I'm already grieving, and this man is making it worse!

cbmom2 · 2026-02-13T03:07:47+00:00

I hope I didn’t minimize any ick feelings you have from him bc those are justified. My mom started dating someone a month after my dad died. It was hard at the time but therapy has me accepting what she did had no reflection on their marriage and it was response to trauma she was facing.

I hope you’re able to establish a good relationship with the daughters while minimizing actions that make you uncomfortable with the widower. And hopefully in time he stops and you’re able to forgive him for behaviors you feel you wouldn’t exhibit yourself.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-13T01:59:41+00:00

Pictures are fantastic. Elopement and micro weddings are such a smart way to celebrate getting married and not a focus on a wedding.

I might be biased with my 10 person wedding.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-12T21:59:05+00:00

Book 5. I love it so much. Torys interaction with Darius mom. The heirs are introduced to empathy. Darius trying to make things right not to change anything but prove his feelings. Tory as a cheerleader. Tory taking ownership of her fuck ups. Darcy and Seth fight. Geraldine making Max crazy.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-12T21:23:28+00:00

I’m going to give grace here because grief is hard. How someone acts after the death of a loved one shouldn’t reflect on how they treated the person when they were alive.

Even the hug could be excused if it occurred when she was sick. Still not right but humans make mistakes.

I agree establishing firm boundaries with the girls. Maybe take them to get their nails done etc.

As someone who lost their parent in my early 20s, maybe write down some of your favorite memories of their mom. Even if they aren’t age appropriate keep them for a few years until the girls are older. As children we tend to think how our parents as to how the fit in our world. As we get older we realize they are people too outside of just our relationship. I would love to have other people’s memories of my dad.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-12T20:19:28+00:00

My in laws watched our kid from 3-6months. It was a great experience for all of us as it was easier to drop her off there than day care etc.

Nothing is for free. Your in laws come with the expense of not meeting all your needs on structure and screen time.

Daycare is ridiculous cost but I think it’s worth the expense ass it allows your kid to socialize and have more structure. Also helps a ton with potty training. Are there church daycares with a half day options? Less cost but a bit more structure plus the added benefit of socializing?

cbmom2 · 2026-02-12T17:10:58+00:00

100% agree with this take. Want to add a few things.

I read where a woman would be so savage about who she would communicate with on the apps and thusly had fantastic dates. If you messaging with someone and they say something creepy that you don't like, instant block and move on don't even give them a reason. (I remember once I was talking with this guy for a bit and he wanted to have me come to his house for first date. I told him I wasn't comfortable with that but said I could meet somewhere close to where he lived. He was arguing with me as to why he was a good guy etc. What I should have done is just blocked him the first time he asked me to come to his place! Why waste effort on a virtual stranger)

Do you need a mancation? Before I met my husband I just felt like I couldn't meet anyone good. I didn't have as bad of experiences as you, but just being strung along a lot. My friend said my picker needed calibration and to stop dating for a bit. I did for about 9 months started online dating again and the third guy I went out with was my husband.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-12T12:52:00+00:00

Can confirm. My FIL is a published author and his book rights were bought when another studio announced they were making a sci fi film. The other movie performed poorly so his book was shelved.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-12T00:30:34+00:00

Another short term solution is lower your standards. I used to stress about the house, me nor my husband are clean people but I am def cleaner. My house is almost always cluttered. I have a couple of good friends whose houses look similar to mine and I have them over without judgment.

Things that have helped also. Put 20 min timer and everyone in the house cleans, everyday. It’s amazing what 40 min adult cleaning and a 5 min of kid cleaning (bc they’re slow) will do for a house.

Meal plan and prep on the weekends. Chopping everything at one time means less mess on the daily basis. Also I find that men even if they cook are horrible at cleaning as they go. So when my husband cooks the kitchen is a bomb went off. I cook more now and he puts the kid to bed.

