First week back to school

It went smoothly. My son likes his new teacher and has mostly the same friends as he did last year in class. This year, my son is in the 3rd grade and wants to fit in with his friends. It is amazing how quickly they grow up and begin to learn about what other people think of them. Although I did get my son a few "popular" items, he understands, or at least he nodded his head, that people should like him for what's inside and not what's outside. How do you teach your kids to love themselves regardless of who else does?

What's a single mother to do?

What is a single mom to do when you have bills and can't find a decent traditional job? For me, it means getting creative and finding alternative ways to make money. I have two toddlers and unfortunately I can't afford to just put them in daycare and go right to work. In my area, daycare costs just as much as the average minimum wage job pays. Try 400+ per month per child. How can a single mother can be tough when you have to find work based upon how much your daycare bill is expected to be.

To fill the void, I have been doing something called ChaCha. It is a home based job and I don't need to worry about daycare because I do it from my computer and I don't have to use the phone. You can go to www.ChaCha.com and sign up to be a guide. For a referral, just send me a message and I will be sure to give you one.

I have also been doing something called MTurk. You can go to www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome to find out more about this. I get to be with my kids and when I am surfing the net on their downtime, I can make money. If you have any other suggestions for single mothers, please let me know.

How do You do it?

How do single mothers do it? That is a question that I find myself asking all the time. How do I do it? The truth is that I really don't know. I do what I have to do in order that my kids survive and have the best childhood that they can have. I hardly get enough sleep, My house gets to be a mess sometimes with toys in every room. Sometimes my kids eat cereal for dinner because that is what they want and I am not in the mood to argue.

Once you become a single mother, by which ever route, there is a type of strength that just builds within you. You can go for hours on just the energy of knowing that you are doing what is best for your family. That may mean running from appointment to school to work to meeting to school to daycare to the gym to the grocery store and then home all within a few hours of sunlight that the day has to offer. Single moms should renamed super moms.

Tell me some stories about how you as a single mom(read Super Mom) do it. Have you ever had one of those awesomely productive days where you got so much accomplished that you just wanted to shake your own hand. Share your stories, maybe we can learn something from you.

Back to School Tips

With school just around the corner, many parents are scrambling to take care of the last minute needs and wants of our students. There are ways to get help with the school supply lists that need to be fulfilled. Many churches and community centers sponsor events in which they donate supplies to children in the community. Check your local community center and churches to find out if there is anything going on in your area. As far as purchasing school clothing, less can be more. While new clothes are always nice, you can teach your children the value of a dollar as well as teach them that school is not a fashion show, but a place to learn. You can do this by shopping in stores like TJMaxx, Ross and Marshalls for fashionable clothing at a huge discount off the MSRP. For basic staples like solid tee shirts, socks, and dress shirts you can shop at big box stores such as Wal Mart, Target and KMart. These stores offer the bulk value. For things that are bound to get stained and ripped, you can purchase more for less. Good luck getting ready for back to school. Got more tips? Come share with us at Single Moms Together

It takes a village

It's true, that it takes a village to raise a child. But when you are a single parent it can feel like you are the village all by yourself. Welcome to Single Moms Together. Here we can share tips and information on raising healthy happy children in our single parent homes. While it is beneficial for children to grow up in a home with both of their parents, many of us are faced with raising our kids by ourselves. Whether that was by choice or due to circumstances(either controllable or uncontrollable), we have to make things work. For the sake of our children and our our own sanity, we need the help of the village and Single Moms Together is that village.