Oh Emerald sounds about as happy as Chico! It was one of those stupid things where there was one layer inside the bulb that was black! That's why cleaning up a bulb makes me nervous when you clean up the neck and you see one dark layer. Are we just getting poorer bulbs? This happened to me with new bulbs this year too. Melusine was only 1 year old and never did much, so I'm guessing that this could have been the problem from Day 1. Sigh...it's hard to figure out what you can't see, that's why I cut her. The bulb seemed solid, but when I gave a gentle squeeze, liquid bubbled from the top. I had visions of her being rotten to the core. It was actually a lot better than I imagined and the 4 pieces are pretty big and just less a few layers. K

Thank you for that prayer, Toni! It was lovely! Happy Mothers day to all of our Mothers in fact, Mothers in waiting and Spiritual Mothers, and even to our male "moms". You are all very precious and very appreciated! Giving birth to a child does not make one a mother, it is love, attention, caring and devotion that does that. Being a mother is holding them close when they hurt or are fearful, laughing and crying with them, knowing when to let go and knowing how to let them come home again, even if just for a few minutes. It is support, cheerleading, playing the 'bad guy' when needed, encouraging them to grow, and try new things, even when all we want to do is keep them close. It is accepting the decisions they make for their lives, not grudgingly, but with love and understanding, even when those choices are not ones we would have made for them. It is loving where they love... and standing back and not getting in the middle. It is giving our opinion, then stepping back to let them be the person they choose to be. And it's even standing to the side and letting them deal with the consequences, good or bad, of the decisions they make. It is being there for them, even if the consequences are deserved. Blessings to all of you who have faced or will face these challenges and who do so with love, because a Mother's job is never done. Kathy Kathy

I want to clarify what happened. My husband and SD's mom had agreed on a joint party. He told her to go ahead and book it. She called back and told him the price $300 for the package she wanted. She told us how many kids & how much time that included. I then went to the bowling alley's website and saw the package that she told us she was getting was $180. Then she admitted it was 180 and they agreed to split it 100/80. After that, she wanted to add a banner for $20 and when he agreed to that, she called back and wanted to add another lane for $60. that he didn't think was needed. She then told him that she was only paying for $80 and he had to pay the rest. That's when he said enough. She was already pissed that she didn't get away with getting him to hand over $300 cash because in the past, he let her make the arrangements and trusted that she was being fair and just gave her however much money she requested. They had a huge fight on her birthday (because Mom had gone into his job to demand money for a costume that had nothing to do with the party & she said she was only paying for HER guests) Her actual birthday party was a couple of days later and we all attended and were civil to each other. In the end, we split the cost of the party there at the bowling alley. She tried to get us to pay the whole thing on our credit card and she offered to "write us a check" for her half. We didn't go for that. (and for anyone that thinks I didn't want to pay for my step daughter's anything, that's very wrong. I buy her school clothes, counseling, girl scouts, doctor & medicine, school lunches, etc. We don't get a penny of support from her mom who hasn't held a steady job in 12 years and lives on the child/spousal support her first victim pays) Just from her history, he broke up with her after she took his credit card from his wallet and charged $2000 in Mary Kay products without his permission. They were never married and she told him she was on birth control, but as soon as she got pregnant, she was telling his family that they were getting married (he never asked her). In her first marriage's divorce papers, her first husband said the same thing, she told him she was on birth control but still ended up pregnant... only he married her & divorced her a year later.

Ashleys X can dethrown my ex who certainly earned father of the year in 2007. I don't want to hijack your post, just share with you my similar experience... When I was 8 months pregnant with my son, his dad quit his job because they wouldn't give him e/o weekend off for his visitation with his then 3 yr old daughter. He didn't work for the next three years. He was a SAHD to our son..Really he had a 3yr vacation to smoke pot and play video games--After 3 years I'd had enough and left. He claimed he couldn't afford to stay and would have to move cross country to live with his parents and of course... I was the worst person in the world for taking his son away from him. So, figuring I'd been supporting us all for 3 years anyway I didn't need him to pay child support. I took the state minimum $25 mo told him to get a job, get on his feet here, and we could reevaluate in 2 years. For 3 years all I heard was how poor he was, how he couldn't afford anything when I took him back to court I found in 2006 he made $47,000 And paid $300 in support-for the whole year! All the while sending my son home in rags that were too small and keeping the clothes he arrived in to refresh his wardrobe there. Sorry, I'm a little off track here..when it came time for modification he gave the first judge a sob story about how he didn't have time to fill out any of the paperwork he'd gotten. He had the same 20 days I did but whatever the judge gave him an extension-but my ex wasn't available to come to court one month later- because he would be on vacation with the kids out of state so the judge gave him two months :) I was hot, but to pacify me the judge ordered he pay $100 for each of those months. DCS distributed it to his daughter-whatever. So 2 months later we show up in court again the judge orders him to pay around $500 and he starts running his mouth about his other children he pays support for....His 18 year old son who he no longers owes support to, and the daughter that he pays $56 month for!!!The judge didn't find that any reason to discount his support to this child so he started complaining about childcare telling the judge that he wants receipts for my daycare expenses because I leave our son with my then 12 yo daughter totally implying that I'm a bad mom. WHAT AN IDIOT!!! Child support and Daycare are two seperate issues here. In the three years we were separated I never asked him for a dime for our son for anything, not daycare, a pair of shoes, not a cough drop and for him to try to smear me infront of a judge got me so angry when the judge ordered $465 for support the state's attorney recommended an incremental increase so I'd get 1/2 for 3 months before I got a full month and I said NO and asked the judge to say NO-she did, then she ordered he pay that full amount back to the day he didn't have his paperwork ready. Then I went home and gathered all my daycare receipts and mailed them in for my 58% reimbursement, and recently DS had an ear infection requiring drops that were not covered by insurance- the cost $73. You bet I sent that receipt to DCS too. Sometimes I feel a little guilty about what I get from him now -- then I remember how hard it was for me all that time on my own, that our son wasn't worth 1% of his 2006 income and I think of him rambling on in court and I feel just fine. And my X has not once since then whined about being poor. I know it sucks to do with less for now, especially in these hard times and I'm sorry. Hopefully in a couple years he'll have a better job and you can modify and he will pay more-in my state it costs more to raise a 12yr. and support is greater.