Can you imagine getting to travel around the world with your toddler and not going into debt to do it? For most of us, that's a dream that will never come true, but one German mom has made that her reality. Sarah Noack and her toddler daughter have traveled to 17 countries since her daughter's birth, and Noack was actually getting paid the whole time.

More from Mom.com: As a Mom, Here's What I Wish People on Planes Knew About Traveling With Kids

The post Globe-Trotting Single Mom & Toddler Visited 17 Countries During Her 3-Year Maternity Leave appeared first on Mom.com.

The holidays are here. Of course, you’re excited to celebrate the time with family and friends. But as a single parent who shares custody, there can be a lot of stress that pops up as well. Co-parenting during the holidays can be challenging. We’ve compiled these holiday co-parenting tips to help you get through the upcoming weeks with as little stress as possible.

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My son recently got a job where he receives a paycheck every week. While I haven’t made the time to get him to the bank to open up an account (because I keep forgetting), I’ve been putting the checks in my account through a mobile deposit and hitting the drive-thru ATM to get him the cash if I don’t have enough on me.

I was supposed to do this the other day while I was running errands — I desperately needed an oil change, I had no gas in the car, and we were out of toilet paper. Those things were important and I was determined to get them done before I had to be home for a conference call.

On my way out, he asked me to get the cash for his checks, but I returned home without the dough.

The post We Know ‘Mommy Brain’ Is Real But It’s Time We Talk About ‘Single Mommy Brain’ appeared first on Mom.com.

My ex-boyfriend was the first man I introduced to my kids after my divorce. I knew they would love him; he was funny, laid-back, and wanted to meet my kids just as much as they wanted to meet him.

I was in love and thought there was a real chance we’d be together for a long time. I had been divorced for two years prior to meeting him, and I had dated enough to know he was special enough to meet my children.

The post I Ended My First Long-Term Relationship After Divorce & My Kids Are Crushed All Over Again appeared first on Mom.com.

Last week I got into it with my ex-husband. We were on the phone, going over our kids’ schedules and upcoming plans, which is something we have to do quite often since there are three of them, and they are teenagers.

As the conversation was moving along, he expressed how he’s been struggling when the kids want to do something with their friends or my family members during his time with them.

He also feels like they “don’t do enough,” and he’s been forcing them to do things like go on hikes, boat rides, and places with him and his girlfriend when they aren’t up for it.

The post My Ex-Husband and I Made a Rule That We Won’t Bad-Mouth Each Other Around the Kids appeared first on Mom.com.

I remember the first time I talked to a divorce attorney about splitting custody. At that time, I handled at least 95 percent of the parenting, and quite frankly, I was concerned how well my partner would do with that side of things.

My attorney said, “You’d be surprised….”

The post We Split Everything in Our Divorce — Except the Invisible Load appeared first on Mom.com.

I met a man three years ago on Tinder and it was lust and chemistry at first sight. All of that grew into love in the following months, and after going through my divorce, damn, it felt good. He got along with my kids, they liked him a lot, and it wasn’t long before he was welcomed into our tribe. I felt like I had overcome a huge hurdle, because as a mother to three teenagers who are hard to please, I didn’t know if anyone would fit into our lives.

As we got to know each other and grew more comfortable together, I noticed he drank more than I was comfortable with. He justified it by going stretches without drinking but, when he was in the mood to get drunk, he would skip dinner and just drink. He would order or make a drink while his current one was half full. He’d talk about drinking a lot, and he’d put going out and drinking with his friends before our relationship.

The post I Finally Realized the Truth: My Ex’s Issues Had Nothing to Do With Me appeared first on Mom.com.

When I was married, I left a lot of things up to my husband and I didn’t even realize it. He paid the bills and was in charge of finances. I never really knew how much money we had, and because I stayed home with the kids and didn’t bring in any income, I was hesitant and felt that I had to ask him each time I wanted to spend money.

The post I’ve Never Been More at Peace in My Life Than I Have Been as a Single Mom appeared first on Mom.com.

I was 9 years old when my father told us that he was divorcing my mother and getting married to someone else.

I knew that my parents’ marriage was on the rocks. Starting when I was about 5, my parents began to live separately. We were living on the East Coast at that time, and my dad began making trips to California. Soon, he told us he was moving there, and although my mother had no interest in moving to the West Coast — and had zero friends or family there — she followed in an effort to keep our family together.

The post It Takes a Village to Raise a Family: For My Single Mom, My Grandparents Were That Village appeared first on Mom.com.

We talk so much about milestones for kids: their first words, those first steps, the first smile, and the first day of school. They are all moments that moms will never forget. We write them down in baby books, we tell everyone we know, and we all feel a flood of happy and sad emotions. It’s so exciting to see your child accomplish something, but it’s also a reminder of how fast they grow up.

Something I didn't realize after my divorce almost five years ago is that divorced moms have milestones, too. Even if you wanted the split and know it’s for the best, any kind of change is incredibly hard. If you are going through a separation or divorce and wonder if you will ever feel normal again, take it from me: You will. But like all growing pains, you will have to wade your way through the hard stuff and make progress in baby steps.

Here are some milestones you can look forward to:

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