by Ewa Samples | Dec 15, 2011 | Childhood, Food, Holiday, International, Poland, Polish Mom Photographer, Religion, USA, World Moms Blog
In Poland preparations for Christmas are huge. Unlike the U.S., they do not rely on excessive buying gifts for yourselves, or all of your family and friends. They do not rely on competitions of showing off how richly we are able to decorate our house and Christmas tree.
In Poland we decorate our Christmas Tree on the morning of Christmas Eve or the day before. Sometimes, the week before (which is rather a new tradition), but not earlier than that. In Poland we keep the tree up till 6th January – the day when the Three Kings arrived to Bethlehem, but in some homes it is kept longer, sometimes even till the end of the carnival.
On top of the tree Poles usually put a glass star to represent the star which led the Kings to Bethlehem.
Presents are opened after the Christmas Eve meal. It might vary in every household, but in general that’s the rule. Poles teach their kids that christmas gifts are brought by Baby Jesus, Angel, Star (we start our Christmas Eve supper when a first star lights up in the sky), Father Christmas, Grandfather Frost, Saint Nicholas or simply by Santa Claus.
Preparing for Christmas is, above all, a thorough cleaning of the entire house. (more…)
Ewa was born, and raised in Poland. She graduated University with a master's degree in Mass-Media Education. This daring mom hitchhiked from Berlin, Germany through Switzerland and France to Barcelona, Spain and back again!
She left Poland to become an Au Pair in California and looked after twins of gay parents for almost 2 years. There, she met her future husband through Couch Surfing, an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals.
Today she enjoys her life one picture at a time. She runs a photography business in sunny California and document her daughters life one picture at a time.
You can find this artistic mom on her blog, Ewa Samples Photography, on Twitter @EwaSamples or on Facebook!
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by Carol (Canada) | Dec 14, 2011 | Canada, Economy, Motherhood, Working Mother, World Motherhood
People talk a lot about maintaining a sense of personal identity as a mother.
The needs and demands of a tiny human being who has no patience, no forbearance, and no consideration for the feelings of others can be an overwhelming experience.
Many women, especially in places like Canada where we get a whole year of maternity leave from work, find it difficult to maintain their sense of who they are.
Yanked out of board meetings and into a gliding rocker, and dealing with dirty diapers where they once dealt with memos and spreadsheets, new mothers often find themselves thinking “WHAT HAVE I DONE?” (more…)
Carol from If By Yes has lived in four different Canadian provinces as well as the Caribbean. Now she lives in Vancouver, working a full time job at a vet clinic, training dogs on the side, and raising her son and daughter to be good citizens of the world.
Carol is known for wearing inside-out underwear, microwaving yoghurt, killing house plants, over-thinking the mundane, and pointing out grammatical errors in "Twilight". When not trying to wrestle her son down for a nap, Carol loves to read and write.
Carol can also be found on her blog, If By Yes, and on Twitter @IfByYesTweets
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by Roxanne (USA) | Dec 13, 2011 | Holiday, Unintentionally Brilliant, USA
For the last four years, I have taken T to see Santa Claus. For the last three years, I have failed to get an actual photograph of my child smiling while anywhere in proximity to the “jolly” man.
Last year, he babbled on and on about being so excited to see Santa. When it was his turn at the front of the line, he froze. He didn’t want to have anything to do with that weird man wanting him to sit on his lap.
I get it. Santa is a little weird. (more…)
Roxanne is a single mother to a 9-year-old superhero (who was born 7 weeks premature), living in the biggest little city and blogging all about her journey at Unintentionally Brilliant. She works as a Program Coordinator for the NevadaTeach program at the University of Nevada, Reno. Roxanne has a B.A. in English from Sierra Nevada College. She has about 5 novels in progress and dreams about completing one before her son goes to high school.
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by Ecoziva (Brazil) | Dec 12, 2011 | Brazil, Education, Motherhood, World Motherhood
We have a couple of neighbors who spent some years overseas studying towards their PhDs. At the time, their now grown kids were children.
