First Semester is Almost Over

WOW, it seems like I just started school and now the first semester is almost over. I am really enjoying it. I was so scared at first, but I am passing all of my classes with A's. OK I have on 89, which is a B.

Tomorrow starts the next semesters registration. If you have read my posts you know that I was thinking about moving to South Dakota, well I have decided to take that step after school. Since I am doing that I have to take on a lot at school. I will be taking 5 classes this semester, 4 classes during the Summer, then two more semesters of 5 classes each. This semester I took 4, and it has been a lot of work. Even though it has been work, I have learned a lot of time management skills. That will help so much the next few semesters.

To all the single moms, or women in general, take the step to get your education. It is very intimidating at first, but you will be surprised at the things you learn that you can use in your everyday life. I had went back to school in 2005, but I chose a technical school, DO NOT MAKE MY MISTAKE. You can learn so much more if you go to a community college or university.

Good luck to anyone furthering your education. If you ever need support, there is always people around you for that. Friends, families, teachers, or other students.

Organizing Tips

I have just been disgusted with my office/bedroom. It has not been nasty, I have just had things sitting everywhere. I also share my room with my 16 month old son, so his things were lying around too.I finally took a day to get everything organized. I thought that would be a good thing to share; organizing tips!

Start on one side of the room that you are trying to organize. Breaking it down into sections will help you notice what you are accomplishing, and not just what you have left to do.

Make a space that you will separate everything; paper work that needs to be filed, clothes that needs to be put away, etc. If you have things that need to be donated or thrown away, have a box or a bag for each. Have a box outside the room for items that will go to another room of your home.

Separate everything  in a section of the room, then put those things away. This will help prevent you from having a huge amount of things to put away when you are done.

Continue organizing your room in sections until you have the entire room organized.

If you are like me and have things that do not really have a place, find a corner or closet to put those items in until you can find a place for them.

These are just a few organizing tips that may help you. Sometimes the biggest part of organizing a room is the simple step of starting. Stop procrastinating and get it organized, you will be so much happier when it is finished. I even find myself more motivated when a room is organized.

Torrie is on Youtube

My son was dancing today, and I thought it was the cutest thing. He is only 15 months old, and loves music. I remember him dancing in my stomach every time certain music was on. He still dances all the time, even when he does not have music. I love this boy!

YouTube

Injured, Unemployed, Single Mom, and Going back to School.

Just the headline is a mouth full, but that is my current predicament. The last few weeks have been crazy. I have been trying to adjust to my classes, work online as much as I can, deal with doctors appointments, medical tests, taking pain pills, and still being a mom. It has been difficult, but I am adjusting fairly well.

The first couple of weeks in school were so confusing to me, but I am now ahead of the schedule in my classes. I have set up a perfect way for me to schedule each of my days, and know exactly what needs to be accomplished each day. It took me a little while to see what I needed to do. My process may be different for other single moms going back to school, but be sure that you determine a technique for you to be productive each day and not miss any assignments. Scheduling is a must for moms, single moms, students, and most people that want to have a productive life.

Tips for Passing Online College Courses

School is going great, but I am still trying to deal with this injury. I have injured my entire right side. I am having a MRI next Friday on my back, they believe I have slipped disks. In the next few weeks I will also have to have MRI's on my arm and leg. The process takes so much time, and it is driving me crazy. I lost my job due to this injury, so I need to find another job soon. I am in so much pain that I do not think I could begin a job, but I am also considering the fact that I would not want to begin a job and then find out I need surgery. Waiting drives me nuts!

Surviving as an Injured, Unemployed, Single Mom

I am taking all of this the best way I can. I happen to be a very positive and spiritual person. I know that God has a plan for me, and this is just a bump in my road. There is a reason in life for everything, we just have to ask for directions to getting to our destination. I have more time with my son, I am able to work more on my online business, and I have been able to concentrate on school. (all A's so far) Money is a concern, but I know it will work out one way or another.

