Anonymous wrote:This year I have my kids for thanksgiving. I’m not a holiday person, and overall hate cooking and cleaning, so usually for holidays we’ll just go out or get a pizza.

My new BF (who doesn’t have kids) grew up in a very broken family and later on foster care, so my holiday plan troubled him greatly. He likes the idea of the wholesome family during the holidays. So he said I can’t do pizza, don’t worry, he’ll handle thanksgiving dinner.

Then every night this week has talked about how stressed he is trying to plan dinner and asking me a million questions. Should we do ham or turkey? Should we cook or get it catered? Who should we buy it from? What do we do if it isn’t shipped in time?

Finally I was like omg, shut up, I’ll just handle it. So now here I am making a damn thanksgiving dinner I didn’t want to make so my BF can try to heal his childhood trauma.

And yes, I know I did this to myself.

At least on the plus side, I found a recipe for a one sheet pan thanksgiving dinner. So just a matter of sticking things on the pan over 3 hours. Hoping it’s not too difficult.

PP back with an update!

Thanksgiving went well. BF helped out - both with cooking and entertaining the kids. He took them out to the playground, and also made a run back to my house for some things I had forgotten. And he cleaned everything up so overall a very fair exchange, we were both pretty happy.

I *did* have to stop him from making Mac and cheese about 15 minutes before dinner was served. He said he was hungry, so he was going to cook up some Kraft, have a bite, and put it in the fridge before the kids noticed and wanted it instead of dinner. I was like nooooooo sir you will not make that Mac and cheese.

Anonymous wrote:Grow up, OP.

Who are you even talking to?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most self-absorbed member of my family (there's competition, but I think everyone except this person's parents would agree) announced a pregnancy. The good news is that the parents-to-be are thrilled. The bad news is ::gestures at the egotist::

I can’t follow this…
The egotist announced someone else’s pregnancy and wanted to make it about herself?

The egotist is pregnant. The good news is that they’re happy to be expecting. The bad news is that it’s hard to imagine such a self-absorbed person will make a good parent. -NP

NP and … PP is awful. Congratulations to the expecting couple!

No. Some people shouldn’t be parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a petty vent. We were invited to a family friend's house for Thanksgiving. One of my favorite Thanksgiving foods is stuffing. These people put candied walnuts in their stuffing and I have a nut allergy. I may go buy some Stove Top tomorrow to have with my leftovers.

That's on you for not telling them about your nut allergy.

I don't expect people to change their menu because of my allergy. It's easy enough for me to avoid things with nuts. I was simply bummed I couldn't have the stuffing.

Nut allergy mom and aunt here, and also a hostess to someone who failed to tell me he was vegetarian because “he didn’t want to be a bother.”

Tell people. Offer to bring something. Tell them please make what you usually do, just let me know. And then they would be happy to accommodate you. What a dangerous game you are playing, one that is quite rude to your HOSTS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a big one, but my MIL have exactly five conversation topics, on repeat:
1) Headaches; who has one, what caused it, what might cure it
2) Jim, do you remember Name? You know, Name, the Person who did the Thing? No? You know Name. Well anyway, Name died.
3) Weather!
4) Traffic!
5) We’re thinking about building a cabin on our land in West Virginia. We’ve been looking at plans. I think we’re going to move forward in the spring. (They’ve been saying this for at least 16 years with no action.)

I’ll be hearing some version of #2 this weekend. Not that the person died, thankfully, but some random update about their life.

You remember X? You knew them when you were a teenager. X just moved to Michigan.

Hard to know how to respond besides, “oh, hope he likes it there.”

Wow, thought I was the only one dealing with this type of conversation. Does anyone else have an elder relative that blames all ailments on blood pressure medicine?

Lots of people deal with those types of conversations. Personally I love them because I just have to say “oh wow” and the conversation is on something besides aches and pains and all my flaws.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a petty vent. We were invited to a family friend's house for Thanksgiving. One of my favorite Thanksgiving foods is stuffing. These people put candied walnuts in their stuffing and I have a nut allergy. I may go buy some Stove Top tomorrow to have with my leftovers.

That's on you for not telling them about your nut allergy.

NP. What makes you think she didn’t? My mom has grandkids with nut allergies on both sides, including my 18yo nephew, her first grandkid, who first presented with bad symptoms and was diagnosed *14 years ago* and who once was hospitalized because of cross-contamination at a party.

What did she do last Thanksgiving? Set out the food, even after my sister and I double checked about nuts. She said, “Yes, yes, I made the chocolate pie with vanilla extract instead of almond extract; I know, I know.” These were her exact words.

Then when I went to make a plate for my young niece and the other kids were lined up behind us, I asked niece if she wanted cranberry sauce, and she said yes. Then I looked at it and saw it had nuts. I loudly yelled (my sister was a bit behind me), “Mom, are these walnuts in the cranberry sauce,” and my mom said cheerfully “Oh yes, I tried a new recipe.”

So we had to put the cranberries in a separate line and warned every allergy kid and made sure all four parents knew. Then my mom still didn’t get why that was a problem until a month or so later, when the penny dropped and she called me and called my sister to apologize for not realizing and not communicating.

To be clear: no problem that she made something with nuts. Problem: she not only failed to communicate, she failed to remember and mention it when WE communicated with HER, brushing us off instead.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom always focuses on everyone’s body type and weight. She had already asked me how much three people weigh. I always say it’s rude but she doesn’t care. It is so annoying.

