After just two weeks of seeing each other romantically and spending a fabulous love filled weekend Bette and Tina had all the affirmation they needed to make the decision to move in together, but it wasn’t just about them as a couple they also had to adjust to living together as a family. They’d only done that for the first six months of Angie’s life. She was a baby so she didn’t have any say back then but now it would be totally different. She had grown up having her mom’s to herself and the moms had autonomy in making decisions for her when she was with each of them.

They agreed on certain basic principles and values in raising their daughter but they hadn’t found it necessary to consult on every little thing. Since Tina had Angie Monday through Wednesday their life mostly consisted of work, school and home with very little time for play. Bette on the other hand had the weekends, and shared school holidays and vacations with Angie which left more leisure time so she may be perceived as the “fun” mom.

Angie was expected to keep her bedroom and bathroom clean at both homes but with Tina she was asked to help with dinner whereas Bette didn’t cook as much so there were more quick meals and take out. Since most of the housework was done on weekends Angie did more household chores at Bette’s than she did at Tina’s. Now they would need to balance the daily and weekend chores between the three of them.

***

Bette and Tina didn’t see eye to eye on everything and one bone of contention between them in the early years had been the selection of a preschool for Angelica. Tina was being practical and accused Bette of being a bit elitist. She had selected a preschool that had a good reputation and was close to home. Bette didn’t consider convenience as a factor she just wanted Angie to have the best education ‘period’.

Had Tina not won that argument Angie would have attended preschool with Diane Keaton’s kids and endured a four hour daily commute to say nothing of the $18,000 tuition? Crayons and Play do won over Ivy League education, but Bette had more than made up for it by exposing Angie to the world of art and culture.