Vent. I'm a slave.

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of marriages would work out better if women just stopped being SAHMs, got a job they love and hired help to clean/do laundry.


This does not solve everything. I am a WOHM who makes more money than my husband but I still have the primary responsibility for coordinating everything. We have a cleaning service every 2 weeks. Somehow it has fallen on me to decide what to eat for dinner, know when we're out of certain foods, do the laundry, be responsible for paying the preschool tuition and getting all the myriad of forms for both kids filled out, pack up most of the stuff for daycare, etc.

Examples: if my husband does the dishes, he always manages to not see one. He never changes the table mats (cloth) if our DC spills yogurt on it in the morning. It'll just sit there until I take it upstairs to be washed and take out a new one to replace it. He doesn't see the sticky spots on the kitchen table either or the crumbs on the floor yet he eats breakfast w/ her almost every morning while this is occurring.

Recently he had to drop my oldest off at preschool. I gave him a check to give to them. He forgot to do it and came home with it. I was left scrambling so we wouldn't have to incur a late fee.

I called him as I was leaving work early to take our youngest to the doctor's office and asked him if he could put the rice in the rice cooker so it'd be ready for our dinner last night as he was home before I was and it takes at least 20 minutes to do so. He completely forgot. This may sound like not a big deal but we have a very short window from getting home to work and getting 2 kids toddler and infant bathed, fed and ready for bed that it threw off our dinner plans.

Yes, I know he does a lot compared to other men, but that's a pathetic standard. I'm not looking for him to do more than me, I'm just sick of having to do everything that I do and then having to suffer when he fails to do everything he said he would. I am so pissed and fed up. Times like this I am also really pissed at his mother because she raised 3 sons like this and it was almost deliberate as if this is your problem and I don't care if I send them out into the world w/o these skills.

To the original poster, I hear where you are coming from. I used to do even way more before we had kids but I realized that he would never reciprocate in that way so I cut way back. He's a grown man and last time I checked we had 2 kids not 3.


Reading through your complaints, you honestly sound like you're just busting his balls over forgetting occasional minor stuff. He could easily do the same to you. You sound like an overbearing task-master.


Just doing what I can to keep us afloat. And it isn't forgetting occasionally. It's all the time. These are just the most recent things (like the straw that broke the camel's back). Who goes to the grocery store for two items one which is a needed ingredient for that night's dinner and comes back with only 1 of the items? He completely forgot to buy the other one. When all of us get sick (which happened recently) who ends up taking care of everyone? Why is it always the woman? I'm still pumping 7 to 8 x a day (so i'm the most sleep deprived) and if dinner isn't ready before the baby's bed time I'm the one who is ready to pass out while I'm putting our infant down at 7. he's downstairs eating a leisurely dinner with our older child. he will throw the kids' clothes in the laundry when I mention that the jacket our youngest needs to wear for daycare the next morning has spit up on it and then forgets about it so it's still soaking wet the next morning when we need to leave for daycare. he'll take the leftover food for his lunch instead of buying so that there isn't anything for our oldest child's lunch box (she can't buy it's preschool). I do all the drop off/pick ups for day care. The one time I asked him to drop something off, he made the biggest face and said he'd get stuck in DC traffic.



PP: It sounds like your relationship has become a parent/child relationship. It's a two-way street. His childish behavior only half of the problem. You need to accept that you are the other half of the problem.


Your posts are filled with "I told him to do this, I told him to do that, I told him to do this, I told him to do this..." Can you see how this is part of the issue?


Actually, I just read this entire thread and didn't see her say "I told him to do this, I told him to do this." She said she asked him to drop something off for her and he made a face. She also asked if he would start the rice cooker when she was driving their kid to the doctor's office. Does this not ever happen in your families where one spouse calls the other and asks if they can start something b/c they're doing something else for the household? He just sounds like most men incompetent. And don't say it's his job to work. They both WOHM.



It's a two-way street. She is treating him like a child/employee, and he is acting like one. It's a vicious cycle. A marriage with two WOH parents needs to be more of a partnership, where both parties have an equal sense of responsibility and respect for each other.