How on earth would you know how much someone else weighs? 😂

My MIL is this way, she comments incessantly on everyone's weight. It makes having even minor weight fluctuations stressful because I know she will clock it and then for the next three months be telling everyone she knows that I look like I recently lost or gained like 10 lbs. I feel bad for her because it's obviously because she also pays that kind of attention to her own weight and has her entire life, but also she is totally oblivious to how toxic it is and how it impacts others.

I have managed to get her to not comment on my DD's weight in front of her, but I have no control over what she says about DD when we aren't around -- I'm certain she's discussing DD's weight with everyone she knows. I hope this never gets back to DD but ugh, it might.

The weight comments! My MIL got banned after ranking DD’s entire Girl Scout troop by weight (NOT in front of them, thank god) after we all went to a Girl Scout event while she was visiting. And then refused to use their real names for the rest of the week and just called them by the nicknames she’d made up for them, because names like “Emma” were “so unusual”. So instead my DD would be telling an anecdote about Emma and MIL would say “who? Do you mean the Chubby One? Or do you mean Big Cheeks?”.

She is awful.

Wow. She is awful. I have a cousin who gives little digs to her DIL who is slightly overweight. People are strange (or mean, stupid, etc).

Anonymous wrote:My ILs live 2.5 hours away. When kids were younger, we would stay there, but as the family got larger and older, having 6 cousins sleep in the living room was not comfortable or fun. The last few years we made it a day trip.
MIL complained about how we leave so early and she doesn’t get to relax and play games with us. Fair point.
So we stayed overnight. And she played one card game and one round of Pictionary. She happened to not win either, and she quit. Me, my SIL, and our kids played several more rounds. And she complained about us being noisy.
Can’t win. Not staying overnight next year.

This made me chuckle.

My husband’s cousin and his life are good people who left on Friday like good overnight guests should.

MIL and FIL aren’t leaving after lunch which apparently they expect us to set out for them. DH can handle it. I’m having my coffee in bed like I normally do, while they fret and fuss around the kitchen even though I set out breakfast food and set up the coffee and hit start the nanosecond I woke up; even though it literally had a sign on it that said “Feel free to hit Start”

I’m over it. After my coffee, I’m going to shower, grab a bite, and take my oldest shopping like she wanted to yesterday but we didn’t Because Family. We’ll say our goodbye at 10 even though they are staying until 1. And if we stay out so long they’re gone when we give back, OK, we’ll give you hugs now just in case!

BYEEEEE! BYEEEEE! We want to actually relax during a break now! Have a good trip!

Anonymous wrote:Flew to Florida to visit my parents, flew back today. Before we left on Sunday, I asked DH if he turned the heat on, as it had been very unseasonably warm (pushing 80°!) for the week before, but a cold front was forecasted to come through Thanksgiving day and high temperatures to only be in the 40s today. "Yeah, sure I did."

I'm sure you can guess where this is heading.

It was a brisk 51 degrees in the house when we got home this afternoon. DH proceeded to have a meltdown and angrily demand to know why I didn't double check if the heat had been turned back on.

Sigh.

Who cares? Turn it on when you get home. I set the heat to 55 when we leave for a trip.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dad cannot stop taking.

“Did you know that at <nameredacted> University - there is a flock of wild turkeys that chase the students across campus?”

Um, no why would we know or care? Oh, we should care because my cousin went to that university. Cousin graduated from college 20 years ago.

That’s hilarious!

The story of wild turkeys chasing students is from Jepordy last week. One of the contestants went there and got chased. It was her funny introduction story. And yes, I guess this makes me old since I know this. But, I don't remember which school it was.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a petty vent. We were invited to a family friend's house for Thanksgiving. One of my favorite Thanksgiving foods is stuffing. These people put candied walnuts in their stuffing and I have a nut allergy. I may go buy some Stove Top tomorrow to have with my leftovers.

That's on you for not telling them about your nut allergy.

I don't expect people to change their menu because of my allergy. It's easy enough for me to avoid things with nuts. I was simply bummed I couldn't have the stuffing.

Pecan PP, if I knew you I would take you for a non-necessities grocery run and we would get a big bag of fresh pecans and your favorite snacks and some produce that is beautiful but way too expensive to justify. I remember something similar happening to me but it was a baking dish that spontaneously cracked on a cooling rack just before I was supposed to leave for a party. And I was out a lot of money for ingredients, a favorite baking dish I couldn’t afford to replace, and had to show up empty handed to the apartment of someone who I didn’t know well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Libby's canned pumpkin has that classic pie recipe on the back. I went and looked at it.
It says "...cool on wire rack for 2 hours then serve immediately or refrigerate."

Yeah there’s also a guideline that pizza shouldn’t be sitting out more than 2 hrs. I’ve left pizza out for hrs on end and nobody got hurt ever

Didn’t these people ever go to college? Next Morning Hangover Pizza rocks.

Anonymous wrote:Steak tips PP checking in.

Folks, he is about to eat the steak tips. The rest of us went out to dinner. He declined to join us and we came home to a house that smells of sizzling steaks. I'm revolted but curious to see what happens.

Everyone heads home tomorrow. Bless.

Get your phone. Dial 9, then 1, then just wait.