by Courtney Cappallo (USA) | Dec 19, 2012 | 2012, Being Thankful, Childhood, Cooking, Culture, Family, Food, Girls, Holiday, Home, Kids, Motherhood, Music, Older Children, Parenting, USA, World Motherhood, Younger Children
Christmas is magical time. Children wait all year for the chance to wish for whatever they want. As parents we reconnect with our own childhood sense of hope. Now that I am a mother, preparing for the holidays continues to be a special time for me. There are many traditions I started with my children. I hope my daughters find comfort in these times and continue with these holiday celebrations throughout their lives.
I thought it would be fun to compile a list of some things I do to make Christmas, Christmas in our house! I’m not Martha Stewart, I am just a mom of two sweet little girls trying my best to make their Christmas dreams and wishes come true. I’d say I am want-to-be Martha Stewart with a bit of Clark W. Griswold mixed in. (more…)
Courtney Cappallo is a mom of two girls, ages 7 and 4-years-old. She is living her dream life by residing on Cape Cod and being able to stay at home with her two little beauties. Courtney is currently homeschooling both of her daughters for 2nd grade and preschool, respectively.
Courtney uses a mix of Classical Education and Montessori. She is a strong believer in teaching to the five senses. Courtney’s homeschooling efforts are unique, as she uses the latest technology of the Smartboard. She is also taking on the task of learning Spanish as a second language, as well as, teaching her two children and husband Spanish.
Prior to becoming a homeschooling teacher, Courtney was the Director of Marketing for Simon Property Group, which is the largest U.S. real estate company. Courtney was Simon’s Director of Marketing for the Burlington Mall, Arsenal Mall and Cape Cod Mall. Courtney is a graduate of Villanova University and is proud of her small town roots from growing up in Oxford, Pennsylvania, which only has two traffic lights! She can be found making homeschooling lessons and more at Table of Four !
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by specialneedmom2 | Dec 11, 2012 | Being Thankful, Canada, Child Care, Family, Home, Husband, Kids, Life Balance, Siblings, Special Needs, Working Mother, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing, Younger Children
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live in Toronto, Ontario in Canada. I love living here because it is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. There are countless shops and restaurants that reflect the many different people who live here. I can find food from Ethiopia, Korea, and Peru by just walking down the street or hopping on a streetcar. It is like traveling the globe without leaving your hometown.
What language(s) do you speak?
Embarrassingly, I only speak English. I’ve always wanted to learn new languages and have a smattering of French. I can ask for the washroom and count to ten, and that’s about it.
When did you first become a mother?
I first became a mother at the age of 32. My oldest son (now five years old) was born and my world changed completely. He was a jaundiced, colicky baby and I was head over heels in love with him.
I now have a three year old daughter and a one year old baby boy as well. Our home is very busy, but it’s wonderful to have the children playing together. Although it is challenging to have young children so close in age, I love (almost) every minute of it.
I was unprepared for how intense motherhood is, and I have made many changes in my life to spend more time with my children. Before children I was very career focused, and it took a couple years of trying to juggle my children’s and work schedules for me to realize it is not working for me. I now choose positions that compliment my family life. (more…)
Angela is a Special Education teacher who blogs about her super-powered special needs family. She has a 3 year old with Prader-Willi Syndrome and a 5 year old with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Sensory Processing Disorder. The odds of these random genetic events occurring at the same time are astronomical. "When you add our typically developing one year old baby boy to the mix, you have a very busy household!", she explains.
Angela admits to having too many appointments, too many school problems, and being generally too busy as she tries to live life to the fullest. Please visit her family at Half Past Normal for more of their adventures! If you want to connect to chat, you can find her on Twitter @specialneedmom2
If you are interested in Special Education policies and procedures in Ontario – or just some excellent strategies and accommodations – please check out Angela's other site at Special Ed on the Bell Curve.
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by World Moms Blog | Nov 22, 2012 | Family, Guest Post, Home, International, Israel, Kids, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, Relocating, Tragedy, Uncategorized, World Events, World Motherhood, Younger Children
“Start packing.” He tells me on the phone. “It’s gonna get crazy here!”
“Really? Just pack up and leave?”
“Yes,” he repeats. “I’ll be home in ten minutes.”
