It's All My Husband's Fault

  It was becoming more and more obvious that something was wrong in The Ex's home, but the kids never said a word about any of it.  Like I said earlier, their grades were not the best; the teachers kept making notes in their report card about the kids needing more help at home, particularly Son.  Husband and I went to a parent-teacher conference and both teachers said they often had problems getting The Ex to sign permission slips or even have the kids complete their homework.  One teacher mentioned that she tried calling The Ex one day only to find that the number listed in the kids' school file was disconnected; if an emergency had come up, the school had no way to reach The Ex.   One day we took the kids back after Husband's visitation weekend; Son sat in the backseat with tears filling his eyes and said, "I don't want to go."  The Ex told Husband one day that she "didn't know what was wrong with [Daughter]."  The Ex said some days Daughter wo...

  Boyfriend is....I'm not really sure what the right word is.  Something about the guy has always seemed like he's not quite "right."  Even so, we tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.  After all, The Ex didn't really know me either but I was a big part of the kids' lives.  Ultimately, we felt that even if The Ex didn't like Husband or me, she was still the kids' mother and would only do what was best for them.  If Boyfriend wasn't a good person, surely she wouldn't stay with him...right?   Now let's remember that when The Ex told Husband that she was moving in with Boyfriend, Husband asked for Boyfriend's last name.  The Ex refused, saying that Husband "didn't need it" and that Husband was just going to look up Boyfriend online ( Our state has court records online for free ) and make things up about him.  After The Ex had already moved the kids in with Boyfriend and had been living there for a few months, she finall...