Look At This Madness

When you think of taking your toddler to the beach it can either stir excited feelings or fill you with dread. As a single parent you have to be creative sometimes, especially if you and your tike are going to the beach solo. But trust me, it is possible. I take my daughter with me everywhere, nothing stops us. Here are a few suggestions that might be helpful to a first time parent, like myself. 1. Don't overpack! Your arms can only hold so much, and odds are, one of those things will be your toddler. Parenting at all is almost a circus act. I am often amazed at how much my two arms can hold. Bringing an umbrella, a stroller, extra towels, or an icebox is kind of overkill though. It's not like you'll be there for five hours, little ones can only take so much. If anything bring a medium sized towel for the kid. If it is just the two of you, I guarentee the likelihood of a two-ish-year-old sitting happily still while you go swimming is pretty much impossible. 2. Do br

Dating someone for the first time after a terrible break up can be fun yet also terrifying. After splitting with my daughter's father I took a year to focus on my daughter and me and remained male free (well mostly).  After the year was up a guy I had previously dated found his way back into my life and we started back up again. I had no walls, no second thoughts, no lock on my heart. He was pretty good with my daughter. Never harsh with her, just shy and mildly uninvolved. I figured he would adjust. It felt like we had a future, after all, we had dated before. I wasn't scared. I gave him all of me and in return, months later he said he never saw a future for us because my daughter was not his. To say it bluntly, DICK MOVE. It hurt. I can't imagine stringing someone along for months only to tell them it was never going to work because of an innocent child not being theres. My daughter and I are much better off without him, to say the least. Unfortunately, this one left

At the end of the day I hold her tight before laying my daughter down for sleep. We say a prayer and I tell her to "give mama kisses." We give kisses and down she goes. I walk out quietly, close the door and sigh. It is usually around 9pm, not 7:30pm like everyone else seems to stick with. But I am okay with that. Most of the time I go to sleep right after putting her down. As long as I know she isn't going to wake back up from the light noise of me getting in bed across from her crib. Throughout the night we wake each other up so often I end up on the couch, which is okay too. The day usually starts around 5:30 am - 6 am. I roll out of bed (or couch) and make us both spinach and eggs or tofu for breakfast, about halfway through the process she wakes up. "Mama!" I pause to make sure I did in fact here her call. "Mama!" Some mornings she even wakes up singing my name in her own little melody. She always has to have her "baby" in her ar