I Start School Tomorrow

I finally get to start classes tomorrow. I am so nervous and excited. I keep thinking that I am going to mess up because it has been so long since I was in school, but i know once I get started I will be doing fine.

I have to go into Colorado Springs for my first class, and I have to be there by 8am. It is now 10 pm, and my adrenalin is going. I am going to have to get into a routine soon. Then I am hoping I can find a job before long which means I will have something else to work into that routine. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, and maybe me losing my job was meant to happen. This gives me a couple of weeks to get used to all of the big changes that being a single mom going to school full time will bring.

What this week of a single mommy has to come:

-Go to Reading classes Monday and Wednesday
-Doctors appointments Tuesday
-Determine when I will be taking my other 8 hours of online class time
-Then be a single mommy while doing it all

Oh and hopefully being able to find a job after my doctors appointments.

I was Terminated Today

Well if you read my last post you know that I fell and hurt myself Thursday. I received a note from the Doctor and was taken off of work for at least a week. I received a call from my boss today informing me that i was being let go. I was devastated.

I am thinking it had a lot to do with the fact that my year anniversary is next Thursday. If I could have made it to then I would have been able to take FMLA. I just think it is kind of funny, but I am not taking anything personally. It is a business and they do what they have to so that they can cover there ass.

I am still staying positive with everything. I will be able to spend more time with my son, go to school, and hopefully get my home income built up. Instead of thinking of all the bad things that may happen I am going to take it as a blessing. I will focus on other aspects of my life, and do things to make my life better. My son is my priority in life, and I have to make sure that he is always taken care of. I am putting my faith in God.

Single Mommy Plan:

• Find some help to get through this
• Spend time with my son
• Get better soon so I can get a part time job
• Focus on working from home
• Focus on things that are important in my life
• Take this bad news and turn it into a blessing!!!

Injured Single Mommy! Now What?

Wow things keep happening. Last week I missed work Monday because I had the Flu. Thursday night I fell on my kitchen floor, running from a skunk that was outside, and I am hurting so bad. My right arm is so bad I can't straighten it all the way. My back is hurting so bad that I can barely lift up my son without help. My right leg is bruised and hurting, and I was just getting over an injury with it.

I am scared. I went to the hospital on Friday, nothing broken, and I had to miss work all weekend. I have an appointment in the morning with my doctor, and I am really scared. The pain is not easing up, even with oxycodone.  I try to live day by day, but I have a lot of what if questions in my head.

What if I can't work for a few weeks, or more?
What am I going to do about an income if I have to miss more work?
How am I going to pay my bills?
How am I going to feed my son? I get a little food stamps, but not much.
How am I going to keep a roof over my families heads?

There is just so much going through my head right now, and I do not know what I am going to do. I have been at my job for a year on the 30th, but as of right now I do not qualify for FMLA. This means they can hire someone else in my place and not have a job for me. If this happens I really do not know what will happen.

I start school next Monday. The good part about that is I will only be going to class two days a week, the other classes are online. If I need surgery or anything on my arm I can get someone to help me with my typing. I had two surgeries on my right arm a few years ago, so I know how to type fairly well with just my left hand.

I know that I do not have a lot of readers on my blog, but if anyone reads this and has any ideas of what I can do please comment or message me. I am scared. I promise my son all the time that he will always be taken care of, and I feel like I may not be able to if I am hurt bad. I do not want to let my son down. He is my biggest concern in life. I will go without before he does!

My Life Dreams

I am a dreamer, but I am doing everything that I can to make those dreams come true. My son has brought my passion out, and I am pushing to give him a better life. I am tired of worrying about finances, struggling to pay bills, not having enough to buy something special for him, or just worrying about having gas to go to work. God has blessed me in so many ways, and he is giving me the things I need in life. I know I am on the path of achieving my dreams. I wrote a Squidoo lens on my life dreams and i will be sharing everything that I achieve on it.

