If you’re in major family planning mode, it might also be a good time for a career change. Career Expert site Zippia recently studied the best and worst jobs for expecting moms who are looking for paid maternity leave (because who isn’t?) and the results are pretty interesting.
Zippia scraped over one million job listings to determine which companies were likely to offer paid maternity leave by searching for specific keywords. Those jobs with the highest percentage of keywords offered the most maternity leave benefits. Here’s what they discovered.
The following job titles had over 10 percent of listings that mentioned maternity leave:
1. Senior Reliability Engineer
2. Lead Engineer
3. Electronics Tehnician
4. Senior Recruiter
5. Technical Support Engineer
6. Technical Recruiter
7. Compliance Analyst
8. Sales Manager
9. Software Test Engineer
10. Enterprise Account Executive.
Notably, all of these job titles require tons of experience and don’t apply to the majority of job seekers who likely work in entry or mid-level careers.
Zippia also noted the worst job options when it comes to getting paid maternity leave, with less that 1 percent offering the benefit:
1. Cook
2. Server
3. Sales Engineer
4. Case Manager
5. Architect
6. Sales Specialist
7. Machine Operator
8. Systems Administrator
9. Administrative Assistant
10. Material Handler
Many of the worst job options for paid maternity leave pay less than $30,000 annually, adding to the already difficult challenges of how moms can afford to take time off for baby. Obviously not everyone can afford to make a huge career change, but knowing which jobs offer a paid leave definitely helps when it comes to planning––and waiting for the U.S. to finally get its act together on offering a national paid maternity leave program.
If you’ve got a toddler, chances are you’d recognize the first beat of the Bluey theme song anywhere. But if the entire first season is also a little too committed to memory, never fear! Mum…Dad…Bingo…Bluey…they’re back next month!
Bluey Season 2 is coming to stream on Disney+ in May—and you’ll have 51 new episodes to choose from! “Hammerbarn,” “Dance Mode,” “Barky Boats,” and “Duck Cake” are just a few to watch endlessly with your brood (or by yourself since Bluey has plenty of clever content for adults).
The Australian animated TV series features the four-pup Heeler family and a large circle of canine friends. After it premiered on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2018, it quickly became the channel’s most popular children’s show and Disney scooped up broadcasting rights the next year, to the delight of families everywhere. Each episode is bite-sized at seven minutes long and humorously focuses on day-to-day life, including home improvement store trips and swim school.
If you don’t have Disney+ or want to try before you commit to the craze, select Season 2 episodes are available free of charge on the DisneyNOW app or Disney Junior. But trust us, Bluey is worthy of the screentime. Just don’t be alarmed if “Wackadoo,” “Dollarbucks” and “bush wee” become part of your vocabulary.
The beloved brand Hess recently announced the debut of a new member to its toy truck collection. The 2021 Cement Mixer is available now—and it’s the perfect plush for the truck-obsessed kiddo!
Available exclusively at HessToyTruck.com, the new Cement Mixer is more than your average variety of vehicle. This plush mixer is super-soft and cuddly, lights up and makes music.
photo courtesy of PR Newsfoto/Hess Toys
The 2021 Cement Mixer includes squeeze-activated flashing LED lights, an auto shutoff night light with a 15-minute timer and plays two sing-along songs (“Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” and “The Alphabet Song”). Along with these fun features, the plush toy also has a silent mode, commemorative license plate and customizable keepsake driver’s license tag.
According to Hess, this soft toy truck is “safe for all ages.” It’s mixing drum and side exhaust pipes also make the plush easy for your younger tot to pick up and tote around. Order your own 2021 Cement Mixer plush for $29.99 directly from the Hess Toy Truck website. The truck comes with free standard shopping and Energizer batteries.
Are you already in summer planning mode? Sam’s Club recently announced a line-up of fab floats—and the warehouse club is going big this year with a six-person 20-foot pink limo!
Forget about teeny tiny one-person floaties. Sam’s Member’s Mark Retro Pink Limo Island ($199.98) is over-sized awesomeness. This heavy-gauge PVC float has room for you, your family and maybe even a friend or two.
Not only is the Pink Limo a cool way to lounge on a hot summer day, it comes with plenty of amenities. The float has an inflated rear swim platform with four handles, six cup holders, and a built-in cooler.
