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    Clare

    Clare

  • Parenting Guru: Dating as a single parent

    As a single mom who has been single for the majority of my twelve-year-old daughter's life, and who has an active dating life, I am often asked about introducing a significant other to my daughter. I have been asked this from single moms and from single dads alike.The primary question is this one: H

  • Parenting Guru: The French Waffle, an easy healthy breakfast

    Okay Shine Readers, I'm going to share with you one of my best mommy secrets.My daughter eats an egg and a slice of whole wheat bread every morning and is happy to do it. And a piece of sausage. Without nitrites, of course.

  • A user asks: Is confidence a curse for women?

    I have been told at least a dozen times that I intimidate men because I am a strong, confident woman.If I had not heard that as many times as I have I would dismiss it as silliness. I don't see myself as significantly more confident than most women I know. I'm not entirely sure what these men see in

  • Parenting Guru: Send those kids to camp!

    My daughter spends a full month every year on the banks of the Guadalupe River in the beautiful Texas hill country. The activities she has done while there include horseback riding, archery, riflery, trick roping (hey, it is Texas), fencing, soccer, golf, drama, chorus, art...and many more.

  • Hate swimsuit shopping? Here are some tips to make it better.

    There is nothing I hate to shop for more than a swimsuit, and I know I'm not alone. It brings out every physical insecurity I have ever had since puberty. It reduces my usual confident and positive self to an insecure, miserable, apologetic disaster of a human being. And no, I'm really not exaggerat

  • A single mom's guide to men

    I have been a single mom for ten years, and I've done more than my fair share of dating during those ten years. I've dated all kinds of men and yes, I have developed my own stereotypes of the men we single mamas date, and through that, I know the types I prefer. That said, when there is chemistry, t

  • Parenting Guru: What I don't want for my daughter

    I've taken a little heat for a post I wrote recently wherein I admit that I have not enjoyed every moment of being a parent, and, even more scandalous, admit that I enjoy my non-custodial weekends.Contrary to popular opinion, neither of these things mean that a) I should not be a mother, b) I am not

  • Parenting Guru: A response to "The opposite of a 'Tiger Mother': leaving your children behind"

    Look, I didn't really like that article either, and think the women portrayed in it came off as selfish and out of touch.With that said...

  • Parenting Guru: Managing tween drama

    It's here. The DRAMA!My daughter Sarah is part of a group of five girls, and they are the "BFFLs." (Best Friends for Life. Pronounced Biffles. It's cute.) These are all great kids, thankfully, but they are acting their age (6th grade), and those of you who have already gone through this know exactly

  • Parenting Guru: I'm the cool mom. But is that a good thing?

    Somehow or another, I am, according to my daughter and her group of friends, hands down the "coolest mom." The "most awesome" and they also think I "look really young." Or, as one of her friends said, "You look good in jeans. My mother doesn't."Well, first of all, holy cow I Iove that, especially th

  • Parenting Guru: Sometimes, I lose it. Do you?

    My ex and I are the divorced, co-parenting couple, that people look up to. At my daughter Sarah's elementary school, I was the go-to girl when someone was going through a divorce. I've actually made quite a few friends by serving in this role. Women I had never met before would seek me out to learn

  • Parenting Guru: Single mom? You're doing a great job.

    Being a single mama is tough. There are moments of single parenting that are very lonely. Moments I wish someone were in the foxhole with me. Someone to share the good and the bad, and to say the things I really need to hear as a mother sometimes.Since I don't have anyone to say those things, I'm go

  • Parenting Guru: Opting out of holiday madness

    [Editor's note: This month, Shine Parenting Gurus are sharing their tips on how they get through the holiday season without losing their wits and patience. Have a tip to add? Join in!]

  • Letting Go of Santa Claus

    Sometimes I am completely caught off guard by parenting. Telling my daughter Sarah the truth about Santa Claus was one of those times.At some point, kids start pressing about Santa. "Okay, so is Santa real or not?" and honestly, for awhile, it's so easy to deal with.

  • User post: Why I might always wear the same perfume

    Chanel Coco MademoiselleThat's the perfume I wear and I'll never change it.I never wore perfume before I was in my thirties. It's one of those girlie things that, like a lot of other girlie things, never really hit my radar. But I always had a bottle of perfume around, and would occasionally remembe

  • Parenting Guru: Being thankful for the life I didn't anticipate

    [Editor's note: This month, Shine Parenting Gurus were asked to write about a moment over the last year that they are genuinely thankful for, whether that was a good time with their family, or a more difficult experience that made them reflect upon their lives in a new way.]