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 ...

My uncle passed away last year so my aunt is having an estate sale and moving back to Scotland, where she is from. My mom and her friend were at the house organizing the sale with my aunt. Because I was working this morning, my daughter Ella was with them as well. After working a couple of hours, my sister and I met up at the house and we all went to grab lunch. Little did I know what was about to happen on the car ride over. Ella was quiet on the quick drive, a normal thing. But when I got out of the car and went around to open Ella's door, she had managed to take Aunties (my sister's) lipstick with her and got it EVERYWHERE. Of course it was a red tube of lipstick, so it was almost terrifying to see when I opened her door. I may have screamed. (definitely screamed). We laughed about it, cleaned her up as best as we could and went inside the restaurant. Towards the end of the meal Ella was getting fussy, as she needed a nap after playing with two Scottish Terrier...