What's weird about where you are staying - Thanksgiving 2024 edition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We left my MIL alone in our house for a few hours yesterday while we were running errands. Later that evening, in front of the whole family, she asked what was "in the red container in the basement freezer."

The lady obviously snooped the whole house while we were gone AND THEN told on herself. (The basement is creepy and down a steep flight of stairs and she had absolutely no reason to go down there.) Lesson learned about who to leave alone, I guess.

Mine snoops with no shame. She went through our medicine cabinet and she asked me if we're planning to give her another grandchild because she couldn't find any BC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My MIL’s house has the fewest outlets, the dullest knives, and the oldest spices ever.

Me again her paprika is literally in this tin.

STEAL it make that tin disappear!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My MIL’s house has the fewest outlets, the dullest knives, and the oldest spices ever.

SIL, is that you? Blink twice if you’re not allowed to use the top left stove burner even though it works.

Hahahahahahaha me again - had dinner at my SIL’s last night and started to boil a pot of water for my super picky son’s pasta on the top left burner. Her DH turned it off and told me it would be faster on the bottom right.

Spices update: I threw away four paprikas, four cayenne peppers, four cinnamons and four basils. Now everything fits in one cabinet instead of three. I did not keep the Ann Page tin but there are lots on eBay for the PP who wanted me to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m from Canada. My parents turn it to 55 over night, everyone has great bedding. I don’t do that in my own home but it doesn’t bother me.

I'm from Germany. Windows are opened every night, year 'round. The down comforters everyone sleeps with ensure you stay warm. Drives my husband nuts when it snows onto the window sills.

Based on my own family of origin, I assure you that these 55 degree hosts are not providing lovely feather beds and down comforters and windows that open. Think weird polyester bedspreads, ancient threadbare sheets, and maybe a decorative blanket. My mom likes to throw in an exceptionally firm 40 year old mattress just to make sure you spring right out of bed in the morning when she starts clanking pans at 5 am because "I figured everyone would be up anyway, so might as well get going!".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My MIL’s house has the fewest outlets, the dullest knives, and the oldest spices ever.

SIL, is that you? Blink twice if you’re not allowed to use the top left stove burner even though it works.

Hahahahahahaha me again - had dinner at my SIL’s last night and started to boil a pot of water for my super picky son’s pasta on the top left burner. Her DH turned it off and told me it would be faster on the bottom right.

Spices update: I threw away four paprikas, four cayenne peppers, four cinnamons and four basils. Now everything fits in one cabinet instead of three. I did not keep the Ann Page tin but there are lots on eBay for the PP who wanted me to.

Not the vintage Kroger cinnamon tin from 1986!

I love that everyone has the same assortment of vintage spices. My mom's cayenne is purchased solely so she can sprinkle 1/16th of a teaspoon into chili, and the paprika is used for devil eggs at Easter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My new in-laws made us all change out of our shoes into those little blue paper booties that workmen wear. Never was that way before; I figured MIL is newly turned super neat freak. But no. Turns out her three rescue dogs poop all over the house. Everyone ignores the brown stains that dot her beige carpets.

That is so nasty. Are you sleeping there?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a twist on this thread. How about clueless house guests? I’m hosting SIL and she arrived over the weekend for an 8 day stay. We have had numerous discussions and conflicts in the past about how disruptive her visits are to the kids sleep. Both kids have sleep disorders and my biggest stressor in life is getting my youngest to sleep and ensuring she gets the maximum sleep possible. My husband and I were looking forward to sleeping in Saturday morning (only day for the next week) and was woken up at 6:40am to giggling and screaming laughter from SIL and daughter together in the next room. SIL seemed confused when husband went in and asked them to be quiet and asking why daughter was awake. My son woke up moments later. I couldn’t fall asleep after that. Daughter was up almost 2 hours earlier than a normal Saturday. And his family wonders why visits are so exhausting!

How old are your kids that you expect them to sleep until 9am or later? 6:40 is a typical waking time for young kids and it sounds like they were staying in their room. I’d be interested to hear your SILs take on this visit.

+1 do you mean the SIL and her own young daughter? If this is like a toddler/preschooler, they can't really be quiet for several hours after waking up...

