I believe I had IE, but not sure which version. Now, I am not sure WHAT one is up! Right now there are 3 searches running- there are 3 'file card tabs' at the top of the page. Two of them have a small red/green/blue/yellow flag icon, the third has the 'Gardenweb' icon- the page that I am on now. Walnut.. I did not download anything that I am aware of.. If I move my curser to the top nothing happens- there is a 'wrench' on the far right, but when I click on it, it opens a list that has 'Google Chrome' near the bottom, yet the icon on the far left of the page (this page), is the 'Yahoo' icon. I don't even have a way to open my 'favorites' now. Did IE7 have favorites/back/forward arrows, file/edit/view/tools/help in the upper left hand corner?? I am wondering if I am in 'Google Chrome' or IE9 by some chance? How do I check which browser I am set to go to auto? Tx

@parent of one Yep, its for real. Yeah, I feel pretty bad about the swearing, especially that last time. About the phone...it is my work mobile, so I can receive calls from anyone, but I am only meant to call out regarding work related matters. I just got in that habit, they are pretty strict about it actually. @incognitomom She is in college and works part-time for a telco. Actually I have met other parents who cannot believe the wife lets the boyfriend sleep over. I wouldn't allow it either but I have to watch what I say. @justmetoo No, I don't think I have been the horse's ****. Actually, although it might not sound like it, my wife is actually really quite conservative, like an aunty or grandmother type of personality, not the modern 'with-it' personality. I really love her. I believe she extracted promises from the daughter about the boyfriend, sort of like an honor system...you may have seen those wooden boards that were used about a hundred years ago so that a boyfriend could lay in bed with the girlfriend...well, sort of that kind of mentality. Hint: look up 'bundling' (tradition) in Wikipedia. @myfampg Pardon, but who is the whack job? Like, these things even the purported accident with the wife's former husband, are pretty much normal, I would say. Especially in her home country which has much larger disparity between rich and poor, and wealth was part of the problem, jealousy of wife's wealth being the reason her false friend contrived to ruin her marriage. At least in my home country we also have a huge problem with male suicide, which is ignored in the mainstream, don't know about the US tho'. And problems within step-families are par for the course, aren't they? In fact, I would suggest that only a whack job would suggest that step-families do not have their own unique set of problems. UPDATE: Well things have quieted down a little. SD is making arrangements to move out to near BF's place. SD has new pet rabbit. I have been keeping the swearing right down, thankfully.

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.

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.