As if an over-sized inflatable pink limo wasn’t enough, Sam’s Club also has other giant floats for the whole family. Check out the Member’s Mark Island Airplane ($169.98) or the Member’s Mark Island Zebra ($169.98)—both fit six people.
If you’re looking for something smaller, Sam’s Club has you covered in completely creative ways. The Member’s Mark 56″ Animal Tube Pool Float ($14.98) is available in unicorn, shark, crab or toucan themes! These single-rider floats are perfect for a day of poolside fun!
I registered my oldest child for kindergarten recently. The process brought up all kinds of questions, like “How is she growing up so fast?” and “What are we having for breakfast?” Despite an accounting degree and years of related experience, the scariest question I had was “What if I have to help with her math homework?”
Quiz shows like “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” remind us that we’ve forgotten much of what we learned in school. With a desire to show my daughter that Mommy Knows Best, I’ve come up with five real-life examples below that help illustrate some textbook math definitions. Don’t worry, I won’t tell you about any trains speeding towards each other.
1. Repeating Decimals
Definition: a decimal representation of a number whose digits repeat their values at regular intervals and the repeated portion is not zero.
Example: “Brush your teeth. Put on your shoes. Brush your teeth. Put on your shoes.” Shouldn’t this come with a recording device?
2. Isosceles Triangle
Definition: A triangle in which two equal sides are joined by an odd side.
Example: When I have to convince my children they have the exact same number of intricately cut vegetable shapes while eating the leftover scraps myself.
3. Inverse Proportions
Definition: When one value decreases at the same rate that the other increases.
Example: The more effort I put into making a meal or planning an outing, the less my children will enjoy it. The reverse is also true. Pasta with cheese for dinner, anyone?
4. Mode
Definition: The number which appears most often in a data set.
Example: 5. This is the number of minutes my daughter needs before she can finish her block tower, put away playdough or put on her shoes.
5. Constant
Definition: A number whose value is fixed by an unambiguous definition.
Example: The amount of love I have for my children, no matter how much they hate the boeuf bourguignon with extra mushrooms I made for dinner.
So you see, despite new methods of teaching, we parents already have tricks up our sleeves to help our kids learn about math. If you need a bonus suggestion, remember that pi is also a mathematical constant. Would you prefer apple or cherry?
I'm a Seattle transplant originally from California via stints in Massachusetts and France. My husband and I love showing our two young children the Pacific Northwest's natural beauty and toting them around the world for the occasional escape.
Starting today and available exclusively on Amazon Kids+ on compatible Echo devices, kiddos can now ask Alexa to open Frozen Sing! and Star Wars: C-3PO Translates! The two new features join a slew of others that include Disney, Pixar, Star Wars,and Marvel-themed skills.
First up, say “Alexa, open Frozen Sing!” and choose from 10 popular songs from Disney’s Frozen and Frozen 2. Get up to par in “Rehearsal Mode” before making it count in “Spotlight Mode” where kids can sing without lyrics or have the option to use high or low volume lyrics.
If you have an Alexa screened devices, you’ll get visuals for each song and a visual congratulations at the end of each performance.
Always wonder what Chewbacca was saying? Now just say, “Alexa, open C-3PO Translates!” to learn tons of alien languages from the Star Wars galaxy.
This skill is hosted by C-3PO and SD-89 and teaches key phrases in Shyriiwook and Droidspeak. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, try talking with the characters in their native language. You can even try beeping it up with R2-D2 and BB-8!
To instill the new skills just open the Alexa app on your and tap the menu icon at the top-left. Then, open the top menu and tap “Skills & Games,” then the magnifying glass icon to search for the skill, and finally tap “enable to use.”
We have a lot of holidays coming around the bend. First up, Valentine’s Day! But Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, not to mention birthdays—they’ll all be here before you know it. So many gift-giving holidays, so few ideas that go beyond the everyday ordinary. Wait, hold up! We found a Chicago-based start-up that will create a personalized, radio-quality song designed with your loved one in mind. Read on to hear how Songfinch will connect you with a songwriter who will record a special song featuring all the inside jokes, nicknames, stories and wishes you want captured within the notes, making for a memorable gift literally like no other.
Songfinch's Personal Story
Founded by a team of Chicago music and technology veterans Josh Kaplan, Rob Lindquist and John Williamson, Songfinch's goal is to capture moments and stories in song. “We, as people, create story-worthy moments every day, and more and more, these experiences are being valued above things that can be purchased,” shares Williamson, “There’s no medium that speaks more directly to the soul than music. By leveraging the power of music, we’re creating an entirely unique approach to the gifting space, and we’re really excited to help people connect with others in new ways.”
