CALIFORNIA, USA: Family + Puppy = Happiness?

CALIFORNIA, USA: Family + Puppy = Happiness?

ewa-samples-dogsA few months ago, while waiting in our laundry room, I saw some magazines left on the table. I picked one of them and started flipping through. Being in a not so very happy period of my life, one article drew my attention: Give yourself a happiness makeover. Beneath the title: Longevity expert, Dan Buettner traveled the globe to discover what makes people happiest. This caught my attention more than the title itself.

Essentially it was an article about how to improve your happiness in 10 steps. I normally don’t read that crap but then I thought: what the heck, it won’t hurt me.

So here are a few steps listed in this article:

  • “Make the most of your mornings.”:  CHECKED. Two kids (one newborn), three if counting husband, four if counting a recent (at that time) addition of a high-maintenance puppy to our family. I didn’t even remember my mornings…I didn’t even remember my name!
  • “Stop spending; start saving.”:  Don’t have much to spend or save, I thought. CHECKED.
  • “Get a daily dose of friends.”:  Well, I have 303 friends on Facebook…CHECKED, right?

There was even advice for those who don’t go to church: “Start going.” Duh!

Anyway, the list went on, and then, there it was, the golden advice: “Gain Peace With a Pooch.” Now it got more interesting! (more…)

Ewa Samples

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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Saturday Sidebar: Balancing Family Life and Career Life

Saturday Sidebar: Balancing Family Life and Career Life

This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog Fan.  She asked our writers,

“What are your best tips for balancing family life and career life? How do you make it work where you live?”

Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…

A working woman

A working woman

Momma Expat of France writes:
“ When I was in the US, working full-time outside of the  home, my husband always pitched in to help around the house and three
days a week made dinner. This allowed me to fulfill my work requirements  and feel supported. Now that I’m working from home part-time, my husband is STILL continuing to support me by freeing me up to run in the morning while he takes my son to school. Since my sister-in-law is also here with me, she said, “Also making sure mom gets a full night of sleep! So important to face the next day! And lastly choosing to let certain things go and focusing on what’s more important. Lastly, parents should make time for one another. Both of us would pick one day a month and leave our kids in school or daycare to go out for lunch. Spending time for one another is really important!” (more…)

World Moms Blog

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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Saturday Sidebar: What is the age difference between siblings in your family?

Saturday Sidebar: What is the age difference between siblings in your family?

This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Karyn Van Der Zwet.  She asked our writers,

“What is your theory on spacing births within a family, and what age gaps did you end up with?”

Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…

Dee_Harlow with her twins.

Dee_Harlow with her twins.

Dee Harlow of Laos writes:
“When parents of a single child see me with twins, they always ask what it’s like to have two? We always tell them to make sure that by the time the second child comes, the first one is old enough to pick the baby up. Believe me – you need the extra pair of hands and eyes.”

Documama of USA writes:

“When we weren’t trying, I got pregnant, and when we were trying to, I didn’t, yet we ended up with four kids spaced almost evenly 2 years apart! It looks like it was a plan, but we learnt pretty quickly that we only had so much control of how things worked out. I have to say the two year gap seems to work well, they are close enough to play together but when the baby is born the toddler was also young enough to forget quickly that they had just been usurped. A bit chaotic when you have a mess of babies on your hands, but I did feel like my 30s would be my child bearing decade, and then in my 40s I could get back to me a bit. Getting there!”

(more…)

World Moms Blog

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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CALIFORNIA, USA: Turning passion into a business

CALIFORNIA, USA: Turning passion into a business

As many of you know, my passion for taking pictures is tremendous.  For the last year there wasn’t a day in which I didn’t take at least one picture.  I decided to put my passion to work by opening a photography business. I haven’t been this excited in many, many months!

The idea of me getting out there, doing something I love, pursuing my dreams and fulfilling myself is very appealing. I have known for a long time now that being a stay-at-home-mom was not going to fulfill me and working full-time, outside the house is even less appealing.

