Love your picture of Poppy. My grandfather on my dad's side was locally know as Grandpa Billy Goat because he would huff & puff a lot but we all knew it was all for show. Underneath he was a big ball of mush. And the quote is one of those universal truths. I think we can all relate to how our parents miraculously became smarter as we got older.

"Small Gas Engines: Fundamentals, Service, Troubleshooting, Repair, Applications" gets highly recommended by two reviewers at Amazon. The link below has a couple of other possibilities too. It's $57 (used as a college text) but seems to be written for the beginner. Amazon offers a package with the Briggs book for $67.85. Reviews on the Briggs book complain about dated information and lack of diagnostic and overhaul information. If you can find the right book, it sounds like a great Father's Day gift. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: small engine books

IMO, its still the HUBBY who makes the final choice. Anyone, anyone even his own sister can tell him off and convince him not to pick up his kids. but in the end its his choice. No one elses. So it doesn't matter what a SM or a BM wants. Its the decision of that person. And let me bring another perspective to this arguement. You all are ticked off when a weekend is missed from an already constricted schedual eh..???? WELL WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BM MAKES PLANS ON DADS' WEEKENDS OR CONVINCES THE KIDS ITS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO GO??? Then WHAT? SHE MAKES DAD LOOK LIKE A PUTZ FOR THE LOST WEEKENDS. Its happening now with us. Damned if you do take them, and damned if youdont. Well guess what, i'm keeping a log for the last 2 years now of all the weekends lost with his kids and the reasons behind it. When on misses and why. Whether its a school activities, grandma's bday, cousins bdya party, just not up to it, wants to be with mom that weekend...ALL OF IT!. This way, when bm accuses my dh of it , i will have a record with dates and who showed up and who didn't so she doesn't try any funny business. and even the kdis have lashed out at my husband saying, oh your msising alot of weekends. He said yah, and who';s fault is that? YOURS NOT MINE! you want ot be with your friends, and go party and i call you ever week to know if you are coming...so dont play the tag game on me and try to guilt me. YOU ARE DITCHING ME. Be responsible , accept it and stop blaming others for you actions! And this is what i would say about this situation. STOP BLAMING SM'S FOR DADS DECISIONS. She has an imput but not the ultimate say. I think the mentality of blaming sm all the time comes for the same mentality that kids have the final say in these divorce situation and i cannot stress the fact even more that kids have absolutely no say and power lies between the adults. Between mom and dad. And in the end , a SM can b****ch all she wants, if dad says otherwise, its otherwise. And to add, if dad wants to skip one weekend, its also his right. He can make arrangments to picck them up another time for longer.

My SD called and wished me a Happy Mothers Day. I was very touched because we have had a rough time of it. My SS did not, but I decided not to worry about it. My kids bought me a flower and a card for the 1st time. They are 16 and 11. They were with their Dad, but came to spend the day with me. My Ex never reminds them or offers to take them shopping, so I was so surprised that I received anything this year. My 11 yr old even told me that he spent his own money on the flower!!! I was very happy just to spend the day with them.