Just checking in and saw the bathroom picture - thud! Just gorgeous close-up. What fun you must be having watching the progress. Thank you for posting your basement organization/storage pictures (the ones where your basement almost looks like a basement). Best, oldbat2be

I am a stepmom to a beautiful 7 year old little girl and have been since she was 4 years old. I can literally count on my ten fingers the amount of times her biological mom has made visits since I have known her (more like on one hand). She moved out of state with her when she was four and kept her from my husband for almost a year until he took her to court about three times u tip he finally won sole custody of her and her was granted child support from bio mom. He was also to drive half way from New Mexico to Dallas Texas to have our little girl do OVER NIGHT visits once a month in Texas and two week visits over summer break. Like I said bio mom would constantly cancel visits saying she could not afford it even though we received absolutely no child support checks and when she did make visits she would often request for us to pick up the child early because she had plans with her boyfriend or she would state the child was out of control and she could not handle her. The last visit she had with my step daughter she kept her for a month and it was only supposed to be a two week visit. Also during that time my step daughter was sexually assaulted by step father and we took them to court and the mother called the child a liar and automatically took step fathers side. My husband and I have put her I counseling, pressed charges and done all that we can as loving parents. Charges were dropped due to lack of evidence and now mother is fighting to move child to Texas with her and husband (what a joke right). Keep in mind no child support has been paid and mother has not attempted contact in about a year and 5 months and before that would very rarely make phone calls. She was granted supervised visits which my daughter refuses to have and if she's forced she does not engage in contact AT ALL. She is terrified of these people but the system demands visits. Last time in court bio mom failed to appear because she put her husband as priority and said she could not make it and all visits were suspended. My step daughter is traumatized and terrified of these people. I wish she had a good bio mom but she doesn't and I have been the one to take This place without the official title. Is it hard? Heck yes you do all the work without the official title and have people constantly belittling you as just the "stepmom" but the title is earned not only because you give birth to a child it goes far beyond that. These children have real needs and it takes true responsibility to raise a child and meet their need and give them the love they deserve. I have experienced the feeling of not being recognized for all that I do as a step mom who has really taken on 100% responsibility but that's what being selfless is its doing these thing without expecting recognition from humans. When I married my husband I took on the responsibility of being a mommy whether full time or once a week. I love it and since we have had trouble having babies of our own I have truly been blessed with the opportunity to be a mommy before giving birth. God placed is in each others life and I cherish every moment. To all the step moms out there I know the feelings that go along with being a step parent but it's a huge role and God sees even when others don't. Keep being good mom mad and you shall be blessed. It's not the child's fault they deserve nothing but the best!!!

The ending was much nicer than my shoe story. I was shopping for winter high boots with my daughter and the two of us seem to encounter hilarious situations and laugh accordingly. We went to a small shoe store and the owner, a man, took out the three pairs from the back, proceeded to pull the little stool with the slanted front and he sat down and I put my foot on the slanted part. He then carried on, pretty silently, to try to put a high boot on me and was failing miserably when I said "let me do it" and I grabbed both sides of the boot and pulled with all my might but I was a little too vigorous cuz, as my leg went in the boot, the force was so great that the boot ended smashing him in the crotch and he fell off the stool moaning. I'm still laughing now. We were soo horrified that we left rapidly with my daughter pushing me towards the door and carrying my other shoe and me with one on my foot. We laughed out of our minds all the way home. Yeah we're like that.

I made my home made sausage dressing yesterday. I stirred it with my favorite silicon spatula. I was about to put the pan of dressing in the oven when I glanced down and noticed half of my silicon spatula was missing. My friend and I spent a half an hour digging through the pan of dressing finding the little pieces of spatula and trying to piece them together on the main part to make sure we got them all. Sigh. Good thing the spatula was teal blue which made finding the pieces a little easier.