Choose Your Own (Song) Adventure
You'll complete what Songfinch calls a "story guide" providing details on the person, live event or experience you want to hear recreated in music mode. Your story guide can include anything you'd like, from the oddball characteristics that make your loved one oh-so-unique to the pee-in-your-pants memories that capture the special moments you've shared. You'll also set the particular mood or vibe the song should capture, be it peppy, romantic, jazzy. Then choose the type of vocalist preferred: maybe you're looking for a birthday rap with a blues-y overtone or a crooner-style wedding anniversary ballad.
We tested out this amazing new service and here’s how it works!
Personal Story from Our Writer, Amy Bizzarri
I chose to create a song to gift my music-loving daughter, Chiara, on her 7th birthday. I shared some insider details on her bright personality as well as all the things that make her happy: playing with her dog outside, traveling, playing the piano.
A Match Made in Musical Heaven
Songfinch will handpick the perfect music artist (from their team of 200+ vetted songwriters) to craft and professionally record a song. One week later, you’ll receive a downloadable/shareable web page known as a “Story Homepage” where you’ll find your love brought to life in song.
Amy's Review of the Experience
We were matched with artist Katie Stump, who recorded a beautiful ballad that truly captured my love for my daughter, Chiara. I have to admit that when I first listened, tears welled up in my eyes! I surprised my daughter by playing her song after school on our car radio. Her reaction: At first, her jaw dropped. She simply couldn't believe she was listening to a song made just for her! Soon she was singing along and making attempts to play the song on her piano. Months later, it remains a top requested song in our already musical household.
How Much for All These Feels?
The cost? Just $249 for a song that will be cherished by your family forever! (Note: Songfinch is offering a discount right now, $199/song.)
"One of the most unique aspects of Songfinch is that the product comes from your heart." explains co-founder Rob Lindquist. "It allows you to intimately share your memories and feelings. . . something that tends to be a challenge for people, especially in a one-to-one setting. Being able to have those types of personal details created into a beautiful piece of music, it seems to speak better than any other gift out there.”
Learn more about Songfinch or arrange a musical ode of your own at songfinch.com.
Grab, shoot and score! Just in time for another unprecedented NBA season Hasbro has launched Foosketball. This fast-paced, head-to-head faceoff combines elements of foosball and basketball.
It takes skill, patience, and a bit of luck to get the feel when turning the handles to master and control the Foosketball figure and shoot balls into the basket across the court. Each orange ball is worth one point and the golden ball is worth two points. Rack up the points for each basket until someone reaches five points for the win. Try an alternative mode of play using just one ball on the court and setting a goal for the number of points it takes to win.
Foosketball is available at most major retailers including Target, Walmart and Amazon. The game is suitable for players ages eight and up and retails for $19.99.
Getting a holiday picture with Santa is a Christmas tradition, and while many families walk away with a picture-perfect shot, there are just as many who end up with a major Santa fail. Until they get older, tons of littles find the big man in red terrifying––and these photos prove it. From crying babies to getting Mrs. Claus in on the action, keep scrolling to see some hilarious Santa photo fails that’ll keep you laughing the entire holiday season.
Check your Crock Pots! In a safety alert shared from Whystle, Sunbeam Products is recalling Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cookers because they can pressurize when the lid is not fully locked, which can cause the lid to detach and eject hot food and liquids.
Affected crock pots have Model Number SCCPPC600-V1 on the label on the bottom of the unit and were manufactured between Jul. 1, 2017 and Oct. 1, 2018. They bear date codes K196JN through K365JN and L001JN through L273JN, which is engraved on one of the prongs of the electrical plug and on the bottom of the base.
photo: Crock Pot
The recalled Crock-Pots were sold at Walmart, Target, Amazon and other retailers from July 2017 through November 2020 for $70 to $100. Sunbeam has received 119 reports of lids detaching and 99 reports of injuries ranging from first-degree to third-degree burns.
If you have a recalled product, stop using it immediately in pressure cooker mode. While it is safe to use in slow cooking and sautéing modes, customers can contact Crock-Pot to obtain a free replacement lid.
Crock-Pot can be reached by phone at 800-323-9519 or you can visit recall.crockpot.com to check if you own an affected product and to request a replacement lid.