On the day the father finally gave in the final version of his thesis to the teachers who were going to evaluate it, the son approached him in his den and said:
“Dad, can I ask you for something?”
Of course, on that day his mood couldn’t be better, so he promptly answered:
“Today you can ask me for anything, son!”
He obviously thought his son would want an expensive toy or the like, but instead he said:
“I want that pile of papers over there.” (more…)
Eco, from the greek oikos means home; Ziva has many meanings and roots, including Hebrew (brilliance, light), Slovenian (goddess of life) and Sanskrit (blessing). In Brazil, where EcoZiva has lived for most of her life, giving birth is often termed “giving the light”; thus, she thought, a mother is “home to light” during the nine months of pregnancy, and so the penname EcoZiva came to be for World Moms Blog.
Born in the USA in a multi-ethnic extended family, EcoZiva is married and the mother of two boys (aged 12 and three) and a five-year-old girl and a three yearboy. She is trained as a biologist and presently an university researcher/professor, but also a volunteer at the local environmental movement.
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by World Moms Blog | Dec 11, 2011 | Brazil, Canada, Polish Mom Photographer, Unintentionally Brilliant, World Moms Blog Itinerary
We are starting off this week in Brazil! Eco Ziva has completed her thesis, and wonders: how did the stress of her studies impact her children?
On Tuesday, we head to Nevada to hear from new writer Unintentionally Brilliant, who was featured in a writer’s interview last week. Do your kids hold onto their belief in Santa Claus, or have you decided that honesty is the best policy where this is concerned? Come hear what this mom has to say!
Join us on Wednesday as we head north to Canada to hear from Carol @ If By Yes, who gives us her heartfelt thoughts on the difficulties of being a working mother. Many of us will, I’m sure, relate to what she has to say.
On Thursday, we are back in the United States. We are heading to California to hear from Polish Mom Photographer, who loves to travel, cook, take pictures, and of course, blog and share stories of her Polish culture and heritage.
We close off the week on Friday in Arizona, with Dr. Jeanelle. Gulf War Veteran, super-proud mom, and outspoken advocate for positive thinking and self-esteem in teens, this amazing woman has lots of great stories to share!
On Saturday, check out the Saturday Sidebar with Eva Fannon, where the World Moms give their thoughts on an important topic, and chime in with your answers to the week’s question!
— 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 Frelle (USA) | Dec 9, 2011 | Being Thankful, Divorce, Domesticity, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Parenting, USA, Working Mother, World Motherhood
Before moving out of my ex-husband’s house, the anticipation of having my own space and living apart was partly exciting and partly terrifying.
I was nervous about finding an affordable apartment and had no idea how I was going to afford all the necessities to fill it. But I was thrilled finally to be starting a life in a separate residence after 18 months of being separated-but-not-living-separately.
I spent a lot of time researching and visiting potential apartment complexes, scouring Goodwill stores and watching Craigslist and Freecycle to secure furniture and small appliances and other necessities for a new apartment.
I’m grateful that my new place was the least expensive apartment complex but the one I most wanted to move into. It’s a wonderful bargain for the square footage, the woods behind the (more…)
Jenna grew up in the midwestern US, active in music and her church community from a young age. She developed a love of all things literary thanks to her mom, and a love of all things science fiction thanks to her dad. She left the midwest in her early twenties and has lived in the south ever since.
On her blog, she tries to write words that make a difference to people. Long before she attended college to major in Special Ed and Psychology, she became an advocate for special needs and invisible disabilities. She's always been perceptive of and encouraging to those who struggle to fit in. Having been through several dark seasons in her own life, she's found empowerment in being transparent and vulnerable about her emotions, making deep and lasting friendships, and finding courage to write from her heart. Her biggest wish is to raise her kids to be compassionate people who love well.
She's been online since 1993, with a total of 19 years of social media exposure. Having friends she doesn't know in real life has been normal for her since her junior year in college, and she's grateful every day for the ways technology helps her stay in touch with friends from all over the world.
Jenna lives in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, and is a freelance writer and a stay at home single mom to 3 girls and a boy. She blogs at MadeMoreBeautiful.comMadeMoreBeautiful.com.
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