Coca-Cola Offers Paid Leave for All Parents

The United States is one of only two countries in the world that does not guarantee paid maternity leave. Fortunately, some companies are stepping in and providing what the federal government has not. Coca-Cola will offer paid leave for all parents. The United States does not provide paid family leave to its workers. There is a U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that applies to employers with 50 or more employees. FMLA offers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period to care for a newborn, adopted or foster child. Coca-Cola’s paid leave policy will take … Continue reading

Where Companies Stand on Parental Leave

Mark Zuckerberg took some time off work when his daughter was born. Every time a CEO from a well known company takes parental leave, it brings that topic back into the news cycle. There is a growing interest in allowing parents to spend time with their newborns. Where do different companies stand on that topic? Mark Zuckerberg, as you probably are aware, is the CEO of Facebook. He announced on his Facebook page that he would be taking 2 months of paternity leave when his daughter arrives. Part of his post included the following: Studies show that when working parents … Continue reading

Paul Ryan Brings Up Paid Parental Leave

Paul Ryan recently became Speaker of the House of Representatives. One of the conditions he established as a requirement for him taking the position equates to what many might consider to be “work/life” balance. Others see it as a sign that paid parental leave is important. Paul Ryan is a Republican who represents Wisconsin. Paul Ryan ran as Vice President to Mitt Romney in the 2012 Presidential election. He is in his mid-40’s. His immediate family includes his wife, a daughter, and two sons. The children are school-age. When Paul Ryan was asked to consider becoming Speaker of the House, … Continue reading

Balancing Blogging and Mothering

I squinted to make sense of scattered letters through the glare on my screen.  Focused attempts at deciphering HTML became distracted by bursts of giggling from the other side of my window.  Rejoicing from finally making a text box that scrolled, I missed a small excited voice asking me to “look at me”.  Dripping hair and sopping wet footsteps ran inside to beckon me to join their mini water park complete with a blow up monkey pool.  Promising just five more minutes I shooed away wet fingers from my computer.  Next I looked up and the time for sprinklers, popsicles, and water slides … Continue reading

Three Reasons to Leave the Stuff in the Store

I was browsing one of my favorite blogs yesterday, I came across a bit of home decor that I had admired for a while on this blogger’s page. She had it hung in her living room, and it looked wonderful. Of course, she got it for free in order to promote the store that carried the products, and as part of a one-day promotion, that particular item was discounted from $59.99 to $19.99, a real bargain. I clicked over to the site and almost ordered the item. Almost, because I know that there were at least three reasons to leave … Continue reading

Separated But Not Really

Sometimes it takes the insights of someone else to come to the realization about an issue in your life.  That was the case when fellow blogger Michele Cheplic recently posted, “No Chance to Miss Your Kid.”  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. My 18-year-old son is two weeks away from graduating technical school (Security Forces) at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.  His first duty station is going to be Turkey, which we anticipated to not happen until March. Yesterday I received word from him that his orders to go will likely be earlier, possibly the beginning of February.  … Continue reading

I’m Not Crafty at Christmas

Is it worth saving money on Christmas decorations if you spend all of that savings on band-aids and burn cream? It started out innocently enough. A good friend of mine was getting a group of us together to participate in a tradition in our small town, an annual wreath making session at the town hall. A professional crafty person would teach us how to make gorgeous holiday wreaths with a live wreath and all of the supplies included, for a mere $10. The township  actually covers most of the cost for this event, since the live wreaths alone cost more than … Continue reading

It’s Not About What You Don’t Have

..but what you do with what you do have. An outgrown girl’s dress can become a nice shirt. An old video game system can be repaired for hundreds of hours of fun. A romantic dinner can be had at home instead of at a pricey restaurant. By focusing on what you do with what you have, with your blessings, you’ll live a happy life, not to mention a frugal one. As I mentioned yesterday, I was turning over the kids clothing from summer (and spring) to Winter (and fall). I won’t kid you, it was a lot of work and … Continue reading

Not Buying It

After nearly two decades working in television news, I’ve learned to be a bit more judicious when perusing headlines. In other words, I don’t believe half of what I see published these days, especially viral items that sweep the globe and become water cooler fodder, despite there being very little fact checking prior to their circulation. But, hey, sensationalism sells, so why mess up the money-making process by letting a little thing like the truth get in the way? It’s a question single moms around the world are left to ponder yet again thanks to an anonymous server who claims … Continue reading

Four Not-So-Spooky Garden Helpers

Boo! It’s Halloween, and I’ve been walking into a lot of spider webs in the garden lately. This is one of the hazards of being tall: spiderwebs up the nose. Many of us are afraid of spiders, and I must admit to being a little less than friendly to them myself. Yet I love them when they’re creeping and climbing around their native environment. Their webs are beautiful, and they’re a very beneficial animal to have in the garden. Many so-called scary garden critters might seem odd to us, but I’m sure that we’d look really odd to them too. … Continue reading