School Starts For Them & "Me" Time Starts For Us

    School starts in four days and I am beginning to feel a little giddy. Although my son goes to a year round school and only gets a month off instead of two and a half, I am just as wore out as the moms who have been trying to keep their children busy all summer.  As the mother of one, there is no one else to play with.  I am the playmate.  I have to pretend that I am some sort of Pokemon or one of Sonic's friends. I have my own account on Toontown and Club Penguin, so I can be on my laptop while he is on his so we can interact on the sites.  I have also been summer school teacher, checking workbooks and book reports , lifeguard and chaperon.  I can go on and on, with all the things that I am sure many of you mothers can relate to.

     On August 6th, I will driving up to my son's school with a smile on my face and saying "good morning" to every parent that I see.  I can imagine that all parents will be exchanging knowing glances and big smiles at one another and I am sure that some of them will be fist pumping once we walk away from their children's classes after meeting their teachers.  As we drive away, many of us will release a sigh of release that summer vacation is over and we now have a couple of hours to ourselves before we pick them up.
     This past month, I have missed having lunch with my friends, my weekly massages and being able to shop ALONE!  I have longed for being able to relax after the gym, getting into the jacuzzi without my son splashing water and screaming, "Mom, look what I can do" as he performs varies tricks in the water.  Just to have a quiet house for a couple of hours is a dream come true.  What I am not looking forward to is waking up early but hey, it is give and take, right?

     So, this Sunday as I iron my son's clothes for the week, ensure that he has his backpack ready with new supplies and sitting at the front door and get him to bed by 9, I will be anticipating the hours until I drop him off for his first day in 4th grade and I know that I will join some of the other parents in a little fist pump and a couple of high fives as we celebrate the first day of school for our children and a couple of hours of "me" time for ourselves.
    

Shopaholic? Yes, That's Me!

     I am a shopaholic!  Yes, I am!  The first step is to admit that you have a problem and I can admit it!  I am not sure that I would call it a "problem" though.  Maybe we can just call it a slight disability.  Oh hell, let's call it what it is, (sometimes), a damn PROBLEM!
     I am sure that many of you can relate to the need for some retail therapy every now and then but I need retail therapy daily.  Sometimes, it doesn't have to be actually buying something but at least a couple of times a day, I am on the websites of some of my favorite stores, looking to see what they have new, what's on sale and what can I buy.

     Lately, I have been trying to make more of an effort to not shop... as much.  The problem is that everyday and I do mean, EVERYDAY,  I have a new email from a store (s) coaxing me in with "new arrivals," shop today and get 20 % off," "Friends & Family, get 15% for 3 days or "spend $100 and get $25 off."  How can I resist?  I REALLY feel as though there is a conspiracy to make me shop on a daily basis!
     Per my BFF, "Bargain Betty," I need to get the most for my money.  She bargains shops and really does pretty good at it.  Me, on the other hand, not so much!  Yes, I like a good deal as much as the next woman but I am not dissuaded by something that is not on sale.  If I want it, I buy it.  Even if it is a couple of hundred.  I also don't believe in layaway.  I want it NOW!  I don't want to wait to take it home.  That's like teasing me with something that I can't have at the moment and I never did like a tease! 

     Let's face it, as long as there are malls and the Internet and I have money, I will be shopping.  I don't use credit.  I pay cash for everything and for items that I purchase on the Internet, I have a prepaid card that I use for fear to have it linked to my bank account.  My shopping has not put me into debt and to my advantage, I have always worked in retail, so although I am not like my friend, "Bargain Betty," I have always taken advantage of my employee discount.
     Some people are addicted to drugs, cigarettes and things that can physically do them harm.  Shopping is an addiction that can't physically harm you, however, like a drug, it can give you a high.  When I purchase something I feel as though I am on a retail high.  I float through the stores like Spike Lee floated through his movies...on Cloud 9.  If shopping is my drug then I want no part of recovery and although it can be a problem in that I have a house full of stuff that I forget I have or that I don't need, I would rather be a shopaholic and be happy then not being able to shop at all and be extremely sad.  Shopping to me is happiness! 
     

Why The "Sexy" In The Sexy Single Mommy?

     I am often asked, "Why did you have to put "sexy" as part of the title of your blog?" "Why couldn't you just be the single mommy?"  My answer to this question is that although I am a single mom, I am also sexy.  It is who I am and why deny it?
     When you hear the word sexy, most people think of the definition meaning, "sexually attractive or exciting and/or sexually aroused."  Maybe that's why I am asked why I included it in the title of my blog.  For me, sexy is all a state of mind.  It is how you carry yourself every day.  Being sexy is about being confident in who you are and the skin that you are in.  There is no room for self doubt when being sexy. 
     When you are a mom, you deal with so many things that sometimes we "lose ourselves" in the mix.  We become so involved in the lives of our families that we adopt the "mommy jeans"  and ponytails as part of our daily look.  As moms we have to remember to keep it "sexy" at all times.  We have to take the extra time in the morning to throw on a little mascara, lip gloss and run a comb through our hair.
     When you are single, I think that you have to put forth a little more effort than that of our married counterparts.  Who cares what they look like, they have someone to go home to?  We, on the other hand are looking for someone to eventually wife us and go home to.  I mean, let's be honest here, although I am single, I would like to be in a relationship and someone's wife one day.  Thus, us single ladies have to go through some thangs to make sure that we are presentable all the time.  My grandmother told me a long time ago, "a woman should always make sure that she looks presentable because you never know who you may meet." I have always taken this to heart.  I think that it is ridiculous for women to go to the store in their pajamas and slippers or with rollers and a scarf on their head.  That's not cute!  What if you run into a handsome man looking like that?  No Bueno! Ladies, we have to step it up!
     Now being sexy does not mean dressy like a slut.  You can be sexy with looking like you are on your way to or from the strip club.  You can be well dressed, covered up and still be sexy.  You can be sexy in a tank top and maxi skirt, remember its all about your attitude and confidence.  Putting a smile on your face is sexy.  Your conversation can be sexy, without even talking about sex.
     What it all boils down to is this, I am more than the title, "The Sexy Single Mommy."  There are layers upon layers that make up who I am.  Being sexy and single is just part of that.  Having a smile that can light up a room is another part.  I believe that I am the bomb.com all day, baby and there isn't a woman alive that is better than me.  Hell, if you don't believe in you, who will?  Being sexy is about having that type of confidence and I have to say, I gotta a WHOLE lot of that!!