-grandfather on my husband’s side, and one of his uncles on my side. Two great men, two great names; it was an easy decision for us.
My husband’s grandfather passed away days before Christmas. As we reflected on the man he was and the life he led, we were so happy that we’d chosen his name for our son. We did it not only to honor a man we respected very much, but also as a gift to our child. We see it as an honor to share a name with someone who embodied many of the qualities we hope to instill in our son. (more…)
Ms. V returned from a 3-year stint in Seoul, South Korea and is now living in the US in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her partner, their two kids, three ferocious felines, and a dog named Avon Barksdale. She grew up all over the US, mostly along the east coast, but lived in New York City longer than anywhere else, so considers NYC “home.” Her love of travel has taken her all over the world and to all but four of the 50 states.
Ms. V is contemplative and sacred activist, exploring the intersection of yoga, new monasticism, feminism and social change. She is the co-director and co-founder of Samdhana-Karana Yoga: A Healing Arts Center, a non-profit yoga studio and the spiritual director for Hab Community. While not marveling at her beautiful children, she enjoys reading, cooking, and has dreams of one day sleeping again.
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Sleep is a big topic in my house.
