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DH and I big blowout No. 1,234,567,890

Elizabeth's picture

Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. But...

Before I get into details, let me set up things. DH wants to take our two BDs (10 and 7) to see SD at her college on "family" weekend. It's 5 hours away, he works every weekend, she's a junior, he has gone before. Both BDs have weekend activities, BD10's are mandatory (agreed when we signed up she would not miss them). We discussed this previously and I thought agreed BDs probably could not go. I now find out:

1. He has asked for and received both weekend days off. He didn't inform me of this when he put in the request OR when it was granted. It is very hard for him to get time off, especially two weekend days in a row.
2. He has spoken with BD10's coach and he says gotten permission for her to miss the event that weekend. He didn't inform me of this either.
3. He intends to drive up Friday and drive home Sunday. This was originally scheduled to be a one-day thing. He did not inform me of the change in plans.
4. He has reserved a hotel room for the weekend. He did not inform me of the hotel reservation either.
5. He has talked to our BDs and gotten them on board with wanting to go BUT failed to bring up that both would miss their activities, which they enjoy very much.
6. This happens to be the very weekend my parents were planning to travel from out of state to see our two BDs in their activities. To be fair, he did not know this.

So last weekend we are driving and he asks me how much it would cost to rent a car. I tell him I'm not sure, depends on the rate you get and who you go through. I have no idea why he needs this information, so I ask, and he informs me he is thinking about renting one for this trip he is taking our BDs on (which I didn't know was happening). Sh*t hits the fan.

1. It is NOT OK with me that you make plans that involve our two BDs and do not ask me if I am OK with this. I do not EVER make plans for them where I do not first consult him and get his OK. If he says no, I do not do it.
2. It is NOT OK with me that you did all this arrangement behind my back and never told me but forced me to find out in an ass backwards manner.
3. It is NOT OK with me that we discussed this and agreed it would probably not work out, and instead of agreeing with me or even talking to me about it you go behind my back to orchestrate the trip and then try to force it through on me.

So, we have not talked much over the past few days as you can imagine. I am mad at him for pulling this stunt, he is mad at me for trying to keep SD and our two BDs apart and making him go alone.

SD20 drinks alcohol excessively (has since she was 13, and DH knows this), has had runins with the law (underage drinking, illegal acts by undesirable boyfriends), does illegal drugs (DH knows this), abuses subscription medication (DH knows but ignores/deflects), has unprotected sex with extremely undesirable men (most recent BF had six kids with four women and was cheating on SD while they were dating, likely with multiple women), has as many as 10 tattoos (which she used daddy's money to finance and DH knows this), got a D on her last college course (which DH paid for anyway), has a whopping 2.5 GPA and is just now starting her major courses so I expect it to continue to drop, hates me (DH knows this), trash talks me in front of our two BDs (DH knows this). She is just all around undesirable, and I don't wish my two BDs to be around this. Why would DH, besides the fact she is his daughter?

Anyway, he is in the dog house, but I don't think he cares.

Comments

whatwasithinkin's picture

I agree everything he did behind you back is bullshit and he should be called out on the mat for that.

However that last paragraph is holding a grudge. If you didnt want SD to be able to have anything to do with your children then you probably should have thought twice about having children with this man and I am not saying that to be mean I am saying that to be honest.

These two are her half sisters (?), this is yoru husband. Regardless of what SD does this is her family too surprisingly enough as much as it is yours by way of blodd.

Give your husband some credit about being able to take care of yoru BD's I assume you trust him with your children or you wouldnt have any with him. So trust that he knows appropriate situations for your daughters to be involved in. It's a visit ...that's it. I seriously doubt she is going to change your daughters into a raging college partier in two days. As far a your husbands behind you back actions, you need to deal with that. he is wayyyy out of line.

Elizabeth's picture

Thanks. Regarding your comment on the last paragraph of my post, you're darn tooting I'm holding a grudge. I admit it. BUT, SD was 5 when we got together, obviously I had no advance notice she was going to be like she is now.

I trust DH with our children when SD20 is not around. When she is, his common sense goes right out the window. He is "helpless" to correct SD20's behavior, so she feels free to badmouth me to DH while our two BDs are in the car. He cannot say no to SD20, and therein lies the problem. No, I don't expect her to turn our two BDs into a mini version of her in two days BUT I have other family members with drug or alcohol problems and I choose not to be involved with them because of the bad example it sets for my two BDs. So it is hard to see DH accept and even encourage this behavior and know he is going to expose my two BDs to it.

zerostepdrama's picture

You pretty much said what I was thinking.

