I am canceling my service with Comcast. I have the $4.99 charge to cover me in case I need to have a service call. Well in April I did have a service call as one of my two phone lines was not working. The technician who came out broke my phone and did not tell me that he broke it. I found that out much later -- it should have been a hint when he did not want me to hold the phone. Then he or Comcast put a $70.00 charge on my account. When I called Comcast, I told them about this, they admitted that it should not have been there and they told me that they would credit my account on the next bill, but that I was expected to pay it and they would issue a credit. I need to check the statutes but I don't think you can collect on disputed charges, especially when you are aware that YOU made the mistake. For the $70.00 that should not have been billed, they interrupted the service. I refuse to pay it and have notified my local jurisdiction and the FCC. If you are looking for a cable or internet or phone provider, don't walk past Comcast, run as fast and as far as you can.

It sounds like a very difficult situation for you Jess... I doubt any of us will be able to help much, because if what you say is all accurate, then your SD isn't really behaving all that rationally, and there's not too much you can do about that. It does sound like he has a deep-seated disrespect for women as well as a short fuse. I can't imagine throwing my daughter out of the house at night for anything but the absolute worst behavior. What do you suppose would happen if you had a private talk with you mother along these lines: "I'm trying to be responsible by working to put myself through college, and save money by living at home. You know I can't afford a place of my own without going deep into debt, which I don't think would be wise. Since I am an adult, you and SD have a right to expect me to help around the house to help earn my keep. Do you think we could agree on what would be a reasonable list of chores for me to do -- and that if I do these chores as agreed, you and SD would stop pressuring me to leave?" Then ask you mom to discuss it with your SD? It might not work -- but then, you wouldn't really be any worse off for having tried.

As far as open houses go, everyone in a family is allowed to go. Grandparents, aunts, cousins, whatever. It's a chance for the kids to show off things that they've done at school. When my DS has open house, we roll in with a posse! There's probably 10 of us that go. Even X's GF and FDH. Isn't that why it's called OPEN house? As far as the jealousy thing, we have experienced that as well. But I would caution your husband on saying anything. These things can go to the extreme. He may want the son to give him more attention, but that could turn into alienating the SF, whom he lives with, and cause an uncomfortable situation in the home where his son is most of the time. Those feelings of jealousy will pass. I wonder if his jealousy isn't really more of an insecurity at the fact that he doesn't live with his kids anymore. I was jealous of X's GF. But what really makes me jealous is not necessarily what SHE does, but more of my own feelings of insecurity. She gets to have him for all the fun times and I have him when things have to be serious and organized. That's my own insecurity because I'd rather be spending time with him instead of the 12 hours I'm away from him at work. But I know that he's well cared for while he's there and he's happy. She's young and fun and has no kids so she plays with him as if she's his age. And I think that's very special......now lol! Not to mention, he is only 6. Still VERY young. He loves everyone that loves him. There's nothing wrong with that. And what's wrong with SF loving the children? Isn't it that the more people that love the children then better? I can't imagine that anyone would want a person living in a home with their child to not love their kid. What a miserable home that would be!

This is ego driven and entitlement based. I have a little girl from my wife's previous marriage. She used to call me Mike but through love, caring, and being present she sometimes calls me Daddy. I am not entitled to this name but it was earned for me. I also have a son who I fathered and I am very much his Daddy as well. We went through this same issue when the lil' girl started calling my mom/ Mamaw...because her bio grandma was also called Mamaw. My mother has 6 grandchildren and you expect the lil' girl to call her Memaw instead of following suite with the other children is ego based. If a parent can love more than one child why can't a child love more than two parents. I am raising the child. I don't say "she's like or as my own" she has a good relationship with her father...we can both be dad. My biggest issue is when a parent is too shortsighted and starts coaching their child to say anything other than what is in that child's heart....if I earned the title daddy then so be it. You don't need to sit there and coach your child telling them all the things that I am not...just be happy that I love this baby too, that I'd never hit her or hurt her, that she is the apple of my eye and that my family openly embraced her and her mother without any stigma attached. Check you ego, bio parents. When you decide to divorce you need to understand that that means that things change. You are only going to get to enjoy 1/2 of the kids childhood if you are lucky. Instead of 18 years with them you will get a total of 9 years worth of days raising your baby. Get over titles, ranks, and labels and get along for the sake of the children and if that means letting them love and assign as they see fit then so be it.