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Posts Tagged ‘New Jersey’

Saturday Sidebar: Who does the housework?

April 21, 2012 12 comments

Housework is "For the Birds"

This week we’re talking about housework.  MamaMzunga of Kenya asked our writers,

“How do you divide up housework? Does it fall into predictable gender divisions? And, maybe most importantly, do you think it’s divided fairly?”

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

Alison Lee of Malaysia writes:
“I’m lucky to have a cleaning crew come once a week to do deep cleaning. The daily chores of just keeping the place neat and tidy, laundry, cooking – well, that’s all me!” Read more…

NEW JERSEY, USA: Interview with Jennifer Burden, Founder WMB

October 6, 2011 20 comments

World Moms Blog founder, Jennifer Burden, with her baby at the Social Good Summit in NYC September 2011.

Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?

I live in New Jersey, USA.  I was born and raised here, and I returned after many years of living in the DC metro area to be closer to family.

What language(s) do you speak?

I speak English fluently.  I studied French in high school and Japanese at university.  Lack of confidence weighs into my foreign language speaking ability.

I know this is true because if I’m out and have had an alcoholic drink or two, I can speak so much better.  My Japanese is very rusty, and I’m better at French…but, I still have a long way to go!
Read more…

GUEST POST: New Jersey, USA: Mama Bee, Worker Bee, Busy Bee…Balancing Bee?

Buzzzz…….Buzzzz……  It is 5 a.m., and my alarm clock just buzzes away.  I hit snooze one too many times, and I have that same thought cross my mind as it does every morning.  I wish I could call out of work today……  But, I never do.

I have been working on Wall Street for over 15 years, and something in my nature always keeps me going.

I commonly refer to myself as a “worker bee.”  The worker bee in me has been married for eleven years, waited to have a baby for six years and then went through another three years of trying before our little miracle was conceived.

I pat myself on the back when I tell people I never took a single sick day while pregnant as an example of dedication to my job.

I also continued my typical schedule during the entire pregnancy of going to bed at midnight and waking up at 5 a.m.  How do I do it?  Why do I do it? When will I stay home with my baby? These are the common questions I hear from friends and family at functions, parties and holiday get-togethers. Read more…

Saturday Layover for July 9, 2011…

The name of the Saturday column is now…“Saturday Layover”!

This name was inspired by Mama Robin J of Canada who said, “Or something along the lines of After the Trip – to relate to the travel itinerary that starts the week off.”

She gave us the idea to tie the name into the theme of our weekly travel itinerary, where Kirsten Doyle announces our schedule for the week to come.

We had over 20 suggestions for the column name, and they were narrowed down to the four below.  Twenty World Moms Blog writers participated in the voting and here is how it went:

  • After Hours  30%
  • Afterthoughts 20%
  • Saturday Layover  35%
  • Midnight Feed  15%

It was close! Thank you to everyone who participated!

So, last week I mentioned that I had written a little something on my personal experience with race relations. As promised, here goes… Read more…

NEW JERSEY, USA: Eye on Culture: The 4th of July

Growing up, my best memories of July 4th, the U.S. Independence Day, were picking out my clothes in shades of red, white and blue, helping my mom put our U.S. flag outside our house and getting to run around with fire sparklers around our backyard at night.

Sparklers were for the younger kids (say 8 years old and up), while the big kids were helping the adults set off fireworks on our side yard.  You’re not allowed to light off your own fireworks now in NJ for safety reasons, come to think about it, I’m pretty sure that you weren’t allowed to back then either.

I can still smell the savory scents of the day: hotdogs, sauerkraut, hamburgers, sausage, peppers and onions coming from the grill, and the aroma of mom’s potato salad, barbecue chicken and corn on the cob coming from the kitchen.  We barbecued all day in our backyard, and my parents would have their friends over. And, everyone brought their kids, so the kids were always off playing on their own.

My mom would also make a U.S. flag cake, decorated with blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream, and my dad would stand over the grill until everyone had their fill.  I can still hear him calling me his “bicentennial baby” because I was born in the year of my nation’s bicentennial, 1976. Read more…

NEW JERSEY, USA: Thank You, Claire Dunphy

June 29, 2011 19 comments

On a typical Wednesday night, I’m getting home from work at around 8:30 pm, having a glass of wine, and watching the sitcom, Modern Family, with my husband.  By the time I get home, both kids are already asleep, and I’m exhausted after a long day.

This aforementioned day includes taking my daughter to and from a three-hour stint at preschool, while making sure my two-year-old son doesn’t cause grave injury to himself (or me for that matter).  Then, at 3:00 pm, the babysitter comes over, and I’m off to work until 8:00 pm.

I know that a lot of other women juggle much more than I do, but keeping two children clean, clothed and fed, while chipping away at the household chores, is more than I can handle sometimes.  That’s why it’s so refreshing to watch a show like Modern Family, where it’s okay to be a mom with imperfections. Read more…