[PornoDoggy]

I can relate - big time. Tried for 18 months at the longest (1st marriage); 2nd marriage STILL tried for a year.

My personal experience and observation is that a) ex-lovers make lousy roommates (been there, done that, got so pissed off I tore up that t-shirt), and b) staying together for the sake of the children just fucks up the kids and the adults over a longer period of time than an amicable (or even not-so-amicable) disolution of a failed relationship will.

I can relate to sticking around in order to see your kids but you lost me when you started talking about toys. I think they'd rather have love, and there are far better ways of showing it. There are one hell of a lot of things more important in the development of a child than "a couple toys a week that are new" - like time spent with them, reading to/with them, just TALKING to them, etc. Happy parents make better parents. Kids pick up on tension and unhappiness far better than the typical adults' ability to act happy when they aren't.