Wow...last night was interesting. FH and I went to watch SD12 at her Martial Arts class (which was in the most sketchy, low-rent place ever with an overweight sensei that had no sense of discipline and just whined when the kids didn't listen to him - yeah that's worth $100/month) that she does with her Half-brother, so BM was there. Things are usually pretty chill between us all, but she was just extra annoying.

First of all,a good thing: she said she wants to cut down on the amount of child support we give her and instead wants us to put it into SD's savings account for future education. She is convinced that 5 years of this will pay for 4 years of university (if SD even decides to go) but it really will only pay for one year. But either way, at least she's thinking about her daughter's future and not about how our money will buy momma a new cell phone or jewelry...She said her conditions were that we show her receipts every month, etc. Ok fine.

Then she said since now all of a sudden she only wants the best for her kid (trust me, this has not been her #1 focus for the past 9 years since I've known her) she wants her to go to my old high school, which we live near, (they live in a rougher neighbourhood) so she can have a better chance to get in to a good post-secondary school. Her conditions were that SD has to stay with us overnight any time there is bad weather, and since it is walking distance she can come by after school any time she wants to visit or get a ride home from one of us.

I'm sorry, since when is BM allowed to decide that SD can just barge into my house (and it is MY house - I bought it myself and pay ALL the bills - but FH does ALL the housework so it's ok hahaha) whenever she wants and expect us to drop everything for her? Both FH and I work full time, and we get SD EOW which suits us just fine. Do we want SD having a key to our house to come and go as she pleases? Absolutely not! I have worked my butt off (7 years of university plus working 12 hour shifts every weekend and stat holiday all through school to pay for it all on my own and still worked every weekend and holiday through my first few years of teaching full-time, which for those of you who are teachers know that that pretty much made doing my homework almost impossible) to be able to afford to live in this area (I still don't make that much money, but enough to have a house and car of my own) so that any kids I have in the future will have a safe neighbourhood and good schools.

I'm glad that BM realizes that this is where her kid should go to school, but my sister and brother both teach at that school(we're all teachers), and they told me the school no longer accepts out-of-catchment students since it already has too many due to all of its specialty programs, which SD will not be accepted to because she is just mediocre at school...

Also, BM has decided she wants her other kids to go there too (her kids with her hubby)...so, does she expect that THEY can stay at our place when there is bad weather too? I told her about the out-of-catchment rule and said why don't she and hubby just move to the area so that the kids can all go there with no hassle, but I know they could never afford a place around here, so it was a little bitchy on my part. And again, it's not that I have a lot of money and am snobby, I have just been very smart with it and made good life choices. They are terrible with money and don't have enough skills to get well-paying jobs which is why they live where they do. For example, SD12 has the newest ipod, nintendo ds, not one, but 2 laptops (they are her mom's "old ones" - they get a new one like every few months), and BM and her hubby have tablets and iphones, etc.

I grew up with only one parent working a modest income job and was probably just as poor as BM and hubby, and I NEVER had any fancy toy or gadget. To this day, I don't even have a smart phone. FH and I share a laptop that I have to transport back and forth to school every day. We refuse to help pay for presents for SD that we think are too much, because she really doesn't need these things. BM wants to buy SD her own tablet for christmas, but the spoiled brat already asked FH's dad for it and he would do anything for his grand-daughter so he promised he would, but he's like one step away from welfare so he really can't afford it, and BM is mad cause she doesn't want HIM buying it when she is supposed to. We asked SD why she asked for a tablet for christmas, since she already has 2 laptops and according to her, uses the school computers every day. She said "I dunno, to play games"...My FH almost lost it on her....wow...

Anyways, to top it all off, BM says that SD will probably just want to live with us when she goes to high school to avoid the bus ride every day, and that will be SD's decision and we will all have to respect it...Ummmm, what? Sounds like BM is trying to pawn off her kid before the real puberty hormones kick in and they kill each other. But again, who is BM to tell me who is going to live in my house? FH doesn't want to have his kid live with us full time, since he knows it's best for her to stay with her siblings in a real family unit. We're not even married yet and not ready for full-time kids, and her mom has been married for years and they have 2 other kids. It's just a way better situation for her family-wise. FH had his kid full time for the first 2 years I knew him and had already had her solo for a year because BM was totally sketch at that time, but she really turned things around and has actually been a decent mom, which made FH trust that she would be able to handle having SD full time. She hasn't complained for the last 7 years since she took over custody, but now all of a sudden she wants us to just drop everything and let SD move in if she so desires when she gets to high school? I'm not sure I'm comfortable with BM trying to make decisions like that for me.

I know it's 2 years off still and BM does talk out of her butt a lot, especially when she's off her meds, but it just ticks me off how bossy and presumptuous she can be! I swear sometimes I am actually dumber after conversations with her...I feel like an idiot even talking about it now. I'm annoyed that these kinds of moronic situations occupy so much of my mental real estate, but I can't help it!

In other news, BM also asked FH to go to a movie with her and SD, just the 3 of them. Ummmm....they have NEVER done anything together since they broke up 10 YEARS AGO, so why now? She's married, he's engaged, and that kid would just be totally confused...FH actually laughed in her face when she asked and told her no he does not want to go on a date with her...Wow...so weird...but apparently, again she gets like that when she doesn't take her meds. I should have gone into psychology....