Back on the rollercoaster

[HalfMissing]

I disagree. I think you have to take the high road and document that you are doing so. Otherwise, you are hurting yourself if this goes to court.

I am in the process of petitioning my ex to have mediation on a couple of issues. He played a similar game on Easter. He sent me an email on the Saturday before Easter informing me that he would not return the kids at the time we agreed because he was mad I supposedly didn't pack enough clothes for them over his spring break with them. (How do these idiots think they can ignore our visition agreements because of unrelated issues?!)

Anyway, I have his emails which show he agreed to a certain day and time and then did not follow it to "punish me". I am using this evidence to force mediation to explicitly specify exact times for each holiday. I have email showing that I have been more than generous allowing extra visitation times which makes me look good. If I was retaliating by not allowing visitation for him on some other day, I would look petty and would ruin my case.

I am also petitioning for mediation regarding my daughter's braces. He refuses to grant permission because he claims they are cosmetic and as he said in an email I "am too free spending" his money. He claims our daughter should wait for braces until she is an adult, when coincidentally he wouldn't have to pay. These emails along with letters from the dentist and orthodontist are going to be used to force mediation and probably the judge will eventually rule that she can get them and he has to pay. His little games make him look so immature that he will probably lose in court. Because the decree said he has to pay orthodontia costs, he is playing this little game and it is so frustrating. In this case, I don't even want his money; I just want a way to get my daughter braces.

MissH, my ex took me to court to get child support lowered right away too. He lost his job and got a much lower paying job and lied on his financial disclosures. The judge wouldn't hear my evidence that he had plenty of money to spend on frivolous items, was purposely underemployed, and could pay the support. He would only consider his new income level because of how bad the economy is. I understand how hard it is to move on when these little games they play suck us back in. We have to detach and not let it emotionally affect it the way it does.