This has nothing to do with me or my personal life but it does have to deal with a family member.

FSD turned 8 years old this weekend...holy cow. Although the birthday party was a success of course FMIL attempted to put a damper on things by complaining about the food. Complaining that "we" did not find HER a pillowpet to give to HER grand-daughter...apparently she couldn't go out and scour every store herself to find out that they were sold out EVERYWHERE - lazya$$...complained that I made "her" grandchild's cake the Wrong color? Which by the way - my fsd LOVED her bday cake!

I raised her since she was 5, and her distance hurts me...Princess 18 has been gone to college for one month now.

I still don't miss her yet. She was being such a brat, I'm actually enjoying the peace of our home. But I am bothered by the fact she can't bother to answer my phone calls or send me a text.

Yea...I'm really not enjoying all this DRAMA. I just want to be normal..have a normal life. I guess that's not possible. Is it really possible to disengage when you live FT with the skid? I feel as though I need to hold on to any shred of a normal life..I can't deal with the constant drama. What to do? I have other children to think about. SS does not want to do right. I'm drained.

As a steparent.....do you.....

1. Regret making the decision to marry DH, or
ir you are not yet married, are you re0-thinking the possibility?

2. Ever look forward to visitation with Skids, or if you have full custody, ever wish visitation with BM was much longer and more frequent?

3. Find things to do outside the house when skids come around?

4. Give gifts of equal value to skids as well as bios (birthday, Christmas, etc.)?

5. Bite your tongue when it comes to skid-related issues that affect your household just to avoid arguing?

So, we had a whodunnit last night. After a completely fun-filled family weekend which included a HUGE cookout yesterday afternoon, we returned home for some much needed rest before the work/school week.

At about 5 p.m. DH and I retire to our bedroom to watch a DVD and nap. We were both completely exhausted from a very over scheduled weekend of activities. DH and I tell the kids, since we all just had such a ginormous wonderful meal, fend for yourselves and make a sandwich for dinner if you get hungry.

BM really chaps my ass sometimes.

Today SS3 had his tonsils and adenoids removed. BF met BM and SS early this morning at the surgery center. BM left by 8:00 am, before SS even had them removed, so she could go to class, so BF was the one who stayed with SS the whole time.

I know the surgery's not serious, but if that were my kid I think I would skip my class that day to be there with him, I think the teacher would understand.

Im 15 weeks pregnate and I know my emotions are crazy. Has anyone other woman would there felt this way.

My husband has 2 kids from a previous marriage. A girl and a boy. This is my first child and so needless to say I am VERY excited. But, I kinda get the feeling that he has this "been there dont that attitude" which is fine, but I get excited over the little things and he always make some comment like, you just wait or thats not right this is how I used to do it.

SD10 visits one night/week and EOWe. She's a cold little fish of a child, not particularly likable. DH handles her laundry, cooks when she's here, so those annoyances aren't an issue.
This weekend after dinner, he suggested we play a game that I excel at--I *always* win, even if they get to add their scores together or whatever. I suggested an alternate game, one where at least DH and I are more evenly matched, and I lose frequently. That's the one we played.
I won. By a landslide. Starting early in the game.

SD5 will be 6 in November. I like to plan and budget things in advance, so I'm thinking with my next paycheck I will get her her present.

Any suggestions?

This kid loves Barbies, Littlest Pet Shop, and taking pictures. I would love to get her something along the lines of a camera but I'm not really sure of what there is out there that is age appropriate for a 6 year old. I'm also steering clear of the Barbie/Littlest Pet Shop stuff, because at the very least I would like it to be 1)Educational AND/OR 2)annoy the crap out of BM.