My DH once told me that he believes he is a better parent as a single parent and I would tend to agree, although probably not for the same reasons. His is more of an issue with having to consult with someone else about his parenting decisions and actions, something he didn't have to do with his children before he married me, and I get this as I experienced it with my own father who "guilt" parented but never remarried so he never had to deal with blended family issues with his kids.

I swear just when you think things are getting better they don't. DH picked up SD Friday. I decided I was going to try my best to start this weekend off with an open mind - a preview of what it might be like to have SD for the summer.

When I first met 4yo SD I thought she was the sweetest, most adorable little thing, and she was "mommy starved" (BM chose to go off and "do her own thing" for over 6 months at a time during SD's early years), but I was single and childless then and up-front about the fact that I didn't date men with children, so DH and I remained platonic friends.

I need some advice on disengaging. I read the article on disengaging from a the link posted in someone's response to a separate blog (http://www.steptogether.org/disengaging.html), and while I DO think this will be helpful in my case, because it looks like this article was written based on a more "typical" situation (which makes sense for the masses), there are some important differences that I think makes my situation a little unique and therefore I'm seeking some additional advice.