by Eva Fannon (USA) | Apr 27, 2011 | Being Thankful, Eva Fannon, Family, International, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Parenting, USA, Working Mother
“Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels, looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields.” I hear Jackson Browne on the radio, and I realize that he just described the way I have been feeling over the past two months.
The last year has FLOWN by so fast! As I look back, I feel like I haven’t had control over how fast the days unraveled.
The juggling between working professional, wife and mother, have made me feel like I’ve been “running on”, but add in Kindergarten research and house-hunting to the mix and I’m just tired and feel like I’m “running on empty” .
It didn’t feel like this exhausting when there was just one child to care for. (I know, that’s a no brainer.)
I honestly don’t know how women do it with more than two kids…my hat goes off to you ladies! (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 Veena Davis (Singapore) | Apr 21, 2011 | Being Thankful, India, Infertility, Inspirational, International, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Pregnancy, World Motherhood
Great Grandmother
That fact that I am here today to write this post, or rather, that I am even walking the face of this earth, is actually a miracle. A miracle that occurred three generations ago, when a little lady persevered with her son’s life. This post is a tribute to that wonderful woman who was my great-grandmother.
In an age where having 10-12 kids was considered the norm, my maternal grandfather was an only child. And, not by choice either.
My great-grandparents had completed over 16 years of married life before their one and only son was born. Living in a little town called Thrissur in the royal state of Cochin, they had tried just about every treatment that was available to them in India in the early 20th century, somewhere in the 1920s.
It was around then that an acquaintance told them about a big hospital in Madirashi (later called Madras and today known as Chennai), where they had had success in treating infertility. My great-grandparents must have been pretty well off then (history, a.k.a my aunts from whom I learned this story, are not particularly clear on that point), for they decided to go to Madras to pursue the new treatment there.
Unlike today, in those days if a couple did not have children, it was thought that maybe God had cursed them and things were left at that. (more…)
Veena has experienced living in different climes of Asia - born and brought up in the hot Middle East, and a native of India from the state known as God’s Own Country, she is currently based in the tropical city-state of Singapore. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Several years ago, she came across World Moms Network (then World Moms Blog) soon after its launch, and was thrilled to become a contributor. She has a 11-year old son and a quadragenarian husband (although their ages might be inversed to see how they are with each other sometimes). ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ On a professional front, she works in the financial sector - just till she earns enough to commit to her dream job of full-time bibliophile. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ You can also find Veena at her personal blog, Merry Musing. ⠀
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by Margie Webb (USA) | Apr 20, 2011 | Cancer, Life Lesson, Motherhood, USA
A few months ago, I learned that a friend from high school, D, lost her battle with cancer. It had been over twenty years since I last saw D, but I cried for her and the terrible loss for her family. It seems as if just yesterday we were sneaking out of my mom’s basement at my annual slumber party. We had our entire lives ahead of us, and time running out on us was simply inconceivable.
My life has always been full of exploits with my girl friends and none more so than D, my best friend in high school.
Closing my eyes, I remember how the cold, hard cement sidewalk was unforgiving as we tried our best to get comfortable for a few moments of sleep. Everyone around us had lawn chairs, blankets, food and drink.
Not us.
Our supplies consisted of a stolen pack of Cambridge cigarettes that was swiped from my home. Apparently, nobody felt the need to tell us the proper etiquette for last-minute camping out at Sears for New Kids On The Block concert tickets. The cigarettes provided heat as we would light one and hold our hands over it – maybe take a puff to heat our lungs too.
That was how we rolled back then, ready for any adventure that came our way. Never mind that we didn’t have enough money for the tickets; nobody bothered to tell us about sales tax either. (more…)
Margie Webb is a forty-something, divorced mom of three biracial sons: Isaiah (25), Caleb (20), and Elijah (6/8/1997 - 7/2/1997) and two bonus sons: Malcolm (5/10/1992 - 10/9/2015) and Marcus (25). She lives in Lafayette,
Louisiana by way of Little Rock, Arkansas, and enjoys traveling, attending the theater, cooking calling the Hogs during Arkansas Razorback football season, spending time with family and friends, and is a crazy cat lady.
