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"My name is Olivia, and I'm a stepmom."

livizzle's picture

Finally!

Some sort of a support group.

I never asked to be a stepmom, but BM has made me feel like I’m inept.

I’m 21 years old, and I’m engaged to be married to a wonderful man (he’s 31) on April 2, 2011. He’s been married before, and as a result, has two wonderful children. SD is 8, and SS is 5. It started off wonderful. BM had no problems with me being around the children or watching them. Perhaps she thought that I wouldn’t be around long. Who knows, but as we get closer to our wedding date, she’s progressively getting worse.

Here’s where I consider this chain of events to begin – FH’s ex-wife was in college, when we first met. FH is a car salesman and was paying almost $900/month in CS. He couldn’t afford this, but when the CS was set, he had gotten settlement $$ from his dad passing. Well, the agreement was that once BM graduated and found a job, she would agree to lower the CS. She didn’t. So after she found a job, FH filed the papers to have the CS lowered. They lowered it to $660. BM blames me for this, claiming that I need to find a better job. Excuse me? It doesn’t matter how much I make. She isn’t entitled to a penny of it. Money drives her crazy.

Things start to escalate from there. After clearing it with FH, I took SD to get her haircut, which she had been complaining about forever. It was over 100 degrees in August, and she had long thick hair. I got it trimmed up for her, since BM “didn’t have the time”. Oh, boy! She tried to cuss me that afternoon. I shut the door in her face.

Things have been extremely tense since then. This past week was FH’s turn to have the kids. His visitation order states that he gets them 2 weekends in a row and then she gets them the next. She came to our home Friday night, claiming that the kids were “not happy” about coming here. I was in the house when she was outside talking to FH. Out of nowhere, she starts screaming at me! I walked outside and told her that she needed to get back in her car. She left. With the kids. She refused to give them to FH because I had called her a bitch. I never did. I would never do that in front of the kids. The kids were supposed to spend the night with FH’s mother on Saturday. She has cancer and flew to Houston yesterday morning for two week long treatment. BM claims the kids “didn’t want to go” see their Nana. That’s a flat out lie. They adore her. FH called the police, but according to them, since the visitation order doesn’t state SPECIFIC dates and times, it can’t be enforced. Wtf.

She fills the children’s heads with lies. It doesn’t work so much on SD, but it’s taking its toll on my relationship with SS. He used to love being around me. Now, he kicks me and calls me a “meanie”.
So, FH calls BM tonight and asks for the kids to spend the night. She tells me that they can come on a night that I won’t be here. Hello? I live here. FH told her that. She flew off the handle. They were divorced over 3 years when I came into the picture, and she acts like I stole him away from her. Quite the opposite. She hooked up with her old high school boyfriend and left FH.

It feels good to get that out.

Comments

livizzle's picture

I watched 'Stepmom' the other day. It was great as always. LOL

But according to BM, SHE is the ONLY one to EVER get the kids' haircut because FH "doesn't know what it's like to be a parent".

SillyGilly's picture

Our BM used to be a super freak about hair cuts. I don't get it - what's the big deal? Anyhoo, eventually she became broke and now "let's" DH (ME!) take them - but she complains about it every time insisting I did something wrong. Good grief woman! All I do is drive SD there - she is in the 6th grade I let her discuss her hair with the stylist! It's not my hair!!

Your BM will probably pull more shananigans as your wedding date gets closer. She probably did think you were a temporary thing but now that her ex is actually getting married she is losing her marbles. What I have found to be the most helpful is to not speak to BM about anything - let DH handle that. Stay inside for drop offs and don't respond to her even if she speaks to you. Have DH communicate with her via email so there is a written document of everything.

Good luck!

livizzle's picture

BM convinced SD that her hair was TWO INCHES longer on one side than it was on the other. Two inches is a BIG difference! BM took her and had her haircut the same night at the same place. They had to have thought that she was nuts.

I don't understand what the big deal is about us getting married. She cheated on FH. SHE left HIM. Kicked him out of his house in September and had her now husband living there by November. I guess it's a "I don't want you, but I don't want anyone else to have you either because I can't control you" situation. Last night, FH told her that she needed to get over the fact that we were getting married because it was happening. He said it made her furious and she kept saying "I don't give two shits what you all do! You're made for each other!" Duh. That's why we're getting married. Hussy.

GoodbyeNormaJean's picture

If the order doesn't state specific dates and times, DH can pick them up at school, and it will be up to him when she gets them back. I'd make sure to document something before I handed them back over to her.

livizzle's picture

So, there's no way that FH could get into any legal trouble?

And since you ladies seem to know so much -- Is there anyway that BM could have me "banned" from being around the kids? She's been talking all this nonsense about not letting them around me and such because I called her a name that I never did. I mean, I live here. My mother seems to think that she can, since FH and I aren't married yet.

livizzle's picture

Here's what his visitation agreement states:
"The husband shall have visitation with said children two Saturdays from Friday at 4:00p until Sunday at 4:00p, and the wife shall have visitation with said children for one weekend. After the second weekend visitation period husband shall have visitation with the children one night during the week from 6:30pm until 8:00pm. Husband shall have visitation with children on Christmas Eve and the Sunday before Thanksgiving."

I mean, is this enough? Does there have to be specific dates/times stated, or is this enough to enforce the oder? I went to the court house and got a motion to file for the courts to enforce the order. FH is also going to ask that they set up a pick up/drop off location, since she can't seem to stop herself from verbally attacking me when she comes to my home.

violetforest's picture

I am both a bio mom and a step mom, so I get to see things from both points of view. Just dont do what my ex-husbands wife did. She gave my so sweet two year old with white/blonde hair a mohawk a week before my wedding. Stupid fuckin bitch is putting it nicely.

As for the boys it doesnt matter what I do with them, I get the hair cut she is pissed off about how it looks, I dont and she complained that was what child support was for, and even when I called her from the salon and had her speak to the sylist she only said. "whatever is okay with me" aggggg, can't make someone happy who doesnt want to be.