Honestly, this sounds like a perfect candidate for some kind of counseling to help them work on getting out of this dynamic and more into an equal partnership.
Anonymous
OP - I think men are incapable of cleaning up kitchen very well. My DH also leaves clean dishes on counter with that excuse.

Maybe he should do other chores instead.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:OP - I think men are incapable of cleaning up kitchen very well. My DH also leaves clean dishes on counter with that excuse.

Maybe he should do other chores instead.


Have him scrub the toilets
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:OP - I think men are incapable of cleaning up kitchen very well. My DH also leaves clean dishes on counter with that excuse.

Maybe he should do other chores instead.


They are capable of it. They just don't want to do it and would prefer we get stuck doing it all.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP - I think men are incapable of cleaning up kitchen very well. My DH also leaves clean dishes on counter with that excuse.

Maybe he should do other chores instead.


Have him scrub the toilets


Before we had kids and before we got a cleaning service, he refused to just stick to one toilet. It was maddening. He didn't want to clean it himself. He didn't want to pay for someone else to do it either (did it despite his protests. and for the record we both wohm). And to help me out he wouldn't just limit his mess to one main one. Also, you should see his definition of clean when my toddler spills some pee on the bathroom tile. It's not just about drying it up. It has to be disinfected. SIGH. Kill me.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So basically you want him to do 100% of his job AND 50% of your job as well. And you seriously think this is fair and reasonable. Get over yourself already and DO YOUR JOB.


Oh so she is suppose to work 7 days a week? While he has two days off? When does she get a break?


Exactly. A SAHM means that she does the work that needs to be done at home while DH is at work. So let's say he's gone 8am-6pm every day. Those are her working hours too, Mon-Friday. ANYTHING that falls outside of those working hours (dinner, nighttime wakeups, illness, weekends) are SPLIT evenly between the two parents. This is not that hard to understand. It's called being a parent and a homeowner.

OP, I'm sorry, this sounds shitty. My advice would be to bring it up to him in a non-charged moment. Pick a calm time and just say you'd like to talk to him. Explain you feel taken advantage of. Use the cleaning up after dinner example. Ask him how you can work together to make sure everything gets done. He most likely has NO IDEA how much stuff you do. Write out a list. Show him what you spend your time doing during the day as part of your "job" and make it clear that there's stuff you guys have to split. Hopefully he's receptive and not defensive. If he's defensive try to keep things calm. Try not to criticize and make it sound like a team effort. "What can WE do together to make things run smoothly". That kind of thing. It might take several conversations, but the key is to STAY CALM.


But why isn't dinner one of those things that can be done during the day? I was on maternity leave with a 3 year old and a newborn. After the first crazy month or so, I just cooked dinner during a nap and the kitchen was generally clean by dinnertime. I am back to work now, and I do all the cooking on the weekend, generally it's just loading the dishwasher during the week. If you're home all day, You should be able to cook and clean up from making dinner during the day at least some days(barring some special needs or other commitments). After dinner cleanup shouldn't be more than putting plates in the dishwasher and wiping the table off. I can see splitting bedtime, but if her "work hours" are 8-6 why shouldn't laundry and cooking get done in that time?


Unless you are making casseroles every night how is this possible? I make steaks, hamburgers, steam veggies, make rice, etc just before we eat. I'm not making steak or burgers during nap and then reheating in the microwave.


Well, not every night. But I make enough rice to last a few days (1 pot to clean, or 1 rice cooker to clean, instead of 3). Burgers don't require a lot of pots.

Casseroles and slow cooker stuff a couple times a week should cut the workload. I also tend to cook a lot of curries, casseroles, and stews because I am a WOHM and I don't like doing a lot of cooking right when I get back from work. I save the dishes that must be made right at dinnertime for weekends when there is less rush. I also clean up as I go and have gotten more efficient. Cut the veggies, set them aside, cut meat on the same cutting board, then cutting board goes directly into the dishwasher. Before I even sit down to eat, I can put a skillet in the dishwasher.

