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Entry bubble Family Medical Leave Act Basics

By: Sommer | March 28, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

I first heard about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in one of my college classes. Needless to say, my husband and I havepregnant woman talking to a male coworker discussed this little law a lot around the house recently. Since I work for Uncle Sam I don’t get “maternity leave” per se, but I have been able to save up enough vacation to use while I’m off work with the baby. Luckily I won’t have to take unpaid leave under FMLA to spend time with my newborn. My husband isn’t that lucky though; he just took a new job last fall. And, since his company doesn’t offer paid paternity leave, he’ll have to invoke his FMLA rights and take unpaid time off if he decides to take extended leave to welcome the baby home.

Here are some details about your rights under FMLA:

  • The Clinton Administration enacted the FMLA in 1993.
  • The main purpose of the law is to grant eligible employees up to 12 workweeks, per 12 month period, of unpaid family and temporary medical leave under the following circumstances:
    • birth and care of the newborn child;
    • adoption or taking a child into foster care;
    • care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
    • personal medical leave when the employee cannot work because of a serious health condition.
  • Your employer must give you your original job back once you return to work. If your employer has filled your job in your absence or, for some reason it's no longer available, your employer must provide you with a job that’s equal in pay, benefits and responsibility.
  • You’re also entitled to all your employee benefits while you’re out.

| Comments [5] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: employee  family  job  law  leave  maternity  paternity  sommer  work 

 

Entry bubble Choosing Child Care

By: Sommer | March 07, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Now that I’m about 5 weeks from my son being born my husband and I are talking more and more about the type of child care we’ll use when I return to work later this summer. We know we have a few options including using the child care center that’s in the GSA buildingbabysitter holding one baby and entertaining two others where I work (I’m on the waiting list so we’ll see if I get in!). Other options include finding a home day care, a child care center closer to home or to my husband’s job, or hiring a nanny.

I’ve been searching for resources to help us make a choice and there’s quite a bit out there. Here are some of the helpers I’ve found most useful:

I’d love your advice on smoothing the transition between staying home with my baby and returning to work. I know many of you out there must have a lot of experience since most mothers these days return to work after having children.

| Comments [0] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: baby  babysitter  child  childcare  daycare  family  mother  nanny  sommer  work 

 

Entry bubble Tax Rebates for Americans

By: Sommer | February 15, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Tax Refund Check Envelope


Tax season this year is the most exciting one for me and my husband yet since we’ll itemize so we can take our first ever mortgage interest deduction. And, in May we’ll be among the millions of Americans who will also receive the famed tax rebate checks the government has talked about for the last month.

In order to qualify, Americans will have had to file their 2007 tax returns. The IRS will then use your return to determine your eligibility for the rebate. They anticipate that singles with incomes under $75,000 will receive a maximum of $600 and for married people with incomes under $150,000 the checks will max out at $1,200. Households will also receive $300 additional for each dependent child under 17. Low-income Americans and beneficiaries of certain government programs have special eligibility.

Keep your eyes open for fraud since this new rebate provides the perfect opportunity for scamsters to take advantage of the unsuspecting public. The IRS will not call or email taxpayers about these payments! If you receive a scam email forward it to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. Remember that the IRS will only contact you by mail about these payments.

Now that we’ve got business taken care of, I want to know what you’re planning to do with your check. Will you go on a vacation, invest it, use it to pay off debt or something else? We’re planning to use ours to start a college savings plan for our new son.

| Comments [23] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: family  irs  money  rebate  refund  sommer  taxes 

 

Entry bubble A New Addition to the Gov Gab Family

By: Sommer | December 14, 2007 | Category: Health

Ok, I have to fess up. Being able to "haul stuff” wasn’t the only reason we decided to get a new car in August (or paint our bedrooms, for that matter). That was when we also found out I was going to have a baby - yay! This will be our first child, so the main reason we bought a new car is because my husband is an uber-planner. To stay on track with our financial plan he determined we had to buy one 4-door, kid-friendly car now so we could buy another one next year. That way we'd both have safer cars to “haul” the new addition and any necessary accessories without completely breaking the bank.

So far I’m very intrigued by this whole pregnancy experience. I've always romanticized what pregnancy might baby be like – maybe overwhelming feelings of maternal love beaming from my body at anyone who passes by. 

Needless to say, it’s is nothing like I imagined. I’ve had it good, I must say – not too much morning sickness and now I’m beginning to feel the little kicks, and ultrasounds are always something to look forward to.  We feel blessed to be expecting a new baby but overall, it’s been a relatively uneventful experience.   A lot of waiting… (I’m very impatient.)

So, in my quest to pass the long 40 weeks and foster the maternal beam of love, I found some great information on USA.gov’s Expecting Parents page. The information on alcohol and pregnancy (no champagne for New Years 2008!), tips on staying healthy and even help with finding a name has been great. Also, USA.gov’s Frequently Asked Questions page about Pregnancy and Nutrition directed me to essential information on foods pregnant women should stay away from (no sushi or unpasteurized cheese – it’s harder than I thought!). 

I’ll keep you up to date as April nears. Everyone says the baby will arrive before I know it, but I’m not so sure. Please share any of your tips or stories on pregnancy and parenthood in the comments.  I need all the advice I can get!!

Now, if I could only find some really great maternity pants…

| Comments [4] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: baby  car  family  health  parenthood  pregnancy  pregnant  sommer 

 

Entry bubble One Great, Big, Happy Family...of Weirdos.

By: Colleen | November 13, 2007 | Category: Home and Family

"You are all weirdos." These are astute words from Sam the Eagle, with which I must agree.

People's quirkiness is often what I like best about them. It creates character, and is never boring. Some of my favorite examples:

  • My best friend can't come within ten feet of styrofoam, or eat pointed ends of french fries. (The fries, he believes could potentially poke him in the stomach. The styrofoam fear is inexplicable and frankly, stupid.)
  • My Mother can't even fathom drinking out of plasticware. Strictly a "glass only" gal.
  • Another friend will not sleep until she has exactly three pillows on her bed, positioned at precise intervals and angles, ensuring her an ideal stay in dreamland.

I am no exception to bizarre human idiosyncrasies. I am unable to function without two elastic hair-ties securely around my left wrist at all times. (This makes for great formal-wear.) And if I come within smelling-range of canned tuna fish, the universe might explode.

Indeed, we are all weirdos. But one must not blame himself. A weirdo can't come to be without the genes of parental weirdos. It's all hereditary.

Last weekend, an extended family dinner complete with its fair share of oddity got me thinking how exactly we came to be the "Griswoldian" group we are today.

This was a question that required a bit more investigation than simply aunts, uncles, and cousins. I turned to USA.gov's "History, Arts, and Culture" page for information on genealogy and immigration records. Here I was able to reach the Ellis Island site, where I was able to register to see my family's passenger records , and even a picture of the ship on which they came to America.

Turns out my weirdness is an intricate blend of Slovak and Irish lineage. And I couldn't be prouder.

| Comments [1] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: ellis  family  genealogy  immigration  island  lineage 

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