AceShowbiz - LeAnn Rimes has come under fire for referring to her boyfriend Eddie Cibrian's children as her "boys", insisting she is not trying to take the place of the kids' real mother. The country singer/actress has been dating former "CSI: Miami" star Cibrian since 2009, when they came clean about their affair and split from their respective spouses.

Rimes has been spending time with Cibrian's two sons with his estranged wife Brandi Glanville, Mason, seven, and Jake, three, and has been telling fans all about the fun she's having playing happy families on her Twitter.com blog. But she faced criticism from one fan after the star referred to the kids as "my boys".

The disgruntled follower sent Rimes a message reading: "Please remember those 'boys' have a mother. It seems you don't give credit to that. Hapnd (happened) to me, not a good feeling." But Rimes was left fuming by the accusation and shot back her own catty response.

Replying to the post on her blog page, she wrote, "I do, but it doesn't mean I can't share our happiness. Please remember I'm a part of their lives too. Seems people don't give credit to that."

Cibrian is currently in the process of divorcing Glanville after falling for Rimes while shooting TV movie "Northern Lights". Rimes subsequently split from her husband, dancer Dean Sheremet, and the actor recently moved into her Los Angeles home.