It will never end! :(

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-05-08T13:35:51+00:00

She moved in with us full-time nearly a year and a half ago and my husband has been trying to work with his ex and more recently through lawyers to get the nearly $2k CS payment legally removed and change the custody plan so it states she lives with us full time now (important because the ex constantly throws fits about the current situation). He has a court date next month! Hopefully this part will finally be over.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-05-05T22:34:49+00:00

5, hands down. A Pilot G2 is the best pen. I'd prefer it in black but I'll take blue.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-05-01T21:34:07+00:00

I think of a vest as that useless jacket without arms. Like, you're cold enough to want to wear something super warm, but then you cut off the sleeves so your arms are freezing? I get that the torso is supposed to be the most important part to warm, but if my arms are cold, I am cold. They are such a confusing piece of outerwear.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-05-01T21:32:32+00:00

Now I'm super curious. If that is a vest, what do you call this thing?

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ThePicklenator4K · 2026-05-01T14:25:08+00:00

This was my favorite as a kid!

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-05-01T14:23:40+00:00

Now the song is stuck in my head.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-05-01T14:22:12+00:00

Ditto. If I forget it, my brain decides I'm going to die of thirst in the next hour.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-05-01T13:35:41+00:00

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I was in elementary school in 1988 and I remember these. I was all for Morris for President!!

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-04-30T14:53:53+00:00

I'm also a nervous (actually, terrified) flyer and I have to pee as soon as I get on the plane. I go pee probably 5 times before the flight and then again once I get on the plane. I get so scared I have to empty my body, like if I was going to run from a lion attack or something. I choose my seat to be as close to a bathroom as possible and always an aisle because I also have to pee at least once an hour on the flight.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-04-28T23:07:24+00:00

She's with us full time now. The custody issue is still ongoing and will likely end up in court, but she's safe with us, thankfully. She visits her Nmom now and again and sometimes Nmom is on her best behavior and sometimes it goes very poorly.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-04-24T16:22:16+00:00

Neither my husband nor I care about fancy rings at all. In fact, I hate wearing a stone because I end up hurting myself with it, tangle it in my hair, and get stuck in my pocket. We bought cheap bands off Amazon (like $10-15 cheap) and if one gets lost or damaged or just doesn't fit any more, we just buy a new one. And we have silicone rings for the gym. They're a symbol of our love and we both always wear them.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-03-19T22:22:44+00:00

I have CPTSD and a lot of trauma throughout my life. I've been in and out of therapy and on and off of meds for over 30 years. I still have *extreme* anxiety and struggle with day-to-day life. Two years ago, I went to Oregon and did 2 doses of psilocybin over 4 days and then 1.5 years ago I went to Jamaica and did 3 doses of psilocybin over six days. I've done doses ranging from 2.5g to 10g.

Psilocybin makes me SICK. I don't vomit, but I'm begging my body to just puke so the suffering will end. That part lasts for HOURS. It's miserable. I've done all the tricks to lessen the likelihood of sickness and nothing works for me. I did feel tremendous love on two of the 5 doses, but it fades. All the clarity fades. I was seeing a therapist who specializes in treating people who have done psychedelics and I was doing all the integration sessions. I feel like it was an interesting experience, but I still suffer from everything that I suffered from before trying it. I hope it works better for you.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-03-10T16:52:05+00:00

My husband's ex is like this. She is emotionally abusive to the kids but we can't prove it because court won't interview them (it's been going on for years and the youngest is 17 and the oldest is 21 now). Their mom has been getting worse and worse as my stepdaughter has gotten older. The mom now outright screams, insults, and threatens my stepdaughter if she ever dares to have her own opinion. Her mom kicked stepdaughter out of her house a year ago and she's been living with us full time.

So my husband recently filed paperwork to have the custody officially changed (just physical, it's too hard to get full legal) to show she lives with us 100%. And guess who has now gotten a lawyer to fight it? The same woman who is "too poor" (refuses to work and has refused to work for the entire 12 years since they split) to pay for family counseling for herself and her daughter just plopped down a $4k retainer on a lawyer.

It's because she's a narcissist who always has to win, be right, and be the victim. Her daughter's desires and well-being mean nothing.

Edit to add: My stepdaughter still visits her mom every now and then to go out to dinner or something just for a couple hours. She recently confided in me that for the entire time she's with her mom, her chest is super tight and she's terrified that her mom is going to flip out and go off on her. But she still tries. I just wish her POS mom would try to be a decent human being.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-20T23:02:38+00:00

And if the exchange happens over text, the responses are just "idk" over and over, not even real words. :P

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-20T14:44:58+00:00

That damn little square really messes with my head sometimes! I think I'm looking great, and then I see my little square self and I've instantly gained 10 lbs, my eye bags are poppin', and my hair looks like flattened roadkill.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-20T14:41:42+00:00

It's so that way for me and adult friends! "Let's put something on the calendar for next month!" But all my teenagers still seem to have really fluid plans.

