Oh, hey there Melee, how goes it? Well I actually meant to post this on the main board, just because so many of us are outside in the sun etc... anyway, had a bit of a cancer scare:O. I had a little spot on my neck/shoulder, that I'd just kind of been ignoring...anyway my sister came into town and saw it, insisted I get it looked at and well....turns out it was melanoma. And for those of you that don't know melanoma can be very deadly:(, it's the skin cancer that can and does go to organs, usually lungs, lymph nodes, brain:( anyway they caught mine fairly early, of course for a week or 2 I was wandering around the house humming the theme from Love Story LOL, before I got all the results back. they still had to cut a pretty big chunk out of my neck to get all the margins, but it's healing fairly well, and I don't think it'll leave too bad of a scar. So!!! if you see anything suspicious on yourself or anybody else, get it looked at!!! Don't be a knucklehead like me, if caught early they can take care of it fairly easyly. And being as most of us on this board probably spend a great deal of time out in the sun, make sure you wear hats, sunscreen, etc.....ok enough preaching from the Boopster. Oh and Melee, I'll have to post some more pics of Hudson, hes getting HUGE!!!!!!! How are your horses doing? Done any yakin' lately? Poochella, how's Mikey the Brittney getting on? Has he settled into country life yet? We spent the weekend at the coast with the folks we got Liz from,they brought her sister Lil, I'll have to post some pics of her too, they look so much alike I almost brought the wrong dog home! anyway our house at the coast is not all that big, and we had FIVE Border Collies down there with us:) but a good time was had by all.

I feel the same way about my husband's exwife. I am custodial stepmom of 3 chlldren. My husband has always had custody because the exwife decided one day she no longer wanted to be married or a full-time mother. Before I came along she constantly dumped 99% of her time on my husband, he of course never said no, she had full control of her old household only she lived in a differnt place and had her own life. It was a very unhealthy situation. My husband just never stood up to her, he struggled to keep a full-time job and take care of 3 children. I give him tremendous credit because many men in his situation would not be able to take on that responsibilty. Well, then I come along, we get married and all of a sudden she begins to take a deeper interest. Mainly because I would not allow her to control my household and my husband began saying "no", She always used us as her babysitter, whether it was a work meeting, an exerecise class or a European vacation. She has been nothing but a major PIA, she wouldn't pay child support when my husband enforced the order she opened a full blown custody case, suing us for full custody because she did not want to financially support her children. We also have a screwed up schedule. During the school the chldren visit their mother Mon&Tues 4-8pm with alternating weekends. During the summer they visit her Mon-Wed 4-8pm with alternating weekends. The exwife wanted some crazy, they live with her 3days one week, then us 4days, and the next week it was the reverse. Mind you, she only had a 2bedroom condo. All three children sleep in the same bedroom. 2 girls 13&10 and a 8yr old boy. The master had enough sense to reconize that the living arrangemnents were not appropriate and would not grant anymore overnight visits except for the already standing 2 weekends a month. The schedule is crazy. The exwife is crazy. She teaches the children it is ok to lie to us. She is NOT supportative of myself or my husband. She has harrassed us to the point that she is not allowed on our property, she can not contact us by phone, she may only communicate via email, unless it is an emergency related to that day's schedule, then she may leave a message on our cell phone. She would call my husband at work and pull him out of meetings with the CEO of the company for some nonsense question. HE would get numerous calls on a daily basis. I never saw 2 divorced people talk on a daily basis. We have insulated ourselves as much as possible but everyday there is some new issue. She never returns clothes that the kids wear over there, one day she sent my ss home with no shoes on. She won't take the kids to baseball games and then tells them we did not give her the information. I could go on and on. But your words say it best I HATE HER!!!!! If I had hindsight my posting would be alot differnt. I would be like that one woman who used to be involved with a man with children. Trying being involved with a man who has custody of his children. The rewards have been few and far between. I have lived this from the first day I moved to where my husband lives (I moved from a different state). So the entire two years of my marriage have been filled with this crap. My husband's relationship with his children has also suffered terribly. I was divorced for 11yrs before I remarried and never experienced one ounce of the trouble I have in this life, and it isn't even my divorce. The best advice I can give you is stand your ground. Say NO, she is responsible for her custodial time. It took my husband a long time to be able to say no, it is very easy for me. I know that he is still uncomfortable with saying no but I help him, Remember you can't let her control your life. Good luck, God Bless. I understand, it's one hell of a way to live.

OMG! Ok - I was trying this forum out and YES, I did leave things obscure enough for some of you to be making these statements. I am not a bad mother. Background. My 2 oldest sons had graduated from H.S. when I came over here. They were already situated & ready for college. My 3rd son was in 3rd grade and is now in 7th. He is very attached to his father and so it was decided (mutually with my EX) that instead of uprooting the boys (whom didn't want to leave their own home & ranch to live in a NY cramped apt) they would stay in TX. The catch would be that my EX would move into our home so as not to have the boys move with him into his studio apt. As for my current husband's EX Wife; she calls and asks for him to call the Super from her apt bldg so as to voice complaints just because he's a Man and they listen more to a man. She calls to ask him to buy groceries because she doesn't want to carry the bags in the subway train she takes from work. She calls to have him discipline the boys (for which his kids are asking why he's always so mean to them and mommy isn't). She calls to have him run over to shovel snow that is stuck to her Explorer so that she can go to work (boys take school bus). She calls to whine about money issues and how she's not making it and then goes on to ask for a loan (she gets a very good amount $1K+). She calls to ask if she looks good in her cognac colored boots or the jet black boots. He works 2 jobs and she calls to have him get out of work to pick up the boys because she's tired from going out all weekend. As for his treating me differently . . his personality changes when they are here. I've tried everything possible to get along with these boys and there has been some progress. Enough so that they feel good to come to me to help them finish projects because mommy is tired. I've taken them in too many times to count for dinner, rides and washing their clothes without so much as expecting a Thank You from anyone. But my husband's personality is still visibly shifted and the answer for that is still unclear. He tends to buy very expensive games, electronic toys, etc., and he's put our finances in jeopardy. And their (the boys) attitude & tone of voice change when their dad is present. 1 minute they're ok with me and then they change with dad. No, I do not vie for his attention or try to take it away from them. I bow out on many things that I can safely consider a "guy" thing in order for dad & sons to have some alone time. MY sons are very good & progressing happily. Yes, of course they must miss mom (me) but anyone who's talked to them can see that they are very well balanced boys. As for the original plan in our marriage was that my husband was going to finish out 6 years in his place of business before we made concrete plans to move to my home state. I'm just wondering if it'll ever happen or if I'm wasting time. My stepsons aren't the major problem; it's the calls, the calls and the calls from his EX-wife and the way he just changes when the boys are around. NOW reply please.

Congrats to you all! I have soapstone (well, large scraps from our last house that we had to move out of almost 4 years ago) and almost 3 1/2 year old twins, plus a 5 year old. :) Our SS is one of the harder varieties and there is not a mark on it that anyone but me would notice. In fact, a friend brought her 2 year old twins over last night and she thought my 18X24" piece was one of the samples I have laying out trying to decide on in the new kitchen. We make either cookies, soap, homemade playdough or sandwiches there almost daily and itÂs the official "kid spot". While itÂs probably not gotten consistent kitchen use over the last 4 years, itÂs been used consistently during that time for various other things and I have no reservations putting it in again. If your daughter would like support during her pregnancy and twin experience, I know of some places to find it. :D