Just talked to my husband trying to figure out when he would be home, so I can figure out when to start dinner, if I should eat without him, and I got an "I had to go pick up _____ from school. I'll explain..." That usually means that there is some dramatic tale around the whole situation, and that she has again talked herself out of trouble with daddy! UGH! Every time I hear "I'll explain" from my husband after this kind of thing, that is always the case....some elaborate story about how there was a misunderstanding, yadda yadda. Funny how there are so many "misunderstandings"! You would think that by now he would realize that there is ALWAYS a story behind these things that serves to exonerate my SD, and that there is something fishy in all that! Alcohol at school, cutting, pot smoking, destruction of school property, and now distributing naked pictures of some other girl? Am I the only one who sees an obvious pattern here...that these things ALL seem to hinge around the same theme? I mean, we aren't talking about simple passing notes in class or not doing work here (though, my SD's grades are in the toilet as she supposedly isn't doing her work, either).

Well, here is what the story ended up being....

First of all, my SD cannot send or receive pictures, because it is considered data on our plan, and we have all data blocked on her phone. She can only text and call.

So, the STORY is that my SD was using some other kid's phone to post pictures on Instagram. She and another girl who was using the phone found the naked picture on this kid's phone, and turned it in to teachers (this is what my SD says), and because there were a bunch of pictures on the phone of my SD, because she was taking them and posting them to Instagram, the principal assumed it was her phone.

Now, the girl in the picture is claiming that my SD is the one who had the picture, and sent it to this boy, who sent it to the boy who's phone my SD was using. Now, my SD also has an iPod, which I haven't seen in some time...but the iPod has the ability to connect to WiFi. At this point, no one is able to determine how the picture was distributed, because there is no proof on any of the phones...but we all know how smart teens are these days in keeping their texts and the likes cleaned up...so we can't tell how the kid received the picture, only that he had it...or if the picture was sent anywhere else off of his phone. Only the authorities can request records from cell companies and the like to try to determine the path the picture took.

So, my SD is suspended from school for the rest of the week. My husband is claiming that the principal is doing this knowing that my SD did not do anything in the wrong...though I find that hard to believe. My husband is now under the belief that the school is out to get my SD, which I find it very hard to believe.

And get this, my husband says in his "talk" with my SD, he explained to her how serious all this was, that the cops could get involved because it is considered distribution of child porn. Now, my SD is suddenly extremely worried! I can't help but wonder why she would be so worried if she didn't do anything. I mean, if there is no way at all to trace any of this to her, and if she truly turned in the phone after finding the picture, she should know she is in the clear. Makes me wonder if she is involved. I mean...how much was my SD using this kid's phone? If it was something like they had the phone in the bathroom or the girl's locker room, it could very well be that my SD DID have the picture originally using this other phone. I know that she and her friends have been busted switching phones in the past (one of the big reasons her phone is on lock down...so her little friends can't run up our bill). Kids these days have no sense of privacy...everything is out there...and they don't understand how personal one's cell phone is...let's just say I have that setup on my iPhone where I can wipe it remotely if it gets lost, so I don't risk my personal stuff being out there...I don't have anything I would be ashamed of on it...I just don't want some stranger having access to my contacts, calendar, facebook, etc.

So there it is...I knew it would be some elaborate story. If my SD is telling the truth or not is hard to know. She so easily lies...I've caught her in so many where I KNEW the truth before I even asked her, and she lied straight to my face like it was nothing. There are still too many questions. Bad thing is now my husband is talking my SD coming back to move in with us, which I don't think I can take. I'm most certain if she comes back here, we will end in divorce! The entire time she was here before, she wasn't grounded even once, though there were plenty of reasons for her to be (lies, not doing her work, giving me a ton of lip). I also know that within two weeks of her being here, when my husband's ex has to live without the child support money (as his decree says if he has custody he does not pay), his ex will be manipulating everyone to get my SD back. As it is at BM's house, my SD is sharing a room with her little brother, because her old room has a window at the front of the house, and they do not trust her to not sneak out (says a whole lot right there, don't you think)...so that room is now the office of the house.

And it starts...as it does every time my SD gets into serious trouble! The child who NEVER calls my husband on her own is now calling every single night wanting daddy to come by and visit her, which he does and takes her out for ice cream or something. This will last for about a week, maybe two...then the girl will not want to have anything to do with him again...coming to our house on the weekends will again be a chore. She always seems to play up that daddy will ALWAYS believe her...no matter what...so while mom and step-dad are keen to her otherwise, she will play up daddy, until she gets mom back to letting her have her way all the time again...which will happen, because mom need the child support money too much...so keep my SD happy, and she won't want to move to dad's.

Sorry, just need to vent! This is the exact same pattern as every other time my SD has gotten into trouble. She got caught cutting...for about two weeks after that, she only wanted daddy, then kicked him to the curb once the storm had passed at home. Then, the same think happened after the alcohol incident, and the incident of destructing school property. The child knows she can play daddy, because he is scared of never seeing her again.

So far, I have stayed pretty much disengaged. Last Saturday was the only time I've been alone with my SD in months, and that was because my husband was ill. I wanted to go to the mall, so I got stuck taking her, and of course she asked for a million things! I bought her one shirt in hope that would stop the asking, but it didn't! She got all jealous that I bought a dress for myself that she wanted (yes, I have young taste, but if you saw me...I don't look my age at all...I dress like my bio-daughter, and when we go places, no on thinks twice about it...everyone is shocked that I'm her mother and not her sister). About the dress, I flat out told my SD, "Well, when you are older, and work your butt off every day at your job, then you can buy all the cute clothes you want!" Seriously...that's what I said to her. The kid needs to understand...enough of my hard earned money is already sent her way all the time...I pay for her insurance, I pay for her cell phone...I make more than my husband does, and his income doesn't cover his half of the bills, so who does she think the money is coming from for all those little extras she wants all the time?