Mike and Nicole’s OPP: Tired of the Lies

Dear Mike and Nicole,

My ex-wife and I were officially divorced just before the holidays. We have a 4-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl that we share joint custody over. When the kids are with me, I try to make our time as normal as possible, but also keep it fun and make some nice memories. I feel like our time together is less than the average family because of having to split the time with their mom, therefore, I want to do as much as we can together.

I don't spend a lot of money on the outings we typically do, but I did recently take them to California for a family reunion and we went to Disneyland while we were there. Most of the other things we do are camping, fishing, kids play places, and movie dates, nothing over the top.

I'm hearing from mutual friends that she is telling everyone that I am a "Disneyland dad" that just tries to buy their love and affection with the sole purpose of making her look like a bad mom. They've shown me her social media posts where she says these lies and I'm really worried that my kids are going to hear it.

What can I do to make sure that my kids don't get stuck in the middle of this and clear my name? I love my kids and like I said before, our time means everything to me, I don't ever want them to see me in a bad light. I know that when they get older they will see the truth, but what about the important years in between?

Thank you.