While trying to determine what line of work I should go into, it became obvious the photography business is a perfect match for me. At the same time, I feel, doing something more with my photography skills is the best way of saying “Thank You” to all those people who inspired me, helped me, pushed me, and motivated me for the last few years.

During the last year I have learned a lot, I have mostly learned what I don’t know about photography and my skills, and there’s still a lot to learn and master, but I have also learned something else; “Nothing changes, if nothing changes”.

My first attempt to open a photography business failed. Probably because I was not prepared, but also because I was a first time mother with PPD, and with nothing else than a one lens camera. I had done a few free sessions for my portfolio and with each one I realized more, and more how unprofessional the pictures are and how awkward I feel doing those sessions. I came to the conclusion that this path is forever closed to me, and that I will never become a professional photographer. For the next two years I was OK with being just a clicking mom, but secretly I was dreaming that maybe one day… , some day… (more…)

Ewa Samples

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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Saturday Sidebar: How do you involve children to help in kitchen?

Saturday Sidebar: How do you involve children to help in kitchen?

This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Eva Fannon. She asked our writers,

World Mom, Meredith's daughter in her kitchen

World Mom, Meredith’s daughter in her kitchen

“I’ve got two very willing volunteers in the kitchen, (2 & 6 yo), and I need help finding ways to incorporate their help while still keeping them safe. Any ideas?”

Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…

Lady E of Indonesia writes:

“My son has been in the kitchen since he was a newborn, and now loves to mix and pour, crack eggs, use the beater, and he cooks eggs when I am next to him. I am slowly teaching him knife skills, but with tight supervision. I think the main thing is always explaining the process, why we do things the way that we do, and what we need to do in order to stay safe. He also loves to look through cookbooks and plan a menu. My son is a very picky, difficult eater. Involving him in the process has helped to add a few items onto his “will eat list.”

Karyn Van Der Zwet of New Zealand writes:

I am a bit more relaxed with sharp knives than most parents, and expect our kids to cut themselves a few times before they learn to keep themselves safe. Our boys started using knives from around 15 months and even the three year-old is pretty competent at slicing stuff – importantly they also learned (without me saying anything) when they couldn’t manage and will all ask for help if they think the task is likely to end in injury – slicing carrots springs to mind here. With the stove-top I teach them to hold the handle to the oven (or some other near object) with one hand while they stir things on elements. If they are near to an element, and I know it’s hot, I’ll tell them that it is on.

I never predict the future. That is, I never tell our kids they ‘will’ cut themselves, or that they ‘will’ burn themselves, or that they ‘will’ grate their fingers etc. I focus on real, concreteation like: the stove is hot; the knife is sharp; the grater is like lots of little knives. I also differentiate between tools and toys – knives etc are useful, but not for playing with. This way all of our kids, even the three year-old, have learned to manage the equipment – with a few woopsies on the way – and learn they can manage risk and they can manage when things don’t go according to plan.

(more…)

World Moms Blog

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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Saturday Sidebar: How many children did you want and how many do you have?

 

World Mom, MomPhotographer with her 2 daughters

World Mom, MomPhotographer with her 2 daughters

This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Susie Newday.  She asked our writers,How many kids did you want before you were married and how many do you want now, now that you have kids and know what it is like?”

Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…

Carol @ If By Yes of British Columbia, Canada writes:
“I wanted two, now still want two, but sort of also want three! My husband is sticking at two, though.”

EcoZiva of Brazil writes:
“I did not want any, but now I am pregnant of baby number 3! 🙂                         For me that number is perfect now, but my husband wants to convince me of more!!”

Elizabeth Atalay of Massachusetts, USA writes:

“I come from a small family so always idealized big families. When I was little I wanted 6 kids, but at some point I decided four would be a good number. Despite the chaos I am grateful every day for our four kids and our full house.”

Jenna Farelyn of North Carolina, USA writes:
“I wanted a big family. I have four kids. I would like to have a few more.” (more…)

World Moms Blog

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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