My SIL doesn’t have kids. She was with my 10 year old daughter who has sleep apnea and needs a minimum of 10 hours of sleep. This is a child that normally has to be woken up out of a dead sleep for school at 7:45 each day. On a weekend, she could easily sleep until 8:30am. Besides being annoyed my daughter is awake 2 hours early, the bigger issue is why would you be super loud and wake up everyone in the house at that hour. What about whispering? It was still dark out. I would never be a guest in someone else’s house and wake every one up because I didn’t feel like talking quietly. This issue has been discussed in the past. It is not new.

You sound kind of horrific. I bet your DD loves your SIL because its an adult that likes to have fun with her.

[Anonymous]

My mom is a weirdo about having garbage in the garbage can. She will take things out of the garbage and take it to the garbage can outside. She goes to the outside garbage can no less than 5 times a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sleeping in a motherf@#$ing twin sized little tikes fireman bed that was probably made in 1987 in a basement in WISCONSIN and it is so so so cold that my husband and my youngest are also huddled in here. How important is extended family really?

WHY did you do that to yourself.

I'd rather be alone on the holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My MIL’s house has the fewest outlets, the dullest knives, and the oldest spices ever.

SIL, is that you? Blink twice if you’re not allowed to use the top left stove burner even though it works.

Hahahahahahaha me again - had dinner at my SIL’s last night and started to boil a pot of water for my super picky son’s pasta on the top left burner. Her DH turned it off and told me it would be faster on the bottom right.

Spices update: I threw away four paprikas, four cayenne peppers, four cinnamons and four basils. Now everything fits in one cabinet instead of three. I did not keep the Ann Page tin but there are lots on eBay for the PP who wanted me to.

Not the vintage Kroger cinnamon tin from 1986!

I love that everyone has the same assortment of vintage spices. My mom's cayenne is purchased solely so she can sprinkle 1/16th of a teaspoon into chili, and the paprika is used for devil eggs at Easter.

That’s what’s so funny about all the paprika and cayenne - even when she cooked she never made anything spicy! And yes, we initially were looking for paprika to make deviled eggs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are only allowed to eat in the kitchen. No snacks in the living room (which is where we all hang out, next to kitchen.) Once they found a bag of chips that were in the upstairs bathroom garbage and they lost their minds. One of the kids had it in their bags from a rest stop before we got there and threw it away. We heard about it for weeks after we left.

My mom still talks about my brother’s ex-girlfriend who left a snack wrapper in the upstairs trash can. Not only is eating only allowed during meals, but “everyone knows that trash cans outside the kitchen are only for tissues.”

You can’t even take a tag off new clothing and leave it in the bathroom trash without a comment. It was really fun going through puberty as a girl under those conditions.

Come on you know you have to pack in and pack out the snack wrappers! lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom is a weirdo about having garbage in the garbage can. She will take things out of the garbage and take it to the garbage can outside. She goes to the outside garbage can no less than 5 times a day.

I'm the PP with the mom who doesn't allow anything that's not a Kleenex in trash outside the kitchen. Does she have an auxiliary trash bag hanging on a cabinet knob for trash in the kitchen that she deems urgent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We left my MIL alone in our house for a few hours yesterday while we were running errands. Later that evening, in front of the whole family, she asked what was "in the red container in the basement freezer."

The lady obviously snooped the whole house while we were gone AND THEN told on herself. (The basement is creepy and down a steep flight of stairs and she had absolutely no reason to go down there.) Lesson learned about who to leave alone, I guess.

HA! My MIL was this way every time she visited so I purchased a bunch of items from a sex toy store and left them in our dresser drawers and nightstand on husband's side of the bed. She stopped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom is a weirdo about having garbage in the garbage can. She will take things out of the garbage and take it to the garbage can outside. She goes to the outside garbage can no less than 5 times a day.

I'm the PP with the mom who doesn't allow anything that's not a Kleenex in trash outside the kitchen. Does she have an auxiliary trash bag hanging on a cabinet knob for trash in the kitchen that she deems urgent?

She puts a plastic grocery bag in the garbage can (and there's a regular garbage bag in the can too) and then when the grocery bag is "full", she takes it outside. She also gets mad if you put something in the garbage that takes up too much room. I crushed an empty cracker box and threw it away. She took it out of the garbage and took it outside. It's bizarre. I've never seen someone so obsessed with the garbage.

[Anonymous]

I am the only one in my extended family who refuses to stay at the family home, hotel only, no matter how short the visit. I show up when I want, leave when I want and sleep peacefully. The comments are plentiful from the peanut gallery, unfortunately for them, it's just noise to me. My sanity matters most.