My Life Dreams

Being a Successful Single Mom

I do not think any of us will do everything perfectly, but we can do our best. Being a successful single mom is important to me. I am trying hard to do just that. Since I found out I was pregnant my life has been all about my son. I want to do everything that i can to give him a better life than I had. I want to be a successful  single mom. I want to show people that not all single moms stay on welfare and not all of us just settle for just making it check to check. I wrote an article about being a successful single mom. It has been one of my top earning articles this week, so check it out.

How to be a Successful Single Mom

Motivated Single Mommy

I have been struggling with the idea of not seeing my son while I work full time and go to school full time, so I have truly found my motivation. I have been working all week at my job, but also working all week at my online income. It has been hard at times, but then I think about being able to watch my son grow up. Spending a week and a half with him showed me exactly what I have been missing since I have been working non stop. I have to figure it out!

Motivation is a real key to success. I have thought about so many things that I want to do with my son, and I am trying to get it together so that I can. I am motivated to make an income from home, and I believe that I will. If nothing else I want to start working part time while I go to school. I just can't miss out on so much of his life. I know that single moms do it all the time, but I am working on an alternative to killing myself so that he can have the best. I still want him to have the best, but I want to do it in a different way.

I posted on my other blog about things that I am doing to earn more of an income online so check it out if you would like.

my at Home Income Blog

What to do?

Since my son has been born I have been working a lot. I have been able to spend more time with him in the last few days, since I had to evacuate my home due to the Waldo Canyon Fire. This was an unfortunate way of getting to spend time with him, but I am loving it. I didn't realize how much I have been missing in his life. Now I will be starting school in August as well as working full time, I will be missing a lot more.

What can I do? I want to spend more time with my boy. He is my life, and I do not want to miss him growing up. I need to find more ways to make money at home. I know there are great ways to make money, I just have not figured them all out. I signed up to sell photos yesterday, I am trying to write more online, so what else can I do?

The next few weeks I will be trying to figure this out. There are a lot of decisions to make, and I have to do what is rite for my son and I. Life is too short to be missing out on everything he is doing. I guess I will work hard the next few weeks to figure it all out. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Evacuated From Colorado due to Smoke From Waldo Canyon Fire

The Waldo Canyon fire is just miles from my home, and has burned over 17000 acres. The Springer fires was also just miles from my home in the other direction, it has burned over 1000 acres. Due to both of these fires I had to leave my home.My 12 month old son began to have breathing treatments due to the Springer Fire and once the Waldo Canyon fire started all you could see in the sky around us was a cloud of smoke.

I had to make a very hard decision. I left my home and my job so that my son and my mom could breathe. We are now sitting at a camp site near Custer, SD. I love camping, but I would love to be at home too. I do not know how long I will have to stay here, but I am hoping no longer than a week or two.

Financially this is the hardest part. I already live from one paycheck to another, and have been trying to get ahead. This is a big setback in every way possible. Because I have not been at my job for a year, I did not qualify for FMLA, so there was a chance of me not having a job to return to. My boss is fighting for me though, and I could not work with a better group of supportive people. They are fighting for my job, watching my house, and taking care of my cats. I love these people so much. If I do lose my job, it is not there fault and I know it.

I am praying for all of those that do not have a home to go back to, and all of the people that this has caused a disruption in there lives. I also pray for the men and women fighting to save homes and stop these fires that are going around Colorado.

Moms Helping Moms

I met a young pregnant lady at our local grocery store the other day. Last night she came to my job to use the restroom. She was in there close to 30 minutes, so I went to check on her. She was ok, but started asking me questions about being pregnant. I could tell that she did not have a lot of people to talk to about this, so I took the time to answer any questions that I could. We spoke for at least ten minutes. After we talked she let me know that her boyfriend was in the car. All I could think was REALLY? She had been in the store close to 45 minutes, is due in a month, and he did not even come in to check on her. It really upset me to see the look on her face when I asked why he wouldn't come to see about her. She instantly came up with excuses.