Some other easy things - I made a thai herb marinade with basil, cilantro, mint, fish sauce, garlic and ginger. I made enough for four uses and stack them in the freezer. putting some thawed marinade and chicken thighs in a dish in the morning takes two minutes. I bake them in the oven, then broil some asparagus when the chicken is out of the oven. One pyrex dish (or wire rack if I went that route, lining the pan itself with foil) goes into the dishwasher. And that pretty much takes care of cleanup. (Asparagus is broiled on a sheet pan lined with foil, but the sheet pan goes into the dishwasher if it gets messy, too).

I am just saying that there are ways to shift some of the work to earlier in the day so the evenings aren't a shitshow. My DH travels for work 4 nights a week and I am really tired in the evening, so I shift as much work as possible to weekends and daytime.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So basically you want him to do 100% of his job AND 50% of your job as well. And you seriously think this is fair and reasonable. Get over yourself already and DO YOUR JOB.


Oh so she is suppose to work 7 days a week? While he has two days off? When does she get a break?


Exactly. A SAHM means that she does the work that needs to be done at home while DH is at work. So let's say he's gone 8am-6pm every day. Those are her working hours too, Mon-Friday. ANYTHING that falls outside of those working hours (dinner, nighttime wakeups, illness, weekends) are SPLIT evenly between the two parents. This is not that hard to understand. It's called being a parent and a homeowner.

OP, I'm sorry, this sounds shitty. My advice would be to bring it up to him in a non-charged moment. Pick a calm time and just say you'd like to talk to him. Explain you feel taken advantage of. Use the cleaning up after dinner example. Ask him how you can work together to make sure everything gets done. He most likely has NO IDEA how much stuff you do. Write out a list. Show him what you spend your time doing during the day as part of your "job" and make it clear that there's stuff you guys have to split. Hopefully he's receptive and not defensive. If he's defensive try to keep things calm. Try not to criticize and make it sound like a team effort. "What can WE do together to make things run smoothly". That kind of thing. It might take several conversations, but the key is to STAY CALM.


But why isn't dinner one of those things that can be done during the day? I was on maternity leave with a 3 year old and a newborn. After the first crazy month or so, I just cooked dinner during a nap and the kitchen was generally clean by dinnertime. I am back to work now, and I do all the cooking on the weekend, generally it's just loading the dishwasher during the week. If you're home all day, You should be able to cook and clean up from making dinner during the day at least some days(barring some special needs or other commitments). After dinner cleanup shouldn't be more than putting plates in the dishwasher and wiping the table off. I can see splitting bedtime, but if her "work hours" are 8-6 why shouldn't laundry and cooking get done in that time?


Unless you are making casseroles every night how is this possible? I make steaks, hamburgers, steam veggies, make rice, etc just before we eat. I'm not making steak or burgers during nap and then reheating in the microwave.


Well, not every night. But I make enough rice to last a few days (1 pot to clean, or 1 rice cooker to clean, instead of 3). Burgers don't require a lot of pots.

Casseroles and slow cooker stuff a couple times a week should cut the workload. I also tend to cook a lot of curries, casseroles, and stews because I am a WOHM and I don't like doing a lot of cooking right when I get back from work. I save the dishes that must be made right at dinnertime for weekends when there is less rush. I also clean up as I go and have gotten more efficient. Cut the veggies, set them aside, cut meat on the same cutting board, then cutting board goes directly into the dishwasher. Before I even sit down to eat, I can put a skillet in the dishwasher.

Some other easy things - I made a thai herb marinade with basil, cilantro, mint, fish sauce, garlic and ginger. I made enough for four uses and stack them in the freezer. putting some thawed marinade and chicken thighs in a dish in the morning takes two minutes. I bake them in the oven, then broil some asparagus when the chicken is out of the oven. One pyrex dish (or wire rack if I went that route, lining the pan itself with foil) goes into the dishwasher. And that pretty much takes care of cleanup. (Asparagus is broiled on a sheet pan lined with foil, but the sheet pan goes into the dishwasher if it gets messy, too).

I am just saying that there are ways to shift some of the work to earlier in the day so the evenings aren't a shitshow. My DH travels for work 4 nights a week and I am really tired in the evening, so I shift as much work as possible to weekends and daytime.


