Welcome Moms!

Lately I have been hearing from women who would love for me to return to creating new podcasts. I took 2011 off from the work, but hope to return this year with new shows -- and perhaps a webinar series! I currently have 46 shows available, with more than 39,000 downloads. Here's what's available.

While I don't think Mothers have a corner on this market, this blog post from On Being points out one of the fundamental soulful ways all parents can make a mark on building our better world. And I think, slowly, we're getting there, generation by generation creating a more benevolent society.

Long-time Choice Mom support Patricia Mendell, who works with single women in the New York City area who are building families on their own, has announced a new monthly support group to help families (single and coupled) create healthy families using egg, sperm and embryo donation, as well as surrogacy.

This is the kind of story we are always afraid can happen -- tends not to in this era -- but has.

On our yahoo discussion group for Choice Moms on the journey after the age of 40, a woman asked for stories of hope from others who had paid that kind of money, at that age, and found success.

Once upon a time we all think we know how our lives will turn out. Then, bit by bit, year by year, we discover that we don't have quite as much control over that as we think we do. Some control, yes. But sometimes the control we have about our destiny has more to do with perspective than actual wish fulfillment.

The Cambridge Centre for Family Research has worked with ChoiceMoms.org in the past to do more extensive research into who we are and the choices we are making. Now they have a U.S.-based researcher joining the team for her ongoing work.

This Wednesday, November 16, 7-8:30pm, a Family Building Network Support Group will meet with Choice Mom-friendly counselor Patricia Mendell in New York City.

I am happy to announce the launch of our regional e-guides -- compilations of resources and expert insight coming out of our Choice Mom Networking Events in particular cities. These e-guides will be of great help to women in those communities -- advice from local Choice Mom-friendly doctors, for example -- and some of the insights will certainly be of value to women everywhere, such as understanding what a doula might do for you.

It's been difficult in this economy for single women to retain their jobs before and after motherhood. As a recent Choice Mom discussion board conversation revealed, we are a remarkably resilient community!

There was an interesting question on the ChoiceMomsOver40 discussion group recently. When are you too old to start motherhood?

I heard recently from a graduate student who wants to learn more about mood and social support among lesbian mothers. She's offered this information about her research study.

I know what it's like to get through security at the airport with young kids. Sometimes vacations -- wonderful as they are to celebrate with our children -- could be improved if YOU could have a day to yourself. Or at least time to read one good book in peace. Here's a solution....

Primrose Schools, a family of 200 accredited private preschools around the U.S., offered these tips for keeping your kids' minds working this summer.

I'm about to send my son off for a week to a camp near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with two families (married couples, each with one child who is a good friend of his).

Many of our children ask questions about their fathers, and right now, with Father’s Day approaching, we are all thinking and talking more about it. When we made the decision to become an SMC, this subject was, for many of us, the one which we were most concerned about, and rightly so. Deciding to raise a child without a father has a real impact on our children and on us.

If you live on the East Coast, from Virginia to Toronto and Maine, in an open environment that would be a good temporary home for New York City children, consider participating as a host with Fresh Air Fund this summer.

I am a Choice Mom of twin girls who are now 6. I did artificial insemination in the U.S. with sperm that could not cross the border into Canada. This is my story of making contact with half siblings.

I recently heard from this woman, in search of some outside insight. And it's no wonder, when you read her story. Yet, it's not an uncommon dilemma. Many of us have been in this place. Or have faced similar indecision about whether Choice Motherhood is the right step. What do you suggest for her?

Some time ago, researchers at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom did a first-ever large-scale survey of Choice Moms to learn more about who we are. Now they have a new online survey for us to take part in.

After Holly shared her story with the Single Mother by Choice community, she received some wonderful feedback about dealing with the chaos of single parenthood.

This Mother's Day weekend I'm contemplating the good, the bad, and the ugly of Choice Motherhood.

One of the women helping me pull together the Boston Choice Mom Networking Event on June 26 is Holly. On this Mother's Day weekend, she came clean about the single parent lifestyle. We're looking for YOUR insight.