It is unfortunate that I actually noticed the situation. She is a young girl, pregnant with her first child, and does not have a lot of people to turn to. Well I had to help in any way that I could. I offered her a baby bed,  I am looking through my sons clothes so I can give her any that he can't wear, and I gave her my phone number so she could call me if she needed help.

I do not have a lot in my life, but I want to help people as much as I can. Especially someone in her situation. I think moms should help moms. I am really thinking about starting a web site that is exclusively to help moms help other moms. It is something that I am working with, and thing it would be a great site. I am not thinking about making money, but really helping moms. Not just single moms, but all moms that need help.We will see what happens.

As of now I am going to help this young lady in any way that I can. I found some clothes, bibs, shoes, and a few other things. I will be giving them to her tomorrow, and if I can help her in any other way I will.

Negativity Towards Single Moms

Since I have became a mom I read a lot of different things on the internet. Today I came across another post about single moms, the comments were ridiculous. The comments were things like; single moms deserve it, the country takes care of the single moms because they are worthless, single moms bring it all on themselves, single moms are horrible moms, and a lot of other very negative comments about single moms. The only question I have is why? Why is there so much negativity to all single moms. These people cannot judge all single moms because of things that a few do. It makes me so upset to see such negativity towards single moms. Each single mom has there own situation that brought them to be a single mom.

My story:

I was with the man I loved for a little more than seven years. We had actually tried to have a baby before, but no success. I was actually told I would never have a child. Well we split up for a few months, then began to hang out again. I was still in love with him, and honestly still am. We had sex one night, and a little over a month went by and I found out I was pregnant. I sent him a message to let him know, and guess what he said. "Who's is it?" I had not had sex with anyone else and I knew whose it was without a doubt.

After a month or so of not talking he decided he wanted to try and be involved. I was open to that. We went out to dinner and hung out for a few weeks. When my birthday came around we set up a date, he stood me up. The next thing I know I was being called a slut, whore, bitch, and other things on Facebook. I never responded to all of the comments, I knew it would come out.

During the remainder of my pregnancy I decided I had to move on with my life, so I planned a move from Texas to Colorado. I had always wanted to move north, and I made up my mind to do exactly that. I did want to wait until after the baby was born though.

I sent my babies dad all of the sonogram pics and updated him with all of my appointments. The only response I received was that I was just carrying the baby, I wasn't important. The day I went in the hospital his mom talked him into coming. I never turned him away. He was there the day his son was born, and was one of the first people to hold him. I knew he was with someone else, and I was OK with that. It wasn't about me, it was about my son. I did not put him on the birth certificate because I was being a little selfish and thought he should have to work with something. He did put  public apology on Facebook the day my son was born.

My babies dad was there a little bit in the couple of months that I was still in Texas before I moved. He didn't come much because every time he did his girlfriend would call, text, threaten to leave him, and even called the cops on herself at one point because she was going to hurt him. I found out later that she had her birth control implant removed without him knowing and became pregnant a few months after he found out I was pregnant.

Him and I agreed to be friends and he agreed to pay $200 a month to help, well that did not last long. His girlfriend told him to stop because he couldn't see his son anyway. I was even OK with that. I didn't push it. I wanted us to communicate so he could get to know his son. Every time we talked I would start getting messages from her. She even went as far as to say she was going to take my son. There were quite a few incidents with her sending me threatening messages, so I decided to let him know that I couldn't deal with anything from her. She has nothing to do with my son.

They had there son in January of this year. I have talked to him a few times, and send him pictures occasionally. He was trying to plan a trip to visit, but decided not to come because she was not welcomed. I have never threatened to keep his son away from him, and I keep trying to involve him in everything. There can't be only one person trying. One of the last conversations we had was that if his girlfriend could not have any involvement with his son that he didn't want any involvement either. I still send him pics and texts letting him know what is going on, but he is not ALLOWED to talk to me about anything else. LOL I really do not understand it all.

