SweetDreams
29-12-2005, 14:26
Ongoing saga with the inlaws but my family drive me just as batty. Was going to put it in one post but it is way too long so I have separated the insanity!
My Family
I swear my DM has some sort of problem wherein she acts like a child and seems to think like a child if she is thwarted or not allowed to do what she wants.
My DB and DM arrived at around 3am Christmas morning (to my DH's dismay!) after driving the 7 hours to get here. Unpacked the car and started organising to go to bed. My DM had bought some sort of pie and chip combo from goodness knows where along the drive and when I walked into the kitchen was about to feed it to our dog! I said please don't give him that as he will faeces all over the house and we will have to clean it up (he has been taken to vet numerous times for problems with stomach so we monitor food very carefully). You'd think that would be the end of it wouldn't you? The next day I hear the dog attacking our smaller cat (still a baby) and I come running into the kitchen. Now I have to admit my tolerance levels are pretty low right now but to turn the corner and see my DM with that blasted 1/2 pie and chips trying to give it to the dog after I specifically asked her not to and then the dog attacking the cat because DM unwittingly was about to feed it to the dog where the older cat eats (and the younger one eats her dry food) I hit the roof and pretty much yelled "I TOLD YOU NOT TO GIVE THAT TO HIM". I picked up the dog and put him outside and said "Now HE is in trouble" (for attacking the cat). Well I walked away and my DM stormed down the backstairs.
Knowing what that means and not being in a particularly friendly frame of mind to deal with it I asked DH if he would mind going down and seeing what was going on. He goes and doesn't come back for a while so I go downstairs and my DM is lying on her back on the concrete ground (garage) CRYING (????) saying I had no right to talk to her like that (well, okay I shouldn't have yelled but I didn't realise that I would have to repeat myself when the 1st time I was very clear!!). DH was making sympathetic noises. I went in and apologised (for yelling - not for what I said) and things blew over. I later heard my DF said to DM that her only mistake was letting me SEE her trying to feed the food to the dog. :mad:
My DM doesn't know how to visit. She told us our house was a mess etc etc etc (her house is TERRIBLE and she has been told that my child will not go there for that specific reason so you'd think she'd want to do something about it? No.). So in the interests of not causing an argument she did the washing and meandered around the house cutting limbs off trees. It would be nice if she would sit down and have a cup of tea and a chat with me sometimes but it never happens (too much to do in "this pigsty"!).
My DB hogged the television (my DH's retreat so then my DH and I were "fighting" for the computer (escapism!)).
DH was running late for work one night and couldn't locate his mobile so my DB lent his mobile to him to ring to find it. Unfortunately my brother has my DH's name listed as Firstname Smackhead (eg if DH's name was Bob the name that came up when ringing was "Bob Smackhead"). DH was not impressed but didn't say anything until they left.
A couple of my mother's what the moments. I wasn't there when this one happened but apparently DH went and sat down with DM who was watching a movie (between wash cycles) to be social. My DM says out of the blue with no relation whatsoever to the movie, "Isn't it funny how dogs sniff the holes they dig?". DH was like, uh yeah.
The other one that I was there for was when we were sitting in the lounge room watching some crap on TV (I was mostly reading) my DM pipes up to DH and says "What would you do if SD(me) left you and took the baby?". WHAT THE?!!!!!!!! My DM likes stirring trouble and if that wasn't a loaded question I don't know what is! DH refused to answer and I said that I didn't think it was appropriate and the subject was dropped.
The day before they left I went into earnest unpack/move mode as I knew that my DB was going home and I would need him to help DH move cupboards etc out of the baby-to-be's room so I could put in bookshelves and what not (our books are stacked on the floor). I asked my DB if he would shift the heavy stuff off the top of the cupboard so it could be moved outside. This particular cupboard isn't heavy and was 90% empty so I was pretty certain it would be easy to pull along the carpet and out onto the front in preparation for being stored. He started to sulk (all he was doing was what he'd been doing the whole time - watching TV!) so I grabbed a chair out of the study and took it into the room to get the stuff off myself. He gets up when he sees this and pulls the stuff off the top of the cupboard and starts throwing it onto the bed (computers and computer parts!!!). Which is where the stuff stayed until they left. He then stomped off and I started dragging the cupboard to the door of the room. Unfortunately it hit the wall as I was pulling it through the door and my mother started shrieking (at DB) "Do you want her to miscarriage?!!!" and then me, "Do you want to miscarriage?!!!". My DB gets up and none-too-gently drags the cupboard out the front door.
The smaller cat (which we got from my DM) has this bad habit of getting on counters and ripping open the bread. Not quite sure why as she doesn't appear to eat the bread - I think she just plays with the packaging. So she did this one night and DH brought it out (DM was there also) and said about it. I said okay just throw it out.
My DM was already sulking about this cat because it kept running away from her (my mother tries to smother/control everything whereas I like to give leeway to be independent - ie, if the cat is growling and squirming that's a fair indication it doesn't want to be held!).
