I'd suggest having it at home also. Once you get started on these toddler parties, you end up being invited to every one and you have to buy a present too. It gets expensive very quickly. Could you possibly temporarily remove furniture from maybe the living room, dining room or child's bedroom to make more room? I think an indoor camping theme might be fun (without the sleepover). You could make tents out of sheets and blankets and have the kids play in there. Any other theme you might have going, like bugs or Elmo could be worked into it too. You could have hot chocolate and other appropriate foods. Fake foliage and stuffed animals could be used to dress up the area. I'm suggesting this because someone gave my two boys a play tent for Christmas and they love it. They'll take toys in there sometimes and play instead of running around the house. Have fun with whatever you do.

I DO love the birthday groups and the lotto blocks. The first year in a birthday group I used my blocks to make a Linus Project quilt that ended up getting me a free pass to Disney World for a day. Better yet, I hope it brought comfort and joy to a child. I know others have also used their birthday or lotto blocks for donation quilts, so even if you don't want them for yourself, there are plenty of good things to do with them! Skill level doesn't matter - its just fun to participate. :~)) Kate

Where is her mother? Why does dad have sole custody? If HE is the better parent, and he isn't willing to see or deal with her problems, then it becomes easy to see why she HAS the problems she has. Poor kid has been dealt a raw deal in the parents category. You have two choices: Stay & allow your kids to suffer along with you. You can try to make a difference in her life but there's no guarantee that you can get through to her. She has a lifetime of whatever happened in her 17 years to bring her to this point. She is angry & self destructive and neither of her parents gives a crap enough to do a thing. If they don't care, unless she WANTS your help, nothing you do will be well received. Meanwhile, your kids & her sister will learn from her example. Good luck when your kids are older. There's a good chance your kids will become resentful if you force them to be in a bad situation. They may lose respect for you for staying & I don't know how any of you can currently have any respect for your DH. Some guys stick their head in the sand... your DH is completely buried! His daughter is cutting, sabotaging her diabetes, is rude, committing crimes, and has problems in school. "she is always creating some kind of drama, and it keeps going up a notch -- probably to get attention." YA THINK???? "My husband did nothing." Sylvia is right... there ya go! It will continue to go up, notch after notch because her parent's don't give a crap! She is trying to get attention & if her dad doesn't step up, she will get her final attention in a funeral where everyone will ask why did this happen to such a young person? Then her dad will have to answer questions, like WHAT DID YOU DO TO HELP HER? Is he going to feel guilty the rest of his life when her life ends or is so screwed up because of him not doing anything now? That will be fun for you! Your second choice it to leave & save your own children from suffering through your husbands baggage. It is not fair to drag your kids into this situation & it probably wasn't the wisest decision to have a child with a man that isn't a very good parent to one of his existing children. What a mess & I feel very sorry for the younger children that don't have a choice in witnessing this mess.

My mom had one brother and two sisters. Aunt Bertie was born after the picture was taken. She was mentally slow in some ways but had an amazing memory and a fascination with numbers. My mom had a stroke when she was 48 and died of a heart attack at age 59. I am sad my children didn't get to know her. Thanks for all your kind responses.....I really appreciate your support!