My husband used to live this way before we met (apparently) when we met and for quire a few.years after wbe usd to do things together and with the kids, but he has gradually gone back to his old lifestyle and he doesnt seem to think theres anything wrong with it. His personal grooming has always been an issue also, but i gave up on that a long time ago. :(

Has anyone ever thrown their phone into a river, and how did that feel?i hate this phone.
i

Probably it felt like this:

Hahhahaaa!

Drama on the playground.

There's a boy in Minifob's class, we'll call him James. They were in the same class last year as well, wherein they were best friends, but not really good influences on each other. They amped each other up, as best friends tend to do. My personal assessment was that James is ADHD, and I'm pretty sure the parents medicated him halfway through the year because he made this very sudden switch from crazy-hyper-impulsive-but-friendly to never-smiling-calm-but-mean.

Anyway, I asked for them to be separated this year but it didn't happen, and now they actively hate each other. James is actually the lesser of two major reasons we were desperate to change school environments. I hear every day about how James said this mean thing, or organized the boys into rejecting him from some game, and how they fight all the time and taunt each other with the fact that neither will be invited to the other's birthday party. (James' birthday was in the fall and Minifob was indeed not invited, which was actually a relief to me.)

Now Minifob's birthday is coming up in a week, and the rhetoric about not inviting James must have reached a peak and made it home to his parents, because out of the blue, his mother is emailing me to schedule a playdate. I asked Minifob, but he has made it clear he does not want a playdate with this kid under any circumstances. Thing is, it's not impossible that this boy doesn't even really get that Minifob hates him, he seems like the type (or maybe the meds have made him the type) that figures everyone is just mean to everyone and there couldn't be any larger consequences to be derived from that...

So now I have to figure out a way to put off this mom, hopefully without telling her to her face that my kid hates hers. I used our new Cub Scout commitment as my latest excuse, since I don't know what night this week the den meeting will be yet... but that's dangerous, since the idea might make her decide to sign her kid up too. On the other hand, if James appears in his den Minifob is likely to want to quit. So that could work out for me in the long run.

Gawd, I thought girl children were supposed to be the drama queens.

No, it's always the moms. Been there, done that, thankfully almost out of that territory..... I put off unwanted playdates by boring them to tears with our schedule while allegedly trying to find 23 minutes where I could drop my child off and pick them up in time for the next gig if mom can assure me he'll be ready on the curb by precisely 3:21........ ;)

stupid kittens with more curiosity than good sense.... has gone wandering upstairs somewhere... and hasn't come back and now I have to keep the dogs separated out until the independent little cuss decides to wander on back to the cat room - so of course I'm getting sweet piss all done today worrying on the bugger

I've been getting some casual part time work from the (other) uni, which is good. Not quite enough to support myself year round, but a good start.

Over recent years, the academic support unit has been juggled through various administrative structures, and this year it started "fresh" with a new coordinator. He was told to plan a roster and not go over (or under) budget, but could never get an answer to what the budget actually was.

Turns out he guessed high, and thosetoblamefor85% have basically forced him to cut everyone's hours by a third.

With three weeks to go in first semester when it is busy as hell.

Ahh, yes, I remember his bullshit. :right:

Sorry, that should be cut by half, as of next semester, with a longer down time during mid year break.

Mild irritation which comes from a difference of tastes and opinions.
No advice or sympathy sought, although I'm not trying to censor comments.

The two Johns are coming up this weekend.
I know I am not invited to the meal out. I have absolutely no issue with that - three childhood friends, three long-term wives (although one is a second wife... only married 30 years the cheeky minx)

But I expected to help out with the faux-bbq the next day.
I thought Mum was rejecting my suggestions for being "too much". Which is ridiculous, because for a small lunch, an actual bbq requires far more effort and preparation. And if you are going to chuck on cheap burgers and sausages, most of them will be wasted, as will the buns.

I wanted to get some frozen salmon, defrost and marinate and cook in the oven. Ditto chicken breasts, and/ or ribs. Bake up some garlic bread and/ or serve with new potatoes in garlic butter salad. No. Too much.

Saw their shopping list today. Enough cheap burgers and sausages to feed the 5,000, ditto rolls and buns. Shop bought potato salad and coleslaw, sausage rolls, chicken drumsticks and crisps.

Now I do have a sneaky suspicion that she just doesn't want me around in case I swipe some alcohol. Which is a reasonable and deserved reaction. It won't be in case I show them up, because I never have, in front of visitors. I have been drunk in front of other people, but never in my own house.

I think it's more that she just has the idea set in her mind.
It's not a big meal!
It's not about cooking!
I don't want to spend all day preparing it!
But she just can't relax and hand it over to me.

Tcha. What was the biggest success at my 40th? Ribs I'd simply marinated and then shoved in the oven. I was lucky to get two, they went so fast. And even if they don't trust my recipes, ALL of Tesco's bbq range can be oven-cooked, because we get so few good days a year. Oh and yeah, it's going to rain Sunday.

Still. Dad's friends and her house. So I can only moan here.
I will spend the afternoon hiding in my bedroom pretending not to exist if that's what it takes for them to enjoy the day. And I don't mean that sarcastically.

Okay, update.
I was partly wrong.
Apparently one of the Johns is extremely faddy about his food.
He'd be like "Garlic bread? You're joking!? It's like garlic... and bread" (Peter Kay)

Don't see why the rest of them should suffer for it, but perhaps she's right in that marinated salmon might blow his mind.

I still disagree about the ribs.
Far cleaner to cook and I'm sure he'd manage a few.
Mum says "I don't want them to have to sit down. At least with a burger you can hold it in your hand." That, ladies and gentlemen, was where I bowed out. Because even my Mum doesn't eat a rib with a knife and fork.

I think I'm just craving ribs :yum:

Anyway, making my strawberries and cream cakes for them.
I offered all the classics. Because it is pretty traditional to have a cup of tea and a slice of cake on arrival (sure it is in many places.) So I was offering traditional cakes. Mum jumped at the cakes I made them for their anniversary, which is her right of course, and shows they were as appreciated as their swift disappearace suggested.

All I can do about the rest is enjoin her not to throw anything away until I have had a chance to look at it. Beefburgers, sausages and even buns can be frozen and reincarnated into more interesting dishes. Maybe I'll even try bread & butter pudding...

I've said my piece and will be on hand as my newly slimmed down self, cleaning and clearing and helping. Or hiding in my room pretending I don't exist. I can deal with either without rancour now I get to make some cakies :)

bread and butter pudding is dead easy, and you can put anything in that you want flavour wise. Chocolate chips go down a treat here with the kids, but they also like the traditional jam and raisins. :)

My sis in law arguing with me on fb about how men and women should behave. I'm sure some of you can see it. Most of you probably don't want to.

Also, I feel very old.

Me too. I just had to explain to my best mate why Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit wasn't in the TripleJ hottest 100 of the last 20 years.