Now I am a single mom, work full time for not much more than minimum wage, start school full time in August, take care of my son, and yes I do receive food stamps and medicaid. I have not went after him for child support because I would get no more than $200 a month. Since we split up he went from having a nice apartment and a nice car, to losing the car we had plus three more. Then she posted on Facebook the other day that there fan is being repoed. They have also been evicted from two places. I learned all of this from him and his family, I am not just making things up. So why should I try to take a man to court, have him acknowledged as my sons dad, fight with the system, then still probably get nothing. I feel like I can do it, I am willing to work as much as possible to take care of my son.

My Sisters Story (in short);

She has been on life support eight times since 2004, had her pancreas, spleen, and part of her stomach removed. She is married to the man that helped raise me and gave me away at my wedding, my brother-in-law. They were the ideal couple up until about two years ago, well she found a pic of a women on facebook that was taken in his 18 wheeler. Well in short, he moved out February 4th, 2011 to be with another women. He left her with three kids, a mortgage, and no income at all because she is disabled.

She told him that she was planning on moving to Colorado with me, and he signed the court paperwork allowing it. The reason for her deciding to move was that her home was being foreclosed on, and my mom and I was moving. She wanted to be with her family, since we are the ones that have raised the kids since she has been sick.

He was ordered to pay $1400 a month in child support. I am sure that shows you the kind of money that he makes, and since then he is making over $250, 000 a year. Since we have been in Colorado (August 14, 2011) he has paid two child support payments, and let the vehicle that he was supposed to be paying on be repossessed. He did give my moms truck back to her, but there are a lot of problems with it. I am trying to fix a little at a time. My sister receives Food Stamps, medicaid, and TANF. She was recently awarded disability, but she has not received a dime. Also he has started paying child support, but she has yet to see a dime. The reason she has not seen a dime from either is TANF. TANF has to be paid back, and apparently they cannot figure out what she owes so they are keeping everything from both. So for everyone who thinks that single moms who receive help from the government have it made, think again.


My Feelings:

I know that there are single moms that abuse the system, I know a couple personally. There are people that abuse every system, but you can't judge people in a whole because of what some do. There are a lot of single moms that are trying to give there kids more in life. One comment I read was that all single moms sleep around without protection and keep having babies so that they can receive welfare, another was that women should focus more on finding the right relationship before having kids. My sister was married for 17 years and was with that man for 22. They lived great, and he made over $200, 000 a year for the last few years, so she felt secure financially. She can't afford a lawyer so she is being screwed by her husband.

The people that do talk so negative about single moms need to educate themselves more. You are ignorant to things that go on around you. My sisters three kids can teach you a thing or two, all of them are in the presidential honor society. Hell my 11 month old son could probably teach you something, since I take time to teach him counting, colors, and RESPECT.

I may have rambled some in this post, but it pisses me off to see the ignorance in this country. These ignorant people judge all single moms because of something a few do. I am guessing that they judge a race because of something they see one person from that race do that is not right. The only judge I have is GOD, I can not and will not be judged by another. I will also not judge anyone else. I love everyone, but I do not have to like all of the ignorant judgmental people that actually know nothing about life.

Single Mom on Welfare

I have been reading about different things online with single moms. I have noticed that there are so many people that try to put single moms down that are on welfare, and all of the stereotypes are so wrong. Believe me, I know that there are a lot of women out there that abuses the system, but not everyone.

I am a single mom on welfare, but I am using welfare to help me stay afloat without losing everything. I am also trying to improve my life. I work full time, I try to earn money online, and I am going to school in August so that I can better mine and my sons life. There are a lot of single moms that want to give there children a better life, and I wish all of them could realize that they can do it. No one said it would be easy. I know I have a constant day to day struggle, and it will be even harder for me once I start school. I plan on working hard to get off of welfare, but at the moment I honestly need it. So yes I am a single mom on welfare, and I am thankful that I am getting help to make sure my son is taken care of.