Jo-Anne Cutler is a Family Communication Specialist and Awareness coach, who helps people who are "stuck" make the shifts they need to experience more peace, fun and happiness in their lives. That extends to helping parents build the best stress-free environment to enable their kids to thrive.

How do we celebrate Father's Day?

A San Francisco Choice Mom wrote to me recently, asking how to address the half-sibling topic with her son. She's been in contact with two lesbian couples on the East Coast who have sons from the same donor.

Any of you who have been following Choice Mom resources over the years is likely acquainted with Cathi. She found the humor in the stress of trying to self-inseminate, in learning about her own fertility, in being pregnant, in being the mom of a newborn, and now in being simply, joyfully, Mom. Here is her story in a nutshell.

Our recent event in Philadelphia owed a lot to Diane, who convinced me of the need to host a Choice Mom networking event there this year. Then she set about turning the wheels to help make it happen. She'll continue turning the wheels for the local women.

Two women from our 2010 Austin event have emerged to keep the conversations happening and the resources shared in that part of the U.S. Here's the story of one of them.

This has come up so frequently lately that I want to focus our attention again on responses to these topics: What do we tell our children, and others, about how they were conceived? About why they don't have a dad?

When it was time to start finding coordinators to help Choice Moms do the work we do with the community, the first person I thought of was Kali, who has quietly been offering suggestions and moderation help for several years. Now you, too, can meet her as she steps out of the shadows to help manage our vast East Coast resources.

Curious about how many of us are in the Thinking, Trying or Mom stages? Here are the results of a recently closed Choice Mom survey.

Choice Mom Stacey MacGlashan (author of "Just You and Me, Kid") is working with Choice Moms LLC on a 24-page storybook for kids. It is a lovely story about a girl who gets asked by another child, "why don't you have a dad?" And it needs illustrators.

As we continue our look this month into alternatives to IUIs for women, I wanted to share this story of a Choice Mom I know who is meeting her third daughter today in China.

Several years ago there was some measure of relief among Choice Moms -- and consternation among some others -- when author Peggy Drexler published Raising Boys Without Men that revealed that boys in homes headed by single mothers by choice and lesbian couples were doing quite well. Now she's published a book about the impact fathers have on daughters.

As we develop more (largely FREE!) e-books and other special guides for the Choice Mom community, I thought this would be a good place to list everything so far available. This list will grow, so keep checking back.

Here it is...the end of the month when we focused on Conscious Conversations, and it took me weeks to get to THIS conversation with you. Isn't that the trickiness of our lives? How to make time for what matters, when the minutia of everyday gets in our way.

It's finally here! The Choice Mom Guide to Donor Sperm. Click here for the e-book, available as a complimentary guidebook for anyone who is choosing or has chosen sperm donation to build their family.

I'd like to refresh this "blog of blogs" and encourage anyone who is writing about her Choice Mom journey to include a link to it in the Comments field below.

From new Choice Mom-friendly estate planner Chris Tymchuck, of Unique Family Law: When we saw a man on the side of the road asking for money, my 3-year-old daughter asked, "what is he doing with that sign?" I braced myself for a difficult conversation.

Just as a Choice Mom I know is heading to China to meet her new five-year-old daughter -- after a LONG process that started before China closed its doors to single-parent adoptions, this good news just in....

We've got a new partnership with Studio One Networks, which is offering content on two topics that Choice Moms tend to care about: offering our families greener lifestyles, and maintaining our homes. Here's the first in a series.

A friend called out of the blue to ask to catch up after months of absence. We talked about how hard it is for him to find interesting women to talk to about non-superficial things, and how he wondered if he’d ever find a partner.

Madeline Feingold is a therapist on our Top 20 list of Choice Mom-friendly counselors, associated with Alta Bates IVF in San Francisco. She offered insight on the actual words a parent can use, starting at a young age, to talk to their child about being donor-conceived.

We kick off our March focus on "conscious conversations" with this wonderful response by CNN's Jessica Ravitz to a Huffington Post commentary speculating why women like us are not married.

One of the hardest things I struggle with is finding balance.

Three noteworthy news items to share with you this week....

As we were driving through yet another snowstorm in Minneapolis the other day, so I could get my 11-year-old daughter to a birthday party, she suggested I get a husband.

