World Motherhood Archives - Page 140 of 144

SWITZERLAND: A Turtle, a Twist and a Friendship

by Kristen | Dec 16, 2011 | Cooking, Friendship, Inspirational, Life Lesson, Living Abroad, Miscarriage, Motherhood, Multicultural, Pregnancy, Switzerland, World Motherhood

I won’t lie, one of the biggest perks about Switzerland is the fabulous cheese, bread and chocolate. I have the extra pounds to prove that we have indeed enjoyed it! Our kids have no doubt developed a more cultured palate living here.

One of my goals while living here has been to learn to make the traditional “Bern bread” also known as Zopf bread. It is delicious twisted bread that can be enjoyed by tearing off part of the braid or slicing for sandwiches and soups. Any way you eat it, it’s wonderful. When my 2-year-old went on food strikes, zopf was his weakness!

I recently called a Swiss friend and asked if she would be interested in spending an afternoon teaching me how to make the bread. She gladly agreed and we set a date. My 4-year old teetered on a chair and got his (more…)

Kristen

Kristen is a stay-at-home to two little boys, Jackson (4 yrs) and Owen (nearly 2 yrs). She was born in New York, but eventually made her way down to Texas. She and her husband, Seth, met in Dallas and were married in December 2005. Nine months into their marriage Seth received a call that he had landed his dream job, one catch, it involved world wide assignment. The adventure took them from Texas to Washington, D.C., on to Bogotá, Colombia and then back to Washington, D.C before bringing them to Bern, Switzerland! Kristen and her family have currently lived in Bern for more than 1 year, where her husband works for the US Department of State. Four moves and 2 children in nearly 6 years of marriage have made for quite the adventure in motherhood! Kristen finds motherhood to be one of the most humbling and character building things she has ever experienced. The responsibility of raising boys with integrity and respect at times feels daunting, but she couldn’t imagine doing anything else! Kristen is a Speech Language Pathologist but has taken time away from working to focus on her family. Although she enjoys the travel and adventure involved in her husband’s career, she often finds herself feeling far from home and working to make the most of time abroad! On her blog, Seasons Worth Savoring, Kristen writes about daily life with two little boys, including her experiences as she navigates a foreign culture and walks by faith. In her free time, or rather in her busy time with two boys attached to her legs, Kristen enjoys cooking, photography, antique and thrift store shopping, working on crafts, and blogging.

CANADA: My Job Is Eating My Life

by Carol (Canada) | Dec 14, 2011 | Canada, Economy, Motherhood, Working Mother, World Motherhood

People talk a lot about maintaining a sense of personal identity as a mother.

The needs and demands of a tiny human being who has no patience, no forbearance, and no consideration for the feelings of others can be an overwhelming experience.

Many women, especially in places like Canada where we get a whole year of maternity leave from work, find it difficult to maintain their sense of who they are.

Yanked out of board meetings and into a gliding rocker, and dealing with dirty diapers where they once dealt with memos and spreadsheets, new mothers often find themselves thinking “WHAT HAVE I DONE?” (more…)

Carol (Canada)

Carol from If By Yes has lived in four different Canadian provinces as well as the Caribbean. Now she lives in Vancouver, working a full time job at a vet clinic, training dogs on the side, and raising her son and daughter to be good citizens of the world. Carol is known for wearing inside-out underwear, microwaving yoghurt, killing house plants, over-thinking the mundane, and pointing out grammatical errors in "Twilight". When not trying to wrestle her son down for a nap, Carol loves to read and write. Carol can also be found on her blog, If By Yes, and on Twitter @IfByYesTweets

BRAZIL: Thesis Nevermore

by Ecoziva (Brazil) | Dec 12, 2011 | Brazil, Education, Motherhood, World Motherhood

We have a couple of neighbors who spent some years overseas studying towards their PhDs. At the time, their now grown kids were children.

On the day the father finally gave in the final version of his thesis to the teachers who were going to evaluate it, the son approached him in his den and said:

“Dad, can I ask you for something?”

Of course, on that day his mood couldn’t be better, so he promptly answered:

“Today you can ask me for anything, son!”

