Ok I gotta vent....bad. My SD8 is like the Devil Incarnate. She is so manipulative. Yesterday she jumps on her bed (after DH tells her she can't go to her grandparents)and actually has a freaking temper tantrum! Screaming and crying and mess like that. As always, my DH has to go to work so I'm left to deal. I had to threaten her and take away her Christmas gifts for her to stop. Then all she done was get on the phone when my back was turned and call her Nanny and whisper that I did all these bad things to her and she needed rescued! She's so convincing too. This is nothing new.

To sum it up, I have spent the last 2 days telling my DH to man up or I'm leavin and trying to track down a missing skid

My new Year's Resolution is not to allow anyone else's drama to control my life. SD17 came home from staying with friends for New Year's Eve and told me she was giving it 2 weeks for things to improve or she was moving out. "I'm just not happy here, and it's not a good environment for me."

When do u reach a level when enough is enough. When every morning u open ur eyes and think, please oh please make him find another home. Please let him step out of our lives and leave us in peace. Make him vanish as though he never existed, along with all the tension and anxiety that is created in his berth.
My self esteem has taken a beating, my skin has grown so thick it adorns callouses. My breathing is now shallow and my flame has all but gone out. How oh how, can one person, one youth, one wayward sperm cell cause so much horror in someones life.

I am 31 yrs old and my H and I have been married for 3yrs. Prior to getting married we dated for 6 yrs. When we met he already had a 3yr old son, he was the sweetest thing. His BM was not in the picture so it made life for us extremely easy. There were times when she would call (she lived out of state) and talk to SS and you could tell he missed her but he got attached to me and I felt as if I was his mother. Everything was fine until my H and I got married and had our first baby. My SS did not want to spend any time with me and always wanted to be at my inlaws house.

Happy New Year and may 2010 be a prosperous and interesting year for all!

I have gotten some great advice, but I don't think it will all work for me, we have a combined family of 6 children, the oldest 2 are my SS's. The 2 oldest make more mess than everyone else combined. I cannot just ignore the mess as i have a 8 month old baby who is crawling, and puts everything in his mouth!My three older Bchildren feel like they are not as good sometimes because Imake sure that they are responsible for their messess and that they have to do chores(dishes cleaning ,pileing wood) and SS's won't do anything.

DH gets a call from the Division of Child Support Enforcement - and BM wants to have another review done to attempt in raising the child support.

She tried this earlier last month with supposed medical expenses.... DH sent CSE the court orders (all three 2004, 2008 & 2009) which state BM has 60 days to hand over receipts and then 60 to get payment.
Well that took care of that.

Now CS worker says BM called her on 31 Dec yelling and screaming she is now due an increase.... and wants to press forward.

The details:
I am the biological dad to a 9 year old boy and step-father to a 19 year old boy and 15 year old girl. My ex and I share custody of the children. We live three blocks a part. The children come and go freely from each house. Meals are spent at both houses; sometimes with both parents or sometimes just the kids and I. We have no formal custody agreement. My ex and I phone back and forth with our schedules and adjust the kids' schedule around our work, commitments, and lives. Everyone is cordial, friendly, and respectful.

First day of the new year and she's already at it. DH got a text from BM telling him she is out of gas, can't afford to get any, and so he MUST meet her FORTY FIVE minutes away (why she can't get off her fat a$$ and get a job to support her heffer-like self and the children is beyond me!).

She called this morning to say she was giving up. She says if the kids don't want to come see her anymore, then she is done. She doesn't want to fight with them any more.

Only SS14 went for the court appointed time with her. She was okay with it and understood SS15 had basketball practices and a tournament and SD17 had to work.

At one point, we had even tried to reschedule our holiday so she could see them on our time instead. She appreciated the offer, but had other plans.