Here's the article about Choice Motherhood in the newly published Los Angeles-based Jewish Journal. My thanks to the Choice Moms here who volunteered to share their stories.

This post comes from Vera, co-editor with me of "Choice Mom Guide to Adoption," as she examines the probing questions she and her now-13-year-old twin daughters, adopted from Russia, have been asked over the years.

Admittedly I've become pretty oblivious to Valentine's Day. But that doesn't mean I don't have dreams...

I wrote a few months ago, when I was starting my Thinking journey. I think I wrote because, as a Thinker, I needed to make contact with someone.

Nick Jr. has been in touch with Choice Moms about developing a relationship with its Nick Jr. Boost online educational games for preschoolers. To start things off...

My youngest turned 7 the other day. That means we're about to do his flower, representing the important people in his life right now. It's a favorite new tradition we created when the "family tree" assignments started five years ago, when my daughter was his age.

It's great to find this community, and I'm so excited to get to know you all! My story goes like this. I was married to a wonderful man, John....

This new-and-improved website has been in operation now for nearly a year. I'd like to share some interesting new data about where we tend to be living, the stages we are in, and what we prefer to read on this website.

This woman is doing a potential TV documentary about Choice Motherhood and is looking for interviewees, ideally in the San Francisco area.

A young law student, proactively planning ahead about eight years, asked women on the discussion board for their views on her plan. Here's what she wondered...

A newborn mom thinking ahead to her return to the work world worried about how to help her daughter transition into naps that don't involve breastfeeding her to sleep.

Kim, 45, launched an interesting question on one of the Choice Mom discussion boards last week. She was curious what women thought about whether there was an age when it was "too old" to be a parent. Not in terms of conceiving, but just general parenting.

This list was offered by Carrie Crompton at Cultural Care Au Pair, who is offering a great $500 discount to the Choice Mom community.

Two years ago a woman on the Choice Mom discussion board wrote about the anger she was feeling about having to make the choice to become a single mother. By serendipity, I went looking for her on this New Year's Day, and discovered she hasn't posted since. As we usher in the new year, I wonder how many women have resolved certain emotions...and how many are stuck? I thought it was a great way to lead off conversation in 2011.

Here it is! For a limited time, the special new baby for our Choice Mom community. Our Choice of ChoiceMoms.org tips from 2010, featuring everything from Organization to Building a Support Network, Q&A to Commentary.

My favorite part of this website and the Choice Mom networking events are the opportunities to learn the stories of others in our community. Here is a compilation of some of the best stories of 2010.

This arrived as a comment to another post, and I thought it was a great conversation starter as a blog. "As a Thinker I tend to over-think everything. I believe learning to ask for help is a good philosophy for life. But what if all your plans fail and you have to do it ALL alone?

Before you know it, we realize our children are old enough to sometimes be home alone. For single parents, this can be a blessing -- not relying on babysitters every time we have to go to a neighborhood dinner party -- but the question is asked, how old should our children be before we entrust them?

Consider supporting the work that goes into this website by using any of these affiliated marketing partners (Legos, Orbitz, Nick Jr., storybook publisher, etc.), who are offering the Choice Mom community these special deals:

We worry about being stressed before we become single moms. Then when stress hits big-time, there's nothing to worry about anymore. We're just busy dealing. Here's Laura's story about coping with three major events in less than a week.

I went to a talk by a well-respected neighbor of mine, Dan Buettner, whose latest book, Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way, is about tips he gleaned from worldwide research, database correlations, and conversations with individuals in the happiest cities in the world.

It is always surprising to me how often I seem to be in a state of revising my plans. I meant to grow up, meet my prince, get married and have kids. I really did. It just didn't work out that way.

If you have used eggs and sperm to create embryos outside of your body, as a growing number of families have done because of fertility challenges, the question naturally arises about what to do with the frozen embryos remaining in storage.

At Thanksgiving time, it's easy to remind ourselves and our kids to be thankful and appreciative. But what about all the other days of the year? I recently read several good tips from one book that might help.

It's a very lonely road to take care of yourself and a premature child (or two). Let's collect our wisdom here about places to turn, stories to share, insight to offer.

