Marathon Mom: Training When There’s No Time (source: WBZ Boston)

As I write, the scene outdoors isn’t pretty — a steady cascade of sleet/slush/drizzle occasionally blown horizontal by an early March gust.  Hopefully, either the wind or the precip (or both!) will subside by the time I have to hit the track after work for a speed session. I dread, hate, loathe speedwork, even in perfect weather, but it’s a necessary weekly evil as I prepare to join the Boston-bound pack in Hopkinton on Patriots’ Day.  The 2010 Boston Marathon will be my eleventh. I’ve run Boston 5 times, New York twice, Columbus twice and Las Vegas once. This one’s different. It’s my first as a parent. Click here to full full article.

‘Mompreneur’ creates environmentally friendly products (source: TheSpec.com)

As the mother of two children under five, Karen Creed-Thompson has changed her fair share of diapers. It’s not a task any parent would enjoy, but what annoyed her even more were the pads that ensure baby’s mess doesn’t end up on the carpet or furniture. A case in point was the torn and ragged-looking pad sitting near her desk.  “It made me upset. There are so many good materials out there.” That was more than a year ago. Today she is the sole employee and owner of Thula Inc. (pronounced Too-la), selling a kit consisting of a rubber mat and cloth pad aimed at making diaper changing more pleasant. Click here to real full article.

Moms make the executive (source: UPI.com)

Canadian and U.S. researchers say mom plays a key role in how her child develops executive functioning. Researchers at the University of Montreal and University of Minnesota found the way a mother interacts with her child affects how the child develops this set of advanced cognitive functions — including mental flexibility and the abilities to remember things and control impulses — integral to the ability to make goals and reach them. Lead author Annie Bernier of the University of Montreal and colleagues observed 80 pairs of middle-income Canadian mothers and their year-old babies play and solve puzzles. Click here to read full story.

Moms have special moments as torch nears final destination (source: The Montreal Gazette)

After the endless hours Canadian uber hockey mom Theresa Watts has devoted to her kids’ sports teams, Monday was finally her day in the sun as the Olympic torch passed through a series of communities in B.C.’s Lower Mainland. For the last six years, the mother of three has organized more than 400 kids every year to play in a recreational hockey tournament in Delta called Party in the House. She begins planning the Christmas tournament in July and then works at least an hour a day to prepare all the details. Click here to read full story.

Mompreneurs can have it all (source: Your Ottawa Region.com)

Becoming a mompreneur isn’t as difficult as it may seem.  That is what Carolyn Mehdi of Kanata and Janet McCausland of Barrhaven, co-directors of Entrepreneurial Moms, are looking to teach Ottawa women. A mompreneur is a woman who wants the best of both worlds: a fulfilling career and a family. A woman who doesn’t want to have to choose between staying at home with the kids or following her dreams. Mehdi and McCausland are two such women. Click here to read full story.

Coupon Mom’s strategic shopping secrets (source: MSNBC.com)

Looking to save money in 2010? You can easily stock your pantry without spending a fortune. Stephanie Nelson, bargain shopper and author of “The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half,” shares her tried and true tips for getting what you want without breaking the bank. Click here to read full story.

A decade later, a lot has changed in the world of motherhood (source: Boston Globe)

Babies don’t change much from one era to the next, but babyhood sure does.  At least that’s how it feels as I compare the arrivals of my two children, more than a decade apart. I gave birth to our son 12 years ago, and this summer my husband and I met our daughter in China, one week after her first birthday. OK, so technically that makes her a toddler, not a baby, and certainly there are plenty of differences between preparing for a newborn and bringing home a 1-year-old. But the two of them are so startlingly similar in temperament and habits – both alert, curious, and cheerful (or, as I say in my grumpier moods, lousy sleepers, into everything, and loud) – that it makes it easier to see that, even with only 11 years between their births, they’ve landed in two surprisingly different worlds. Click here to read full story.

Mom, son graduate together from College of St. Scholastica (source: TwinCities.com)

As about 200 College of St. Scholastica graduates lined up for Saturday’s fall commencement, Laurie Gaudino left the pack to get some tissues.  The 53-year-old business management major from Duluth felt like she was going to get emotional not so much because of the culmination of college, but because she was graduating alongside Matt Erickson, her 25-year-old son.  “I’m afraid I’m going to go cry,” said Guadino, who works as a buyer at St. Scholastica. “It’s just exciting. It’s so nice. I’m proud of my son and I’m proud of myself. I feel like I’m at such a good place in my life right now.”  Click here to read full story.

Celebrating food – and moms – on Thanksgiving (source: Ann Arbor.com)

Thanksgiving is my mom’s favorite holiday. She keeps lists from years ago about what to make, when to start, and what are “must serves,” even though I suspect she could do all of the work blindfolded by this point.  One of my favorite memories is when I brought my husband (then, new boyfriend) home for his first Dersnah Thanksgiving.  He arrived close to serving time and upon seeing the loaded dining room table exclaimed, “How many people are coming tonight?” Click here to read full story.

Whitby Mom Wants to Fill Soldiers’ Stockings (source: News Durham Region)

About 30 sponsors are still needed to ensure Canadian soldiers “on the outskirts of nowhere” get to celebrate Christmas.  Whitby resident Diane Temple is again running the Stocking for a Soldier campaign, hoping to fill stockings for two platoons of Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan. That’s 79 soldiers and she has sponsors for 49, she says.  She ran the campaign last year when her son Andrew Grieve was stationed at a forward operating base about six hours from Kandahar.  Following his tour, Andrew retired from the forces, she said. Click here to read full story.

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