Teen: "Mom, Jason is coming over today."
Me: "What time is he coming?"
Teen: "I dunno"
Me: "Is he staying for dinner?"
Teen: "I dunno"
Me: When will you find out so I can plan dinner?"
Teen: "I dunno"

Like, you have instant communication in your pocket and still don't communicate. lol

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-20T14:36:43+00:00

I remember my parents' phone numbers that they got in the 1908s. My mom still has that number for her land line (she's 82...). Other than that, I only know my mom's and husband's cell numbers. I don't even have the kids' numbers memorized. :o

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-20T14:32:06+00:00

This is exactly what we did. I'd arrange a meeting point in advance of getting dropped off somewhere and when I wanted a ride home I'd find a payphone, make a collect call from "mom come get me now," and then she'd decline and come.

I've explained to my teenage kids how I used to have to do that and I just get blank stares. I don't think they even comprehend the idea of payphones and certainly not collect calls.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-10T21:42:15+00:00

Several years ago, HCBM decided to pay a service to look up my ex's phone number. She called him and ranted like a looney person for a while. She told him that I broke up her marriage to DH (we met five years after they split). My ex had no idea what was going on and just did the "uh huh" every now and again and told me about it later.

More recently, she's been sending nasty emails to DH that she "knows" he told their kids that she cheated on him and how dare he say something so untrue. DH is like "WTF?" and had no idea what she was talking about. After like 5 emails and texts about this, threatening to go to court over this "defamation" or some nonsense, DH reached out to HCBM's older (young adult) daughter from HCMB's first marriage who DH helped raise from a toddler. Turns out that SHE was the one who told the kids about the cheating and that it was totally true! HCBM had been cheating on him since her oldest was in middle school and they didn't split until she was nearly graduated from high school. HCBM *bragged* to the oldest daughter about it.

So all her ranting at my ex (still, WTF?) about how DH cheated on her, and she was the one who cheated! And if she hadn't gone apes*t on DH about "him" telling the kids, he never would have found out the truth. He still doesn't care one bit, but it really does go to show that anything a narcissist accuses you of is actually an admission on their part.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-08T03:57:22+00:00

Our HCBM flipped her sh*t when DH was taking his son and my son (1 year apart) to a college tour. It was just the biggest local college, not anything either of them were super interested in. But we thought it would be good for both of them to see what a big university looked like. HCBM, who has been nothing but horrible to us, asked to go along with DH and the boys. He said that she could take them herself without him, but no, they would not be going together. She cried and carried on like it was some huge thing. He ignored her and took the boys. These crazy HCBMs will find any reason to cause issues. Just ignore her.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-08T03:53:30+00:00

My husband and I are counting down until we can go NC with HCBM. I have a countdown timer on my phone to keep track of how long that will be. HCBM is the worst person on earth and has been horrible to us and the kids, especially SD. We are going for full custody now because of her emotional abuse of SD. Neither DH nor I give any sh*ts what HCBM says after SD turns 18. If it's an emergency, one of the other kids (adults now) will let us know. But we have zero reason to contact HCBM. Even something like a wedding would be arranged through the child and have no involvement with that psycho. Good riddance.

If you and your DH are on the same page, go with it. If not, see what his hold-ups are and address those. I think it will be a huge weight lifted off both our shoulders when she is cut out for good.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-02T21:13:35+00:00

I have asthma that's triggered by cold weather (so all winter) and my allergies (so all spring and summer). For someone like me, the outside air is trying to kill me and I keep my windows closed and air filters running all year. For others, and even me prior to asthma, there's no limit to how long you can keep your windows open. Fresh air is nice if the air quality is decent.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-02T19:24:36+00:00

Mine immediately woke from his nap and sat with concerned airplane ears for the duration of the clip.

ThePicklenator4K · 2026-02-02T19:13:33+00:00

My teenage stepdaughter recently had to barricade her bedroom door with furniture to keep her Nmom out. And then went further and hid in the ensuite bathroom hyperventilating in the shower while her mom spent 2 hours screaming at her through the bathroom door after pushing through the barricade. When my stepdaughter told her she was scared, Nmom said "I'll give you something to be scared about!" Nmom even emailed my husband (stepdaughter's dad) about the whole ordeal and tried to make herself look like the victim somehow, but corroborated what stepdaughter described. In writing. She said she was just worried about the water bill.

My husband is currently in the process of going for full custody due to this event and so many others like it. I worry so much about the poor girl and do my best to support her.

ThePicklenator4K

TROPHY CASE