"Should I say something to my brother the groom? Or just keep quiet as to not cause any drama?" Nope...don't say anything. Keep quiet. Let it go. Your poor brother is caught in the middle between his bit** of a mother and siblings that he probably wants to include. Let him enjoy this time without any added stress from a family fight. You and the other siblings should go out to a nice dinner and toast your brothers happiness.

Thanks for all the responses thus far and you have given me the courage to approach the issues. This explains why my DD15 has asked for professional counseling because she has felt anxious and depressed. Initially, I attributed her problems due to the fact that her sister is about to leave home for college and D15 would be the lone ranger at home. The T alluded to the issues with my W to me, but did not go much into details. Now I understand the fear and concerns from my children. I asked my D18, who is about to go to college, who cried and shared with me the same feeling, that was W would jump in and defend her children when a conflict arose between them. My children felt that it was not the SM's place to get in their face so-to-speak, because the conflicts were peer's issues between them. Of course, how can my children respond or defend themselves when the SM confronted them for they were probably scared. They still were the kids and my W was the adult and head of household. For example, my SD14 one day took my D18's rental DVD to her room without saying anything, making D18 pay for the late fee. Then another occassion, D18's set of DVD disappeared, she asked everyone in the house, who all responded "No, I did not take it." Miraculously, the DVD set reappeared 1 month later. D18 had no reason to believe her own sisters took it because they shared 2 adjoining room, so D18 pointed the blame to the Step siblings. I was aware of it, but stayed out, but then my wife confronted my D about why she accused her children of lying. Unfortuntely, my W's action of defending her children, (not young, all in the teens), has made my motherless children feel they had no one to turn to for support because the W now is perceived as being on the other side of the fence to them. I understand life's reality of "step mother, husband's children". WHen push come to shove, the step mother will take care of her own children first. In the same vein, I left a beautiful date who flat out called my children, "b*tches", and demanded all my assets including that of my late wife, left to her when I die.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I had also been researching all over the internet for faucet prices but was a little unsure of the finish (Kohler Vinnate in ORB) and really wanted to see one in person. As I was out running errands with the kids, I passed a plumbing showroom I've passed a zillion times before. Same as you, I didn't want to talk to anyone, just take a peak. For some reason, I also get intimidated in some of these places. There was a receptionist (!) who said I'd need an appointment for sales help. That was fine, I just wanted to look around. She looked me up and down in my mommy capris, messy hair in a banana clip and spiderman bandaid on my ankle but finally lowered the velvet rope to let me in against her better judgememt. okay, maybe i exaggerate a bit... Long story, a very friendly salesman came back from lunch and struck up a conversation. He was knowledgeable and very helpful and gave me a written quote. he did try to sell me on the benefits of using them versus an unknown internet source as well as sell me on some other stuff I didn't need but not in a pushy way. But his prices were really high! 2 weeks later he sent me a note along with a new price quote reflecting 10 % off his original quote. The price still wasn't cheaper than online so i was just going to forget about it. Now reading your story I think I'll give him a chance and see if he can beat the price.

Good advice. And when the drain starts running slowly, that's the time to do something, not waiting until it's plugged up. I used to have a bad habit of pouring grease down the drain. (I was young and dumb and didn't know better!) Well it would occasionally slow down or plug up. Usually there were several ways to get it flowing: - Vinegar and baking soda are almost magical. I always mix some salt in there for an abrasive and it cleans it out nicely. - When I could get it to just trickle a little I'd start pouring in some salt. As said the salt works as an abrasive and it would take a little time, occasionally a full box or maybe a bit more, but it would chip away at it and get it flowing nicely. - I've also heard where people have used a hair dryer or heat gun on the trap to soften the grease and get things flowing. When it's flowing, flush with the hottest water you can, even boil some and put down there. Speaking of which, many plumbers suggest a pot of boiling water once a week to keep the drain clean. One other thing many people forget about. If you have trees near your sewer pipes their roots can get in there and cause all kinds of expensive problems. Be careful what you plant and where!