GLOBAL TWITTER PARTIES!
Ever wonder how mothers around the world do things?
Our international contributors will be signing into Twitter to discuss:
“Differences in Motherhood
Around the World”
Thursday, May 10, 2012
7-8am EST (US/NYC)
AND
7-8pm EST (US/NYC)
Go to tweetchat.com hash tag: #worldmomsblog
Not sure what time that is where you live? Go to the World Clock to be on time!
The winner of a World Moms Blog t-shirt from our previous caption contest is reader, Elizabeth’s Boys, who commented,
“AHHH!!!! You’re getting my best dress from Target all wet!”
It’s time for another caption contest with JC Little, the Animated Woman, of Montreal, Canada! She has created this next animation especially for World Moms Blog! Winner receives a World Moms Blog t-shirt!
Now, it’s up to you to tell us what this mama or baby 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! Read more…
Photo of writer holding and meeting her son for the first time in the orphanage in Saigon, Vietnam.
On a hot, steamy day in August of 2008, my husband and I stepped off of an airplane in Saigon, Vietnam. Mere moments after touching down in this faraway land, we found ourselves standing outside of an orphanage in the sweltering summer heat, waiting to meet someone we had only seen in pictures.
And that’s when it happened; my life changed in two very important ways. An eleven-month old child was placed into my arms, and in an instant I was simultaneously transformed into a first-time mother as well as an advocate for the voiceless children of the world.
Looking back, it is hard to believe that such a profound change in how I defined myself could have happened in a single, solitary moment. Months later I would realize how that one moment would end up overthrowing and redirecting the entire trajectory of my life.
After returning home, I started thinking about all the children we had seen in Vietnam, especially the ones residing in the orphanage. Once you see their faces, you cannot forget them. Those of us in the international adoption community know this truth all too well: life in an orphanage is hard, and it can be devastating physically, emotionally and mentally.
As I witnessed my son struggle through his own post-institutional trauma, it seemed that I carried the images of his orphanage mates with me constantly. I would stare at my son and be overtaken with a sense of responsibility to help take care of those we left behind. I had no idea where to start. I began researching about the plight of children, families and orphans in Vietnam. Read more…
On Monday I am told, “you need to go to Paris for 3 days next week.” I say “OK”, but think, “How can I pull that one-off? I am still nursing!”.
So I go into action, first calling my mother (who happens to be French, has a large family that live in Paris…and who is the primary caregiver during the day while I am at work), and then I start looking up plane tickets and hotels. The only way for me to be able to go on this business trip is to take the baby, and therefore, I need to take my mother to care for her while I am at work.
In turn, I need to take my 4-year-old son as well, since he would be otherwise left without a caretaker while we are away. Tickets are bought, hotel reservations made (which is a process on its own, since I need is a place with a kitchen, so that we can prepare food for the kids and are not forced to eat every meal out), bags are packed, and we are off! Read more…
There is an old man who lives a couple of buildings down. He is in no way remarkable, really. I often see him walking his dog or riding his bike to and from the local supermarket.
On Sunday afternoon, though, he transforms.
He is the Kami Shibai, Paper Theater, man. He changes from his everyday clothes, drab blues and grays, into his yukata (informal kimono) and his geta( wooden sandals) and his newsy cap. He looks as if he walked right out of the Yokohama of the 1930s, the pre-war Japan of his childhood.
He makes the rounds of the supermarket, banging his hyoushigi (bamboo blocks) that same echoing sound you hear at sumo matches or on winter’s evenings when the volunteers go around the neighborhood, reminding us of hi no youjin, caution against fire.
He distributes tickets to the children. The Paper Theater starts at four. All good children will receive a present at the end, he says.
And come four o’clock, a gaggle of youngsters have gathered in the corner of the supermarket where he has spread a swatch of carpet. Read more…
The winner from last month’s caption contest is reader, Kelly, who commented, “Repeat after me…. Mommy gets pee pee diapers and Daddy gets poo poo diapers!” Congratulations, Kelly!
It’s time for another caption contest with JC Little, the Animated Woman, of Montreal, Canada! She has created this next 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.
