Remember... some of us want to see M. le bebe wearing some of the luxurious knitted finery that awaited his arrival... ummm... BOOTIES? how about booties and nothing else? (will prove indispensible for blackmail in the his teen years). :)

Hi - I feel your frustration in this situation and I have been there myself in the past (my two sons are grown with kids of their own now). My experience has been that as the kids grow, they enjoy their time with their "Disney" parent but the roots do not go much deeper than that. I have learned this from my sons' mouths. The kids learn to depend upon the parent they live with. So it's ok to send them off with the "Disney" parent. Try not to feel threatened by this. As a parent (or SP), one of the major lessons you can learn is that "it is ok to let your kid hate you" at times during your parenting years. Actually, this can be a sign of good parenting - especially as they become teens :)) The kids grow up and most of the roller-coaster feelings diminish - for the kids and for the parents both. It might be a good idea for you to allow yourself to "disengage" from some of the judgments you've made about the BM at this time and look at this as a window of time where your SS can have a little fun. You know it won't last but he doesn't so that's why he's making a comparison between FDH's home & BM's right now. There are two ways you can go: 1) Ride it out without negative comments (disengage) or 2) Make your emotional life miserable by dwelling on something you cannot change Life is ever-changing and the years go by extremely fast. Understand that the BM is only trying to leave a lasting impression on her son. FDH and you will live with him on a day to day basis and go through all of the ups and downs of a shared life. Which would you rather have? I think you've got the best end of the stick. Enjoy it!

good buys! jude is one of my fave reads...enjoy!

So nice to see someone else out there has spring fever on this absolutely arctic day in CNY! I have a huge pile of catalogs, but need to basically limit myself to 1-2 goodies, plus veggie seeds, as I don't have room for much new and I am rehabbing from a knee replacement so need to just try to get everything looking good this spring. I am opening my garden to the local garden club for a visit, and want it to look fabulous (!?!) so may end up buying a few larger things to tuck in here and there, we'll see. My must-have seed so far is the new "Phoenix" nasturtium. How about you?