A 5-year-old Choice Kid started referring to a woman's ex-boyfriend as "daddy" even though he had proven to be not good father material and the mother had ended the relationship six months earlier. He hadn't been in their life since. The girl was saying that she "missed her daddy," even though she'd never referred to him that way before.

I've been reminded in the last week just how fragile life is. A Choice Mom friend unexpectedly lost her younger sister last week -- a mother of three -- in a tragic accident. And a neighbor couple are BOTH battling cancer, one of them terminal, with 7- and 9-year old daughters at home.

As a single working mom, I find myself falling into a bad habit of trying to cram as much 'fun' into the weekend days as humanely possible, which can end up creating more stress rather than relieving it. There are a few things I've done recently to try to combat this.

Our Choice Mom-friendly therapist Patricia Mendell let us know about a special event this weekend in NYC for families (single and married) built through donor conception. There is also a second note here about her telephone group discussion this week on talking about donor conception.

At the recent ASRM convention for those in the fertility industry, Choice Mom friend and therapist Andrea Braverman led a discussion titled "Wrinkled Parents: Medical, Ethical, and Psychological Issues of Parenting at an Older Age."

We can't all be prepared. We lose our job. Emergencies tap our reserves. We find ourselves accidentally pregnant and not quite ready for the daunting responsibility we embrace. Here's one resource that is reaching out to offer help.

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a great resource for information about foster care adoption. Here are some of the numbers they offered in National Adoption Month (November 2010) about the kids waiting in foster care for adoptive homes.

There is a national discussion starting in the Australian Parliament about how to regulate and legislate donor conception practices across federal and state lines.

Some years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Buettner, a noted explorer with a special interest in healthy living and a particular gift for making things happen.

There are a lot of things to misunderstand about adoption. Test your knowledge here.

Tis the season. There is fun in Halloween tricks and treats with our kids. But for many, also the conflicts that come from the community time of Thanksgiving, Chanukkah, Christmas, New Year's. Feelings of isolation as summer frolicking turns into the more contemplative Fall and reclusive Winter seasons.

Our first networking event of 2011 will be held near Raleigh, North Carolina, at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary. Only three seats remain! Registration ends Wednesday, March 16.

There are 20 major markets where Choice Moms live. There are Choice Moms everywhere, of course, but I'm focusing on 20 communities where this website gets the most traffic from single women. I'm building resource guides for the cities listed below, with your help.

This past Saturday was an interesting intersection date for me, which I'd like to talk about with the Choice Mom community.

Thanks to Ellen for talking to this reporter, and providing me with the link to Babble's story about three single moms by choice.

A frequent topic of discussion on the Choice Mom boards is whether to have two children, and how to manage if you do. As one woman asked: "I'd love to hear the strategies you've used in order to provide each of your kids with enough time and attention."

When you are feeling isolated, angry, depressed or confused about the Choice Mom path, the discussion boards have become a good place to vent and share. But sometimes we need someone who not only understands the Thinking to Being stages, but is specifically trained to talk with us about our emotions.

I didn't have life insurance until a few years ago. If you've also put off this step, watch this video

I am frequently asked by reporters how big the Choice Mom community is. While there is no census-taking data that reveals the answer, I can use our discussion boards as a way to gauge growth -- and the types of things we are most interested in talking about.

We tend to know how to set and achieve goals. But sometimes we need a nudge, or we're feeling low, and our competence as strong-minded women prevents us from seeking help. I'm always looking for ways to help us find the insights we need.

I've had two experiences recently where I've definitely felt the difficulties of being a single mom.

When Sandy Chalkoun's son was 11 months old, her husband decided to leave the marriage. Since then, this Montreal-based lawyer has written a book about how to be a happy single parent. There are useful insights for Choice Moms.

As a Choice Mom, this black woman wrote to me to say she'd been invited to contribute to the September 22nd No Wedding, No Womb blogging campaign to bring attention within the black community to the idea that single black women should stop having children on their own.

Some time ago on the old Choice Moms blog format, Denise offered these fun and wise thoughts on what she'd learned after 10 months of Choice Motherhood. They were too priceless to disappear, so I've resurrected them here. We invite you to add your own.