Oh for god's sake.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So many pages, what else is there to say... To the OP, I assume your children are young. This is THE hardest time. An earlier post (19:19) had a great suggestion. You need to get out of the house without kids and DH on regular basis, exercise class, walk with a girlfriend or even better, a 2 day trip away. Husbands will never clean like you do, but they do need to care for a child for a few days alone to truly appreciate all the work that you do.


This is such a bullshit canard. Every dad I know routinely and capably takes care of the children -- for time ranging from hours to days. This "Dad is an idiot -- you'll show him a thing or two if you dump the kids on him" thing always backfires because the premise is fundamentally flawed. In fact, most of the time they do a BETTER job of taking care of the children than Mom because they're less likely to hover or correct every little thing the child does wrong.


My husband is nowhere near as capable of caring for our children as I am. I know. I went on international business trips from 7 to 10 days when we had two kids under 4. No multitasking, no advance planning. I'm sure not the only one who married a less capable man.


Hahaha!

Enjoy your life of being saddled with a "less capable man."


It only hurt the children, not me. What's "hahaha" about that?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So basically you want him to do 100% of his job AND 50% of your job as well. And you seriously think this is fair and reasonable. Get over yourself already and DO YOUR JOB.


Oh so she is suppose to work 7 days a week? While he has two days off? When does she get a break?


Exactly. A SAHM means that she does the work that needs to be done at home while DH is at work. So let's say he's gone 8am-6pm every day. Those are her working hours too, Mon-Friday. ANYTHING that falls outside of those working hours (dinner, nighttime wakeups, illness, weekends) are SPLIT evenly between the two parents. This is not that hard to understand. It's called being a parent and a homeowner.

OP, I'm sorry, this sounds shitty. My advice would be to bring it up to him in a non-charged moment. Pick a calm time and just say you'd like to talk to him. Explain you feel taken advantage of. Use the cleaning up after dinner example. Ask him how you can work together to make sure everything gets done. He most likely has NO IDEA how much stuff you do. Write out a list. Show him what you spend your time doing during the day as part of your "job" and make it clear that there's stuff you guys have to split. Hopefully he's receptive and not defensive. If he's defensive try to keep things calm. Try not to criticize and make it sound like a team effort. "What can WE do together to make things run smoothly". That kind of thing. It might take several conversations, but the key is to STAY CALM.


But why isn't dinner one of those things that can be done during the day? I was on maternity leave with a 3 year old and a newborn. After the first crazy month or so, I just cooked dinner during a nap and the kitchen was generally clean by dinnertime. I am back to work now, and I do all the cooking on the weekend, generally it's just loading the dishwasher during the week. If you're home all day, You should be able to cook and clean up from making dinner during the day at least some days(barring some special needs or other commitments). After dinner cleanup shouldn't be more than putting plates in the dishwasher and wiping the table off. I can see splitting bedtime, but if her "work hours" are 8-6 why shouldn't laundry and cooking get done in that time?


Unless you are making casseroles every night how is this possible? I make steaks, hamburgers, steam veggies, make rice, etc just before we eat. I'm not making steak or burgers during nap and then reheating in the microwave.


Well, not every night. But I make enough rice to last a few days (1 pot to clean, or 1 rice cooker to clean, instead of 3). Burgers don't require a lot of pots.

Casseroles and slow cooker stuff a couple times a week should cut the workload. I also tend to cook a lot of curries, casseroles, and stews because I am a WOHM and I don't like doing a lot of cooking right when I get back from work. I save the dishes that must be made right at dinnertime for weekends when there is less rush. I also clean up as I go and have gotten more efficient. Cut the veggies, set them aside, cut meat on the same cutting board, then cutting board goes directly into the dishwasher. Before I even sit down to eat, I can put a skillet in the dishwasher.

