6 Tips for Sharing Child Custody Amicably -- Guest post

Parenting can be to navigate no matter if you’re doing it solo or with a partner. But with a divorce and joint custody, you’ll find a different set of obstacles to overcome. With the right mindset, some restraint and acting as a team player, you can make your joint custody and co-parenting tips a success. The following are tips for an amicable custody arrangement.

Make Your Kids a Priority

When you’re children are sick with a cold or flu, you probably do everything in your power to make them well. Divorce is especially hard on children, so you want to give them additional TLC throughout this difficult time. Although you may be feeling guilty for breaking up the family, refrain from buying their love. You can still make your kids a priority without having to break the bank. Schedule dinners together with your kids and encourage them to talk and share their feelings. Take time out of your busy day to watch their baseball game or cheerleading practice.

Enlist the Help of a Professional

Although your soon-to-be ex-spouse may say they’re agreeable to an amicable divorce, the process can still be complicated and messy. A skilled attorney will be able to navigate the murky waters of divorce swiftly and with an expert eye. They’ll also be able to provide guidance on custody and alimony issues pertaining to your particular state.

Keep Your Negative Thoughts to Yourself

Just because you and your ex failed at marriage doesn’t make them a poor parent. If you’ve agreed to share custody, it’s time to put your differences aside. This means biting your tongue and keeping your negative thoughts about your ex to yourself. You don’t want your kids to feel like they have to choose one parent over the other. Discussions should be kept between both parties and not asking your children to be responsible for delivering messages. Your kids should be able to have a healthy and loving relationship with both parents without feeling guilty. If you need to voice your concerns, ask a friend, parent, loved one or therapist to lend an ear.

Communicate

No matter what the reasons behind your divorce, you may want to look at the relationship afterward as a business dealing. The lines of communication should be kept open in order to successful raise your kids. If you haven’t graduated to face-to-face communication yet, emails or text messages can work just fine. You could also keep in touch via telephone. Instead of arguing, try to keep the focus on your children and what’s best for them.

Set a Schedule

An attorney can help you hash out a shared schedule for your custody situation if you’re having difficulties. But once you’ve chosen a particular schedule, you need to stick with it. Keeping things consistent is important for both child and adult. An online calendar can allow you to share important information, dates and times to ensure that you both stay on task. If you have something come up, you can contact your ex-partner to see if they can adjust the original schedule.

Be a Team Player

Working through your issues can be difficult with an ex-spouse, especially if the divorce is bitter. But when it comes to the bigger issues such as discipline, studies, medical care and schooling, you need to be team players. The rules and consequences for breaking them should be the same in either home. You should also enforce the punishments if a child breaks the rules. Although you may not agree about everything, pick your battles and compromises in situations where it may be necessary.

Fueling your body for success -- guest post

Fueling Your Body for Success

Achieving and maintaining your physique requires much more than hours in the gym pumping iron. In order to make strides and reach new fitness goals, you must treat your body as the top of the line machine that it is. This means not only preparing healthy and satisfying meals, but also nutritional snacks for when hunger strikes out of nowhere!

When life gets busy, it can be tough to find the time to prep meals and snacks that have the necessary nutrients to reach your health goals. Whether your goal is to become more lean or to lose weight, it’s always a great idea to have a pre-workout snack that contain carbohydrates. Some of the best pre-workout snacks to help to maximize the effectiveness of your workout include bananas, oats, and whole grains! Easily digestible carbs for quick energy are key.

When it comes to properly fueling your body post-workout, the options can be quite overwhelming. Since you’ve just finished a killer workout, it’s important to get a great recovery meal or snack in! A blend of carbohydrates and protein are a great way to refuel tired, sore muscles. The guide below from Nuts.com can help you can learn a little bit about how to properly refuel your body and find a healthy snack that will give you the nutrients necessary to work towards achieving your fitness goals.

Do you prefer a quick grab and go option? We’ve got a snack idea for that! You could choose from a variety of different options -- while some people prefer a trail mix, an apple with some peanut butter is another great option! Are you more of a smoothie person? There’s a ton of great protein filled recipes for you too! Smoothies are a great high-protein, low-calorie post workout option. Plus, they’re super convenient when it comes to traveling or being on the go because you can drink your nutrients!

Properly fueling your body will allow you to have more energy (in life & at the gym!) and will help you achieve your health goals. Eating immediately after working out will increase your body’s ability to refill muscle stores, while waiting two hours or more will decrease their ability by 50 percent. So, while putting in hours at the gym is a great start, nutrition is key when looking to shed weight. Be sure to be prepared with a quick snack that contains carbs and protein because as they say, “abs are made in the kitchen.”

What you can do for your country

So, a lot of people are scared this election cycle. They're not sure what they can expect, and they're praying Trump's ride is soon ending. But what if it isn't? How can we actually make a difference?

Unlike presidential elections of the past, 2016 is a year where the public has moved beyond signs, bumper stickers, phone calls and even political ads. 2016 is the year of social media, not like 2008 or 12 where the campaigns who used it best would come out on top, but where regular people representing the public have the chance to change the dialogue in our country. We're suddenly on the front lines. And we don't know what to do. And so many people think shouting a two-line FB status update is enough. They've done their part. But that's taking what should be action and substituting grandiosity and finger movement. It doesn't actually do anything.

So for those of us who actually want to play a part in our country's very important history right now, here are some things we can do. Some involve social media, some do not, some are more intensive than others, but all are something.


There are dozens of organizations looking for volunteers on the Democrat side, including women's health options, the National Organization for Women, Progressive Congress, and The Democratic National Committee at All things Democrat.

Don't forget your local and state candidates. Just as important to the country and its decisions is the Congress we vote into office to support the President. Here is a list of ways you can help within your own community, just for general ideas.

There is room for Republican action, too. You can sign up to volunteer and get sent opportunities right for you, here.

This article in Bustle has good pointers as to how to start on your political support journey, if you have time to volunteer for a campaign. It also has great, straight links to Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Volunteer match is a great way to find pressing needs right now in your area. This link is set to Los Angeles, but if you type in your area, you can personalize it for you.

Want to volunteer for Bernie? Here.

Want to make calls? This is Bernie stuff, but applicable info for any candidate if you change the text. You can also attend conference calls, events or organize your own.

Jobs and internships for Hillary Clinton.

Supervolunteers is a good way to go if you don't want to work with the campaign directly, but want to support it.

Volunteer Match has a direct number to Hil's campaign, as well, found here.

Hillary also put up a specific page for those who are simply seeking to stop Donald Trump.


The most important thing people can do, however, is to talk about it. And not in superlatives or ultimatums. And not necessarily in large groups. Talk to your relatives, your friends, your loved ones. Logically, nicely, fairly. Know the reasons why you are voting for someone, what issues matter to you, and why the record on those issues sways in favor of your chosen candidate. Understand your audience. If your grandparents are evangelicals, talking about human rights on a liberal scale will do little to convince them, and may polarize. Maybe they've seen their children get laid off or struggle economically, so hit that instead, clearly outlining how your party or candidate will help more than the others. If you can convince one person you know not to vote for Trump, you've done more than most. I know that's been my goal. So far, I've got three.

Good luck, everybody.