Single Mom

Happy Halloween Single Moms

singlemom — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:18:20 +0000

Happy Halloween to all single moms! I hope you are having fun with your little ones. Did you think to spend some time with your friends celebrating?

I am in Salem, Massachusetts with friends today and tonight, and I will let you know of our adventures after returning home.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Samhain!

Shannon

Single Moms on Vacation!

singlemom — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:18:17 +0000

Hello single moms! I am having a busy time at this point.

Last weekend, My sister, brother-in-law and I took my daughter (Zowie) and her friend (Hanna) to Portland. Our main focus was on the University of New England college tour, which both of the girls loved. I loved it as well. Zowie, going to school for psychology, would get a lot out of that school. And Hanna, going into pharmaceuticals, could get her Chemistry classes in there, as well as do an interesting minor in marine studies which she would love.

I am going away this weekend as well, with friends, for Halloween. My best friend, Missy, and I are taking our friends (Dwight and his partner Wyatt), to Salem Massachusetts for Halloween. We will stay one night and enjoy the festivities. I love Salem, so I know that we will have an enjoyable time. I will let you all know how it goes when I get back.

The next weekend I am going to Fort Kent for two nights to visit my daughter Skye. She turns 20 next week. I will miss her birthday, but will be there the next weekend. We will bake her cake together and have a small celebration with a few people.

I encourage all single moms to take some time to be away from home, for one reason or another. To visit a child. To have fun with friends. To do whatever they want.

Have some fun, and stop worrying and stressing. It is good for your body, soul and mind.

This time will be a true blessing!

Shannon

Halloween Fun for the Single Mom Family

singlemom — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:29:59 +0000

Children love Halloween, and moms love to watch their children having fun. Parents can enjoy the fun with their children by cooking with them and making Halloween related crafts. These types of things build stronger bonds between moms and their children.

My daughters are 17 and 20. Only one lives at home. I will be in Salem, Massachusetts with friends on Halloween, and my 17 year old (Zowie) will be staying home. Her cousin, Zachary (14) will be here with her. They will be keeping the door locked and having a horror movie marathon.

What are your Halloween activities going to consist of? Parties? Haunted Houses? Trick-or-Treating? Let us know in the comments.

Shannon

Twitter: @ShannonLBuck and @BangorSingleMom

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Single Moms Celebrating Halloween with Their Children

singlemom — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:49:47 +0000

Good day! October is a special month in the lives of children. They love the candy, decorations and movies that are available this month, but they also love to spend time with their moms.

Single mom families can make October a truly enjoyable month in many ways. Throwing a Halloween party and Trick-or-Treating are wonderful traditions during the month of October.

Safety is important during Halloween. Candy safety rules help to protect our children, as do costume and Trick-or-Treat safety.

One important issue for moms is what to do with all of the candy that our children are coming home with. This article will help.

There are other ways in which single mom families can celebrate this month as well. Doing autumn related projects together is much fun. Spending time in nature is another option. Apple picking is fun, as are corn mazes and haunted houses.

Zowie and I have already decorated for Halloween. I will be spending Halloween in Salem Massachusetts with friends, while Zowie will be home having a horror movie marathon with her cousin. His mom and my mom will be checking in on them. Zowie is 17, and can handle this well.

What special plans do you have for October. Feel free to share your plans, traditions, recipes and decorating and craft ideas in the comments section below.

Shannon

Twitter: @BangorSingleMom

Twitter: @ShannonLBuck

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Bangor Maine Single Moms Support Groups

Facebook

MySpace

You can also follow me for updates on Twitter

Feel free to join. Each support group covers different topics, so you will not be bored if you join both;)

***

Updates:

Bangor Single Moms (Not just for moms in Bangor!)

Single mom families cooking: Great ways to eat spinach

Bangor book stores

The Bangor Public Library: Books and so much more

Favorite parenting and single mom books

Favorite books for children

GLBT history and the single mom

Single moms: When breast cancer strikes

Shannon

Twitter: @BangorSingleMom

Keeping the Single Mom Home

singlemom — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:58:57 +0000

Hello everyone! You get and extra post this week. Yay!!!!

Keeping the Single Mom Home

Part of my effort in providing single mom families with support.

It can be hard to keep everything in our home, as well as our lives, organized. I know this first hand. I struggle, as many do, with organizing my home. Cleaning tasks are performed daily or weekly, depending on what they are. However, I am a pack rat. I am also unorganized.

This blog is set up as a step-by-step process to help us all better organize our homes and lives. For me, some of this will be done through simplifying. Yes, this is hard for one for us pack rats. It is becoming necessary.

Visit the Blog at:

http://keepingthesinglemomhome.wordpress.com/

Shannon

Single Moms and Their Sons

singlemom — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:56:03 +0000

Good evening all. I am so sorry that this is being posted so late this week. Alas, I ended up sick for 3 1/2 days, and am just starting to feel better today. Of course, I was not totally out of commission. As I was laying in bed, I managed to brainstorm a plethora of things to write about.

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I just wanted to pop in and let all of you single moms know about the support groups that I run for single moms.

Bangor Maine Single Moms Support Groups

Facebook

MySpace

You can also follow me for updates on Twitter

Feel free to join. Each support group covers different topics, so you will not be bored if you join both;)

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This single mom was featured on Rachel Tobins’ Salt Lake Single Moms page as a Single mom for National Unmarried and Single Americans Week. How awesome is that. I appreciate the acknowledgement. You can read the article here. Feel free to comment.