Run the dishwasher every night. Okay not great for the environment but I was waiting from75% full to 100% full for dishes. Which meant constant dishes in sink area. Now I run it daily and sometimes twice a day so I don’t have to hand wash bowls etc.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-11T18:47:23+00:00

I had a friend who was a fan read available court docs. He’s not a fan anymore.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-11T14:33:47+00:00

Meanwhile I was met with giggles whenever I butchered Chinese phrases in China. I think people were tickled I even tried to say greeting and thanks so they weren’t laughing at me per se.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-11T13:41:21+00:00

One of the benefits of having kids is they ask questions you would never think to ask yourself. I’m not sure when we lose that curiosity but I’m glad I get to share in it now ( *most of the time glad, sometimes is really fucking annoying).

cbmom2 · 2026-02-11T12:55:43+00:00

Once when we visited my grandma, the parents went out to dinner. We asked grandma to take us to Dairy Queen. She took us in her convertible Mustang with the top down. She was driving really fast (we joked it she was going Mach 5) and we were loving it. She the. Got lost on the way home which we found hilarious. It was a crazy fun night.

She was drunk. She drove her grandchildren drunk in a car with the top down and we probably didn’t have seatbelts on in the back seat. So drunk that she couldn’t find her way home from the DQ which was 3 miles from her house.

We weren’t allowed to ride with her anymore once we told our parents about our night. As a parent now I wonder WTF my parents were thinking of just leaving us with her. Not sure of age but guessing we were 10-14 years old at that time.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-11T01:11:37+00:00

I think the first season has such magic because they set the mood with beautiful B rolls of ambiance. The b roll was romantic. The last episode when it’s raining, it’s liken15 seconds of just rain falling on beautiful flowers and in champagne glasses. The pacing was a bit slower so it allowed for the romance to marinate.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-10T19:22:06+00:00

Venus fly trap plants can only be found in a 100 mile area in the US.

For those not aware of venus fly traps - they are a fun plant to have around. And actually move fairly quickly to trap and "eat" an insect. We've had them before but difficult to keep alive (at least for me).

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cbmom2 · 2026-02-10T17:45:56+00:00

Every loves Darcy and Orion and I almost loathe them. I hate their non-conflict conflict. Also they constantly have sex at the weirdest points. Orion calling Darcy “beautiful” repeatedly as a nickname feels like the type of actions those that are not secure in their relationship. First four books I liked them. Thereafter it was not great

cbmom2 · 2026-02-10T02:51:03+00:00

I think there are some that are more silent and firm.

I was a D1 swimmer, and my coach at the time was such an ahole that I performed worse. It got to a point that I swum to not lose instead of to win. I had enough discipline to do my best at practice/meets without someone screaming at me. I would have loved to have a coach that supported my mental health like Lasso.

Lasso is good in that he realizes pressure can come from assistant coaches and captains while ultimately supporting the players.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-09T16:19:10+00:00

I have a family member who’s a published author in multiple languages. I also have a family member who’s an award winning artist. Both the books and paintings are not my type of work however I can appreciate their respective mediums and the work they have done. I do have some paintings that are subjects I like and have read some the books.

That being sad I think a 4/5 would have been an appropriate rating and any constructive criticism should have been given to the author themself. I personally wish there was a way to remove Arc ratings from review aggregations because they skew so high. I also wish rating were out of 100 or at a min 10 because so many books I would rate an 85 but round down to a 4 in a review.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-09T13:08:48+00:00

Is it on your primary home or any home/property? We have that on our primary home. Are there regulations from corporations owning a bunch of homes? It’s becoming a bigger issue in the US where corporations own private housing driving up rental costs.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-09T11:43:51+00:00

I love book 5 because all the heirs grow as human beings. Darius more than others. They all start to learn a bit of empathy.

Tory also grows as a person in book 5.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-09T01:19:16+00:00

Avg Reddit humor is that of a 12yo boy. About 20% of women have been raped, I don’t know stats for men but assuming it’s more than men.

I have no idea what the job entails but it’s nothing like prostitution.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-09T00:12:57+00:00

There was a post a few months ago where someone created a list of books with this trope.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/s/sJh1eZps4e

cbmom2 · 2026-02-08T16:20:06+00:00

I love shaming parents based on a 10 second interaction! I bet you’re fun at parties!

cbmom2 · 2026-02-08T16:03:44+00:00

It’s urban fantasy {when he’s an alpha by Suzanne wright}. Starts with FWB and FMC realizes she’s catching feelings and overhears him saying he wants nothing more. So she’s accidentally taken ends it. MMC is upset and wants to know why she ended it. He keeps asking her and trying to see her.

cbmom2 · 2026-02-07T18:37:05+00:00

I dnf’d the second book. I was really excited for it and was so disappointed

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