Now to those who do abuse the welfare system, what you do is wrong. If you can afford to spend money on your nails, hair, name brand clothing, expensive electronics, and other things that I know I could not afford, you do not need welfare. You are taking advantage of the system that should be helping others that are living on the street or may be losing everything, including there children, if they do not get help. This is especially to those that do not work, but leave there kids with there parents so that they can go drink and God only knows what else. I do think that there should be drug tests on anyone who receives welfare, because if they can afford drugs they do not need help. I give applause to single moms because it is hard, but some women just do not have there priorities in order.

Yes I am a single mom on welfare. I work full time, I start school in August, I get no child support at all and I do not plan to use welfare as a permanent crutch in my life. Welfare is temporary for me, as it should be for anyone. We should all want to be able to provide for our families without the governments assistance.



I saw this pic and completely agree. Welfare is not an occupation, it is just a form of help so that you can get through a tough time, not live on it forever.

It is Time to get My Health in Order

My baby boy will be a year old June 10th and recently I have realized that I have put myself last with everything in my life. I really should have realized it a while back, but I had a veil over my eyes. Before I got pregnant with my son I had lost more than 50 pounds by working hard. I started at 210 and went down to almost 150. My highest weight during my pregnancy was 205. Once my baby was born I lost 30 pounds. Some how I have been putting weight on a little at a time and I now weigh 186 pounds. This is affecting my health and my body.

In December I had a knee injury and I kept putting things off as far as getting back into shape. Thursday I had to go to the hospital with stomach problems and found out I have cysts on my ovaries as well as a few other problems. This has really given me a wake up call. If I could just lose 20 pound it could dramatically decrease my knee pain and my stomach issues. These problems are really affecting my life. I am now on pain pills for these issues. I hate taking any medicine, especially with a toddler running around the house.

It is time for this single mommy to get her health in order. I have put together a plan to make some serious changes in my diet. I want to lose a total of 50 pounds. The last time I did this in five months, so I know that it is very achievable. I am very motivated at the moment and I want this change. My health and my self esteem has been jeopardized by my lack of taking care of myself.

All moms need to remember that if we do not remember to take care of ourselves, we will not be able to take care of our children. It's funny how big of a difference it can make in there lives if we are healthy. I do not want my son to have to take care of me when he gets older. I want to be able to go on adventures with him when he is older.

Can I be a Single Mom and Work From Home

I have to say that I love my job, but I am wondering if it is worth it. I have missed two days this week because of being sick and I know my check will not be enough to pay the bills that I have to pay. In addition to that I just found out that the hours have been cut for the next couple of months. I know two or three hours do not sound like a lot, but $20 makes a huge difference in my pay. I NEED that money.

Since I am going to be starting school in August I am even more concerned about whether or not it is worth working full time, going to school full time, and being a full time single mom. I do not have healthcare through my job, and if I did sign up for it the cost would be half of my paycheck each month. The only bonus of my job is that I have a regular weekly check and a very caring group of people that I work with. We are a small family.

Being able to work from home would make a huge difference in my life once school starts, but would I be able to make enough. At the moment I have no savings, do not make enough to pay all of the bills every month, and still have to consider all of the baby expenses. I was making a residual income of about $500 a month last year at this time, but I lost my motivation once the baby was born. I also did not have a lot of time to focus on my home income once I started working full time. If I took the time each day that I go to work I think it would be possible financially. It is the possibility of it not working out that scares me. I am the only provider for my son.

There is still a couple of months for me to decide and we all know that everything can change in a couple of months. I am going to try and make the decision that is the best for my son. I have to have financial stability for him, so we will see what is to come with my online income and life before I make the final decision about working from home or not.

Positive Single Mommy

In the last week I have felt a little down at times, but I was just going through a lot of thought. My life is not bad at all. Yes I do have financial issues, but I honestly feel as if they are working out. I am a very optimistic person and I know it will all be better soon. I just have to give it time. Even though I know it will all work out I am still working on a plan of my own to get things going better.