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Are you finding the act of raising sons to be difficult? It can be hard for moms to raise sons, particularly when the father is not involved and the boy is going through puberty. Many interesting things are going on inside of the boys, and a single mom may feel out-of-the-loop on what is happening with her child.

Be aware that there are men in your life whom you can talk to. Ask them about what happens at different stages in a boys life. Some of the men that may be able to help are:

Your father
Your uncle
Your brother
Your childs’ doctor

No matter who you turn to, discuss the important things. Especially what happens during puberty and the teen years. What changes will happen? What personal things will happen?

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Updates:

Bangor Single Moms (Not just for moms in Bangor!)

Bangor single moms online support groups

Shannon

Twitter: @BangorSingleMom

Online Support Groups for Single Moms

singlemom — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:57:41 +0000

Hello. I hope that you are all having a great weekend. I just wanted to pop in and let all of you single moms know about the support groups that I run for single moms. Be one of the first to join

Bangor Maine Single Moms Support Groups

Facebook

MySpace

You can also follow me for updates on Twitter

Feel free to join. Each support group covers different topics, so you will not be bored if you join both;)

Shannon

Single Moms and Their Daughters

singlemom — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:36:41 +0000

Being a mom to daughters is so important. Raising them up to be happy, productive adults is a job in-and-of-itself. I can be a lot of fun, but their will the stresses over time. It is important to remember the end goal. What you want for your daughter’s future, as stated above.

Nurturing them is important. Caring for them. Loving them. Spending time with them. Having fun with them. Talking to them, about the little things and the big things. Stay close, and keep the lines of communication open.

When done properly, even if their is a rift in the relationship when the teen years strike, you will get your daughters back.

Make a date with your daughter. Once a week, do something with just her. It does not have to cost money.
Eat dinners together.
Make meals together.
Take walks together.
Find a hobby that you both enjoy.
Read a book together.

Mother and daughter relationships are special and important. Nurture them always.

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Updates:

Bangor Single Moms (Not just for moms in Bangor!)

Single moms creating family memories: A family blog

Single moms creating family memories: Ideas for your family blog

Single moms: Gift ideas for grandparents

Single moms: Good places to go for brunch on Grandparents Day

Single moms: Update or create a resume

Free gift ideas and craft ideas for Grandparent Days

Simple crafts to honor September 11

Frugal Recipes

Peanut Butter and Apple Roll-Ups

Cinnamon

Black Tea

Living the Low-Income Life

Revisiting the Tightwad Gazette

They Call Me “The Frugal Zealot”

Tightwad Goals

Shannon

Twitter: @BangorSingleMom

Living the Single Mom Life

singlemom — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:43:57 +0000

It is not always easy being a single mom, but it is perfectly doable. I often see women leave one relationship for some reason, and within a month jump into a new one. This worries me.

I wonder, how can they know who they are, what they want. They haven’t had time to find out much about themselves.

We are different. When we have a person in our lives, we are different people ourselves than when we are alone.

I have spent time getting to know me. Concentrating on my relationship with my children. And learning what I want has been a wonderful experience. I am a whole other person than I was when I was in a relationship.

Just thinking about this lately…I have been watching my best friend go through a divorce. She and he are both in new relationships, but neither of them took the time to find out who they really are. It is a shame.

Said divorce is not going well. And I hate the custody battle. It looks like he will end up with primary residence over the child, even though he is showing that he shouldn’t have it.

\Yuck!

I will be writing a weekly article here for a while. Not sure how long, exactly. I will likely sometime throw in another post when something comes up.

The reasons for this is simple. I am building a support system for single moms, and I need to have time to implement and get used to it. I’m not sure how long this will take, but I will keep you all updated.

I also have other writing to do, some personal, some business. There is only one of me. I do not want to give up this blog, so a weekly post, longer than normal with updates, an article and such, will suffice until I get everything running smoothly.

Now, on to the updates:

My other blogs have been updated since my last post, as has my Bangor Single Moms Page. Here are the updates:

Bangor Single Moms Examiner Page

Single moms 101: How can a single mom create special memories with her children?

Single moms 101: What can I do to create family fun days for my children

Single moms 101: Can I still save money on school supplies for my children?

The Green Mom Column

Transportation Choices

Family Gardening for Better Health

Living the Low-Income Life

RIP Ted Kennedy: How He Helped Low-Income Familes, the Disabled and Others

Frugal Recipes

Muffins: Banana Choco Chip

Salad: Chicken in a Nest

Hope you are all doing well. I am getting support groups set up on MySpace and FaceBook, and I am on Twitter @BangorSingleMom. No, you do not have to be from Bangor to follow me.

Please sound off here with any ideas for topics to be covered here, or on any of my other pages or blogs. Also, what would you like to see in an online support group? Please, let me know.

Have a nice week!

Shannon

Single Mom Blessing #5

singlemom — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:46:37 +0000

Raising my daughters alone. No doubt about it. Considering my choices in “men” when I was young, it is likely a good thing that I raised them alone. I shutter to think about how they may have grown up otherwise. I pretend they would have been fine, but recent events seem to indicate otherwise.

I loved Zowie’s father, and miss him dearly since his passing when she was a baby, but he had a lot of problems that he could not get over.

Skye’s father, whom I haven’t seen since she was young, seems to have his own issues with either reality/honesty. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful that he has finally started to take part in his daughters life. I am happy for her, and hope that she can be happy knowing him. It is a slow process, but I wish them and their relationship the best.

How about sharing a blessing with us.

Shannon