To add to this.... You have known for quite awhile that he wants to take the BDs with him on this weekend. If I remember correctly there has been discussion around this. This is something important to him. Whether you agree with it or not.

As far as your BDs missing their practices, etc. Is it REALLY that big of deal? or did you agree that they wouldnt miss anything because you didnt want your BDs going to this weekend?

I do think that your DH should have let you know all the plans he made. However, you have known he wanted to go and planned to go and that he even assumed he was taking the younger BDs, so it shouldn't be that much of a surprise.

I think the ONLY reason you have an issue with this is because you dont like SD.

You often reference her behavior in college, etc however she is typical of a lot of kids in college. Maybe not all the extremes, but a majority. She drinks, lots of college kids drink. She has sex, lots of college kids have sex.

Dont take this the wrong way but you spend WAY too much time letting SD get in your head. Who cares what she is doing in college. If she ruins her own life, well oh wells. I do get that your DH invests a lot of time and money into her and that does affect your life, but I think if you took a step back and didnt spend so much time trying to show your DH how awful SD is and let the cards lie where they fall, you may find that you are a lot happier.

(((HUGS)))

Elizabeth's picture

When we signed BD up for this program, there was a clause that they do not miss ANY of the events. It's not something I made up. DH and I discussed it before we signed on the dotted line. He knows about it, he just wants to make an exception because it is convenient for him at this time. BD missed a family vacation out of town a couple of weeks ago because of this commitment.

Being typical of a lot of kids in college is not something to strive for, in my opinion. There are many things I left off here, including providing alcohol to minors, selling her prescription drugs, etc. She's just not a good role model, and I deliberately avoid other people who act the way she does. I am forced to let me BDs associate with SD20 solely because she is my DH's child. That's my sticking point. If I thought he had any chance to curb her behavior in front of our two BDs, that would be one thing. But he has admitted he cannot.

alieigh21's picture

What if it were one of your children acting that way? Two things I can share with you.

After watching two kids be part of dozens of athletic teams over the years, many coaches ask for mandatory practices, few get them. My BD once missed a family vacation to attend mandatory cheer practices that week. She was told by the coach she had to chose. We gave her the option and SHE decided the vacation was important enough to miss the vacation. The vacation ended up being our last one. A year later she missed practices to attend her fathers funeral. I guess I have a different perspective on these things. While I do agree they should honor their commitments, I also think many coaches tend to take these things way too seriously.

My BS has made some pretty bone head moves. He is a senior in college. He is anything but an average student he actually excels academically. It's self control he struggles with. I know he has exposed his sister to alcohol and some less than desirable situations. It doesn't make me love him less and it doesn't make me want to keep his sister away from him. Did I condone the behavior? Of course not. Did I help him? Of course I did, I'm his mother. I could no sooner turn my back on one of my kids than I could stop breathing. I'm not blind to his faults but you know what? Neither is his sister. I'm not saying allow SD to expose them to dangerous behavior but unless you have no TV, no movies and live in a bubble they are going to be exposed to things you wish they weren't from time to time.

Elizabeth's picture

I already told DH what I would do if SD20 were actually my kid: I would drive to that college in person, just me (not with young kids in tow) and have a serious heart to heart with her. I would explain how her poor choices are going to affect her later in life. I would tell her she needs to pull her head out of her as* and that my days of funding her partying lifestyle are behind her. I would make her prove through her actions that she was dedicated to college. I would stop handing over cash altogether until she gets a job and gets her grades headed in the upward direction.

I told DH that he needs to, at a minimum:
1. Stop giving SD cash (she uses it for alcohol, drugs and tattoos) and give her Walmart gift cards instead if he is so worried about her going without essentials
2. Not pay for classes where SD gets a D. She only had one class over the summer, it wasn't even a major class (just gen ed) and she got a D. It's completely because she was partying and doing drugs. Her mother said she wasn't paying for D grades, and I think that's the right decision. So DH paid for BM's part too :jawdrop:

Love is sometimes about making tough decisions, not enabling someone into alcoholism and drug addiction.

alieigh21's picture

I obviously don't know the details with your SD but it sounds like from your post that you have a strong dislike of her. You say "We discussed it and I thought we had agreed" It doesn't sound like your DH would agree with that statement. It would have been better if he wouldn't have done it behind your back but did you give him a choice. A couple of the things you bring up as the things your DH did wrong seem like things that should be his decision. I would for example, NEVER allow my husband to tell me when I was allowed to take a day off, especially if the time off was to attend an activity for one of my kids.

