dMary----------------Great news and am happy for you!! WE got the HE5t washer and dryer set last Sept. It is not the steam one(from what I read on here that is not worth the extra money). We use our set daily and have had no problems. Our local store owner(Sears) has five kids and he has had no problems with his HE5t set. Remember you do have time left on your protection agreement, so make sure you switch it. The Whirlpool set just does not have as many features as the sears set(but made by the same people). Go to the store and compare.............and again--really happy for you!!!!!!!!!! dennis

You all are so right, thank you for the advice, especially the cash offer. Yes I was thinking of waving thousands in front of his face (by selling my car and buying another one) just to get him to go, because money and drugs is all that matters to this man. He cares nothing for his parents, him self, and above all, his daughter. She has been a burden on him since day 1. However, after reading these posts, I see what you mean, he may take it as a payoff, which could backfire on me. Maui: I do NOT have full legal custody. In our decree it states I have "sole physical custody", meaning, DD will always LIVE with me in MY home. Then it states "joint legal custody", which goes onto state that the father will have a 50/50 say in her health care (even tho it states he will never, ever have to pay for ANY medical treatments or insurance coverage), her schooling (even tho it states he will never have to help with school fees) and "general upbringing". I do not want to keep DD from her paternal grandparents. I have VERY fond memories of MY paternal grandparents... my father was "there" but completely, totally uninterested in me (he still is and doesn't like us coming around). My dad's parents were my best friends... much like DD's paternal g-parents. I would never dream of denying her a love like that. Tami ... I cannot qualify for public assistance, no way in lleh!!! I make over $40k a year (NO college degree... just tenacity, ambition, and I LOVE TO WORK!), I own my own home, etc. To give all that up just to do this, would be ludicrous. Trust me I have thought about what it would be like to STOOP to his level; to not wanna work, to live either with my parents or in some crappy subsidized housing somewhere, and the thought makes me ill. DD and I have a great life and a very nice home, and when I accepted WIC for the first year of her life (I had to... her father moved out and I was left with a SLEW of his bills, and to keep my credit A+, I had to pay them so it left me kinda broke) I felt awful when I cashed in those vouchers. This is terrible but when I'd use those WIC vouchers, I would get trashy looks from the gals at the grocery. I was not some welfare-mom who was toting 9 kids and didn't know what birth control was, yet I got the looks. When my salary rose up and WIC was cancelled, I was relieved. Talley Sue (thanks for your long response btw): You aren't the first to call me "dense and worried" over this. I swear when he tried to take her last year it was the worst weekend of my life. I spent two days vomiting I was so upset over what "almost" happened. I KNOW I just need to do what I can do, meaning, keep up on the Child Support summons, and make sure his parents are "watching him", even tho they said they won't interfere with his "problems" any more... but I cannot help but to be worried. He doesn't have the stability to follow through on the idea of removing my custody or "legally" removing DD from me... but his parents are SO behind him and think I'm the anti-christ for keeping tabs on him. They used to really respect me and his mother was very friendly, but since his release from prison in October (during this free time he managed to knock up his second wife, who is a 20 year old girl with two kids by two different fathers...), they have been at odds with me. I pray every night that he does himself in. I know that is bad, to wish that upon someone, but I'd rather it be him then my DD or his parents or someone else. He is the one who deserves to worry and suffer... not DD or anyone else. Yer right Talley Sue, he will always be around, I fear. I know he wants to leave KY and he wants his 'freedom' away from everyone here who has 'harmed' him, but he cannot make it in this world without his mother's support. At least DD and I are very close. I make sure of that. Among all the disciplining and rules I set in my house, we have a very strong love and she listens to me like you'd not believe. I hope in time she will see just what her father is... do you think she WILL? As a teenager, or as an adult? Or even when she gets into grade school??? - darkeyedgirl

I don't know where in Florida you are, but please type in Trulia.com or any other real estate website and run a search. Put in the zipcode you are planning to move to. Put in the amount you are planning to spend and let it search. There are so many foreclosures of partially built houses, it isn't funny. I'm looking in the Sarasota, Venice, Osprey areas. These are brand-new partially built homes where the builder walked away. Some are over 3,000 sq ft with pools. All are listed from $60 - 85,000. You really shouldn't be building anything now in Florida. I would look for houses already built. The builders are in deep financial trouble. Your builder could have houses all over the state and no money to finish them. Buyer Beware, Jane

Contact Springtime Builders here on Houzz - he's somewhat in your area, I think, and has good experience - he may be able to help with some references. It's possible that you only need to send your plans off to engineering. While we had a licensed architect and a fully custom build, because we were working with different materials, our architect engaged a trusted local engineer, skilled in modern homes / large expanses, using concrete / steel / glass, etc.. This engineer(-ing firm) and architect work hand in hand often. Engineer was able to help us make adjustments in our steel trusses when we wanted a little more headroom in one area (shallower truss, but same rigidity) and also help cost optimize each solution. He engineered our floor slab. When we had a couple of fabrication screw ups with our concrete panels, he was able to review the proposed fix and ensure we had what we needed / kept panel installer from glossing over structural issues.