• Stepmoms Feel Like They Have The Devil On One Shoulder and the Angel On The Other The angel and the devil sits on the shoulders of all stepmoms.  You know what I mean.  Mother's Day is a perfect example.  The angel on my right shoulder says: "I don't want to cause any conflicts.  I want the kids to spend time with their mother. This is my main concern." The devil on my left shoulder

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    Lions! Tigers and Bears! Oh my, It's the Summer Season! Oh, boy!  The school year is ending and for many of us it means that the children's schedules are changing.  We may have the kids for half the summer or camp schedules are starting.  First tip is to remember that every time there is a change, even if it is minor, it will get exaggerated in a divorced family.  Why?  It triggers

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    Stepfamiles and Life Are All About the Playground It's the end of the year. There have been holidays, custody changes, vacations and aggravations. There have also been feelings of extreme joy. Some of us have received notes of love and appreciation from our stepchildren and/or our partners. Some of us feel peace in the knowing that we are making a home base for our children. For some, we still

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    Stepfamilies Are Awesome! Happy Stepfamily Day! If you are lucky enough to have a stepparent, a step-sibling and step-relatives, September 16th is your day.  It is National Stepfamily Day.  The purpose of this day is to recognize stepfamilies by taking a minute and recognizing the love, care and support the step-relatives provide.  It is the day for us to remember how lucky we are to

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    You Are One in a Million!Happy Mother's Day!from: Greeting Card Universe It is that dreaded time of year for stepmothers everywhere, Mother’s Day.  The emotional turmoil and quiet confusion starts several weeks before the holiday and culminates in a litany of rationalizations right up until that dire Sunday.  It is reasonable that children spend Mother’s Day with their mother.  For

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    Stepmothers Stitch a Web of Compassion When I think of Valentine's Day, I think of all the stepmothers who spend their days and nights stitching hearts together.  We are the silent seamstresses who watch the family patterns.  When we see a piece of heart tear, we are quick to try to mend it.  We grab our sewing kits.  We find the thread and, with precision, we push it through eye of the

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    A Divorced Family's "Twas The Night Before Chriastmas" TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Scott T. Taylor of UnderAppeal.com ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Courts, Applications were piling, with time running short; Frantic parents consumed in a flurry of faxes, With lawyers and spouses all arguing Christmas access. No stockings yet hung by the chimney with

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    Stepmothers need to remember the people who make us feel welcome~Painting by Susan Falcon-Hargraves This week, our family gathered to celebrate the life of my father-in-law who passed away last year.  We just had a blast as we watched all of our children and grandchildren just have fun.  We ate and drank too much.  We celebrated another win from the Notre Dame football team.  (Our family

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    Stepmothers Sometimes Feel As If Their Bodies and Minds Have Been Overtaken By Their Stepmother Role A step family can be like living in a haunted house.  There are ghosts and goblins behind every corner.  Every time you think that things are going well, “Boo!” another monster comes out of the woodwork and you are back to ‘square one’.  We all have experienced these phenomena.  A

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    Stepmothers Often Feel Like the Fifth Wheel! Or, Even the Third Wheel Have you ever felt like a 5th wheel in your family?  I certainly have!  I have been a stepmother for over 20 years and I still have those moments.  You know what I'm talking about.  There is a family party and you feel as if you don't belong.  There is a family life cycle event and you feel like you don't know where you

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