A woman with two young children wrote to say that a half-sibling of her kids was traveling to the U.S. from another country and wanted to meet, since the children shared the same sperm donor. The mother didn't feel prepared to talk to her kids about how they were connected, yet didn't want to miss the opportunity to meet.

This service is designed to recommend estate planners who have a special connection with the Choice Mom community, either through commendation by a Choice Mom client, or sponsorship of Choice Mom workshops or other educational resources (signified here with direct website links).

The first few weeks (and months, and maybe years?) of motherhood are a beautiful and emotional time. You bond with Baby, and learn about each other, and stare dreamily into each others' eyes. You are also wracked with hormones, and lack of sleep, and an almost overpowering, choking terror.

For too long I've ignored the needs of our moms with growing kids. As you'll notice, this website is robust with articles about the emotional and fertility needs of our community, but less for the woman who is doing the job of single parenting her much-beloved child(ren). No more. Much more content is coming for the Waiting, Becoming and Being sections, thanks to new partners.

A woman who is preparing to write about the Choice Motherhood lifestyle in a community that doesn't think single parenting is such a good thing asked me to offer some resources. I realized that many of you might benefit from some of it, in your own conversations with others.

The topic of using estate plan templates -- kits with fill-in-the-blank options about guardianship and will issues -- came up among a group of single mothers by choice recently. A Choice Mom and attorney in the group offered her insight.

I’ve noticed an interesting trend the last few years in the stories I’m learning about through this website, and the Choice Mom networking events. Many of the women choosing single motherhood these days are younger than what I would consider the norm. I asked some of these women to share their stories on ChoiceMoms.org.

By now I hope you've had a chance to explore the "support_network" keyword on ChoiceMoms.org, because I think this is the most important and valuable information any parent needs. But if you haven't seen everything we've offered here from fellow moms and experts, here's a shortlist of some of my favorite items in it.

I've become acquainted with the very interesting work and brain of Harvard professor Steven Pinker, and have been reading his 2002 book "The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature." So it was with pleasure that I read (pages 398-399) some of his thoughts on the nature vs. nurture debate as it relates to how we raise our children.

After a single dad wrote in who was feeling isolated with his young child, ChoiceMom.org readers chimed in with their own insights. One of the comments was about something we've talked about here before -- your support network often won't be what you expect it will be -- and is worthy of new discussion here.

I get more melancholy about the end of summer than my kids do. They love school, and started the new school year today. About my own sadness about this time of year, I know that it's largely because my kids are the ones who teach me to play, not to work all the time.

My blog about pivot points having more impact on our kids than a "lack" of something in their life prompted a comment from a single dad. His comment was long, and I thought it was good fodder for a new post on the "support network" theme of the month on ChoiceMoms.org, so I'm using it here.

This is a continuation of Lori's story, who realized that someday her donor-conceived child might need to qualify for federal student loans. Since the paperwork requires income records for both parents, and since there are plenty of other occasions in her state of Alabama where having a blank or "none" on the birth certificate might not work with government employees, she wanted to be proactive. She was surprised to learn recently what she really needed it for.

submitted by Lori
Will you ever have to prove your donor child doesn’t have a father? When I gave birth to my daughter via anonymous donor IUI in 1999, I hoped that the information regarding her father would be left blank on her birth certificate.

Although I've written about all the ways other people and experiences can fill in gaps in a child's life, our role of parent can -- and should -- be the strongest influence on our children's lives, if done well. To that end, I'm launching a new area of ChoiceMoms.org that helps us become the best parents we can be.

A few years ago a producer for noted conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly called to test me for a potential debate with his boss about why Choice Moms dislike men. Maybe it's because I was pretty easy-going in my responses, but I was never booked for the show. In his recent remarks about Choice Motherhood, however, I see he still has a bug up his

It's hard for self-sufficient women to ask for help -- or even acknowledge to ourselves that we need it. But we do. Even more than we care to admit, because we tend to be so hard on ourselves. This month I'm thinking about the kinds of support Choice Moms need, and how we can get and give it as a community.

