Anonymous wrote:I'm new to my husband's family. First time staying at the in-laws. The main bathroom in the hallway does not have a doorknob. This is where I'm to shower and get ready with two other families.

I asked my husband if we could check into a hotel but he said it would hurt his moms feelings.

Anonymous wrote:We invited our niece, because her family is a trainwreck and she had no place to go, knowing that her 2 dogs are part of the package (we also have 2 dogs).

Although we asked her to keep her dogs downstairs where she is staying in our walkout basement, they are underfoot in the kitchen, 2 90lb beasts, who counter surf. When one dog manages to access some food, all the others revert to pack animal behavior.

I am envisioning a Christmas Story type fiasco later today when the turkey is sitting on the counter and the pack of wild dogs descend. Yes, we must live with our bad decisions. More wine, please.

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Anonymous wrote:Cereal for breakfast. Do not know when any other food is happening.

You expect a cooked breakfast on Thanksgiving? You are the problem. Forage.

+1

What’s wrong with cereal, on Thanksgiving of all days? Reminds me of the poster who wanted to disrupt her host’s Thanksgiving prep to cook a full hot breakfast for her “adult boys” because they’d simply wither away if they ate a bagel.

Oh that was a great thread! She was fussing about wanting to make eggs or some nonsense.

I don't remember this. Can someone please share?

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Anonymous wrote:My little nephew is “helping” with the pies… interspersed with throwing a slobbery tennis ball for their puppy.

We stopped going to a neighbor’s for Thanksgiving and dinner parties because her cat “loved to keep her company in the kitchen.” He would walk on the counters and watch while she prepped food. We didn’t realize this for many years because of the layout of the house. We started hosting her but we’re a bit relieved when she moved away even though she was lovely about bringing people together.

I love cats, but this is so gross! In the litter box and then on the counter… yum.

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Anonymous wrote:My little nephew is “helping” with the pies… interspersed with throwing a slobbery tennis ball for their puppy.

We stopped going to a neighbor’s for Thanksgiving and dinner parties because her cat “loved to keep her company in the kitchen.” He would walk on the counters and watch while she prepped food. We didn’t realize this for many years because of the layout of the house. We started hosting her but we’re a bit relieved when she moved away even though she was lovely about bringing people together.

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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!

If your kids have sleep disorders you should offer to pay for a hotel for your visitors, you really just should not have overnight guests.

Not PP you were talking to, but my son has a sleep disorder, untreatable sleep apnea. It's NOT a joke. It will shorten his life, make him more liable to develop dementia, and worsens his existing ADHD and daily capabilities. No one should scoff at such medical troubles.

Why would I pay for hotels for guests? Our house is too small for guests. We see each other at non-Holiday times, that's all.

I’m not “scoffing,” I’m saying that if there’s a problem with guests, you should prioritize the health of the people who live in the house, and not have guests!

Sounds like you live close to your family; how nice. Some of us don’t and don’t get the chance to see each other very often. So yes, if they buy plane tickets and rent a car the least I can do is entertain them and pay for a few nights in a hotel to protect my kids’ health.

Again, no one is “scoffing,” so consider stop being so knee-jerk defensive.

DP, a m not paying for guests’ hotel rooms.
Pay for your own hotel.
You can either stay at my house or you can’t.
I don’t expect people to pay for my hotel. Are you nuts?

Generally I would not pay for a hotel for my guests....BUT, if I am so neurotic that my daughter giggling with her aunt early in the morning is going to send me into a tailspin, such that I don't want my SIL in my home, I'd pony up for the hotel. (But what I should really do is get a therapist to deal with my serious anxiety).

To that PP, I understand the stress of managing a child with a health condition, but if you truly cannot handle your daughter infrequently getting less than ten hours of sleep, get some help on this. Life happens.

Let me clarify a few things. I live in a 7000 square foot home. There are plenty of places for guests to go in my home to talk and do whatever they please. I was not upset about giggling. I was upset about ridiculously loud laughter from my SIL that woke me up out of a dead sleep while it was still dark outside. It was so loud, it woke everyone up, including my husband and son. My husband was equally as pissed. We have guests probably every month and no other guest has ever done this. They quietly go downstairs if they are up early and can talk on the main floor. It’s called manners.

She visits 3-4 times a year and it happens every time she is here. 8 day visits are a compromise because had I not set that boundary, she would come for 2-3 weeks. Believe me, 8 days of a sleep exhausted kid is not fun. We want to see my SIL and host her but just wish we could minimize sleep disruptions to the kids. I’m already letting the kids go to bed later so they have more time together in the evenings. I’m not trying to crush their fun. Just trying to ensure my kid can function at school. Her tiredness at school is so bad we are considering a low dose stimulant to help her stay awake. Sorry you think I’m so nuts. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that guests are mindful of the kids sleep schedule when you are hosting them for over a week.

SIL is a rude guest. Period. End of this boring side thread.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cereal for breakfast. Do not know when any other food is happening.

You expect a cooked breakfast on Thanksgiving? You are the problem. Forage.

+1

What’s wrong with cereal, on Thanksgiving of all days? Reminds me of the poster who wanted to disrupt her host’s Thanksgiving prep to cook a full hot breakfast for her “adult boys” because they’d simply wither away if they ate a bagel.

Oh that was a great thread! She was fussing about wanting to make eggs or some nonsense.

Anonymous wrote:My little nephew is “helping” with the pies… interspersed with throwing a slobbery tennis ball for their puppy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cereal for breakfast. Do not know when any other food is happening.

You expect a cooked breakfast on Thanksgiving? You are the problem. Forage.

+1

What’s wrong with cereal, on Thanksgiving of all days? Reminds me of the poster who wanted to disrupt her host’s Thanksgiving prep to cook a full hot breakfast for her “adult boys” because they’d simply wither away if they ate a bagel.

Haha, seriously.

Anonymous wrote:My little nephew is “helping” with the pies… interspersed with throwing a slobbery tennis ball for their puppy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cereal for breakfast. Do not know when any other food is happening.

You expect a cooked breakfast on Thanksgiving? You are the problem. Forage.

+1

What’s wrong with cereal, on Thanksgiving of all days? Reminds me of the poster who wanted to disrupt her host’s Thanksgiving prep to cook a full hot breakfast for her “adult boys” because they’d simply wither away if they ate a bagel.