Family Summer Activities

This is a going to be a 4 part blog going through the various seasons of the year.  I've received some feedback on finding some summertime activities for single mothers with children while on a budget (thanx, Heather).  So, I put a little research into this and found a list of things to do with your kids.  The most popular suggestion being camping although the thought of camping for me is a terrifying notion not having ac and electricity to plug in my curlers, I've also found a modified version of camping I can deal with.  Pitching a tent in the back yard seems like a solid plan "B".  Read some books, eat, nap, get a badmitton net, BBQ...etc.  I'm going to speed this up and give you an itemized list so here goes: go to the park, go bowling, have a sleep over, have a movie night, board game night, a family garage sale (teach the kids how to barter and sell and count (we all know there are too many toys in the closet taking up precious space)), use the community pool or lake, snorkel, do a treasure hunt, picnic, scrapebook, hike, bike ride, write a story together, fingerpaint, play hide and seek or freeze tag.  I was walking with my friend Jen a few weeks ago and we happened to walk through the local cemetery and I thought what a wonderful learning experience if a person could bone up on their local history or even research certain time periods and look at the dates on tombstone and tell the kids what happened during those time periods or even walk around and find the oldest tombstone there.  The city hall may be able to help you with this project too.  My apologies for missing a blog yesterday.  I'll try and make it up to you :)  Enjoy!

Take care of you

The first few weekends without having your kids while going through a divorce can be an emotional roller coaster.  You wonder.. Are they okay? Are they being fed?  Are they wearing sunscreen? You can make yourself sick questioning what's happening when they are with your ex especially if you were the primary caregiver for many years and were there putting them to bed every night.  First and foremost you must remember to take care of you.  I typically use this time to pick up more shifts at work since I won't have to pay a babysitter to watch them, utilizing the available free time.  I also spend time on doing things that I neglected to do while I have the kids like giving myself a manicure/pedicure, plucking my eyebrows all that secret single behavior stuff that single people without kids can do after work or on the weekends.  You should pamper yourself. Go for a walk, do some grocery shopping, clean your house, watch your favorite shows or hell even read!  If you can't put all those questions out of your head, play your favorite music...LOUDLY! Find some other single friends and have a drink..or two :) Having a good circle of friends that know and understand what you are going through is helpful.  Trust their judgement and rely on them for a little while but don't be obsesent, remember they have lives too!  You've trusted your ex around your kids before, you shouldn't worry what's happening.  Once you are over the initial angry, bitter divorcee stage, you'll eventually find your rhythm.  It took me 3 weekends away from my kids to get to this point, but I got here.  I even purchased a book on how to meditate (mostly to try and quiet my inside voices).  Take this time to find you, reinvent yourself.  If you aren't happy, your children won't be, so take very good care of you!

How may I help you?

Hello Everyone!  This is my first blog, so expect a few kinks.  I am attempting to become an advice columnist for a newspaper and the suggestion is to start an online blog to see if I can get any followers. I'll admit I have quite the dramatic lifestyle, but I'm hoping I can put all that aside to give anyone who is willing to listen and needs advice about love, style, and family.  I have a B.S. in English and a minor in Anthropology.  My only experience with a newspaper is that I was in my high school journalmism class over 10 years ago!  It will be a challenge to keep my opinions to myself, but I will try.  I can share my life experiences with subjects such as, divorce (which I'm currently going through), love after divorce (which I'm currently also trying to find), hair and fashion, and having a young family with two children.  It is hard to juggle, work, children, and a social life and I can't make any promises that everyone can get a handle on it because we are all so complex, but if I can make things easier on you with words of encouragment, I will do my best.  I will now open the floor for any questions.  Feel free to give any feed back.  Thank You, Heidi