June 7th, 2010 08:00am

Jealousy over the “fun parent”

by WineCountry.Mom

Moms and dads naturally have different parenting styles. And in a single parent household, it’s difficult not to let that conjur up feelings of jealousy when one is favored over the other. (read the article…)

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TAGS , | CATEGORY Single Parenting

May 29th, 2010 06:10pm

Surviving Single Parenthood

by WineCountry.Mom


Being a single parent is delicate balancing act. In the world of exes, split parent households, tighter budgeting, single parent dating, and balancing a family with only one pair of hands, it can be a stressful, confusing, hectic life. But there are lessons learned along the way. (read the article…)

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TAGS , | CATEGORY Adventures in Single Parent Dating, Single Parenting

May 27th, 2010 02:45pm

Deadbeat dads get a dose of reality

by WineCountry.Mom

VH1 is starting a new reality show for deadbeat dads to step up to the plate. Dads will be changing diapers, soothing babies, and simulating pregnancies. And that’s all great. But I have some more ideas they should include. (read the article…)

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TAGS , , | CATEGORY As a Parent...., Single Parenting, video

May 7th, 2010 02:15pm

A mom who inspires

by WineCountry.Mom


Without other moms to offer support, or even just to say, “I’ve been there”, what kind of moms would we be? Each of us have a mom that inspires us. For me, it is my grandmother. (read more…)

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TAGS , , | CATEGORY As a Parent...., As a Woman..., Local Moms, Single Parenting

March 9th, 2010 08:00am

Ticking clocks

by WineCountry.Mom

“Four years?!?” I exclaimed when Mr. W and I first brought up talk of moving in with each other a month or two ago. We were both too scared to even mention the “M” word, but my sister’s recent visit to introduce her fiancé had me reeling and questioning my own life. While we’ve been together for 1.5 years, Mr. W and I are in agreement that neither one of us wants to give up our homes in the now. We both love being together, and spend every weekend with each other. But we also enjoy having our own place to come home to at night. We enjoy that quiet time of not having to speak if we don’t want to. Frankly, we are still enjoying our independence way too much to combine our homes and our families. Besides, one of us (most likely me) would be moving from our home town to reside in the other’s town. That would mean uprooting the kids from their schools and their friends, and having a much longer commute every day. It’s not an easy change either of us wanted to make in the present.

But when I brought up future talk that involved moving in together, he mentioned that it most likely won’t happen until after his son graduates high school. And since his son is a freshman….

“Four years?!?” (more…)

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TAGS , , | CATEGORY Adventures in Single Parent Dating, Single Parenting

March 3rd, 2010 06:05pm

Boys Raised by Moms

by WineCountry.Mom

When I got to work this morning, Mr. W had left a book on my desk called “Assertive Discipline for Parents”. He had been reading it, and I expressed interest in it and asked to borrow it when he was done. It was still on my desk when one of my co-workers came over and saw it. At first my co-worker joked about it, but then he mentioned that it’s actually a good subject to read up on. He brought up a lady friend of his that had to cancel their lunch date because she needed to come home and fix her son lunch. Her son’s age? Oh, he’s 18. (more…)

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TAGS , , , , | CATEGORY Kid Issues, Single Parenting

March 1st, 2010 02:29pm

Tweens and Privacy

by WineCountry.Mom

A mom I know recently told me the story of her daughter and herself. As a single mom of just one girl, the two were incredibly close. My friend relied on her daughter to help out around the house and take care of her own responsibilities. And she was never disappointed. The two worked as a team to get dinner on the table, keep the house straight, and that all homework was done promptly and turned in on time. The two spent a lot of time together outside of school and work. The daughter talked often with her mom about problems she was having at school or with friends, when she thought a particular boy was cute – pretty much anything that crossed her mind. Jr. High came, which meant a new schedule at a new school, and new friends to meet. It’s interesting, things didn’t change overnight, as my friend remembers. But they did change rapidly. Her once sweet and kind daughter suddenly became sullen and angry. She stopped helping so much around the house. And the biggest change?

She stopped talking to her mother. (more…)

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TAGS , , , , , | CATEGORY As a Parent...., Case of the Terrible Tweens, Kid Issues, Single Parenting

February 16th, 2010 02:46pm

Creating joint custody with or without the other parent

by WineCountry.Mom

Before I left my husband, back when I knew I was actually going to leave him, I was scared of divorce. What would that mean for me? How would I make it on my own? Could I really care for the kids without another adult as a back-up? It was a scary step to actually leave and venture out into the world alone. Even though I had been raising the kids anyway with very little help from him, it was a very different feeling to know that there was no one there. Thank God I had my family to lean on in this time as they took me in for the first few years. But eventually I did move out. There was no child support, no joint custody, nothing. There was just me and the kids, facing the world boldly with hopes that we wouldn’t be swallowed up too badly. (more…)

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TAGS , | CATEGORY Single Parenting

January 26th, 2010 12:00pm

The difference between moms and dads

by WineCountry.Mom

Growing up, I was fortunate to have both my parents in the home. My dad is a real estate appraiser, and though he worked a lot, we were often able to accompany him on local road trips when he went to look at houses. Sometimes we’d ride along with him, fascinated by the beauty of some areas that we never would have seen otherwise. Other times he would drop my mom and us three girls off at the park so we could have a picnic. He’d join us when his appointment was done.

Dad was the one who had the ideas for fun places to go and things to see. Who knew that sitting in the lobby of a fancy hotel, as if we were guests, enjoying hot chocolate by the fire could be so much fun. But with Dad, it was his way of instilling make-believe in us. (more…)

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TAGS , , , , , , , , , , | CATEGORY As a Parent...., Kid Issues, Single Parenting

January 4th, 2010 02:46pm

Someday….

by WineCountry.Mom

I moved into my own apartment a couple years after my divorce. It was a liberating move on my part, one I could barely afford. But I was determined to do so nonetheless. I had never had my own place before. The day after I graduated high school, I moved in with my future ex-husband. I was sure that living at my parents’ house another day would surely kill me, convinced that I had it so bad. I was sure that living on my own would free me from their domineering clutches and would allow me to finally be my own person.

Little did I know just how opposite from the truth that was. (Read more…)

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TAGS , | CATEGORY Single Parenting

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