In addition to obtaining her Bachelors and Masters degree, she also has a Graduate Certificate in Online Writing Instruction and a National HR Certification through SHRM. She excels in her career as a Human Resources Management professional. Additionally, she has represented World Moms Network as a Digital Reporter at various conferences, including the United Nations Social Good Summit.
Her life has been one big adventure in twists, turns ,extreme lows, and highs. After recently embracing her new lease on life and her identity in the LGBTQ community, she is excited about what is yet to come. She can be found on Twitter@TheHunnyB
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by Maggie Ellison | Apr 13, 2011 | Family, Humanity, Life Lesson, Motherhood, USA
A few days ago, we had to say good-bye to our family dog. Her health was going downhill the last two years and I knew it was coming, but when it happened, it left me in shock and in tears.
After 12 years together, we had to have her euthanized. Prior to having her, I just accepted that this was often a part of having a dog, and it was more humane. But. when you are in the place where you have to decide the fate of your beloved pet, it is very difficult.
Is this ethical? Am I selfish for not doing it? Am I selfish for doing it? Will I be there? Am I betraying her?
The pain of losing a family dog is horrible and one that I did not understand completely until I went through it. (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 Ambre French (Norway) | Apr 12, 2011 | Family, International, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting
I am a mother of one little girl of 15 months. I am in the early stages of motherhood, and among the trillion questions my new life brings, there is one that is starting to be present on a daily basis. Here it is:
Whether I “like” it or not, I am one day (please not today) going to be a role model. How does one define a role model, and how does one accept that who you are is good enough?
During this first year I concentrated on how the baby is, how my marriage was doing, and I did my best to survive the transition from two to three in the house. I wasn’t really concerned about what I did and how I did it, as long as I managed one day after the next.
But suddenly, this little ball of love is starting to walk, to express herself, to see and interpret what I am doing. Does this mean I already have to be aware of what I am doing in front of her? I sort of knew this day would come, but I DON’T KNOW IF I AM READY!
I have very basic and obvious determinations regarding bringing up my child. I want her to be polite, well-behaved, healthy, respectful of others, be a good citizen, be a good friend… All in all, be a good person.
Now, I am wondering if I have to be this person first… (more…)
by Kyla P'an (Portugal) | Apr 6, 2011 | Education, Family, Family Travel, Husband, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, Travel, USA
Shortly before I met my husband, I spent three years living abroad. Two of them in one place and the final in transit back from Kumamoto, Japan to the east coast of the United States, the slowest way possible.
Three months after I met my husband, he invited me to join him for a destination wedding in Brazil. Four months later, he lost his job and decided he wanted to see more of the world too. He spent the next six months traveling around China and SE Asia and for five, blissful weeks during the holidays I joined him in Thailand and Laos.
In our four years together pre-kids, we traveled to nine different countries. Our attraction to one-another had a lot to do with our mutual desire to live abroad someday and raise our future kids that way too .
So it comes as somewhat of a surprise to me that here I sit, ten years later, just 11 miles from where we first met.
(more…)
Kyla was born in suburban Philadelphia but spent most of her time growing up in New England. She took her first big, solo-trip at age 14, when she traveled to visit a friend on a small Greek island. Since then, travels have included: three months on the European rails, three years studying and working in Japan, and nine months taking the slow route back from Japan to the US when she was done. In addition to her work as Managing Editor of World Moms Network, Kyla is a freelance writer, copy editor, recovering triathlete and occasional blogger. Until recently, she and her husband resided outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where they were raising two spunky kids, two frisky cats, a snail, a fish and a snake. They now live outside of Lisbon, Portugal with two spunky teens and three frisky cats. You can read more about Kyla’s outlook on the world and parenting on her personal blogs, Growing Muses And Muses Where We Go
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“Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels, looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields.” I hear Jackson Browne on the radio, and I realize that he just described the way I have been feeling over the past two months. 
