Keep hanging in there! Things will get better.

I don't know if this is possible for you, but I found that when I plan for tomorrow the night before, my mornings are much, MUCH smoother.

This means that (at any given time and not even all together, but at some point between coming home from work and going to sleep, I've done these things):
-I pick out tomorrow's clothes and lay them out (check the weather first)
-I collect everything I will need for tomorrow (eg homework, plans for world domination) and put them in my bag or a bag, by the front door (check your calendar first)
-I pack a lunch and put a post it note on the door that says LUNCH so i don't leave without it (b/c it's in the fridge). (if i blow the calendar and it's an eat out day, it just means i have lunch for the day after)

HUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even if you can only do one or two of these sometimes, it will make your morning livable.

when I have these moments, I start singing the song from finding Nemo..."just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

Hat and Sunglasses Days. Or that's what I call them, anyway. You can't hide from your life, of course, but I'll be damned if I won't hide from a day or three when things are sucking.

Oh, sweetie... It feels so good to know that my pain has friends out there. Scary shit we have to go through, right? Today's glimmer in my nightmare - which also brings a whole new ball of wax of worry, my stubborn as hell-yet delight in every way possible senior high school daughter received college acceptance letter to her first choice school. When asked as a tiny girl what she wanted to be when she grew up she said, "I want to be a teacher, a ballerina and mommy." She's on her way... She's going to be a wonderful teacher.

Hang in there mom. *hope you don't mind the tears shed while reading and writing here.

Lil

It takes time. I know that sucks to hear, but it's true. It took me six months to feel like I maybe was going to make it. Another three to feel like I had a handle on the whole kid wrangling/work/house life crap. And then a few more to feel like maybe I was even doing it well.

You seem to be doing okay considering. Just keep moving forwards. Eventually it will get easier.

I'm not a single mom, but my husband used to have a job that had him traveling every.single.weekend. And so on the weekend, I FELT like a single mother. Most people didn't really get it. What's the big deal? So you're on your own 2 days a week. Other moms do it ALL THE TIME. But damn it, it was hard. I got better at managing it from a logistical standpoint, juggling 2 young kids and a dog who had to be taken on several walks a day, no excuses (no yard). But even as it got easier logistically, it never really got EASIER. The only thing that helped was to find other moms who knew what it was like: single moms, pseudo-single moms like me, moms whose partners were practically never there. That's what helped. Solidarity. And beer when they were sleeping.

It's gonna suck for while, I imagine. Then it will get easier, whilst still sucking intermittently.

But.

You will survive it. Mostly because the girls will grow up and bloody well do things for themselves, but take what you can get.

I'm sorry you're hurting. But you're here. Hang on to that, too.

I remember those early days of the divorce between my parents, and those are the kind of memories that come back up with an emotional wrench to the heart whenever I think about that. I still have the memory of leaving my parents' house with the station wagon all packed up, my tricycle in the back, and sitting next to my older brother and little brother in the middle seat as my father watched outside in the driveway with his hands on his hips, as we drove off with my mother to her parents' house in South Texas. She sat up straight in that driver's seat, chin up, and did not turn her head to look at my father. He'd cheated on her, and had broken her heart even though she'd known for a while she was unhappy in the marriage with him.

We stayed at my grandparents' that summer, and then I went off to boarding school at my deaf school in a different state at four years old. My mom took that entire year to deal with the divorce in South Texas, to go through counseling, and to get her life in gear. She applied to the university near my deaf school, and moved my two brothers up, got an apartment, and I was with them finally. Those years were tough, especially when my dad remarried to the person he'd had an affair with. I remember my mom crying, and how difficult my ex-stepmother made it for her to call us when we were at my dad's because she'd hang up the phone on my mom.

Despite those early difficult years, my brothers and I turned out great, because my mom was determined to make a better world for us, and to give us every opportunity to succeed. She read all those statistics about children with divorced parents, and decided we weren't going to be those statistics. She's an awesome mom, and she pulled through.

So will you because you're an awesome mom. Right now it's tough, but you will adapt, get stronger, and do even better because you have Marlo and Leta as your guiding lights. Also, remember to ask for help when you need it, and you feel overwhelmed. It's okay to take breaks every now and then. It's okay to go away for a trip to get "you" time, and to leave your kids with your parents or relatives. You also need to take care of yourself. My mom did that whenever she got overwhelmed, and we'd go off to my grandparents' for the summer, and we came back to a happy, newly re-charged Mom who was ready to kick ass into gear :-)

No parent, single or partnered, can make it work all the time. Ask for help. As a single parent you just learn to rely on a network of family and friends and very patient children who don't mind eating a protein bar in the car on the way to school or spraying Febreeze on their clothes because mommy ran out of time to do the load of laundry with their school uniform in it. Of course I have a boy so smelling good isn't a priority for him. Your girls may feel differently. Asking for help was the hardest part for me. I felt I had failed at my marriage so why let everyone see I was failing as a parent? I know now I wasn't failing, raising a kid is just so dang hard! Hang in there.

Good luck. *hugs* I'm rooting for you.

Single momhood can just plain suck sometimes, especially when you're running your own business. I, in a moment of insanity, decided to add grad school to the mix a year ago in addition to running a business and single mom'ing two kids. The only thing that maintains my sanity when I get overwhelmed is writing everything down. Even though I haven't actually accomplished any of the million and five things I need to do, just seeing it out on paper and not swimming around in my brain waiting to get lost helps.

Last night I even created a Morning Routine list in my reminders iPhone app. Everything from "make coffee" to "wake up the kids" to "take them to school" and "don't forget their lunch" made it on the list. It was quite satisfying to check them each off too. :)

Hang in there. It does get better.

Tips: pack backbacks and lunches the night before. Snack and lunch content negotiations can occur without the pressure of the morning rush. You can even go so far as to put the backpack by the door or even in the car (I do this). Lay clothes for everyone (including you) out the night before. We only do non-toaster or other hot breakfasts on the weekend. I'm a SAHM, and try to do most of the dinner preparations after my lunch and during naptime. Makes things SO much easier.

As mentioned in the other posts above -- I get school stuff ready the night before. Anything that needs to go back to school gets put in the backpack and is ready to go.

I have my clothes for the day picked out 'cuz I can never decide in the morning. I also get up earlier than our child. I let the dog out, feed him, shower, pick out my son's clothes, set out his breakfast. Wake him up. Feed him. Change his clothes, bathroom, teeth brushed, jacket and out the door.

A couple years ago, we did do breakfast in the car to allow a little extra time for him to sleep, but I was forever digging poptarts out of the backseat and was afraid they'd attract rodents. :)

I hate change and it takes me awhile to adjust to a new routine. Add to that my 8 year old "hoarder" who likes to dawdle -- drives me nuts!

Hugs...it WILL get easier. You WILL find a rhythm that will work for you and the girls.

I spent more years as a single mom than I care to count...it is hard, but you adapt. One.day.at.a.time.

And yes, I remember the tears at the most inconvenient and embarrassing times. But sometimes you just gotta cry, and then it will get better.

It WILL get better. You are a great mom.

I absolutely hate that this is happening to you.