Thanks to the generosity of Choice Mom Emily, I've been able to spend a wonderful 10-day holiday in London with my kids and parents. While here I met in Coram's Field with 14 women, including Moms, Thinkers and Tryers from Belfast, Dublin, Belgium and many others in the United Kingdom. I also met with a large group of Ph.D. students in Cambridge, who were interested in the Choice Mom story.

We all know it's not healthy to be in debt. But when you've got fertility or adoption costs, a home to set up, a safe car to invest in, loans to pay off, and childcare to save or pay for, raising a child on one paycheck can be incredibly daunting. One friend of Choice Moms at numerous workshops has been Ameriprise, which offers this advice on debt.

submitted by Christy
My daughter is 2.5 years old. She is a little girl who doesn't need to ask a lot of questions, doesn't seem to need a lot of prep information, and simply adjusts at the time to whatever is happening around her. She doesn't yet ask why she doesn't have a dad, or who her donor is. But other kids are now starting to do so.

A woman on the Alternatives to Marriage Project Facebook page wrote that she was denied coverage for fertility treatments because she isn't married. She's on the Choice Mom path. Let's weigh in on which insurance companies do a better job of coverage.

I recently discovered the book "DailyOM: Inspirational Thoughts for a Happy, Healthy and Fulfilling Day." It is a great compilation of short philosophical insights from Madisyn Taylor, co-founder with her husband of the DailyOm website, including:

Choice Mom Deb suggested this fun idea, in the vein of Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck If..." We're now creating our own list for "You Know You Might Be a Choice Mom If..." She got us started.

I'm often asked how Choice Moms handle Father's Day. And we often wonder -- especially before we have kids, or when our children are quite young -- whether they are missing out on something important by growing up without a father.

I've long been fascinated with genetics. Partly because since my one sibling is adopted, I've always been mindful and curious about the nature vs. nurture questions. Now Wendy Kramer at Donor Sibling Registry is announcing an exciting new research project that will help explore some of these issues.

Lesbian and gay couples, and single women, have long been presumed by many to offer "worse" family structure for kids compared to two-parent heterosexual marriages. One new study reported in Time magazine indicates something we've long suspected. That might be a huge presumption.

Some time ago a librarian wrote to me asking that I send my various books for Choice Moms and donor-conceived families to the Library of Congress for cataloging. This stemmed out of her discovery that there are very few books about donor conception available. She compiled this list, however, of everything she had found to that point.

I returned from a great primitive island camping trip with another Choice Mom, two dads, and the seven kids we have who have known each other for years. And one of the 30 emails waiting for me from the long weekend was the link to a blog from Kat Wilder, who is trying to understand who Choice Moms are, and why we do what we do.

Dawn Davenport at Creating a Family had a great radio show about the bumps that can occur after adoption.

We all want to live healthier lives, especially when we are getting nutritionally in shape for pregnancy, or after we become moms. At the Minnesota event in April 2010, I had the pleasure of working with sponsor Laura Bonicelli, whose Solo by Bonicelli company offers gourmet delivery and food prep services.

I recently discovered a great book by Kara Stefan titled "Head of Household: Money Management for Single Parents." It covers budgeting, childcare, credit, healthcare, housing, insurance and more.

Someone recently posted on one of the Choice Mom blogs that a friend of hers was intending to have sex with a stranger in order to get pregnant, and not tell the man. Not surprisingly, this made the friend uncomfortable.

May is "Money Matters" month on the website. This month we'll take a look at what we're learning and sharing, from each other and from experts, about financial matters. Starting with this week's Choice Mom query: As parents who might expect more help from our kids, but with one paycheck, how do we handle allowances?

We usually include an estate planner at Choice Mom networking events, to make sure women understand everything they need to about protecting their child both BEFORE and after motherhood. Here's a tip that Julie, 28 weeks pregnant, learned from attorney Chuck Roulet at the Minneapolis event.

It's been a big week for keeping up with media requests. NOT, as I had expected, because of my recent debate with a father's rights advocate (thanks to ALL of you for adding your voice to the comments on PublicSquare.net that show our rationality), but simply accidental. Thought you might be interested in hearing what I've been repeating this week about who we are.

