It Has been a whole week!

So....it's been a whole week since I've had a chance to share my thoughts with everyone. That's how it is as a SINGLE MOTHER! So..... things have been quite busy lately! I'm swamped with my online college studies, 1st grader homework, the 2 yr. old's game of running away from me when I get him dressed, etc. Anyhow, I have a new tip for everyone that has done wonders for me!!!!

TIP # 4 - On Sunday's pick out all 5 outfits for the kids for the upcoming week and hang them up in order. Set out shoes and socks as well!

This will give you more free time when you get home from work during the week! Which we all love!

Alone

As a single mother there are so many times when you just flat out feel alone. I would like to share my alone moments with all of you, just so that we as single mothers can share a common thread.

• Sitting at the dinner table and eating with both of my children in our new place without my youngest child's father. (It took all I had to hold myself back from crying in front of my little ones that night.)
• Both children sick at the same time and I'm the only doctor available. (I just wanna bust out crying along with them!)
• Curling up at night alone in a dark house and the children are in the other room. (All you are thinking.....who is going to protect us! I'm responsible for their lives!)
• Trying to plan a fun filled weekend day for the children and you are the designated facilitator for the whole day. ( You know those days when you don't wanna be bothered with another parent or girlfriend and you just wanna be alone with the kids and your mate!)
• That moment when preparing for dinner, helping the children with homework, directing baths all at one time can be quite overwhelming! ( You feel so bombarded with responsibility.)

Single Mom's, it's these tough times that we have to learn how to simply deal with it and constantly search for solutions to help us through these tough times.

Stay tune to my blog for strategies, tips, and much more that will help us cope with those times we may feel just a little overwhelmed.

My definition of a single Mom

A single mom is defined as any mother that is married, dating, or single and is left with anywhere from 51 to 110% of the responsibilities of taking care of their children. That's right married women, you aren't off the hook! If your husband isn't putting in his full 50%, than I hate to be the one to enlighten you,YOU ARE A SINGLE MOM! A single mom is defined as wearing over 150 different hats all at the same time, which may include any of the following, such as: Doctor, Lawyer, Therapist, Cook, Professional Janitor, and the list goes on. Where is our dam paycheck??!!!

New Schedule Interrupted!

Tip # 3 was inspired by the fact that my big head somehow slept through my alarm clock. That is.....if the dam thing even went off!!! I've been doing so great the past 2 days trying to implement the following new schedule to try to reduce my daily stress:

5:55 am - wake up
6:00 am to 6:30 am - Do Yoga
6:30 am to 7:00 am - Get myself completely ready 7:00 am to 7:10 am - Prepare children's breakfast and fix sandwiches for the lunch I sat out the previous night. ( Fixing the sandwich @ night leaves your poor child with a soggy sandwhich.)
7:10 am to 7:40 am - Get the kids ready.
7:40 am to 7:48 am - Door check (Def: examining the kids to be sure jackets are on, medicine and vitamins are taken, last minute boogers are removed, etc....)
7:50 am - WALKING OUT OF THE DOOR!

Tip # 3

Don't use your cell phone as an alarm clock! Purchase one of the ole skool alarm clocks that buzz and make your hair jump off of your head!

Traffic Madness

Ok...so Miss Single Mom decided to move away from home a yr. ago, away from most family. To make a long story short, I'm the only one who can really pick my kids up from after school.

(Don't ask any questions)

Here is my dilemma:

1. I get off at 5:30pm and have to be at daycare by 6pm


2. It takes 10 mins just to get out of the freakin parking lot after work because of all the people trying to leave my job at the same time!


3. I've tried to talk my job into taking away 1 of my 15 min. breaks so that I can leave at 5:15pm. ( You wouldn't beleive the response my boss gave to that one!)


4. It takes 15 mins with traffic to get to the daycare from my job, not including the 10 mins it takes to get out of my jobs parking lot.

My Solution:

1. I park in the furthest parking lot away from my job so I don't get stuck in the middle of the after work parking lot jam.
2. Take a 5 minute hike to my job!
   
3. Now I should only get stuck in maybe 5 mins of the parking lot traffic jam.

Hopefully my solution works! We'll see today!

Survival Tip # 2

Go to bed Early!

Tuesday Morning A Success!!!

So okay...... yesterday morning was a crash and burn! This morning was an absolute SUCCESS!!!!! So after implementing TIP #1 from yesterday's post, my morning went absolutely PERFECTO!
TIP #1 paired with going to bed early allowed my morning to run as follow:
Woke up @ 6:30 am - Enjoyed a soothing session of YOGA with Steve Ross from the great show on Oxygen, called INHALE!
( I've tried to implement yoga in my morning routines in the past.....didn't quite work out)
Got the kids ready and fed.....to make a long story short, I made it out of the house by 7:50 am in a breeze, which means my 1st grader was on time to school!!!! HOORAYYY!!!

Survival Tip #1

Every night Monday - Friday, prepare the following for the next day: Kids clothing, lunches, your clothing, your lunch, set out breakfast, backpacks, anything that must leave out of the house in the morning, and do your little girls hair! This will shave 20 mins off of your morning preparation time!

My Second Job

Ok so......after my day time shift is over, my second job starts! Check out the schedule: 5:30 pm - Leave day time job.....if lucky! Fight traffic for 30 mins, just to make it on time to the daycare by 6:05 pm (After 6:05 pm, the daycare charges 1$ for every minute late!) 6:25 pm - Get home..... Prepare dinner......... Bathe both children........... Do homework with the first grader............ Do the first graders hair.................... Break up 5 arguments between 1st grader & 2 yr. old.......... 8:30 pm Kids Bed Time!

Mondays are always the best!

Woke up at 7:05am, and had to have the kids and myself fully dressed and out of the door by atleast 7:55am to have my first grader on time to school. Didn't happen! I left my house at 8:03 am and the lady at the front office of my apartment complex is running my car down to give me a free breakfast......great! Just lost 1 min towards getting the first grader atleast in the front school door before the bell rings! (which doesn't even matter....she's still late!) Now the teacher is going to make a comment to her Dad again on how she has been late and his response to me will be, "She can live with me so I can get her to school on time because I wake up at 7am every morning." ( Keep in mind his house is 15 mins away from her school, 30 mins with traffic, takes my child 10 mins to get out the bed and a total of 30 mins to get her dressed, fed, hair, teeth etc.) Sure he'll have her there on time!