She Wants The World

I took my daughter, Mikayla, shopping the other day. I needed ideas for Christmas gifts. I told her we were going to Toys R Us "just to look". I told her that the purpose for the trip was for her to pick out anything that she wanted, to show me, and give me ideas for Christmas. I figured her out very quickly. She wants the world, as long as it comes in a pink box. She was so funny. Every aisle that we walked down, she picked out every item that was pink or was in a pink box. I asked her at one point, "Do you even know what that is?" She smiled and said, "No, Mama. What is it?" I had to laugh at her. My point here is that she wants everything and anything. As a parent, I choose to only buy her a minimal amount of toys and unnecessary items. Her dad on the other hand, buys her a lot of the things that she wants. A lot of the toys sit on the shelf, or on the floor, and are never played with. I feel that this is just absolutely wasteful. I also feel that this is a bad lesson for her. I think that she will always expect everything and never learn how to work for what is necessary in life. Being in different households, with different rules, hopefully will give her a few morals to work with. It's his house and his rules. He can raise her how he chooses. It's my house and I can raise her how I choose. The key to all of it is communication and working together to raise a happy, healthy, and successful little girl.

A Growing Family

I don't think that anyone imagines themself alone. I am divorced and can't see myself spending the rest of my life alone. I know that one day I will get married. I think that my ex-husband will do the same. That means that my daughter will have a mixture of many families. She will have many people that love her. What a blessed little girl. I never imagined my life to be where it is now, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Things happen in life for a reason. My family has grown since my divorce. I am in a serious relationship with a guy that loves my daughter like his own. I couldn't ask for a better situation. I think my daughter is just as in love with him as I am. He helps me with anything that needs to be done for her. He takes her to school. He picks her up from school. He makes her lunch. He does anything that he can to help me out. The best part about it is that he doesn't think of it as helping. He thinks that it is just normal things that families do for their children. My life is so crazy with working 60 hours or more a week AND going to school half-time, that I am so grateful that he is around to help me. I know that there are plenty of single parent families that have the same type of schedule and still do everything on their own. I don't know how. There aren't enough hours in a day to finish what needs to get done. I have a huge appreciation for those that don't have the help that I get.

Parenting After A Divorce 1

I have a five-year-old daughter, Mikayla Renee'. She is amazing. She has an attitude just like my own, and it makes me laugh. She looks more like me than her dad, which makes people call her my "mini me". I love it. Her dad and I have been divorced for 3 years now. What I appreciate most about Mikayla is that she is resilient. She lives with her dad for a week, then she's back with me for a week. We share 50/50 custody and she does really well with it. She knows that her dad and I have to "share" her, and she never forgets to remind me. I hate sharing her. I want her with me at all times, but I also know that she needs her dad. He is great with her, but the fact that she has two different homes makes bringing her up more difficult than "normal" families. Her dad has different rules than I do, which I think confuses her when going back and forth from our homes. I feel that my home is more strict than his, and when she comes back to me, I have a lot of disciplining to do. It's hard to explain, but I think that a divorce makes child-rearing a challenging, yet interesting job.