Moving on to when they were leaving. My DH had a day shift so he left before they did. My DB was in a foul mood because my DM was "rescuing" all the crap I was sending to goodwill etc and taking it home with her. He kept yelling at me to help put stuff in the car (none of it light). They're screaming and swearing at each other all over the house (I'm gritting my teeth and staying out of the way). I go downstairs and see a couple of garbage bags just outside the garage door. My DB snaps at my DM asking whether they're rubbish. She doesn't answer and I said I assume they're the clothes I sorted and had plans to send to goodwill. Nope - they're the crappy old appliances that have been sitting under the house for months to go to the dump/goodwill that have been infested by redbacks. Anyway, for some reason my DB thinks my DM says it's rubbish (he should know better - NOTHING is rubbish to our DM!) so he swings it up and dumps it straight into the bin. OMG!!!! :D I about wet myself laughing. Unfortunately my DM went into hysterics and started swearing down the neighbourhood. My DB starts yelling back at her and they make it into the kitchen still having a go. I had gone back into hiding but the screaming/swearing kept escalating and we live in a SMALL TOWN so I went out and asked them to stop screaming/swearing. WELL didn't that just set DM off further. "YOU'RE ALWAYS BLAMING ME!!!!" Well, actually I was looking at both of you but whatever (she also has this "the whole world revolves around me and everything is done to spite me" complex). I walked away. They finally were ready to leave and my DB is indicating I should give DM a hug :eek: Sorry don't fake emotions I'm not feeling! I said goodbye very frostily and after sitting in the car for 5 mins with it running they left.
My DF rang me later that day to tell me I "should" ring my DB/DM to see how they're travelling. Apparently DM had said to him they weren't expecting me to ring because I was a "bit angry" when they left (ya think?!!). I did call them about 1 1/2 hours later to make sure they hadn't had an accident but they were fine.
My DH came home from work, peeked in the front door and said "have they gone?!!!". I said YES! He was like THANK GOD!!!!!
I rang my parents later that night and my DF put my DM on. Unfortunately (as they are aware) I tend to do things whilst I chat and therefore have it on loudspeaker. My DM says that if DH gets mad about smaller cat with the bread that I should send it back to her. :confused: (My DH said after the call ended - yeah because that cat just LOVES her!). I told her it would be fine. She then complained about FIL who says nasty things about my family and how DH just goes a heh a heh (she made it sound more like Michael Jackson going HEE HEE HEE!). I got a big What The?! look from DH. The call ended pretty much after that.
I shall now proceed to write my Christmas Season with the inlaws (or without as they didn't visit but still cause as much dissension as mine do by being physically present!).
SD
My Family
I swear my DM has some sort of problem wherein she acts like a child and seems to think like a child if she is thwarted or not allowed to do what she wants.
My DB and DM arrived at around 3am Christmas morning (to my DH's dismay!) after driving the 7 hours to get here. Unpacked the car and started organising to go to bed. My DM had bought some sort of pie and chip combo from goodness knows where along the drive and when I walked into the kitchen was about to feed it to our dog! I said please don't give him that as he will faeces all over the house and we will have to clean it up (he has been taken to vet numerous times for problems with stomach so we monitor food very carefully). You'd think that would be the end of it wouldn't you? The next day I hear the dog attacking our smaller cat (still a baby) and I come running into the kitchen. Now I have to admit my tolerance levels are pretty low right now but to turn the corner and see my DM with that blasted 1/2 pie and chips trying to give it to the dog after I specifically asked her not to and then the dog attacking the cat because DM unwittingly was about to feed it to the dog where the older cat eats (and the younger one eats her dry food) I hit the roof and pretty much yelled "I TOLD YOU NOT TO GIVE THAT TO HIM". I picked up the dog and put him outside and said "Now HE is in trouble" (for attacking the cat). Well I walked away and my DM stormed down the backstairs.
Knowing what that means and not being in a particularly friendly frame of mind to deal with it I asked DH if he would mind going down and seeing what was going on. He goes and doesn't come back for a while so I go downstairs and my DM is lying on her back on the concrete ground (garage) CRYING (????) saying I had no right to talk to her like that (well, okay I shouldn't have yelled but I didn't realise that I would have to repeat myself when the 1st time I was very clear!!). DH was making sympathetic noises. I went in and apologised (for yelling - not for what I said) and things blew over. I later heard my DF said to DM that her only mistake was letting me SEE her trying to feed the food to the dog. :mad:
My DM doesn't know how to visit. She told us our house was a mess etc etc etc (her house is TERRIBLE and she has been told that my child will not go there for that specific reason so you'd think she'd want to do something about it? No.). So in the interests of not causing an argument she did the washing and meandered around the house cutting limbs off trees. It would be nice if she would sit down and have a cup of tea and a chat with me sometimes but it never happens (too much to do in "this pigsty"!).
My DB hogged the television (my DH's retreat so then my DH and I were "fighting" for the computer (escapism!)).
