I see I am a little late to the party, but here is my two cents anyway!
My husband and I both had practice marriages that produced fabulous children. We did start slow, he and I dated for a few months and when we decided that it was turning serious, we started to introduce eachother to our children. I would meet him and his kids when my kids were with their dad and he would meet my kids when his were with their mom. Once that was going well, we would meet with all the kids at a McDonald's and have dinner, the kids would play for a while and got to know eachother. Once he and I moved in together, it was shared weekends and at times the stress level would rise. He and I have different parenting styles but we bring out the best in eachother, and after communicating, we present a united front to all of the children. Our kids range from 6 to 14, they all get along most of the time and what we do for one, we do for the others. We try to do one on one time with each of them, picking them up on a day they aren't with us and taking them for ice cream or some other little treat. It isn't perfect but it has made things easier and while we aren't totally blended (if that is even possible) we do feel good about the way things are working. The kids like eachother and they all like to be here. We have taken a couple of trips (driving, all of us) and we have some great pictures and some great memories. It just takes a committment to seeing things work and communication between the adults. Good Luck to you!
My husband and I both had practice marriages that produced fabulous children. We did start slow, he and I dated for a few months and when we decided that it was turning serious, we started to introduce eachother to our children. I would meet him and his kids when my kids were with their dad and he would meet my kids when his were with their mom. Once that was going well, we would meet with all the kids at a McDonald's and have dinner, the kids would play for a while and got to know eachother. Once he and I moved in together, it was shared weekends and at times the stress level would rise. He and I have different parenting styles but we bring out the best in eachother, and after communicating, we present a united front to all of the children. Our kids range from 6 to 14, they all get along most of the time and what we do for one, we do for the others. We try to do one on one time with each of them, picking them up on a day they aren't with us and taking them for ice cream or some other little treat. It isn't perfect but it has made things easier and while we aren't totally blended (if that is even possible) we do feel good about the way things are working. The kids like eachother and they all like to be here. We have taken a couple of trips (driving, all of us) and we have some great pictures and some great memories. It just takes a committment to seeing things work and communication between the adults. Good Luck to you!