[avantlink_ad merchant=”AllPopArt” title=”Custom Artwork – Couple – Free Shipping – Animated”][/avantlink_ad]

Over the past few days I’ve been talking with friends and neighbors, doing some soul searching, and honestly, just realizing how lucky I really am. One thing that I have yet to figure out (and glad that I don’t have to at this point) is how a single mom meets a man. I am blessed to have a wonderful one that I have actually known my whole life and that I can trust with my boys, but when I think of trying to meet someone without him, it scares me.

Things with the boyfriend and I weren’t always perfect… It still isn’t perfect, but he is perfect for me, so I get over things fairly quickly when I do get irritated with him. We started dating right after my divorce, and the timing just wasn’t right, so we broke up… for 10 months. But thankfully we decided to try again, and things are so much better now than they were before. During those 10 months though, I was lonely and tried to meet new men, which is nearly impossible for a single mom to do (especially when you have the kids pretty much ALL THE TIME and you don’t get every other weekend to go out). I tried three online dating sites… One that was free (and that I later found out was primarily used for hookups, not dating) and two that were expensive, but I never really found anyone that was a “quality” guy. Continue reading How A Single Mom Meets A Man… →

So, it’s Friday and you have no money and nothing to do… And you have kids to keep entertained. And if you aren’t careful they’ll decide to entertain themselves (and if they’re anything like mine, them entertaining themselves will drive you crazy!). It’s not too late, if you start planning now, you CAN entertain the kiddos and not torture yourself! So let’s get started planning a fun family night in!

Depending on how old your kids are, board games are a great pastime for the entire family. The great thing about board games is that most of them teach kids great lessons in life… And they are just flat out entertainment for the whole family in so many ways! So, pick an age appropriate board game (Monopoly, Scrabble, and Operation are favorites at my house!) and make it a game night. If board games aren’t your thing, there are also card games… We’ve had many fun games of Go Fish and Uno around the table at my house. This, again, is a great way to teach the kids how to pay attention, some simple math, and how to entertain themselves without a computer or tv, and without having to spend tons of cash. At my house, we always end the night reading a new story. My boys love when we curl up on the couch and helping me read a story and taking turns talking in funny voices (I mean, what stories aren’t better when told sounding like Kermit the Frog?).

If all else fails, there is the movie approach. Of course, since the idea is to save money, I’m going to tell you how I would go about doing that. You certainly do NOT want to go out and buy a new release. With the money you spend doing that, I could have my family fun night two or three times over! Instead, if you have to have a DVD of your own, search the $5 movie bin at Walmart. Of course, that is not the route I would choose… I’m going to give you two other awesome options. Pick a NetFlix movie online (or even better, one from Amazon) or go to your local RedBox and get one for less the $1.50 a night.

The most important part of Family Night In is the food though! You don’t have to buy anything expensive to have absolutely wonderful food. Our family night favorite is homemade pizza… You can put nearly anything on it! Leftover veggies, chicken, pretty much anything, and it is delicious! And snacks for later: Grapes, apples, bananas, nuts… You name it, you eat it. No one says that snacks have to be unhealthy. So, have a fun night in… And see just how cheap you can make it! Comment with your night in ideas, and tell me how much you had to spend to do it!