by Jennifer Burden | Nov 22, 2010 | Being Thankful, Family, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Parenting, USA
When I was a child, I despised the fact that my parents often said to me, “Veronica, don’t get your hopes up.” They said this to me a lot, and it made me angry. I felt that they didn’t want me to be happy, or didn’t want me to get whatever I was wishing so hard for. But, now that I am a parent, I’m beginning to understand why they felt the need to say this phrase in particular.
As parents, they couldn’t bear to see me so disappointed when I wished so high for something that they couldn’t provide, was impractical or that I couldn’t achieve. They loved me too much. But, I never heeded the call. I continued to live my life with my hopes up, and I created much disappointment to myself and created worry for my parents.
Growing up in New Jersey, USA, we were considered a low-income household back then. But, I had large hopes and dreams. The younger I was, these hopes were made up more of material items, and the older I became, they were more along the lines of opportunities or experiences.
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Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India.
She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls.
Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
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by Maggie Ellison | Nov 20, 2010 | Family, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, Special Needs, USA
This is part II of III parts, beginning with last Saturday’s post, “Too Loud“…
I knew I needed to get my son evaluated, so I made an appointment with the pediatrician and explained what happened at the fire house and downtown. We got a referral to have an evaluation done with an occupational therapist (OT). We were given a diagnosis of sensory integration disorder (SID). We started therapy twice a week. I read one book after another on SID, and there were parts that explained my son so well.
It was actually a relief to get some answers and reasons for his behaviors. He was getting help, and we were, too. I joined a support group and got a ton of information from other moms. One thing that stood out was when one mom told me that SID usually doesn’t walk alone. This had me thinking about what else could be going on with him. Did we have it all? What about his language? (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 Sunny Springer (USA) | Nov 18, 2010 | Culture, Family, International, Japan, Kids, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, USA
Toy magazines are popping up in the mail almost everyday. As soon as my youngest son learns that a new one has arrived, he goes through every page so diligently, devouring detail upon detail. When he finally returns them to the pile at the corner of my kitchen, his fingerprints are on every page. The important pages are bent, and some items are marked. It’s plain to see that the holidays are coming soon….
And, I am looking forward to them. Maybe it’s because my children are going to be off from school—I can sleep in with them. Or maybe it’s because I am still new to the whole beautiful idea of the holidays in the United States.
Growing up in Japan, I did not celebrate Christmas as a child. Though my family is Catholic, and we always attended mass on the night of Christmas Eve, there was no family feast or exhilarating exchanging of gifts. Besides, school was still open on the morning of Christmas Eve. It wasn’t that surprising, considering we would go to school six days a week in Japan.
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by Kirsten Doyle (Canada) | Nov 17, 2010 | Canada, Family, International, Motherhood, Parenting, Special Needs
Last Saturday morning, there was a brief period during which peace and quiet reigned. I mention this because it is such a rare occurrence. Peace and quiet, much like Halley’s Comet or a solar eclipse, only happens in my house once every eighty years or so. George, who is seven and has autism, was constructing a Lego tower that could rival Toronto’s CN Tower in height. James, who is almost five, had enlisted me to play with him and two hundred of his favourite cars. We were all content. The calm before the storm.
All of a sudden, for reasons unknown, all hell broke loose. George let out an ear-piercing scream of rage, ferociously threw his Lego against the wall and fled from the room. I took off after him, knowing that I had to get to him before he started smashing his head on the hardwood floor in the hall. I reached him just in time and dragged him kicking and screaming back to the carpeted area. With an expertise born of prior experience, I wrestled him into a full-length position on the floor, and then used my body weight to immobilize him. He was screaming in what sounded like anger, but was probably something closer to despair or frustration.
I lay there on the floor with him for maybe an hour, maybe more. I softly spoke reassurances into his ear – I love you. It’s OK. You’re safe. You’re a good boy. I love you. – hoping and trusting that my words were cutting through his frustration and his screams. Whenever I looked into his eyes, I saw utter despair. The kind of despair that twists your heart and makes you wish for the ability to take all of your child’s pain onto your own shoulders. (more…)
Kirsten Doyle was born in South Africa. After completing university, she drifted for a while and finally washed up in Canada in 2000. She is Mom to two boys who have reached the stage of eating everything in sight (but still remaining skinny).
