I had my opinion on the custody schedule, but I decided to go to the expert first. My 10 year old daughter who has been living the 2-home life since she was a baby. My ex and I do not have 50/50 custody, but I asked her if me and her father split the week evenly how would she want it and what wouldn't she want. I left it pretty open ended to get an honest answer (of course I told her I was asking for a friend). She told me she would want a few nights at one house and a few nights at another and would NOT want to pop back an forth every other night. Completely unprompted she told me she would not at all want to split weekends. Definitely likes alternating. We split weekends once in a blue moon when one parent has a commitment.
You have a high schooler who may make his own decision. You have an 11 year old who is old enough to have input. We both know your H did not consider at all what was best for his kids, only what was best for him when making this schedule. Most 50/50 parenting plans I know do Friday night thru Monday day every other week, then one parent has Monday Tuesday and the other has Wednesday Thursday.
Your kids may not want to stay there over night. You might want to come up with a plan to tackle that one. They are older and they have seen his behavior, how he acts like a kid. They might be worried they won't get meals or get them to their activities..... I can almost guarantee they see you as the only source of security, and may not want to leave that. And I can't say I blame them one bit.
This might get ugly, but I really think you shouldn't worry about that. The only thing you should worry about is the kids. Because you are the only one who really has for many years. They are fortunate to have you.
