Hi mom's out there. I am a wife to an amazing dad and we have been married for 5 years. My relationship with my step kids are very rocky as they want mom and dad back together even though we now have 3children together. Kids will be kids. His oldest daughter has recently turned 13 and we have not seen her since last summer they live in CO and we live in AZ. I am headed out of town with my 3 kids to TX to visit the grandparents. My hubby wants to see his children for the summer and would like to fly them here. Looking at plane tickets they are pricey and we wouldn't be able to afford it. His daughter has a lot of anger with him right now so I would think this would be a time where him and her could bond while I am gone and iron out any issues. He also thinks this would be good as well. His daughter even after 5 years still blames him for getting remarried and not seeing them as much. Also, for not calling as much but when he does call she just has an attitude so he opts out so he wont make her mad. She never wants to talk to him on the phone when he does call and always says she is tired. So I am hoping with me gone they can bond and get their relationship back on track as she needs her daddys love.
So here is the dilemma. Do you know of any promo codes for Southwest that I could use to help save some money and be able to afford this trip for the kids to come stay the whole summer. I know it would mean a great deal to him and her if I do this. His son is up for whatever they have a good relationship. I want to reunite this family and hope I can but we can only do this if we save money. Please any advice or help would be great. Southwest has a deal for 59 bucks each way but with too kids that is still out of my budget. He is in car sales so we are limited and playing catch up on our bills. Thanks for any advice or input.
I hope I can make this happen as it would be the best father's day gift I could give him and his children.
Thanks for all the advice, I am not spending any money to fly to TX with the babies. My dad wrks for AA so me and the grandkids fly for free standby. Then my parents are paying for everything else me and the kids should need during our stay. There is a divorce agreement that neither my hubby or his exwife follow as this is neither one of their priority but thats another issue. We will plan on them coming the 13th but will have to wait and see.No I do not feel selfish and my hubby doesn't either. So if we think this is best and my hubby is fine that is all that matters.
i think spending the $s on airfare to have his children with them is more important than spending the $s on you and 3 kids going to see grandparents. He could still bond with his kids with you and the other kids at the home as well. It sounds to me that you are being a bit selfish.
$59 each way is a deal and Southwest doesn't charge for baggage. You really need to find the money and have hubby bond with his kids. After looking at some of your past posts his daughter must be very upset: her mom took off or whatever and he has three new children that he sees everyday! Not seeing my kids for a year would motivate me a whole lot to sell some more cars.
Regardless of her moods, he needs to keep reaching out to his daughter. She is angry with him for leaving and now she feels replaced. Justified or not she does. She's a child. I am trying to understand why he hasn't gone to visit during the year? I understand the expense of it but when you move out of state and away from your minor children, adjustments should be made. I love Southwest!! We fly that anytime we can!! Since United and Continential merged the service has gotten crappy and the fees go up up and up. Find the money. He needs to see the kids and they most definitely need to see him. If you can't get the money for two tickets, buy him one!
What if he flew to them?
Does he has any family/friends he could stay with?
Just a random thought.
:)
Be careful with airfare: the $59 fare from Southwest is unfortunately NOT INCLUDING the additional fees for unaccompanied minors. SW flies bags for free but they still charge ($50 each way, I think) for unaccompanied minors. Ridiculous, in my opinion, but that's a rant for another time!
I think you should look seriously at Lesley's suggestion to have your husband fly out to them when you and your 3 kids are in TX. It might actually be smoother that way....taking a teenage girl outside of her comfort/safety zone (i.e., her home) to deal with something that is emotionally charged for her might just be a recipe for disaster. She may be more open to working to build a relationship with her dad if he comes to her and meets "on her turf".
And I disagree and take issue with the mom who called you selfish. A note to her and others who would post similar things: The role of mom and wife is hard enough without us laying judgement and guilt on each other. What works well for one family may not work well for every family.
Have a garage sale, sell something on Craig's list. That is a great deal for flights. Don't pass it up! And I don't think you are being selfish. In fact I think that it is great you want your husband to have a relationship with his daughter. Maybe after this, you can slowly try to have a relationship with her too...
$59 each way is a deal. The two of you really need to find a way to have his kids visit. Keeping in contact is so valuable to their relationship. (Does he not have a divorce agreement that specifies this?)
We flew my two stepkids almost once a month between Chicago and Minneapolis for years. We couldn't "afford it" either. Between airfare, child support, lawyer fees and court costs just to not lose visitation time, we ended up with a second mortgage. And, we maintained the relationship between the kids and their father. Worth it!
We use Southwest a lot for our business travel and if you can lock in $59 each way DO IT. You won't get it cheaper and they don't have baggage fees.
My hubby flies them so much we get the freebie tickets about once every 6-8 weeks. We are using those to go on a trip this summer as a family.
If you can't afford $59 each way with the children, then buy 1 ticket for him to go see his children
Have you checked allegient air? It flys into Mesa and is really cheap although it doesn't fly everywhere but definately worth a look. Good Luck!
Lesley has a good suggestion!
$59 each way is probably the best you'll ever get. You could see what airlines fly in/out of the CO airport to yours and try kayak or such??
Maybe you can pay one way and their mom can pay the way home?
