Attitude adjustment

The boys and I have been to the Y several times this week, and maybe it's just coincidence, but the attitude change in them this past week has been remarkable. T actually gave L a Taco Bell cinnamon twist last night without being asked. He just put it in front of L. I nearly fell out of my chair in shock. T very rarely shares with L unless threatened. Also, they have been playing games together...which never happens. I don't know why, and I'm not sure I care, but I LOVE it. :) And I hope it lasts...at least a little while longer.

Dad's weekend

Missing my boys. 8 more hours.

Color Me Mine

A few weeks ago, I met some of my girlyfriends at Color Me Mine...it's a paint your own pottery place...and knew I needed to bring L&T to paint. The boys and I went last Friday and had the BEST time. They chose to do ice cream bowls...It was amazing how into it they were, so focused and determined to make them perfect, in their own terms. We picked up the pieces last night.




T painted his bowl, predictably, green.








And L's was, again predictably, a mishmash of colors mixed together with no discernible pattern.



Exactly perfect for both of them. :)

I did a RSML mug, which I love.







It turned out much better than the ice cream bowl I made with my friends, that MM (my man!) had WAY too much fun laughing at.


I know what you're really thinking. Where can I get that supercool green tile and bar combo?

New Y Members!

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to become more active with the boys. I had just quit smoking (YAY!!!) and wanted to keep up the healthy roll, so at the end of December, I stopped at the YMCA near our house just to check it out. A friend from high school I haven't seen in years greeted me and took me on a tour. I knew the boys would LOVE IT.
Once I found out how much it was, I thanked her for her time and told her maybe when our financial situation changed, I would come back. She suggested I apply for the Y's Open Doors Program. Basically, it's like financial assistance - a reduced monthly rate membership. I would have to submit bank records, paycheck stubs, and a short essay explaining why a YMCA membership would benefit our family. It took me a few weeks to put it all together, to swallow the pride to ask for that sort of help, even temporarily, but I turned in the application shortly after our court date in January.
I'm excited to report that I got the call today saying we have been approved for the program! We will be proud members of the Y starting this week. It will be great for all 3 of us...for me, to lose some of the weight I've picked up since I quit smoking, and for the boys to meet some new kids (no boys AT ALL in our apt complex) and exercise in a fun way (ie., not PE class). Good for our bodies and our souls.
Unexpected gifts like these give me hope for me and the boys, and for our futures.

daffodils

Spotted some daffodils on the way into work this morning. Daffodils always make me smile. Renewal, hope, beauty...all that springtime crap.
When the boys and I get a townhouse/house, one of my first orders of business will be to plant some bulbs.

Rockin' out on a Sunday

Yay! T feels better....so today is housework catch-up day since we completely vegged yesterday. The boys are playing their WWE videogame while I do laundry, having done their chores already for the day. Earlier, we had some real WWE going on since our downstairs neighbor was at church, and therefore not home to hear the light fixtures on her ceiling shake and rattle. L said I was "awesome" for letting them do it but "boring" when I made them stop. It's hard to win them all.

Mom offered to watch them while I go to the grocery store, because we all know how much kids love that outing. She is also being generous enough to lend me some money for said groceries as this was my rent paycheck week...and I still haven't gotten any, shall we say, assistance from S.

I can hear them in the living room, goofing around. I love listening to the boys play together...they seem to have their own little language sometimes, and half of what they say is little boy silliness. But when they act like they might actually LIKE each other, all that grumping they do towards each other is easier to handle. It may go south at any moment, so I have to enjoy these moments when they come.

Sick Day

Today was a stay in your PJs day...poor T has had a terrible sore throat. It has been nice to have some downtime with him (he's such a cuddlebug when he doesn't feel well), but I feel bad that L missed out on such a beautiful day...On another upside, I have caught up on all the Must See Episodes of That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Spongebob Squarepants. :)

Odd Little Bird

I made the mistake of not immediately putting their sheets back on their beds after washing them, and the boys talked me into letting them sleep one night directly on their mattress pads, because "they are so soft and smooth." One day turned into a week, and tonight I attempted to put my foot down. T begged and pleaded with me not to put the fitted sheet on his bed...even broke out the Quivering Lip of Doom. I tried to explain to him that I could not have people (maintenance men, my mother, etc.) come over and see him sleeping like a hobo. After several minutes of explaining our cases, we came up with a solution:
No fitted sheet. He has the flat sheet on half the bed and his bedspread is neatly folded to the right. The bed can easily be made, and he has his green blanket to use. He was so happy that he got right into bed and fell asleep in just a few minutes.
In a few days, I'm hoping he won't notice when I put the bed the way it's supposed to be.

And so it begins...

Being a Single Mom means sacrifice, determination, patience, and apparently, the stomach for watching WWE (maybe that last one just applies to me). We have awesome days and we have days that make us want to tear our hearts out of our chests so they can't hurt anymore. We have days where it seems like we have it all together and some that would have been better spent in bed. Some days we can't wait for Dad's day/weekend, other days we just want to hug our babies tight and never let them go.

I've been doing the Single Mom thing since October 2007. What's never changed for me, what's never wavered for a second is my love for those two little boys who call me Mom. And I'm so grateful for their love; it's what keeps me going everyday. A month ago, I was awarded primary custody (the ex-husband and I had been sharing custody up to that point) of my boys, so my role as Single Mom has expanded to full-time. Still waiting for it all to be official/final...visitation, child support, THE DIVORCE...but that story is not why we're here.

Single Moms need support & encouragement from other SMs. I've talked to many single moms recently and one of us almost always says, "I'm so glad I'm not the only one that feels like that/who has kids doing that/etc. We need to know there are others having the same sort of issues, the same challenges, and the same happy moments we have. We need to know there are others Rockin' the Single Mom Life. That's why we're here.