"57 channels and nothin' on..." I sing that all the time when surfing and trying to find something worthy of watching. Count me in on those that "have zero interest in people eating bugs, getting fired, winning some strange game on an island. I don't care who the bachlor chooses nor anything about bratty kids being transformed nor strange things decorators do to your house while you temporarily live in a tent".... I absolutely HATE "reality" TV...it's about as unreal as it can possibly be! I turn to TCM (Turner Classic Movies) often, because I love old movies, and I really miss shows like Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, etc. I like original ideas. My kid loves "The Family Guy" and Tim likes "King of the Hill"....Personally, I hate all/most of those animated shows! LOL Good thing I have gardening to do so I don't have to tune in to the mindlesss dribble that they air these days.... Linda

I just wanted to add my two cents... One thing I noticed is that, Sweeby, you are talking about a "normal" relationship with your DS and his stepmother. You are not an alcoholic, you are not a manipulative, lying, awful person like the BM of LH's SS!! You care about your DS and his wellbeing, this BM cares about manipulating everyone involved!! You gave me some INCREDIBLY good advice on here a little while ago, about my very manipulative teen stepdaughters, their very very manipulative BM and my DH's reactions to their actions. The BM of my two SDs does NOT care what would be best for her kids , and, LH's SS's BM is very much the same, as far as I can tell. Women like these BM's care ONLY about "how can we make trouble, how can we make DH miserable and his new wife/family along with him"!!. I don't think for a second that this BM cares about what is best for her son, she cares only about what is best for HER. We have been down this road and she would just attempt to manipulate everyone around her. If DH's daughters had been younger when we had gotten together, he always says he would have fought for full custody and maybe they would have turned out differently. He is not proud of what they are. I think it is in LH's best interests to not be alone with SS BUT I also think that BM is very HAPPY that SS is not spending time alone with you LH. You could tell by the phone call that you described that she made to SS while SS was in the car with your DH. She is playing a game with you, your DH, and your family with SS and DD, but you are unfortunately being forced to play back. Have you and DH ever considered trying for full custody? I am not sure that you would win, but this BM is EMOTIONALLY abusing her son and you guys are caught in her cycle of abuse. As someone else mentioned, if you think this poor little boy has problems now, wait until he is 13....Does anyone else know she is an alcoholic? ie. her family, coworkers, friends, etc...In the meantime, why not find a daycamp as some others suggested, and don't beat yourself up about this, you didn't DO ANYTHING wrong!! And your DD deserves to have a fun summer...and it would be good to say to SS "I love our time together, but I don't want to be alone with you right now because you made up some stories about me that weren't true." Even if he is 7, he knows what he did was wrong and he needs to be accountable for his actions. Sorry this is so long, I am going to get that book too! PS.Sweeby, I told my DH I am not his messenger-girl/mediator/buffer/rug and that he should not allow himself to be manipulated by his ex's or by his kids'!! :D I am working hard on "me" again and trying hard to let him deal with his issues with his kids...:)

I have watched some of the shows mentioned. I like reality shows. I know that a lot of it is fake or edited to create drama etc, but I think it's so interesting to see how other people live their lives. I don't have to agree or understand it, but I'm fasicnated with it. I love House Hunters, but I'm not embarassed about that. I know lots of people who like to "look" through the different houses. I learn a little bit from the House Flipping shows or Mike Holmes construction type shows. Primetime television is so filled with trash, sex and violence so I don't want my DD's to see that (they are 3 & 6) My family likes watching some of the Food Network shows. My DD's love Unwrapped where they show you how certain foods are made (usually fun ones like ice cream or snack foods). My DH likes the history part of it and the kids just like the candy! Kid in a Candy Store or Cupcake Wars too. We were even watching a game show last night! But when they are in bed-My guilty pleasures would be...Sister Wives, Hoarders, My Strange Obssession, and throw in Days of our Lives once in a while! When I was single I would spend my Sundays doing laundry and watching cheesy Lifetime movies! Used to LOVE them! There is also another one-a Canadian show for Teens called Degrassi. I watched it when I was a kid and it's still on (new characters). Even though I am old enough to be their parents now I still like the new shows!

We have a 32" Sony LCD HDTV and it's very nice, but my favorite is our 50" Sony SXRD Rear Projection TV. The picture is great, even though we don't have HD TV service. We loved it so much that we bought a second one just like it, for another room. Here's info on it... Here is a link that might be useful: Sony 50