So, now a year and a half into divorce, being a single parent on a day to day basis seems normal, especially since my ex spent very little time parenting my daughter with me while we were married. Miss M is getting old enough for us to do more activities together and now that she is potty trained and can communicate, extended periods away from home are less work and more fun.My custody agreement allows for two weeks vacation away each year for each parent. With some flexibility, I'm sure Ex and I will get to a place (some day) where another week or so won't be a problem. Now the problem is, just what to do? Especially since I'm now allowed six (yes 6!) weeks of vacation from my job.
Last year during the summer, I took Miss M to the beach in South Carolina (where my family is and where I grew up). We rented a huge house and my parents as well as my sister and her 3 kids and husband came. That was fun and we'll probably do that again. My Dad loved it most of all. Miss M is his only "birth grand daughter". I have a step niece who is wonderful but she's 19 and we got her when she was older (7) so he didn't get to go through the baby stage with her. It's so fun to watch them together.
Custody agreement is really good for me time wise. When I have Miss M for the weekend, I have her from Wednesday morning until Sunday night, so long weekends are always easy. Trips to my parents, long weekends at the beach, or even "city weekends" are fun.
What about the other week or two I can go on vacation though? I'm at a loss so I thought I'd ask my single parent friends. What do you do with your kids? Keep in mind Miss M is just over 3, so it can't be too crazy, but she is a pretty active little girl. I'd love to take her on a trip that provides great activities for her, isn't crazy expensive, and can be fun for Daddy too.
Fire away kids, let me know your ideas. Oh yeah, and as BLW mentioned yesterday in my post about The Dilemma, with the exeption of Dave over at Dad's House, no dude comments? Come on fellas!!! A little help here? Maybe I don't have any dude readers. What's that about?
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13 comments:
Dude, Single parent or not....Disney, or any beach.
I love going places with Aidyn. I'm not sure how far you are willing to travel,but I love the beaches in Northern FL. St. Aug. is beautiful! It has this quaint little town, a light house, a beach, and a boardwalk. So pretty.
I can't wait to be able to take my son camping. I think this up-coming summer (when he's three) I'll be taking him. He loves the fourwheeler, fishing, and being outdoors!
I don't know if thats any help.. but maybe an option. P.s. Disney would be fun.. but also sea world is a great option as well! There are lots of cool cheap loacations in fl :)
Gosh I don't know! I am a single mom of two (6 and 3) and the most we've done is go to a Lake about 3 hours from our house for the weekend. It was slightly stressful as the youngest wasn't potty trained and still needed a nap during the day. I've been thinking lately about how I'd love to take them somewhere this summer but I have NO clue where or what I want to do with them. I'll be checking back to see what suggestions your other readers come up with :)
Colorado is a great place for kids and single parents. We have skiing, mountains, and tons of other stuff. Including some single hot mommys with great kids! :)
When the Mook was 2, we went camping for the first time with a bunch of parent friends. Yes, I was the only single parent and our 3-person tent is dwarfed by our friends' tents, but it was nice. Nice to have 9 adults watching out for 7 kids and 5 of those kids were all 2 1/2. Even better is the meal sharing, each family taking responsibility for a meal. I probably just love the fact that I don't have to make a meal. They cut me some slack and put me in charge of snacks.
Also, with my local Parents without Partners group, we did a couple of nights at a YMCA family camp. There was a program for the kids in the morning, giving parents a chance to lay on the beach. And since I was with a bunch of single parents, everyone was pretty aware about keeping track of all the kids. Bonus: the tween/teens were happy to mess around with the little ones.
i am going to disneyworld and a disney cruise in mid feb.
i will report back to you after the trip, but seems like a sure fire bet for a princess loving girl and her dad
Two words: Disney Cruise!!!
We know how to rock a weekend in our family. Now, keep in mind that I live in Charlotte, NC now. (I grew up in the Adirondacks, so I can offer travel advice for there, too. It's waaaay closer for you.) We like our little weekend getaways.
I love Atlanta, with its aquarium and World of Coke and sooo much to do and see. We love the beach (Myrtle) with again...so much to do and see. I bet she'd love to have her picture taken with some baby animals. Maybe she'd be into collecting sea debris (like me). There's TONS of stuff to do there for all ages.
Now, really, if you haven't taken her to Burlington, VT, close as it is...you should. Bond at The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. Oh, and at the Ben and Jerry's Factory. Oh, and she would love Pizza Putt!
Just email for details...
Okay if memory serves, your girl is three right? Yes three. I wonder if that's just a BIT too young for Disney. It's SO overwhelming there ... but also SO fun. Tough decision. I gave Em her choice this past year, Disney or Sea World (she's six) and she went with Sea World. Surprised me. Anyway, it was truly the perfect age. She 'got' it. Ya know? I wonder if at three she'd get it.
At this age, dude, you gotta go with the beach! Can't go wrong I don't think.
Oh oh! I know, have you seen this place? http://www.nickhotel.com/ I wonder if that would be fun?
Wow. I'd like to take a few of these suggestions and see these places! (I'm child-size. Would I fit in your carry-on?)
:)
The one thing not on the list yet? Shoe shopping!
Sad to admit but Shiloh and I have never been on a vacation together. (She's three.) We've visited my sister in GA and we went to Gatlinburg for a conference, but I don't consider that a vacation. Right now with school I don't have the time or money, but I'm hoping we can go somewhere in the next few years. And I'm really hoping I can take Shiloh to Disney world when she's around five or six. I know she would love it now, but I think it would be more memorable in a couple more years. (Don't get me wrong though, if I had the money, I would take her today.)
It's a nice place to vacation is very nice the description of the place I hope to visit someday
Wow, I would love to visit here FOR SURE!
vacation ideas for kids
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