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 Jill Barth | Oct 3, 2011 | Being Thankful, Food, Natural Disaster, USA
Hot and dry.
Words don’t grab it. Roasty days, kids with sweaty foreheads and dirty nails. Grass brown and parched enough to skewer a birthday balloon. Sun, grand and proud and framed in abundant blue. Pools become priceless, sprinklers work like heck. Kids and land and plants are wildly thirsty.
School kids must bring water bottles, parents assured that at least: we won’t let them dehydrate. A Midwestern parent says a prayer of thanks because even though it’s dry and hot, we’ve got access to water and our kids are safe.
Farmers worry on low yields. What they worry on, so should you. Today, the average U.S. farmer feeds 155 people.* A scorching drought spells trouble for each of those folks and families. High prices, high demand – it’s all a part of what happens when there isn’t enough. (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 Maggie Ellison | Sep 1, 2011 | Being Thankful, Education, Family, Friendship, Humanity, Motherhood, USA, Working Mother, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I am originally from Georgia, but was raised in New Jersey since the age of 2. I went to college in North Carolina and lived there for 13 years. About 2 years ago, we moved to South Carolina.
What languages do you speak?
English and some Spanish
When did you first become a mother?
I was 28, in graduate school and had been married for 5 years. It was a welcomed surprise and I had my baby boy a month after I graduated.
Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?
Actually, I do both. (more…)

Maggie is so grateful to be raising her 2 children with her husband in the low country of South Carolina. Life at the beach is what she’s always known, although living in SC is new to this NJ native! The beauty of the live oaks and the palmettos takes her breath away on a daily basis and being able to go to the beach all year is a dream for her. Art and music have also always been a part of Maggie’s life, and she is happy that her family has the same love and appreciation for it that she does.
Maggie and her family are also very active. Her husband coaches both kids in soccer, and they like to spend their time outdoors kayaking, biking, swimming, camping, etc. They try to seize every moment they can together, and they feel that it’s not just the family time that is important. They want their kids to know a life of activity and respect for the outdoors, expose them to new things and teach them about the world! Maggie and her family are no strangers to overcoming life's challenges. They've had to uproot their family several times when jobs have been lost in the economic crisis.
They also lovingly face the challenges of having a child diagnosed with special needs. Through all this, Maggie has learned to celebrate the good times and never take them for granted. Her family is everything to her, and she is incredibly grateful for every day she has with them and for every moment she has shared with them. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t tell them she loves them and how lucky she is to be her kids’ mommy. How sweet!
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by Tara Bergman (USA) | Aug 23, 2011 | Being Thankful, Family, Health, Humanity, Motherhood, Parenting, Tara B., USA, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live in a small farming town that is on the outskirts of the Seattle suburbs in the US state of Washington. While the town is only 1 square mile and just getting its 1st traffic light, I can be in downtown Seattle in 40 minutes. I feel like I get the best of both worlds. I have privacy and gorgeous natural spaces for my family’s home with easy access to a major metropolitan area. (more…)
Tara is a native Pennsylvanian who moved to the Seattle area in 1998 (sight unseen) with her husband to start their grand life adventure together. Despite the difficult fact that their family is a plane ride away, the couple fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and have put down roots. They have 2 super charged little boys and recently moved out of the Seattle suburbs further east into the country, trading in a Starbucks on every corner for coyotes in the backyard. Tara loves the outdoors (hiking, biking, camping). And, when her family isn't out in nature, they are hunkered down at home with friends, sharing a meal, playing games, and generally having fun. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and sharing her experiences on World Moms Network!
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by Wall Street Mama (USA) | Aug 23, 2011 | Being Thankful, Cancer, Family, Guest Post, Inspirational, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Pregnancy, USA
I will never forget the moment I walked through my mom’s door to see her sitting on the couch looking so scared, so frail and so child-like.
We looked at each other, tears streaming down both of our faces and we embraced. She was shaking as she uttered one sentence that crosses my mind almost daily:
“Jeni, I will never get to meet your babies.”
It was like an arrow went through my heart at that exact moment. (more…)

Wall Street Mama was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and moved to NJ when she was a teenager. She fell in love with New York City and set her mind to one thing after college – working on Wall Street. She has spent the last 16 years working on the trading floor at three major banks. As an Institutional Salesperson, she is responsible for helping large corporations and money funds invest their short term cash in the fixed income part of the market. She lives in the suburbs of central NJ with her husband of 11 years, their amazing 21 month old boy and their first baby – a very spoiled Maltese. She has baby #2 on the way and is expecting a little girl in June 2012. She is a full time working mother and struggles with “having it all” while wondering if that is even possible.
Wall Street Mama was married at the age of 25 but waited to have children because she felt she was too focused on her career which required a lot of traveling and entertaining. When she was finally ready, she thought she could plan the exact month she was ready to have a child, like everything else she planned in her life. She was shocked and frustrated when things did not go according to her plan. Fast forward four years later, after a miscarriage and several rounds of failed fertility injections, her little miracle was conceived naturally. She never thought in a million years, that she and her husband would be in their late 30’s by the time they had their first child.
Since the financial crisis of 2008, she has endured some of the most difficult years of her life. The stress of trying to conceive was combined with some of life’s biggest challenges. She and her husband, who is a trader, both lost their jobs on Wall Street the exact same month. Her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and she ended up passing away while she was 6 months pregnant. At times it didn’t seem like things would ever get better, but she has learned that life is cyclical and what comes down must again go up.
Leaving her baby boy with a wonderful nanny each day is difficult, but at times it is easier than she would have expected. She still enjoys the seemingly addictive draw of working on Wall Street. The past few years have been dramatically different from the “good days” but she is focused on trying to achieve what she once had before. She is currently working on launching her own blog, Wall Street Mama, in an attempt to guide others who are focused on continuing their career, yet struggle with leaving their little ones at home. She is weathering the ups and downs of the market and motherhood, one day at a time.
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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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