He obviously thought his son would want an expensive toy or the like, but instead he said:

“I want that pile of papers over there.” (more…)

Ecoziva (Brazil)

Eco, from the greek oikos means home; Ziva has many meanings and roots, including Hebrew (brilliance, light), Slovenian (goddess of life) and Sanskrit (blessing). In Brazil, where EcoZiva has lived for most of her life, giving birth is often termed “giving the light”; thus, she thought, a mother is “home to light” during the nine months of pregnancy, and so the penname EcoZiva came to be for World Moms Blog. Born in the USA in a multi-ethnic extended family, EcoZiva is married and the mother of two boys (aged 12 and three) and a five-year-old girl and a three yearboy. She is trained as a biologist and presently an university researcher/professor, but also a volunteer at the local environmental movement.

Saturday Sidebar: What is one thing you will commit to do for yourself in the upcoming week?

by World Moms Blog | Dec 10, 2011 | Eva Fannon, Indonesia, Kids, Motherhood, Rox is Brilliant, Scoops of Joy, Shaula Bellour, Tara B., Third Eye Mom, World Motherhood

This Saturday Sidebar question comes to us from Tara B. In the midst of all the holiday planning, she asked our writers…

“What is one thing you will commit to do for yourself in the upcoming week?”

Here is what some of our World Moms will be doing for themselves:

Diana @Hormonal Imbalances of Texas, USA writes:
“I’m going to make an effort to exercise daily only for the boost it gives me in dealing with my anxiety. No pushing to lose weight, no guilt trips. Strictly for the energy and feel good hormones!” (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.

NORTH CAROLINA, USA: On My Own

by Frelle (USA) | Dec 9, 2011 | Being Thankful, Divorce, Domesticity, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Parenting, USA, Working Mother, World Motherhood

hopemantle Before moving out of my ex-husband’s house, the anticipation of having my own space and living apart was partly exciting and partly terrifying.

I was nervous about finding an affordable apartment and had no idea how I was going to afford all the necessities to fill it. But I was thrilled finally to be starting a life in a separate residence after 18 months of being separated-but-not-living-separately.

I spent a lot of time researching and visiting potential apartment complexes, scouring Goodwill stores and watching Craigslist and Freecycle to secure furniture and small appliances and other necessities for a new apartment.

I’m grateful that my new place was the least expensive apartment complex but the one I most wanted to move into. It’s a wonderful bargain for the square footage, the woods behind the (more…)

Frelle (USA)

Jenna grew up in the midwestern US, active in music and her church community from a young age. She developed a love of all things literary thanks to her mom, and a love of all things science fiction thanks to her dad. She left the midwest in her early twenties and has lived in the south ever since.

On her blog, she tries to write words that make a difference to people. Long before she attended college to major in Special Ed and Psychology, she became an advocate for special needs and invisible disabilities. She's always been perceptive of and encouraging to those who struggle to fit in. Having been through several dark seasons in her own life, she's found empowerment in being transparent and vulnerable about her emotions, making deep and lasting friendships, and finding courage to write from her heart. Her biggest wish is to raise her kids to be compassionate people who love well.

She's been online since 1993, with a total of 19 years of social media exposure. Having friends she doesn't know in real life has been normal for her since her junior year in college, and she's grateful every day for the ways technology helps her stay in touch with friends from all over the world.

Jenna lives in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, and is a freelance writer and a stay at home single mom to 3 girls and a boy. She blogs at MadeMoreBeautiful.comMadeMoreBeautiful.com.

CANADA: Caption Contest with JC Little of the Animated Woman!

by World Moms Blog | Dec 8, 2011 | Canada, Contest, Motherhood, World Motherhood

JC Little, the Animated Woman, of Montreal, Canada has created this animation especially for World Moms Blog!

Now, it’s up to you, to tell us what this mama is saying! It can be funny, cultural, in another language (please translate, too!), or make a statement. Leave your caption in the comments section of this post, and our editors will pick their favorite caption!

This is an original post to World Moms Blog by JC Little of Montreal, Canada. JC Little is The Animated Woman: mom, animator, humorist, and social media minx. Her short films and cartoons are showcased at TheAnimatedWoman.com, and she has a Disney-syndicated TV show My Life ME.