Sorry to hear that your kids have been doing it hard - but it sure sounds like they hit the jackpot with their mom, though.
Your advice seems so spot-on - and your h sounds just like mine: "a petulant and self-absorbed teenager" indeed!
I took your advice about not being responsible for his relationship with our kids any more by not pressuring him about Easter.
He rang and asked me what the plans were, but I just said "Well, we're having our traditional hot X bun breakfast on Friday and egg hunt on Sun".
He said he'd be too busy working, so I left it at that. All nice and upbeat and no pressure (I've recently told him I'm moving on with my life).
The kids were very disappointed that he wasn't coming over, and it crossed my mind in a moment of weakness and sadness to get them to ring him on Friday morning to ask him to come for breakfast, but I realised this would be self-defeating.
So, just as we are about to sit down to our hot X buns, H rings and asks if he can come over.
He arrives and looks as if he's been crying all night (puffy, bloodshot eyes).
He's as nice as pie, accepts a coffee and a bun (usually won't eat or drink anything I offer), and hands over a big bag of easter eggs (each type in a multiple of 3, i.e. one of everything for me and the kids).
Now, unfortunately, they are from the most exclusive chocolate shop in town - and would have cost over $100 in total.
In the past, H and I have always given each other one of these 'special' eggs, but not the kids (they get standard choc eggs). Today, the kids and I got 5 of these eggs each.
In our current financial circumstance - where H says we can no longer pay the mortgage and I don't have money for school shoes for the kids, let alone their school fees, this seems like madness.