I had lost focus on what is important in my life, my son. I have to do everything in my life to make his life better. School is a very big beginning for me, and I know it will be stressful. In addition to school I will continue to work full time, and hopefully be able to increase my online income so that I will not have to work quite as hard in a year or so. The main thing that I have to learn is self discipline and sticking to a schedule. I know things will change, but I need a schedule to help me keep focused on everything in my life.

My focus for the month:

• Set up a schedule for work, school, and life
• Start a tighter financial plan
• Remember that every penny is important, even if it is just a dollar a day it can pay a bill.
• Get things accomplished when it comes up, no more procrastinating
• Remember what is important every day!!

All of this actually looks simple when I am just typing it out on the computer, but when I try to put it to work in my life it tends to be more difficult. Being a mom is difficult, but being the only person that is responsible for my son is beyond stressful some days. It is still all for him.

Feeling Stuck in Life

I am feeling stuck in my life at the moment, and do not know where to go. I am currently having to take care of my son, disabled mom, disabled sister, two nieces and a nephew financially. In the next couple of months my sister should be making enough money from child support and disability so that I do not have so much to worry about. This is where I feel stuck. I love my family, but I feel as if I need to move on.

I start school in August and the drive to school in about 45 minutes each way. I work close to my home, but I am having issues with my job. I really do love my job, but I do not make much money and I am currently having issues with an employee that is really disrupting the work environment. I work at a place with only 5 employees so when one starts causing problems it just disturbs everyone and I am truly questioning if it is worth it.

How I feel stuck; Do my son and I move closer to school without my family and I find a job that pays better? Do I find a job that pays better and stay with my family until I finish school since my mom is my baby sitter? Do I just deal with my lower paying job and stay with my family? I just feel stuck with my life. I have choices to make and just do not know what to do. I am going to pray about it and ask God to guide me, because I just can't figure it all out.

Women of Strength

In recent weeks I have been letting people know about returning to school full time. In addition to school fill time I will be working full time, and of course being a full time single mom. I am doing this to be able to provide my son with a better future, but some have called me a women of strength.

I do not see myself as a women of strength. There are so many women out there that fight to protect there children from abuse, that have fought for the rights of people, or stand up and fight for so many other things. I am not saying I am not a strong women, but there are women out there that have accomplished so much more and have to fight on a day to day basis.

I have to say that my mother is one women of strength that I look up to. She had to fight to protect us from our dad, whom was abusive. She did everything in her power to protect us, and there are so many women out there that does this. I look up to those women. They are true women of strength. They put there children's lives in front of theirs. I would do the same thing if I had to, but I pray to God that I never do.

I do not consider myself a women of strength, I consider myself a mom. A mom that will work her butt off for the next few years to make sure that her son will have clothing, food, shelter, and a good education. If by some means I can give him more I will, but he will learn that things are never just given. Everyone should have to work for what they have, including him.

Cafe Press

I have been looking into Cafepress for a little while now, and I have finally decided to open up a shop. I called the shop Single Mommy Shop. I know it is not original, but I think it fits well with my blog and my life. I chose to do just a small markup unlike a lot of shops I have noticed. I am not looking to get rich, i just wanted something to help a little with my boy. I am actually having fun trying to come up with ideas for different items for the mommy and the baby. I am hoping that after a couple of weeks I will have a pretty large selection of items that mommy's will be interested in. I will also be putting together a section just for work at home moms. I would like to get some unique items so keep looking if you are interested.

Cafepress seems to be a great place for single mommy's to make some money from home. If you are looking for ways you should check into it.
Come visit my store on CafePress!

Happy Valentines Day to all the Single Moms

I wanted to take time out to tell all of the single moms out there Happy Valentines Day. Whether you have a man in your life or not, know that you are loved. Your kids have an unconditional love for you, and they will always be there for you. Be thankful for the love that they have and don't be so concerned about having someone else in your life.

