Hi Terrance nice to meet ya and thanks for the reply! Yes I must get outside in scratch that dirt. Where I live now, in Aberdeen, we gravelled the whole backyard due to having multiple horses in the house. LOL..my great danes make a terrible miss on grass so it was the only way. And mud? As in garden? Would be destroyed unless I built a fence around it. We are planning to buy a house soon, so hope to change all that. I can not wait to get into roses outdoors and perenials, grow my own veggies. Lily's too! I hope he builds me a greenhouse, as I am a die hard fan of tropicals. Plumeria and hibiscus are my fave's. Been growing them indoors for a year under lights, and lots of blooms. I also enjoy propagating and starting from seed indoors. Fun stuff! I guess when you grow up as a small town girl, you stick to your roots..hahahaha..too funny! Krista - sorry I left Sharon's name in the original post, so she knew I ressurrected it.

I agree, I joined this forum after finding it while searching for a home repair solution. While the information was very valuable and I joined just to respond to the poster with the solution, I don't know how often I will peruse this site just for the fun of it. I it not user friendly at all compared to 90% of the other sites out there. This will inevitably cause me to go elsewhere and therefore one less person to keep the traffic numbers up and therefore less revenue from advertisers. I wish this would be otherwise as this site has fantastic contributes and a wealth of knowledge, but I find it easier to navigate this site through a google search than through the site's own organization and mechanisms. Too bad...

OMG! What a nightmare. If I were you I'd do two things right off the bat. Find a good attorney and meet with him so that you know the right answers to the questions you've asked (or start at the web site mentioned above for a less-expensive route). THen, also find a counselor for your own marriage and family to help you get through it. I know that they cannot force you to move though, or to visit the child. It could end up being a financial obligation only. It looks like you live in CO (?) does she live in CO as well? If so, see the link provided. Child support and paternity laws will be based on the state SHE lives in. I see that in CO, paternity can be established up until the child is 18. So based on this, I guess she could legally go after you for child support plus arrears, but there is a chance that you could fight it. Especially since the girl already has a 'dad' and a 'step-dad'. Where I live, I think the courts would favor making 'dad', blood-dad or not, be responsible for supporting the child. Especially after 5 years of marriage. Have you had a DNA test? If not, you should insist on one. Also, where does this $500/mo figure come from? There is a formula that takes into account how many children you already have, what your income is and has been over the past 12 years, etc.. It also takes her income into consideration (see FAQ's on the link provided) Has she used such a formula to cite this amount, or is she just hoping for 500/mo ? You have the right to go to the court and question any court orders that are given to you. Make sure they do things right, don't just accept the amount they ask you to pay. Trust me, they will try to get away with asking you to give her whatever she has requested, in the hopes that you won't question it!! (Friend of the Court is often called "Friend of the Mother" ) Hope things work out for you... Here is a link that might be useful: CO child support info

Mayflowers: "There's high gloss white tile from floor to ceiling on all four walls. Mirrors add shine. Painted woodwork in a bathroom would probably need to be glossy to make it washable." The white tile I have is high gloss, but I think, it doesn't exactly appear so. You see, the tile is not completely flat. It has a very slight wave in it. I think this reduces the "shine." At the same time, this window is north facing, so there is no sun streaming in. It also is a frosted window, so that also diminishes the amount of light entering the room. (Therefore reducing the shine?) You also say: "Painted woodwork in a bathroom would probably need to be glossy to make it washable." My husband is quite the handyman. He says that we would be able to find a durable paint without high gloss. We are a family of four, but only one of us showers in there. So perhaps the paint would hold up well enough. Also: "Right, the grain shows through unless you smooth it out with filler. That's an option I hadn't thought of and would work with your door style to give you a look of "just bought" cabinets." I could use filler when painting the trim white and see how well it covers the grain. I think we could do that. Then when it comes to the vanity, the cupboard and drawers, we could consider gray paint (only if the trim worked out well). But I like the idea of staining the vanity, cupboard and drawers. That would be more work. Staining is always a bit tricky---it's difficult to get just the right colour. I am wondering whether a grey wash would work. That would be easier. Nosoccermom says: "I could see the vanity in a grey stain but would keep everything else in the color of the tiles and tub." So just doing the vanity in a grey stain/paint is something I would definitely consider. I think I would need to paint the trim in the room white and work from there. "But I agree that painted oak cabinets will always look like "painted oak cabinets." Hopefully not. "However, do your cabinets/wood work have the regular strong oak grain?" Unfortunately, yes. Here are a couple of closeup photos where you can see the grain of the oak.