Compromise...

So, it's been a while since I've updated anything, but it's been a busy time for the kids and I.  I've starting dating again 'YIKES!', and the kids have been trying to adjust to their new home and new school district.  I think they like the house just fine, and they've been enjoying exploring around town on their own, but the new school, not so much.

 Jaide put a brave face on and told me all about how she had met several of her old friends there and that she was ok, but then she quit doing all the things she loved, like going to the farm with me on Sunday mornings, or even for the hour or so I go in the evenings.  She didn't even seem to really want to go for her riding lesson on Thursday, either.  Big red flags from a kid who never wanted to leave the barn before.

Then there was AJ, who cried non-stop, and started fighting me on everything.  We fought to go to bed; we fought to get up in the morning.  We fought about going to school, doing homework, getting a bath, just about everything. 

Every single day became a fight, and by the end of the first week of school, I was in tears.  This was just not working.  I couldn't think what to do; all I could see was that my children were so miserably unhappy, and I was the cause by forcing them into a new school.  They could go back and live with their dad, but I didn't want to be a weekend parent.  Finally, out of desperation, I texted a friend, hoping he would understand.  Thankfully, he did, and talked me through to a solution that I thought could work for us.

So, phone calls to Art, and discussion with Art and his new girlfriend, and we've got it all worked out.  The kids will be using Art's address and going back to Greenwood.  From now on, Art and I will share custody of the children.  He will have them a week, and then I will have them a week, so we both get time to ourselves, but we both have plenty of time with the kids, too.

It's not officially started yet; the kids will have one more week in Newport, but after this, they will be back at Greenwood.  I'm really hoping this all works out ok.  The kids already seem happier.  So, everyone, fingers crossed for us, that this turns out to be a good, working solution to the hell that was the first week of school at Newport.