My Goal for 2012

I have finally sat down and made my goals for the year of 2012. As a single mommy I had to make sure that everything I plan will make my sons life better. It took me a while because I have had so much going on, but this is something I had to do to make my sons life better, as well as my own.

I recently signed up for classes at Pikes Peak Community College and that was one of my biggest goals for 2012. I still have to register for classes and get some final things finished, but it was a huge goal for me to go back to school.

My next big goal is to make an income from home so that I will be able to spend more time with my son while I am going to school. I have been making a small income from home for the last couple of years, but I want to push myself even further. I feel that I will be able to make enough of an income so that I will be able to  work exclusively from home by the time school starts in August. Even though I love my job, my son always comes first.

I have other small goals, but these are the most important to me. I am hoping that I can keep the same motivation that I have today. I know that doing all of this is going to be hard, but it is going to be worth every bit of effort that I have.

Single Mom Scheduling

I will be starting school in August and I work full time. With a 8 month old baby at home I am trying to figure out my schedule. Life is already hectic without school, so what is it going to be like when I start classes. I have been thinking about it a lot. Single moms are all busy people and adding school to the schedule makes it even tougher.

What I am going to try to make my single mom schedule manageable;

• Try to have more online classes since the school is 40 miles away. If the classes can not be online I will try to schedule it so that I can have at least one day off from school and work to spend with my son.

• Start part time classes if possible so that I can adjust my new single mom schedule.

• Make all doctor and other appointments in between school and work so that I have my free days.

• Keep a very strict schedule all the time so that I can make the most of my time. My organizer is going to be my best friend once I start school!

• Always remember that all of the hard work is to make a better life for my son, this should keep me going.

I am a single mom whom does not get any child support. I also take care of my nieces, nephew, mom, and disabled sister. Getting the financed and scheduling all taken care of is already a very hard job, but I know that going back to school is going to help us all. 

Trying to Keep it all Together

Wow the last month or so has been so hectic and I am trying to keep it all together. It started with a coworker getting hurt, on the night that she came back to work i actually fell and hurt my knee. Since that day I am driving 71 miles three times a week for therapy and a couple of times I have even had to make that drive four days. I am trying to be a single mom, work 40+ hours a week, take a 70 mile round trip three or more times a week, and still keep up with vehicle repairs and other things that tend to come up all the time.

I have been tired, but have not really felt it until today. Our heater went out on the vehicle and it has been in the teens every day. I took the truck to the shop and spent more than $500 on a new pump, thermostat, oil change, and labor. Even with that the heater is still not working. It may be an easy fix, and it may take a few hundred more dollars. I am trying to keep it all together but it is getting hard. I just keep telling myself that it is in Gods hands. He has taken care of us with so many blessings in the last few month and I know he will help me get through this.

Even though I do have complete faith, it takes a lot out of me to keep going. I am to the point where I would love to curl up in a corner somewhere just for a couple of days. I am an optimistic, I believe that live is just happening and I could have it so much worse. It will get better and I am praying that it will be a less expensive fix on the truck than expected.

Back to School

I have made a big step in my five year plan, I am returning to school. I already received my acceptance letter from Pike Peakes Community College in Colorado Springs, CO. I will be going to get my associates degree in applied science focused on business management.It is a two year program and there are so many opportunities for this field of work.

I decided to choose something that I know and I am good at. I have seen so many single moms decide to take courses in medicine or other things, that they do not use. There are at least five women that I personally know that has a degree in some medical field, but they are sitting at home not using the skills they learned because they were not really interested in the field. They actually thought it would be easy money, and nothing in life is easy.

I am scared of this big step in my life. It is even scarier to me than becoming a single mom. I have faith though, I will work hard and focus on our future. This is something that I am doing for both my son and I. Life is to short to just wait for something to happen, we have to make things happen, and that is exactly what I am doing. I am making my life better for me and my family.