I HAVE BEEN ABSENT?! WHERE HAVE I BEEN!! Life has been chaos. As a single mom I am constantly struggling with babysitting and working full time. I have been trying to settle in and adjust after making the decision to leave my place. I have been living on my own during the pandemic which has been great, but paying 2k rent not including financially taking care of my child on my own. I have tried the roommate thing a couple of times, but it didn't work out. The last straw was when I allowed my child's fathers youngest sister to stay with me for a little amount of rent and they couldn't pay it. Growing up in foster care I feel like I overcompensate and help out others and it has made it so hard for me to ask for help. This year I am learning that I am not invincible and it is okay to ask for help. So I am currently staying with a friend and figuring things out instead of trying to do everything on my own. I think all of us dream of being able to have enough for a down payment and have our own place and that is goals. Living in California can be so crazy, but I have faith that we will always figure it out as moms we are warriors. 

XO

The Single Mom Life Podcast

Hello, 

Welcome to The Single Mom Life Podcast. In todays episode I am sharing Part 3 of my life story aka my foster care story and what happened to me growing up. After listening to this episode you will find out so much about me and how I was adopted at 18 years old. I want to let everybody know now that yes I do appreciate foster care, but also wish there were better foster parents like the last foster home I grew up in. If you have any foster care stories or any stories in general that you want me to share go ahead and email me at antonettereneexo@gmail and let me know if you want your story to be anonymous or not. 

Xoxo, 

Antonette

Hello,

Here is a part 2 to my foster care story. I thought about it and I will be doing a 21 day challenge which means a podcast a day starting September 1st so be sure to add me on my podcast IG or my personal IG to answer questions about what kind of podcasts or questions about custody should I answer.

Podcast IG: https://www.instagram.com/thesinglemomlifepdc/

Personal IG: https://www.instagram.com/antonettereneexo/

Hello, I thought it was time to introduce myself. I love talking about being a mom and how I got full custody, but also want to share my whole life story. How I grew up in foster care and got adopted at 18 years old. How I lost my own child to foster care briefly, while I also got custody of my youngest sister from foster care afterwards. How I even became a surrogate not once, but twice for the same family. My life is chaotic to say the least. I have gone through it all & as I share my past I want to be able to share my future as well. This is just the beginning <3

Podcast instagram: @thesinglemomlifepdc

Podcast tik-tok: @thesinglemomlifepdc

SIDE HUSTLES you can do as a single mom that you can "take the kids with & do". To each their own. We could take the kids to do these side hustles, but yet we can't take the kids with us if that makes sense. A lot of these side hustles that I mention are driving jobs that don't involve other people in our vehicles, but yet we aren't "allowed" to take our kids with to do these jobs and it just doesn't make sense to me being that as a single mom leaving my kid to do a job that involves me shopping from my phone and dropping off order with my car don't make sense to allow my child to not tag along and sit in the car. However like I said before to each their own. As a single mom getting by requires a SIDE HUSTLE. If you try any of these side hustles or do them already let me know on instagram.

Podcast instagram: @thesinglemomlifepdc

Personal instagram: @antonettereneexo

Hello Everyone, Welcome to the single mom life podcast where we talk about it all. Custody court, child support, financial struggles and just life in general. Yes, my custody did change a bit in my last court hearing, but honestly I think the judge just changed it a little being that he felt bad that he didn't court order any visitation. Let me know what your thoughts are about the change.  I have been missing and I apologize as I have been picking up shifts at work due to inflation and trying to figure out how to go back to school while paying way too much in bills as a single mom. As always my DM's are open to questions on my podcast instagram or my personal instagram which are listed below.

Podcast insta: thesinglemomlifepdc

Personal insta: antonettereneexo

I feel like it's always around Christmas and Tax Season when all of a sudden some father's want to come around and ask to see their child/children. Do they forget they have children the remaining 8-10 months of the year and only remember during Christmas/Tax Season? In today's episode let's talk about tax season. 

Welcome back to The Single Mom Life Podcast! You won't believe who finally came around to visit OUR CHILD. Yes, after finding out that our child would be attending his Aunt's wedding(paternal aunt). My child's father decided to reach out for a visitation prior to the wedding. Yes, I wanted to tell him off and not allow him around our son. However I also wanted to make sure my son would be OK at his Aunt's wedding seeing his father for the first time in two years. I let my son make the choice in whether he wanted to visit his father and he did. It's now been almost two weeks. I don't know what that means from here on out, but I am going to take it day by day. I want my child to be able to have both his parents, but I am also not going to beg his father to be around either. The best thing I can do is support my child's decisions and make sure he doesn't get hurt in this crazy process of eventually figuring out what visitation will come pending court in April 2022. Will keep updating. Xoxo Antonette

This upcoming week my son will be going with his father's side of the family. Yes, you read that right he will be going with his father's side of the family, but not with his father. He will be attending a wedding and obviously I can only assume that his father will be there since it is his sisters wedding, but he didn't ask for our son. However his sister did. As much as I want to say, "NO!". I also want my son to be able to be able to make that decision and if he feels like going than I want him to go. Does it give me anxiety? Yes! The fact that his Aunt asked for my son to be there and not his father hurts, but I keep reminding myself. It is not my responsibility to make him be a father or anything else. I just hope everything goes well and this is a positive step forward for the future. The wedding is only days away! SO MUCH ANXIETY! We shall see if it goes well. 

I finally fixed my court order!! I am so excited to announce that court went exactly what I hoped it would. I couldn't be happier. I feel like a the weight of the world has been taken off of my shoulders and I am now able to do what I need to do. As a single mother I feel like we always get put down when we are just trying to ask for more help or expecting to share doctor visits responsibilities etc. For some reason even when you have shared custody somehow it ends up being the mothers that needs to leave work when the kids are sick etc. Things have to change.