DH was running late for work one night and couldn't locate his mobile so my DB lent his mobile to him to ring to find it. Unfortunately my brother has my DH's name listed as Firstname Smackhead (eg if DH's name was Bob the name that came up when ringing was "Bob Smackhead"). DH was not impressed but didn't say anything until they left.
A couple of my mother's what the moments. I wasn't there when this one happened but apparently DH went and sat down with DM who was watching a movie (between wash cycles) to be social. My DM says out of the blue with no relation whatsoever to the movie, "Isn't it funny how dogs sniff the holes they dig?". DH was like, uh yeah.
The other one that I was there for was when we were sitting in the lounge room watching some crap on TV (I was mostly reading) my DM pipes up to DH and says "What would you do if SD(me) left you and took the baby?". WHAT THE?!!!!!!!! My DM likes stirring trouble and if that wasn't a loaded question I don't know what is! DH refused to answer and I said that I didn't think it was appropriate and the subject was dropped.
The day before they left I went into earnest unpack/move mode as I knew that my DB was going home and I would need him to help DH move cupboards etc out of the baby-to-be's room so I could put in bookshelves and what not (our books are stacked on the floor). I asked my DB if he would shift the heavy stuff off the top of the cupboard so it could be moved outside. This particular cupboard isn't heavy and was 90% empty so I was pretty certain it would be easy to pull along the carpet and out onto the front in preparation for being stored. He started to sulk (all he was doing was what he'd been doing the whole time - watching TV!) so I grabbed a chair out of the study and took it into the room to get the stuff off myself. He gets up when he sees this and pulls the stuff off the top of the cupboard and starts throwing it onto the bed (computers and computer parts!!!). Which is where the stuff stayed until they left. He then stomped off and I started dragging the cupboard to the door of the room. Unfortunately it hit the wall as I was pulling it through the door and my mother started shrieking (at DB) "Do you want her to miscarriage?!!!" and then me, "Do you want to miscarriage?!!!". My DB gets up and none-too-gently drags the cupboard out the front door.
The smaller cat (which we got from my DM) has this bad habit of getting on counters and ripping open the bread. Not quite sure why as she doesn't appear to eat the bread - I think she just plays with the packaging. So she did this one night and DH brought it out (DM was there also) and said about it. I said okay just throw it out.
My DM was already sulking about this cat because it kept running away from her (my mother tries to smother/control everything whereas I like to give leeway to be independent - ie, if the cat is growling and squirming that's a fair indication it doesn't want to be held!).
Moving on to when they were leaving. My DH had a day shift so he left before they did. My DB was in a foul mood because my DM was "rescuing" all the crap I was sending to goodwill etc and taking it home with her. He kept yelling at me to help put stuff in the car (none of it light). They're screaming and swearing at each other all over the house (I'm gritting my teeth and staying out of the way). I go downstairs and see a couple of garbage bags just outside the garage door. My DB snaps at my DM asking whether they're rubbish. She doesn't answer and I said I assume they're the clothes I sorted and had plans to send to goodwill. Nope - they're the crappy old appliances that have been sitting under the house for months to go to the dump/goodwill that have been infested by redbacks. Anyway, for some reason my DB thinks my DM says it's rubbish (he should know better - NOTHING is rubbish to our DM!) so he swings it up and dumps it straight into the bin. OMG!!!! :D I about wet myself laughing. Unfortunately my DM went into hysterics and started swearing down the neighbourhood. My DB starts yelling back at her and they make it into the kitchen still having a go. I had gone back into hiding but the screaming/swearing kept escalating and we live in a SMALL TOWN so I went out and asked them to stop screaming/swearing. WELL didn't that just set DM off further. "YOU'RE ALWAYS BLAMING ME!!!!" Well, actually I was looking at both of you but whatever (she also has this "the whole world revolves around me and everything is done to spite me" complex). I walked away. They finally were ready to leave and my DB is indicating I should give DM a hug :eek: Sorry don't fake emotions I'm not feeling! I said goodbye very frostily and after sitting in the car for 5 mins with it running they left.
My DF rang me later that day to tell me I "should" ring my DB/DM to see how they're travelling. Apparently DM had said to him they weren't expecting me to ring because I was a "bit angry" when they left (ya think?!!). I did call them about 1 1/2 hours later to make sure they hadn't had an accident but they were fine.
My DH came home from work, peeked in the front door and said "have they gone?!!!". I said YES! He was like THANK GOD!!!!!
I rang my parents later that night and my DF put my DM on. Unfortunately (as they are aware) I tend to do things whilst I chat and therefore have it on loudspeaker. My DM says that if DH gets mad about smaller cat with the bread that I should send it back to her. :confused: (My DH said after the call ended - yeah because that cat just LOVES her!). I told her it would be fine. She then complained about FIL who says nasty things about my family and how DH just goes a heh a heh (she made it sound more like Michael Jackson going HEE HEE HEE!). I got a big What The?! look from DH. The call ended pretty much after that.
I shall now proceed to write my Christmas Season with the inlaws (or without as they didn't visit but still cause as much dissension as mine do by being physically present!).
SD