Author Archives: Sarah Williams

About Sarah Williams

I am a single mother to a sweet little 4 year old boy named Logan. I am almost done with my degree in Elementary Education and have loved every second of it. I love writing for Families.com and hope to be able to help other single moms through the difficulties of raising a child on your own.

Raising an Independent Child

As a parent you’ve probably heard the all familiar phrase, “I can do it myself!” Logan’s been a pro at this one for about as long as I can remember. He always wants to do everything on his own, if you try to help him he smacks your hand away, until he’s succeeded on his own. While this can be rather annoying for a parent, as it does tend to take about ten times as long, it is actually a very crucial step in your child’s development. You may be tempted to take over for your child, to speed things … Continue reading →

The Life of a Working Single Mother

The life of a single mother is packed. Her mornings are spent running around like mad trying to get all the kids ready for school, packing lunches, pouring cereal, gathering things for work, making sure the kids got their homework done, then rushing to get them to the bus on time, and if she’s lucky she may even get out the door in time for work. She spends the day slaving away at her job, then comes home to make dinner, help the kids with homework, do the dishes, get the kids bathed and ready for bed, stories, and finally … Continue reading →

The Power of Sleep

As a parent, lack of sleep just comes with the job. From the time our little ones are born until they are out of the house we are losing sleep over them. As babies we are up feeding and changing them throughout the night, as teenagers we are up waiting to make sure they’re not past curfew. Either way, being sleep-deprived is part of the game. The first symptoms of sleep-deprivation are irritability and moodiness. No surprise there; I know I can’t be the best mother I can be when I’m tired. My patience wears thin and even the smallest … Continue reading →

Toy Jail

They always said it was the terrible two’s. Then when Logan turned three I thought they must have been mistaken. Now that he’s four I’m wondering if they must have been off their rocker because four has been much harder than two or three ever was. At least when he was two he didn’t know how to talk back yet, don’t worry, he’s got it mastered now. Somehow in the last month he came up with the notion that he is in charge and he doesn’t have to listen to anyone anymore, especially Mom. We tried time-out. We tried talking … Continue reading →

Following Through

My son has suddenly turned into a picky eater. He didn’t used to be, but lately he’s spent the majority of picking out all the things he claims he doesn’t like, which is just about everything. It’s become quite a battle at the dinner table. What’s worse, he’s decided he thinks he’s in charge and doesn’t have to listen to mom anymore. If she says, “No candy until you eat your dinner,” he simply says he’ll just have it anyway. Where did this stubborn streak come from anyway? You can’t win with him; he can argue with you for hours … Continue reading →

What’s Holding You Back?

Logan and I both went to the doctor today. We both have Influenza Type A, which basically means we both have this tiny microscopic germ that has taken over our bodies and left us feeling rather miserable. Not only are we both feeling a little miserable, we’ve also been banned from going back to school for the rest of the week. Logan’s not too concerned about this of course, but I know it will leave me trying to play catch-up in the weeks to come, which as a single mother is rather daunting in and of itself, but to be … Continue reading →

Your Story is Not Over

My life has gone far from how I planned as a little girl. I always dreamed I’d marry a handsome man who was going to love and take care of our little family forever. Divorce was never in the cards. No one ever gets married thinking they’ll end up divorced, but it happens to a fair number of us regardless of what we planned. The night my ex-husband left I literally thought my life was over. I couldn’t imagine my life with anyone else. I had a child with this man. I didn’t know how I could possibly survive all … Continue reading →

Flu Season has Struck

It’s been a rough weekend, really rough…really, really rough. I just completed my first week of classes. I was thrilled to be able to have the weekend to catch up on homework from the week, while Logan was at his dad’s; no such luck. About Thursday afternoon I could feel I was coming down with something. My dad had been sick all week and Logan was getting the beginnings of what I thought was a cold on top of that. Our house had become a walking germ, but I prayed it would be short-lived. When Logan came back from his … Continue reading →

My Blessing in Disguise

Tomorrow would have marked my 4th anniversary with my ex-husband. It’s hard to remember what life was even like back then, it seems a lifetime ago. I remember feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was making the biggest mistake of my life as I walked down the aisle. My head knew things weren’t going to work, but my heart was too stubborn to listen and convinced me to go through with it. I so desperately wanted a “happily ever after family.” I wanted my son to grow up with both of his parents living under the same … Continue reading →

Exercise: It’s Good for the Heart

Most of us have already failed miserably at keeping our New Year’s Resolutions, according to the radio this morning at least 80% of us have given up on them already. This is pretty typical after the first week or two, but even if you’ve struggled with them a little so far, you have a whole year to perfect them so don’t give up hope! This year one of my many resolutions was to start exercising again. I, like most people, put on a few extra pounds during the holidays. When you have kids around there seems to be an endless … Continue reading →