Saturday Layover for August 27th, 2011…

I want to use this space this week to tell everyone that we NEED YOUR VOTE!  Help World Moms Blog win $5,000 for charity!!

Wouldn’t it be great if we could donate to the very causes that affect mothers and children around the world that we write about?

Help us win! Here’s what you do…click on the link below (it won’t cost you anything and you don’t have to sign up for anything). You just have to click on “Like” in the grey box next to my picture.

Please vote for us!

http://mom.babble.com/mom/mominations/mominees/inspirational/jennifer-burden

You see, I have been “mominated” at Babble.com for this charitable award on behalf of my work at World Moms Blog, so help me win this for the World Moms!

And, thank you to Alison Lee in Malaysia for the nomination.  Help us spread the word! (We would love that. 🙂 )

I’m keeping this column short this week for two reasons.  One is the impending hurricane coming up the Atlantic ocean.  I’ve been preparing for hurricane Irene, here, in New Jersey, USA, by stocking up on necessities and securing everything outside my house with my husband.  I hope everyone affected by this storm will be safe!

And two, is that after all of our hard lifting and packing up today, my husband and I went to the Maroon 5/Train concert. (This mama has to rock sometimes!)

So, tune in tomorrow for the Travel Itinerary to see where we’re taking  you this week!

And, THANK YOU for voting!!  It is very much appreciated!

Our week in review:

On Monday we started off the week with The Third Eye Mom, Nicole Melancon, who shared her internal struggle with seeing her son off to the first grade.  Many of us could relate!

We were in tears on Tuesday with Jennifer D’Ambrosio who told us about how she lost her mother to cancer and how she regretted not having children sooner to meet her mom.  Just the picture alone will have you feeling Jen’s emotions.  What a moving story!

Wednesday, Susie Newday in Israel told us what it was like to carry a baby and know it would be a soldier if it was a boy.  (She secretly admitted that at the time, she was hoping for a girl!) But, now she tell us about coming to terms with having a son in the Army and another son who will go in after him.  It was interesting to see life through her eyes!

Dr. Jeanelle Lanham has made that trip that she told us all about — you know, the one where she came to New York City for her son to attend his dream acting school?  She told us about her fears, and how she is overcoming them to make this happen!

In writer interviews we heard from Tara B. of Washington, USA and new writer, Maman Aya, of New York, USA!

And when is the right time to stop undressing in front of your children? Or, should you stop? World Moms chimed in on this private topic in this week’s Friday Question!

Take care everyone, and don’t forget to vote!

Jennifer Burden

Founder/Editor

World Moms Blog 

Photo credit to Alan Cleaver. This photo has a creative commons attribution license. 

Jennifer Burden

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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Saturday Layover for August 20th, 2011…

World Moms Blog was initially set up to tell stories about motherhood from around the world. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I realize how it could turn into so much more.

The support and the personalities behind the writers have become more than just stories. We’ve become interactive and supportive. Real friendships are emerging and laying a foundation for the global community building around our site.

Over the past months, we’ve listened when Kirsten in Canada told us how much she missed her dad, who passed away. We worried about Dee Harlow, as she wrote from the “murder capital of the world” in Mexico and explained the life and death risks she faced when just taking her twins outside to play. (more…)

Jennifer Burden

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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Saturday Layover for August 13th, 2011…

“I don’t want to be a mom.” 

When I first heard those words ring out of my 4-year old’s mouth, I was crushed.  I immediately thought that this was my fault.  Am I too hard on her?  Am I too strict?  Am I too neurotic? Does my job look boring to her? Is it because I stay home?

I thought about myself as a little girl, taking care of my dollies.  Yes, I wanted to be a mother, no doubt, as a little girl.  My daughter plays with toy dinosaurs all the time.  Was that the problem? Should I be providing an environment of more baby doll stuff?  Where had I gone wrong? (more…)

Jennifer Burden

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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Monday Delayed Layover for August 8, 2011…


“BlogHer High”

What are the chances of wireless internet going down in a hotel that is hosting a huge blogging event?  Ugh!!  So, the Saturday Layover has been delayed…to the Monday Layover this week!

But, who am I kidding?  It was a much needed break, as my brain was aching and beginning to shutdown from all the information – many intense conference sessions and non-stop networking (I like to call it friend making) with interesting people.

The overwhelming majority of people I met were genuinely interested in making new blogging friends, save for a few outliers.  But, guess what?  I got to meet World Moms Blog writers, Mama Robin J from Canada and Galit Breen from Minnesota, USA.  I stalked them like the papparazzi.  (I hoped they didn’t mind.)  It was GREAT to meet some of our writers in person!! Whooohoo!!! (more…)

Jennifer Burden

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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Saturday Layover for July 30th, 2011…

This coming week, I’m excited to be representing World Moms Blog at the Blogher ’11 conference in San Diego, California.  As I’m busy preparing for the adventure, this week I’m going to keep it short, but hopefully, slightly entertaining.

The writers’ interviews that we’ve been posting as additional posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays have been really helping us get to know our new writing community better. We’re even finding many more things out about our seasoned WMB writers that we didn’t know!

It occurred to me that some of you might be thinking, “Who the heck is running this ship?” And, also, maybe the thought never even crossed your mind. ha ha. So, anyway, this week, as your World Moms Blog founder and editor, I’m answering one question from our normal interview.  And, here’s how it goes… (more…)

Jennifer Burden

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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Saturday Layover for July 23, 2011…

I dropped my baby.

There, I said it.  I feel awful about it.  I mean, sit on the floor, head in my hands, sobbing awful about it.  

I had her in my left arm with her head over my shoulder, and we were making our way to the kitchen.  While in my older daughter’s room, I reached up with my right hand to pull the cord to turn off the ceiling fan…and then…blast!…she took off like a runner from a runner’s post.

She kicked me away and then backdived to my left all in one swoop. The perfect escape.  The moment seemed to last an eternity.

I caught her with my left hand. Relief.  But no. All 4 and 1/2 months and 16 lbs of gravity dropped on my arm like a medicine ball onto a sheet of “the other leading brand” of plastic wrap, falling closer, closer to the carpeted ground. (more…)

Jennifer Burden

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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