I’m feeding the baby, and my older son is playing outside. I hesitate for a second, then summon him. You can continue playing outside, I explain in a composed voice, but promise me, the minute you hear the siren you come in. OK?
He smiles at me, makes the promise, don’t worry mommy. Calms me down. For a second I wonder if our roles might be reversed.
I start folding the clothing. What should I take? This horrible weather. November and still hot. Need to plan for any type of weather. And my daughter is being toilet trained. Need lots of extra clothes.
“What’s taking you so long? You don’t understand how serious this is, do you?”
Not really. More serious than what it’s been until now? We’ve been living with the missiles for years, even though these last months have been crazy.
We don’t have a proper bomb shelter. We can’t take a four-month-old baby to a public shelter. We can’t stay in rocket range. Then I hear the explosions. Though distant, their impact is felt. So close my husband brings the children in the house. “Stay here,” he commands, “until we finish loading the car. The sirens are going to start soon.”
(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 Tara Bergman (USA) | Nov 14, 2012 | Childhood, Family, Home, Life Balance, Motherhood, Relocating, Tara B., World Motherhood
Tara B’s backyard bathed in unusual winter sunlight on Christmas Eve.
What is home? Everyone has different answers to this, but for me, home is tied to sensations. It’s a physical space that can conjure the feelings of nostalgia, warmth, comfort, and peace.When I think of the places I have truly called home, these feelings were always present.
In my life, I have traveled some but have lived in two states thus far: Pennsylvania and Washington. My parents still live in the house I grew up in in Northeastern Pennsylvania. And while I lived in Philadelphia before moving to Washington, my parents’ house will always be home. I spent 18 years there, creating memories good and bad, throughout my childhood. The furnishings may have changed, but the “home” is still there. I’m only able to visit my parents once a year right now, and it’s hard to describe the feeling I get just driving up the street to their house and walking through the door. The flood of memories and sensations is overwhelming. There, I connect to a part of me that I don’t connect with any place else. I am filled with nostalgia, warmth, comfort, and peace from a very specific time of my life. (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 Maggie Ellison | Nov 5, 2012 | Being Thankful, Home, Inspirational, Motherhood, Natural Disaster, Safety, Tragedy, Uncategorized, USA, Weather, World Events, World Motherhood, Younger Children
A week ago, Hurricane Sandy made landfall very close to our home in New Jersey.
We live in a waterfront neighborhood, where some people live bay-front and the rest of us live on lagoons. Even though a mandatory evacuation was issued, we wondered whether we really needed to evacuate, since we live on one of the furthest lagoons from the bay and because we knew how many feet above mean high tide we are. But, with young children, we chose not to take any chances and heeded the warning. We spent the hurricane at a cousin’s house, leaving our home on Sunday. The storm was at its worst on Monday and by Tuesday afternoon we were able to return home.
From my cousin’s home, we watched strong gusts of wind come and take down trees and saw some flooding but that was nothing compared to what we would see when we went home.
We were very lucky. We could see the water line in our yard. If the water had come up another 1.5 feet, we would have had flooding inside our house. We lost part of our dock, stairs and walkway, all of which were still under water when we first got home. We had some branches come down and a shutter fly off the house.
We have now spent a few days working in and out of the house and are just about back to normal. We lost electricity but it was restored four days later. Now we have a freezer and fridge to clean out. We saved what we could, but couldn’t save it all.
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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 World Moms Blog | Oct 27, 2012 | Eva Fannon, France, Home, Japan, Kids, Philippines, Purnima, Saturday Sidebar, The Alchemist, Tina Santiago-Rodriguez, Truly Rich Mom, USA
This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Maman Aya. She asked our writers,
“At what age would you start to leave your child at home without supervision; how long would you leave them and where do you live (i.e. an apt in a busy city, a house in a busy suburb, on a farm, etc)?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Picture courtesy of Alison Lee of Writing, Wishing
Hamakkomommy of Japan writes:
My only answer is not yet! My kids are seven and five. We live in an apartment in a large city. In Japan, it’s assumed that first grade is old enough to stay home alone or go about the neighborhood alone. Sometimes even younger kids are left home alone for short periods. Teachers leave the classroom during break times, etc. Even preschool teachers will leave the kids unattended for a minute or two. It’s very different from the attitude I grew up with!
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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