Tag Archives: stepchild
Shades of beige
Monday was the first night of our regular week with the kids. As usual, Boy A was fairly hostile towards me: he refused to respond to my hello, and every comment I made (not to him – I don’t waste … Continue reading
Filed under Communication, Kids, Lovely Man, Speaking Up Challenge, Stepfamily Life
Speak Up Week Challenge – first check-in
The Speak Up Week challenge continues. Our last few days with the Boys were spent taking them interstate to visit the Lovely Man’s extended family. I find travelling with the kids a real “hot button” time when the biological force field … Continue reading
Filed under Communication, Lovely Man, Speaking Up Challenge, Stepfamily Life, Travel
Making rules…
…but for pity’s sake don’t even think of calling them “family rules”! I can almost hear the reaction now, echoed back from eleventy million step households: “You’re not my family and you don’t make rules for me!” [Sarcasm switches off] … Continue reading
Filed under Communication, Counselling, Kids, Lovely Man, Me, Stepfamily Life
And… another search string
Found in my blog stats today, in the section showing what search phrases lead poor hapless victims readers here was this sad snippet of stepmother misery: “my husband is teaching his kids to treat stepmom as a doormat” I would … Continue reading
Filed under Communication, Kids, Lovely Man, Stepfamily Life
Disengaging
Disengaging is not a new concept in step-land. But it was new to me when I first came across some articles a few months back. At that time, I was trying trying trying to get the Lovely Man’s kids, and … Continue reading
Filed under Family, Food, Kids, Lovely Man, Me, Stepfamily Life, What I Wish I'd Known
Another naked stepmum story
I had to chuckle reading Stef’s Naked Stepmum post. (Unlike her, my title is a completely shameless trawl for readers. Sleazes and spambots, come on down!) Boy C, as much as I love him, is unstoppable when it comes to … Continue reading
Filed under Kids, Me, Stepfamily Life
The Unnegotiables
Boy A once described something as “unnegotiable” – I’ve never forgotten the clumsy word. A brilliant post from Urban Stepmom got me thinking about what is “unnegotiable” for me. In the past, I’ve tended to put up and shut up a … Continue reading
Filed under Communication, Kids, Stepfamily Life
A sticky one
Boy C, in the car on our way home from dinner last night, within earshot of Boy A, Boy B and the Lovely Man: B, I want to ask you a question? Me: Sure. What do you want to know? … Continue reading
Filed under Kids, Me, Stepfamily Life
Divided loyalties
Loyalty conflicts are perhaps the key to the challenging nature of life in a stepfamily. Loyalty binds of various kinds for kids, a sense of loyalty imbalanced or even betrayed for step-parents, divided loyalties for repartnered parents. Recently, I read … Continue reading
Filed under Counselling, Stepfamily Life, Writing
Dilemma
Is it better to insist, for reasons of character development, that the Boys contribute properly to picking up the twelvety-kajillion pieces of Lego, ranging from microscopic to Great Dane-sized, currently spread in a tide line across the loungeroom floor? Or … Continue reading
Filed under Family, Kids, Lovely Man, Me, Stepfamily Life, Writing
