I sent an email shortly before Easter (Spring Break) to my ex-husband to confirm the exchange of our children.
Dear (insert ex-husbands name)

I will pick the kids up on Easter Sunday at 11:00am from your house.

They are with me from 11-5. We'll be home by 5:00pm so you can pick them up from my house.

You wife told Jacob that while the kids are with me on Easter to "eat very little at your Mother's, if at all, because we are having a big family dinner."

The kids are with me for 6 hours. We're going out to have Easter dinner. They're going to eat. 

Your wife couldn't possibly be serious with that statement, telling the kids how to spend their Easter with me, so I'm going to assume her instructions are a joke.



I will pick up the kids on Tuesday April 14th at 9:00am and Friday April 17th at 9:00am.

If you're not available to be with the kids on Monday the 13th or Thursday the 16th, due to work, let me know and I'll go get them till you get off work, so they're not home alone all day.

Terri
The last paragraph of the email above has to do with the next email that I had to send after finding out that my kids were left home alone at their Father's house on the Monday following Easter.
Dear (insert ex-husbands name),

I tried calling both kids on their cell phones this morning at 9:00am. I want to be sure that they are not home alone again today. What is the arrangement for the kids care today?

I was disappointed to find out that the kids were left home alone at your house on Monday, after emailing you on Wednesday April 8th with the following statement: "If you're not available to be with the kids on Monday the 13th or Thursday the 16th, due to work, let me know and I'll go get them till you get off work, so they're not home alone all day."

There is a a court order dated Oct 8th 2003, that states "When the children are not in school due to holiday breaks, 1/2 days, or summer vacation, and their Father is at work Monday-Friday from approximately 8:30am to 5:30pm, the children are to be with their Mother."

Although the court order states that if "YOU" can't be with them, they are to be with me, I can and will consent to you making other arrangements for a responsible adult to care for the kids while you're at work during your days with them.

I'm especially concerned about plans for their care this summer since you are no longer working from your home. My ultimate goal is that the children are not left home alone. I am available and at home every day, so there should be no reason ever for the children to be left at your house alone again.

I want to be clear on this issue. Let me know what your arrangements are for the care of the children during the summer so I can plan my schedule accordingly if needed.

Sincere Regards,
Terri

My kids told me that their Dad thought their stepmom took the day off from work Monday to be with the kids and that their stepmom thought that their Dad took to took the day off. (A total crock!)
Then the kids got text messages and phone calls all throughout the day from their Dad and their stepmom telling them that someone would be home soon, when actually both Dad and stepmom arrived home at 4:45pm. In my opinon the whole thing was a set up to keep my kids from being with me, something my ex and his wife have been trying to do for 7 years now, of which I've had to take him/them to court 3 different times to get court orders to clarify my shared physical custody of the children.
The kids were on lock down all that Monday at their Dad's. They couldn't go out nor have anyone over. This was the first day of their spring break. Had their Dad done what was right (and court ordered) they could have played with their friends over at my house and gone outside.
Now that I've cited the court order,  I will simply drive over to get my kids if they try to pull that crap again.
The situation is RIDICULOUS. And it is truly jeopardizing the children's relationship with their Father. They're not little kids anymore who can be lied to or bulleyed.