Some other easy things - I made a thai herb marinade with basil, cilantro, mint, fish sauce, garlic and ginger. I made enough for four uses and stack them in the freezer. putting some thawed marinade and chicken thighs in a dish in the morning takes two minutes. I bake them in the oven, then broil some asparagus when the chicken is out of the oven. One pyrex dish (or wire rack if I went that route, lining the pan itself with foil) goes into the dishwasher. And that pretty much takes care of cleanup. (Asparagus is broiled on a sheet pan lined with foil, but the sheet pan goes into the dishwasher if it gets messy, too).

I am just saying that there are ways to shift some of the work to earlier in the day so the evenings aren't a shitshow. My DH travels for work 4 nights a week and I am really tired in the evening, so I shift as much work as possible to weekends and daytime.


Oh for god's sake.


I know, that was the most absurd thing I've read on DCUM in a long while.

(WTF?)
Anonymous
Why is it absurd? DH and I both work a full day, I'm in charge of meals and premade marinades on baked stuff is pretty much how we roll at least 3 out of five working days a week.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Why is it absurd? DH and I both work a full day, I'm in charge of meals and premade marinades on baked stuff is pretty much how we roll at least 3 out of five working days a week.


I was the PP who called it absurd. I was being sarcastic. Advance meal planning/prep is the easiest way to simplify the evening routine.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why is it absurd? DH and I both work a full day, I'm in charge of meals and premade marinades on baked stuff is pretty much how we roll at least 3 out of five working days a week.


I was the PP who called it absurd. I was being sarcastic. Advance meal planning/prep is the easiest way to simplify the evening routine.


I tool was wondering about the other poster.

I meal plan as well and even make homemade frozen dinners for crunch nights. I have one SAHM who shadowed me one week to try to learn how I do it. I do it for time and health. It's not easy to stay a size 6 at 40 and it doesn't happen without meal planning!
Anonymous
I think the detail of the recipes was a little much. Very Gwyneth. Condescending. I think most of us know how to cook. Maybe not all of us are as organized. Or maybe our kids need more attention. OF COURSE meal planning makes life easier. But I for one, don't need a lesson in how to cook asparagus. Or how to line a pan with foil.
Anonymous
This thread has gotten funny. OP here. First off, this post was a VENT. I was feeling down and tired and unappreciated. I'm sure we all feel that way from time to time. Do I wish my DH would initiate to do more around the house? Yes. But as a pp said, he prioritizes the stuff that is more important to him and I do what is important to me. He doesn't care much about things being really clean and tidy. There is plenty of stuff I don't care about and don't give much attention to as well. We have discussed how when I ask him for help, and he agrees to do something for me, that it is important to me that he gets it done. Just like if he asks me to do something for him, I try to get it done.
Our nights aren't crazy hectic, I do make dinner almost every night except for pizza night once a week (which is due to a late-running after school activity). I do meal plan each week what I am going to make every night for dinner, then I shop for the ingredients, and then I make the stuff. I don't go crazy gourmet but I am not making a full meal at 10:00am so that we can reheat it at 5:30, that is strange. I know about the "great shortcuts" of lining pans with foil and using a crockpot, thanks .Also, I have 3 children with the youngest still at home mostly/ in part-time preschool. When she's at school I am volunteering, running errands, cleaning, etc. When she's not in school we aren't sitting at home cooking our meal for next Tuesday.
I'm not currently WOHM, so of course I expect the bulk of the household duties to fall on me. I don't ask my husband to help me do household stuff (such as clean up after dinner) every day, maybe it happens once a week. I am not a nag, I came on here to vent so I wouldn't be nagging him .
Anyhow, I'm over it and I don't feel so down anymore, mostly because as this thread went on I've had a few chuckles. I mean, at least I never found a strange hairbrush in my house!
Thanks all.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I think the detail of the recipes was a little much. Very Gwyneth. Condescending. I think most of us know how to cook. Maybe not all of us are as organized. Or maybe our kids need more attention. OF COURSE meal planning makes life easier. But I for one, don't need a lesson in how to cook asparagus. Or how to line a pan with foil.


Well, clearly some people do, because people seem stunned that you can get dinner on the table without having a sink full of dirty dishes to take care of at 8 pm every night.

(And if you're more organized, won't you be able to give your kids *more* attention??)
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