We have a custody schedule / This divorce is almost final

Yes, it's been a while since I posted. I apologize to my millions of fans. So sorry to keep you on the edge of your seat. :)

We had our last mediation session yesterday, and we've got a schedule. I kind of hate it. But our mediator sees it as the best option, so I will trust her instinct.

For those interested, it's called a 2-2-3 schedule and works as follows:

We have the girls every other weekend, from Friday at 5:30. When I have them, they spend that whole weekend with me. When he has them, they return to me Sunday at 5:30. So it's not quite 50/50, but it's good for the girls to only have 48 hours away from me (he wanted them to spend Sundays overnight too, but our mediator sided with me on that).

What concerned me about the typical every other weekend schedule is that the kids usually go 5 days in a row without the either parent, and we all agreed that was not good for them.

So during the week we'll alternate in 2-day chunks. If I have them for a weekend, he will then have them the following Monday and Tuesday (then I'll have them Wednesday and Thursday). The next week, we switch.

Make sense? Good. Your input is valuable. ;)

Anyway, here's the kicker:

Ex has been such a bully (our mediator's words), control freak, angry, obsessive, cruel, inappropriate and borderline psychotic person this past year, and I have a lot of evidence to back it up.

So the mediator decided that we will go by this schedule -- which allows ex more time and lessens his child support obligation to practically nothing -- but we'll start with a 6-month probationary period.

He will have to keep his anger and hostile emails/texts in check; cooperate with the children's activities; provide for seamless transitions without talking about adult manners in front of the kids; and co-parent in an efficient manner.

I'll document, and in 6 months, if things don't work, we'll reconvene. Here's to hoping he cools his jets, and the girls handle the schedule well. Oh, and that this mommy doesn't slowly die from heartbreak. :(

I have more to say about my thoughts on this schedule, but this post is getting long and I have important web surfing to do. So I'll leave you, my devoted readers, with the following meme, which is one of my many enduring themes this past year, and one we should all live by.



And now for something that cracks me up. If you've ever watched Arrested Development, you'll definitely appreciate this. If not, get ye to Netflix and do it immediately.