It's dark and I SHOULD have taken pix but I got 5 hosta from Naylor's Creek, (yesterday) and they potted out to 11 individual plants!! How's that for a deal!!! I got 'Fran Godfrey' a newer S&S sport with chartreuse centers and dark green margins; 'Winter Snow', another S&S sport and was inspired by ken's comments on his--still haven't seen a pic of his though, so, I just took his word on it; 'Heat Wave'; 'Robin Hood' and 'One Man's Treasure'!! Trust me--I did GOOOD!!! Msjo--you did GOOOOD, too! You made very good choices!!!! Thanks for letting us see what Denny sends! Now--let me look at my list!!!! :o) Uhh, I better look at our bank account first!! Gulp!! P.S. Gary (Naylor's Creek) said they somehow did not get 'Fran Godfrey' in their catalog this year, so if you think you might want one, they have them!!!

"This isn't to be vindictive.... it's to MAKE her help with her son." If it's not to be vindictive, then let it go... and I'm not talking about the review. If there's grounds to modify, by all means get an order for the correct amount and let it accumulate, just don't count on it. I mean for you to let the resentment go. The resentment you have for the shoe being on the other foot now and she isn't doing what she demanded when it was on her foot. (I recall SD's BM demanding DH write her a check the day she got the order from the court ~at the end of the month~ but the order was effective the first of that month, so it was due but he didn't know how much to pay her until the order was made. She told him he was in arrears & basically tried to make him feel like a deadbeat. A month later, she had moved away & left her kid with us... and getting her to pay any support has been like pulling teeth. First she told him she can't pay because she isn't working and we are. We have more money than she does. Then, she had another baby & told DH that she can't pay because she has another mouth to feed. I feel sorry for ALL her kids because she doesn't have kids to love & cherish, she feels no obligation to support them, she has them to hang on to the guy she's with... and this is the third time she's done it) You should be proud of your husband and yourself for being the kind of parents your kids deserve. She is not. That's on her. She can't BUY their love... she can try to and if their love can be bought, that is a shame. In 10 years, the kids are not going to love one over the other because they bought them things, but they will grow into adults that will hopefully know the difference between who was responsible and saccrificed for them and who didn't. And if they don't figure it out, you can't control that either. I am finding out the hard way that some kids will chase after the lousy parent, trying to get them to love them & be the parent they want them to be... and it hurts because I was the responsible parent that would lay down my life for my kids. Sometimes no matter how much you do for them, they NEED to feel loved by their other parent and they will seek it out. If getting a laptop from mom makes them feel mom cares about them, then that is good for them. It is not good for you or your husband and that sucks but telling them how much you do and how little their mom does is not going to make them dislike her and appreciate what you do... it will actually have the opposite effect. They will try harder to get mom to care. They may also resent the person that tells them she doesn't care enough to do what she should. In the end, chances are the kids will become parents someday and should, at that point, realize that they would not let their kids go without or they would never do what their mom did... and they will see it for what it is. and you can't get rid of her without being rid of him. She will be the grandmother to his children, she will be at graduations, weddings, babies births, birthdays, funerals, etc. She will be a part of his life and as such, will never be gone completely from yours. My parents have been divorced 25+ years, kids are all in the 40's and still they now see each other when grandkids get married, great grandkids are born, etc. (Of course you won't have to deal with her demands... but then again, kids will have to choose what to do during the holidays & it really never goes away) Anyways, all I can share is my experiences because I remember a time when I felt just like you do. Then my kids grew up and I realize now that my son's father did not crawl under a rock when my son turned 18. When I had to get guardianship of DGS, I had to notify him and he even demanded visitation with DGS. I told him to come to the hearing if he wants the court to consider giving him visitation. He couldn't come to the hearing because he has no car... and I live 3 hours away from him. Um, how did he intend to have visitation? He probably wanted me to provide the transportation.... haha. And my son's father never paid his child support. My son is going to be 25 in a week. DCSS is taking his father to court at the end of this month to make him seek work... it's laughable. He will never pay & my son knows what a POS his dad is... he saw his dad beating on his SM, never support him or his brother, buying him new video games to "buy" his love but then selling them when they needed money... and yet, my son is currently staying with that side of the family because I told him that when he came back from the Army, he needs to get a job & an apartment near me so he can spend time with his son & take over being the parent. My son decided it was easier to live there where nothing is expected of him... he also still gets paid by the military for the next couple of months (he got out early because he accumulated leave so he is actually considered on leave right now) so he has $$$... they let him stay as long as he has $$$ but when he runs out of money, he's gotta go. He got $20k from an accident settlement a few years ago, after he turned 18. He went to see his dad & ended up blowing all his money in less than a month... took his cousins to Vegas & got to be the big shot. When he ran out of money, they had no room for him anymore. That is what they are all about and he still vies for the attention from them... wanting them to actually care about him. It kills me to see him treated like that but there is nothing I can do... except do all I can to protect my DGS2 from being sucked into that too. I guarantee that in 10 years, the things that eat away at you today will be insignificant. All I can suggest is that you and your DH continue to be the parents you need to be and be proud of what you do... it's all you CAN do.

I hope you heal quickly. I am desperately afraid of falling especially when I walk the two dogs for three miles. I usually walk one and husband does the other one but today he was busy. They are 27 pounders and the Dachshund is low to the ground and is easy to trip over if I'm not paying attention. I have two friends right now in the hospital from falls like yours...one broke a leg, the other ripped up her knee so they're doing a replacement.

I get the idea that you really, really LIKE it! (ha-ha) Hope you enjoy it for a long time. We stopped buying *new* and started buying 'dealer certified used' a long time ago. These are titled, but with only a few hundred miles on them, and they are backed for the original warranty. (Usually six years.) We bought our current 2005 in June 2006. This works well for us because we put so few miles on a car. We are also no longer excited about spending for the latest style or gadget in a depreciating asset. (I wouldn't turn down a Tesla though!)