Kirsten was a computer programmer for a while before migrating into I.T. project management. Eventually she tossed in the corporate life entirely in order to be a self-employed writer and editor. She is now living her best life writing about mental health and addictions, and posting videos to two YouTube channels.
When Kirsten is not wrestling with her kids or writing up a storm, she can be seen on Toronto's streets putting many miles onto her running shoes. Every year, she runs a half-marathon to benefit children with autism, inspired by her older son who lives life on the autism spectrum.
Final piece of information: Kirsten is lucky enough to be married to the funniest guy in the world.
Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Be sure to check out her YouTube channels at My Gen X Life and Word Salad With Coffee!
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by Amy Hillis (USA) | Nov 16, 2010 | Communication, Culture, Education, Family, Motherhood, Parenting, USA
Ah, technology. When it’s running smoothly, life is good. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Skype, iTunes, You Tube, email, IM’s, blogs, games, news, videos…..whew, I need to take a break! Which is what I did, not voluntarily, mind you. My borrowed laptop crashed, and let’s just say the last week has been difficult.
Okay, that’s an understatement. I mean really, I had to write out my thoughts and ideas on actual paper. Paper?!? Do you know how hard it was to find paper around here? Or a pen, for that matter? I’m not really sure I can decipher the chicken scratch that has become my handwriting.
What did we do without computers and the internet and the instant gratification of talking with near strangers in real-time? It’s amazing, really, to think that we, as a civilization, have lasted as long as we have without such technology. Pony express? Please! Could you even begin to wait months for news from around the world?
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Amy is a native Chicagoan that currently resides just outside of Cincinnati, OH. A city girl, through and through, she’s still adjusting to small town life. Amy has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with a minor in French from Elmhurst College. She was working on her Master’s degree at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, when she became pregnant with her 3rd child. Although this angel boy was only here for a very short time – he left quite a legacy.
Nathaniel was born with a rare genetic disorder called Citrullinemia. Amy and her husband, James, went on to have 4 more boys, 3 of whom were also born with Citrullinemia. In January 2011, her youngest son, David passed away from complications of a liver transplant performed to 'cure' the Citrullinemia. Now a stay-home mom of 5, she started blogging in October 2010, while David was still in the hospital. Two of her other sons have had successful liver transplants to cure their genetic disorders.
Her 2 older children still live in Chicago. When not hanging out with her kids, she spends her ‘me’ time writing, sewing, reading & walking. Amy also spends a generous amount of time online. She can be found on Twitter @transplantedx3. On Facebook and on her Website <a href="http://mytearstainedlife.com"My Tear-Stained Life
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by Astrid Warren (Norway) | Nov 15, 2010 | Family, International, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting
When the wee lad was born, we had read all about the baby’s development, up until that point. I mean, that I had read everything there was to read about the pregnancy, including what was happening to the baby and what was happening to me. There was so much to focus on, and it didn’t actually cross my mind that I should read the next chapter, i.e. what happens when the baby is actually there.
To be honest, I had also skipped the chapter that was focusing on the birth, as I found it too scary! I was just so caught up in the moment, and there was so much information to deal with that I didn’t have the capacity to read about the next steps. (more…)
Astrid is a Norwegian thirty something, married, working mum to a wee lad who is almost three and a baby born in 2012! She grew up in Norway, but moved to London, England after she met her husband. After living there during her twenties, she has since returned to Norway and settled down in her nation's capital of Oslo to raise her family.
She finds herself slowly turning into her own mother as her free time is spent reading, walking, knitting and meeting up with other mums for coffee. (Ok, she still secretly loves going to the pub, too!). However, there isn't much time for any of the above, as she now enjoys spending most of her time crawling around on the floor, while playing with her children! Check out her blog, Quintessentially Burrows. She's also on Twitter @MrsSWarren.
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