Well, things are going strangely well at the moment. Not necessarily ideal, but well all the same. Still hoping the state comes down on bm2 for welfare fraud, child support just went up On ss8, ss15 Is acting out for bm1 but she and dh are actually communicating on a more civil level discussing him. My oldest bs and I are rebuilding our relationship. My youngest bs occasionally realizes and acknowledges he has been a little pain, not that anything has changed. I do not care if ss8 likes me, and no longer care if dh wants to think I'm somehow being the evil stepmother. I will make sure he is safe and acknowledge positive things he does as well as negative. I don't need to be his friend, he needs a stable parent figure and if he hates me for it and for encouraging his father to be one, so be it.