I have two kids who had tons of activities that we worked around for years. I would not force the kids attend an activity if that meant missing out on a family event. Even if you don't like or approve of the SD, she is still their half sister. As an adult I'm very close to my half siblings even though they often made mistakes or did things my parents did not approve of.

A lot of college aged kids make bad decisions. The guidance, love and support they get from their families is part of what gets them thru this and allows them to learn and make better decisions. Ultimately you either trust DH to be a good dad or you don't. Ask yourself what the real consequences of the girls going along to this event are? Do you think your DH would allow your SD to drink or use drugs in the presence of your kids? Are you concerned that if SD bad mouths you it will somehow lessen the affection your kids have for you? My advice is you should discuss with your husband the importance of being honest about his feelings and choose your battles.

Elizabeth's picture

Absolutely I gave him a choice! I never said he couldn't take them, I told him there were conflicts and that I was not wild about them going all that way for something they have no interest in (college family day). He's the one who shut down and stopped talking. I had no way to know he was scheming behind my back to ram it through.

I'm not forcing the kids to do anything. In fact, DH wants to put them in the middle and make them choose. I would rather be the bad guy and do it for them than put them through that. BD10 missed a family vacation two weeks ago for her activity, now DH is going to put the guilt on her to go see SD and skip her activity. How is that fair to her?

What good is love and support without guidance? It turns out someone who thinks their every action is justified, and that's what we have with SD. DH knows she's not going the right direction, but he won't do anything to change that.

secondplace's picture

I would for example, NEVER allow my husband to tell me when I was allowed to take a day off, especially if the time off was to attend an activity for one of my kids.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I agree with you here, but I don't think Elizabeth's DH ever takes weekends off for her or the other two kids.

DaizyDuke's picture

Yes, but Elizabeth you forget that your DH wears the Googly Eye Disney Daddy Goggles and filters out all the crap that SD does. In his eyes, she's wonder woman and your BD's (and everyone else) MUST surely WANT to see her and spend time with her just like he does.. right? (insert gag sound here)

Sounds like my DH..
SS14: Got caught shoplifting at 12, got caught at a drinking party at 13, admitted to buying, smoking and selling pot at 13, got caught smoking cigarettes at 12, failed both 7th and 8th grade, has been having sex since 11... and this is just the shit he has been CAUGHT at/admitted.

But according to DH, he's a good kid (who's just made some mistakes and is just acting like a "normal" teenager)and he is BS3 brother and therefore I should welcome his glorious presence in my home.

Listen I don't give a monkeys ass if SS and BS were siamese twins for pete's sake, I don't want BS around SS. Period.Dot.Dash. Thankfully, it has not been forced on me yet as at the present time, SS is not speaking to DH. (HOORAY for small favors!) DH seems to have this ridiculous notion that just because skids aren't mouthy and say please and thank you, that they are "good kids"

Anon2009's picture

I agree with zero and what. I'm not trying to be rude or hurtful. DH shouldn't have gone behind your back.

That said, some of SD's behavior is typical of college students (minus the guy with multiple baby mommas). She has ex. She drinks. She dates guys with tattoos. My own DH has tattoos.

You don't see SD a lot. However, I think you need to mentally disengage from her. Casually change the subject if DH starts talking about her. Don't ask about her. Don't look at her social networking sites. Find friends/family/bds friends' moms who can help with your bds when you're working and DH has something going on with SD so they don't have to see her if you don't want them to.

Sweet T's picture

I originally started on here at the same time more or less that Elizabeth did, I think SD was about 13 or 14. Her DH has never been very involved with their daugheter but tripped over his d%ck for SD. He has allowed her to treat E like crap, and this isn't thei first time he has manipulated and gone behind her back.

