My household stays in limbo alot, I have a 13 yr old and 6 yr old girls from my first marriage and my AH & I have a 4 yr old son. We now live in my hometown, unfortunatly my ex lives in the same town. The ex has been difficult to say the least about visitation issues and has caused all kinds of conflicts in that area. My 13 yr old bounces between having a good relationship with her stepfather to, when shes around her dad any length of time, not liking him at all. At our house everyone is expected to help out, down to the 4 yr yr old, the 13 yr old hates her chores, as any typical teen does and has called her stepdad a "drill sargent" on several occassions. I must say though my hubby doesn't ask anyone of anything that he isn't willing to do himself, he is a controlling type and a bit of a perfectionist (seems like they all are). I find we all get along alot better when we respect each other, be open to each others needs and communicate. Still, there are always problems but they seem alot less intense after we talk it out. However it's different for every family and every situation. You can only do what you can do, what you can't let the HP take care of. Hugs, Teggie