single mom

All posts tagged single mom

Because I’m That Good, That’s Why!

Published June 2, 2014 by Angela

It is funny, and almost kind of scary, that I can tell what type of attitude my 16 year old has, through a text message. I asked a simple question, and she replied with a snotty answer. What did I do? I told her to lose the attitude!

“How do you know I have an attitude?”

“Because I am your Mom, and I can hear your voice and see the look on your face as I read your text messages!”

“Fair enough” she says.

Being rude through social media is not acceptable. You better talk to me electronically the same way you talk to me when we are in front of each other.

And Yes, I can also hear you roll your eyes, from the back of my head where I keep an extra set of eyes and ears!

6 Month Check-Up

Published May 31, 2014 by Angela

I figured it was time to check back in with my 2014 to-do list, and see where I am at. My original list can be seen here: https://parenthoodandotherhorrorstories.com/2014/01/02/my-2014-to-do-list/

1) Go to church a lot more – I am pretty successful with this one. I don’t miss too often, because I can really tell when I do; my attitude pretty much tanks.

2) Tithe a lot more- Success

3) Stop swearing – doing pretty well. I still swear, but nowhere near as much as I did. I wonder if it counts if I am still thinking the words, and just not saying them?

4) Stop yelling – Better, but I still have my moments

5) Make and take some “me” time – This made me want to cry when I read this. Literally, I felt the tears behind my eyes. This has not happened, and with my kids going non-stop, and me working and going to college, it feels like it is not going to happen anytime soon. I get a 6-week break from college at the end of June, and the girls will be out of school so hopefully I can make this happen!

6) Patience – yeah. Next…

7) Exercise – LOL. Still. Next…

8) Read the Bible – I am up to 1 Samuel. I have gotten through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.

9) Improve my photography skills – I have not had the camera out very much, at all. I am trying to focus on taking it with me when I go somewhere so I have it handy all the time.

10) Allow myself to be happy – I have been feeling kind of crummy for the last couple of months. As the weather gets nicer, my mood gets more crummy. I think it is just all of the running I have been doing, along with school work. I have been Blessed with so much, and have been focusing on Thanking God for that on a daily basis 🙂

Did I Raise Her Too Well?

Published May 21, 2014 by Angela

I was thrilled to hear from my oldest today, who is in South Africa until the middle of June. It seems that she is starting to feel guilty about being there helping one little girl, when she feels like she should be here, helping her three little sisters.

I let her know she has done more than enough for her sisters, and they are my responsibility to be sure all their needs are taken care of and everything is going well with them. I also let her know that she is changing the life of this little girl, likely in many ways she may never even realize. My children have a solid support system, this girl may not.

I hope she stops feeling blue and absorbs and enjoys every single minute with this little girl, her classmates and their students, and this whole once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

As I tell her all the time:
“You make my heart smile. Every single day.”

Helping In South Africa

Published May 16, 2014 by Angela

Helping In South Africa

Beyond proud of my oldest for giving her time, for nearly 6 weeks, to take a trip to South Africa with some classmates to help out those in need. I’m sure she got right to it after playing with this adorable lion cub! Words cannot express how much I miss her right now…

Hanging On and Letting Go

Published May 8, 2014 by Angela

It is a difficult thing to process when you have conflicting feelings trying to overwhelm your senses. Being very excited for my oldest daughter to be going to South Africa to do mission work makes me very proud. And the immediate panic I experienced as I hugged her for the last time for 6 weeks and told her I was proud of her; it took my breath away. It literally felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest while I was driving to work. We have went 6 weeks without seeing each other before, but I also knew she was less than an hour away, and always a text message away. Now I will be relying on the group’s blog postings to keep me up to date on how my daughter is doing.

Am I concerned for her safety? Of course. I am concerned for her safety when she is on her college campus where she is going to start her 4th and final year in the fall. I am always concerned; the location does not matter.

As the newness of this situation wears off, and I get settled in to the idea of keeping tabs on my daughter via the internet, she will be on her way back and I know it will feel like she never left.

I really am excited for this amazing opportunity she has. I could never even begin to explain how proud of her I am, to her or anyone else. She takes opportunities as they present themselves, even if it is new or frightening. She creates opportunities for herself to grow as a young woman in a fast-paced-always-changing world.

She will change lives, and her and I both know that she can change the world, even if it is one person at a time.

Adult Bullies…

Published May 2, 2014 by Angela

…Absolutely infuriate me. How can we expect our children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, friends and relatives to not be bully’s while we are so willing to give them perfect examples of how to do it? I have 2 children who are not allowed on Facebook or any other social media because of getting bullied and harassed.

Yet I witness online on a daily basis, adults being bullied. Whether it is through Facebook, quotes on online news sites, this immediate access we now have has changed us somehow. We no longer feel the need to mind our words, and watch what we say, especially when we are hiding behind a computer screen and no one knows who we are.

What happened to basic respect, being courteous, polite, and keeping your mouth shut? Is whatever it is you need to say going to benefit anyone else, or are you just being a bully? Are you intentionally saying something for the sheer delight of being cruel and getting a complete stranger riled up?

Shame on you! It is time to be good role models, act how we would expect others to act, treat people as you want to be treated.

And if you don’t have anything nice to say, then for Goodness sake, keep your mouth shut!

OK, I am done now!

Have you been bullied online? How did you handle it?

When There Is Not Enough Time In Your Day

Published May 1, 2014 by Angela

I saw an interesting post yesterday, about how if you do not have enough time to do whatever it is you are doing, you are likely doing the wrong thing, or at least doing it in the wrong way. I have been feeling this for the past couple of weeks. Church activities have wound down now that Easter is over, but I have been busier than ever. My 16 year old is just about done with drivers training, thank goodness, because this is 4 days a week that I have to get up earlier than normal. So I am more tired than normal. I have worked two 12 hour days in a row due to a supervisor being on vacation, so I feel like nothing at home is getting done. And, I have a class winding down, so I am working on a graduate research paper, instead of procrastinating like I normally do and waiting until the last minute.

So could I be doing things differently to have more time? Probably not this week, or the next. But I do have a tendency to get myself involved in more things than my schedule allows, and I need to learn how to say no.

Case in point? I got a phone call yesterday to remind me to have my 9 year old at church at 5:30pm today to practice singing for the Mother’s Day church service. So I got up early, got ready for the day, dropped off 16 year old at drivers training, and went home. I went back and got daughter at 7pm, walked in the door, and realized I completely forgot about the practice tonight. I feel terrible because I know they were counting on her being there. I haven’t even called yet to explain my forgetfulness because I really don’t know what to say.

I need to prioritize, write things on my calendar, and take some time every day to relax, for my well-being and sanity!

How do you tend to overwhelm yourself, and what do you do to correct it?

It Never Ends

Published April 29, 2014 by Angela

The bickering, that is. I was blaming the crappy attitudes my girls have on the extra-long winter here in West Michigan.

Boy was I wrong. Even on the sunniest day, Erin and Cassidy will NOT stop bickering. Over the most ridiculous things.

So now I need to blame it on something other than winter, and figure out how to fix it before summer gets here and I have this going on all day long.

Do you got any good tricks for getting your kids to get along?