When we are trying to conceive, or keep up with our children, we often take a closer look at how to improve our health and vitality. Here are tips from Natural Health and Fertility Center, as offered at the first-ever Choice Moms Expo in Minneapolis.

We love reading stories with our kids about non-traditional families. Here are some of the books that have been recommended by Choice Moms.

Interestingly, the most popular conversation circle at my upcoming Choice Mom Expo in Minneapolis is "Taming tantrums: yours and child," with parenting educator Denise Konen. Even 11 years into parenting, I didn't realize how important this topic is to our motherhood community. Here's one of the suggestions Denise has.

Choice Moms Expo sponsor Joan Gilles, of Ameriprise Financial Services, offered this important tip about disability insurance. Admittedly, this is a form of insurance I hadn't given much thought to. But as single parents, there are a LOT of ways we need to be smart about protecting our assets, and this is one we need to understand.

I'm into week #2 of my attempt to live an organized life. And, I have to admit, being conscious of being organized makes you quite aware of how unorganized life is. But I think that's a GOOD step. Here's what I've learned about the stresses of single motherhood this week.

Well here it is...the public debate between a Glenn Sacks father's rights crony (Robert Franklin) and myself on PublicSquare.net. Read, laugh, seethe, comment. I actually love the opportunity to offer a rational perspective, even if my opponent has a decidedly different viewpoint. Such as Franklin's view that Choice Moms often trick men into having kids and then lie to keep them out of the child's life. Here's a synopsis, with links to the full debate.

I have two primary stresses in my life. NOT my kids. But, 1) the continuous feeling that I can't get everything done that needs my attention, and 2) the fact that my large house takes more money and energy than I'm willing to invest. So I called in professional organizer Kathy Franzen, of Project Partners Organizing, who was a single mother of four for most of their childhood. Here's what I learned in one intense two-hour session.

The kids and I recently had 10 days together for spring break. We did NOT travel this time. And I learned many things about how to successfully juggle. I'm going to try to incorporate it more effectively into daily routine going forward.

I know many Choice Moms (myself included) who are slowly attempting to bring more organic into our lives now that we are moms. To that end, I'd like to use this space for a new category on ChoiceMoms.org: organic living. (Keyword: organic)

Do you feel rushed? Exhausted? Like you don't have enough time with your kids? Take five minutes out of your schedule to read and contemplate this. Then share an idea of how to pause in your own life every day.

There are three things Choice Moms report in hindsight are their biggest regrets. What do you think they are?

Years ago, when my daughter was in kindergarten, the infamous family tree assignments started to come from school. To allow for the fact that Choice families don't have a "father's side" to fill in, we came up with our own solution.

There are a lot of amazing women writing specifically about the single mother journey. Here are a few of my favorites:

There have been several documentaries made about the Choice Mom lifestyle. Here are clips from a few of them:

Long-time Choice Mom support Patricia Mendell hosts a monthly conversation to help families learn how to talk about non-traditional family-building with their kids. Dates: February 24, April 21, May 26.

We're building an audio library featuring the best of our Choosing Single Motherhood radio show and Choice Chat podcasts. You can order the first of this collection, "Choice Moms Answer the Tough Questions: Do I Have a Dad?" (formerly a CD product, available here for immediate $7 download).

Choice Mom Lori Gottlieb made headlines two years ago when she wrote an Atlantic Monthly piece suggesting that maybe single women like her, opting to have kids alone, were simply too picky about finding a partner. Now she's made headlines again with her New York Times best-selling book.

Human Fertility journal published the findings of Susan Golombok's Cambridge University survey of who Choice Moms are, and are not. Notable findings: we have a high percentage of post-graduate degrees, and we don't hate men. But, of course, we knew that.

A report by Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, titled "BEYOND CULTURE CAMP: PROMOTING HEALTHY IDENTITY FORMATION IN ADOPTION," was released in November 2009. It is the most extensive examination of adult adoptive identity to date, based on reports from adults who were adopted as children.

When a woman posted about her surprise -- and some trepidation -- about finding out she would be the mother to a boy, it led in many sideways paths to a lengthy discussion on the board (nearly 100 posts!) about, in a nutshell: