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Parenting time and child activities....Help!

exhaustedmommy's picture

:jawdrop:
I may lose my mind. I have a SS that is 9 and a SD that is 6. My husband and I have a 4 year old adopted son and a 2 year old adopted daughter. For the three years of my husbands and his ex's court order - we are to get the kids every Friday night (NOT every other) between 5:30 and 6:00 - their mother is to drop them off to us. My husband is then court ordered to drive them back to her house Sunday nights between 6:00 - 6:30. My husbands ex moved an hour and a half away when they split because she "wanted to live near the beach"...
For the last two years, my stepson has been signed up for karate year round on Friday nights which starts at 5:15. So, his mother drops him off at 5:00 so he can be at karate on time. My SS is diagnosed with a high functioning learning disability and because of this tends to act aqward at some social situations with children his age. My SS is a people pleaser - he will tell the person he is with what they want to hear - so we never know what "he" is really thinking. If we asked him if he wanted to wrestle he would say no - if she asked him if he wants to do karate he would say no. My SD is a fiesty one and will tell you how it is...which is so much more refreshing in a way. Beacuse of my SS's "high functioning disabilities", my husband and I have him signed up in a LEGO social class (year round) every Saturday morning. We also have my SD signed up for gymnastics every Saturday morning. So, we have a routine and schedule EVERY weekend we have the children with us.....
Now, this wrestling season 12-13 and last wrestling season 11-12, "she" has signed my SS up for wrestling.However, every wrestling match is on either a Friday night or Saturday morning. We have constant arguring with my husbands ex as we tell her she needs to find activiities for the children that are on her parenting time...not ours. We have activities for them that they should not have to miss because she decided she wanted SS to wrestle. This season, on a Saturday my husband was working and I went to NYC with my SD for her birthday we allowed her to pick SS up Saturday morning to participate in a tournament for wrestling thinking she would be there with him - only to find out SS was at the tournament with my husbands ex's "boyfriend of the month" and then sat at her hair salon for the remainder of the day until she was finished work and brought him back to us at 8pm when the tournament was over around lunch time....She wasnt even there to surport him - so to me - it is not about SS getting to wrestle - it is about her "getting her way" ...my husband told her - that he will not wrestle anymore on his "parenting time" - as it seems it is a "game" to her to use the kids to piss him off.
Yesterday, my husband got an email from his ex stating the children would be late because tony has a match friday night. My husband responded with tony has karate and he expects the children to be dropped off at the normal time of 5:00 for karate or the police will be notified - her response...."notify who you want".
I am tired. We are tired of spending money on attorneys. Advise? Anyone?What do we do? Let him wrestle? Stand our grounds.

kathc's picture

Call the police and file a report when she doesn't show up with him. Have a copy of the CO ready to show them. They can't do much but you will have it on record. If it keeps up, you'll have a stack of reports to file contempt charges against her. You shouldn't need a lawyer to do it.

oldone's picture

You might want to do a little research (or have your attorney do it) about parents who lose custody for being asses. It doesn't happen as often as it should but it sometimes a judge really gets pissed at a wayward parent. Preferable in your state.

This happened to a woman I know (don't like her). She is a pillar of the community, works at a professional job, active in her church - on the surface just very respectable - no alcohol, drugs, etc. She made life miserable for her ex with her son and ended up totally losing custody. It was so humiliating for her.

exhaustedmommy's picture

We wouldn't have I any other way. She put it in the order for every weekend. My kids we would be devastated at this point if it changed. She has moved four times in four years and the kids have been in three different school districts. We prefer to have them on school holidays etc. or the bf of the moment is with them for the day... And I am not just being bitter - her last bf was just released from prison after a year for swindleing money from the elderly....but she didn't lose custody even though the stolen items where all in her house bc he was sentenced to go to jail already. My husband and I never go out alone bc of money- but that's another story. He pays 340 a week inn child support and we continue to treat all four of the kids the same with clothes, activities, vacations etc. she chose this arrangement. We have asked her numerous times to switch if she wants the kids on the weekend and they can go to school here...won't go for it.

exhaustedmommy's picture

My husband just asked him if he wants to do karate or wrestling tomorrow and he said he rally wants to go to karate but who knows if that is whatHE really wants.

exhaustedmommy's picture

It is nice to hear that you have had "hiccups" as well. I need to hear all points of view...so thank you for playing devils advocate Smile he has tried to switch custody so they go to school here...where it is more stable. But, the mother rules the roost in New Jersey courts. I have aged so much these past four years. My husband and I were seeing a therapist for a while because "she" was "living" in our house in a sense bc any issue involves her. We eloped WITH the kids on a Labor Day weekend and didn't tell anyone bc we were so convinced she wld sabotage any real wedding.

exhaustedmommy's picture

We can only hope....she tends to date men without children.if they have kids they aren't in the picture.
She has been reamed out many times in court but no huge change came as a result.