I think that he knew that E had said no to the trip and he did it any ways because he is a manipulater. I would be pi$$ed if it were me. How is he financing this little trip. I am amazed he has any money to spend on this. Also I would be concerned whether he would bekeeping an eye on the girls while under SD's spell.

zerostepdrama's picture

I just feel like this wouldnt be such a big deal if OP didnt dislike her SD so much.

And it's not the my SD has bad behavior, she is not a good person, so I am going to disengage. It's quite the opposite. Elizabeth is constantly checking what SD is doing on social sites. She quite enjoys checking up on SD and seeing what she is doing. She knows who she is sleeping with, what grades she is getting, what she did that weekend. SD is 10 hours away.

Not trying to attack you, but if you really dont like your SD you can cut her out of your life and head. You dont have to check up on her on social sites. That would probably solve a lot of your issues.

But back to the original post, you either suck it up and take one for the team (allow this weekend to happen, becuase it obviously means a lot to your husband) or put your foot down, stop the weekend from happening (you have a legit reason since he went behind your back)and deal with the aftermath.

I just feel like its a control issue, you dont like SD, so you dont want DH and BDs to go.

Willow2010's picture

Oh Liz...And I am usually TOTALLY on your side about things because your DH and SD remind me of my DH and SS to an extent. But I tried to tell you when you first posted about this that it "I" would not make it a hill to die on.

And I hope now you see why. When you first posted about this you posted that you argued with him on all of the above points. So he did what he had to do and he FIXED almost all of your concerns. Hun...if you would have just let it go, he would have been up there and back in one day. No harm. no fowl.

I really don't see how you can, NOT let this happen without looking like it is ALL about SD now. He fixed most of your concerns.

Believe me..I know how you feel, but I think you shot yourself in the foot on this one.

Elizabeth's picture

It was never a hill I would die on. And it still isn't. But I just cannot handle the not being a man and talking to me about this face to face. We were talking about it face to face when I posted the first time and he just clammed up. That's obviously because he just decided to go behind my back and ram this down my throat. At the time he wouldn't even give me the date. I finally had to ask him TODAY for the date of this excursion. What kind of communication is that?!

whatwasithinkin's picture

contray to what we as Mom's believe we do not own our children exclusively. They are DH's too.

if you passed away tomorrow your daughters are left with your husband who can and will have a relationship with sd

if the two of you divorced tomorrow he can and will expose your daughters to sd. it is his right.

we complain about BM's and control issues. I have had to accept I cant control what my DEX does when he has my children in his care, nor can he dictate what I can do while they are in my care.

this situation calls for some compromise.

Drac0's picture

Egads!

I don't know what I would be more upset about. The fact that he kept you out of the loop or the length of complex actions he took behind your back. So not cool. I'm curious as to exactly what he was expecting your recation to be?

Elizabeth's picture

I'm curious about that as well Draco! I don't know if he honestly just expected me to fold in the face of his careful covert planning. If so, that blew up in his face! I'm more mad at being deceived than anything. He knows that's something I can't stand.

Drac0's picture

If I haven't been keeping up with your blogs (I do read them BTW, I just don't respond to every one), I would think that somehow your DH still has this "Rockwellian" image of your family and he *thinks* this trip will be a grand adventure and you will be ready and willing to hop on board his fantasy train.

But that ain't the case is it?....It really sounds like he is just steam rolling these plans.

Willow2010's picture

Do you think he was "going behind you back" or was he just fixing all of the points you were arguing about? Did he out and out tell you that he was not going or did he just stop arguing with you about it?

Think about it this way...your DH tells you that NO you can not do something with your kids and then he tells you all of the reasons why you can't. So you go and fix all of the reasons and get on with life until it comes up again.

KWIM?

Elizabeth's picture

To answer you, I have never and will never make a decision that affects our two BDs without consulting DH. He knows this and will admit to it. BD wants her ears pierced? DH and I discuss it and determine when is the right time. Other BD wants to take dance class? He and I discuss it and determine if that's OK with both of us. When we had this argument I brought up that fact. It seems logical to me, we are BOTH their parents, ONE should not be making unilateral decisions without consulting the other. So, in answer, if DH tells me NO about something, we do not do it. Point blank. I do not go around finding a way to overcome his objections, I just accept the decision and move on. Like an adult who respect her partner's feeling and opinions.

Elizabeth's picture

I <3 you! You get it!

If DH wants to have adult privileges, he should man up and act like an adult and TALK to his WIFE about his plans for THEIR kids.