I'm just curious...how do you budget for the holidays and gift giving for kids that are still living at home (as in, not adults, even if they don't live with you full time)?

Do you just pick a flat monetary amount and that's the budget for each person?

Do you let your kids make a list?

Do you go by age? Like "We're spending $200 each on the teenagers, but $50 each on the toddlers."

Or do you just go by what each child wants/needs and disregard the cost?

BM3 called me up last night as I was making dinner and apologized for flipping out this weekend, and wanted to know what to do to get back on track for coparenting SD6.

I am delightfully surprised!

She realizes she has it really good with us as far as coparenting goes, and also realizes that we need to learn to communicate better. She was on board with family counseling, so it looks like that's the direction we're headed in.

So glad things worked out this way. It's hard enough for SD6 to live two places without the added stress of feuding parents.

So yesterday DH came home a few minutes early to talk to SD6. See, she's been asking all week when it's time to come back to our house to stay. She misses her sisters quite a bit when she is at her mom's house.

SD10 has been in Georgia with her mother for 8 weeks. She's coming back on Wednesday. I'm completely indifferent that she's returning. I was a little surprised, but I didn't miss her at all. Today, DH said "Oh, SD10 will be back on Wednesday!" I thought to myself "Wow, has it been 8 weeks already? Hmp."

I don't dislike her. She's an okay kid. Really pretty sweet actually. But I'm not close to her, either. She's just sort of here.

I feel like a jerk for feeling that way about a child that lives in my house full time.