Apparently I didn't do a good enough job...
Dammit. Apparently I didn't do a good enough job trying to make the Skids not want to come here, because according to DH, they're now saying things like, "I wish we lived at YOUR house, then at least we'd be on time for stuff," and, "We get to stay an extra night with YOU?!? YES!" FML. I don't get it, the nicest I am to them is lukewarm at best. I have open disdain for them. So what went wrong? Why might this happen? SS11 is such a whiney, passive-aggressive a-hole, and SS9 couldn't find his own ass with a map and a flashlight. And yet, I have a bad feeling that when SS11 turns 12, he'll want to come with us. SS9, maybe not, he likes it over at his mom's house where he gets away with everything and never has to do anything for himself, but SS11...he's a daddy's boy. I hope SS11 thinks about the potential consequences of his coming to live here. First of all, every time he complains like Kyle's cousin, Kyle (South Park reference, look it up if you don't know, it's funny when it's not you), he'll be grounded. Secondly, every time he pulls one of his attention-seeking acts (i.e. saying his back all of a sudden feels like he's been tazed, and then falls flat on the floor like tonight), he'll be grounded. Third of all, he'll not be allowed to graze on junk food all day and then refuse to eat anything resembling an actual meal. He'll have to deal with real enforcement of rules and boundaries with actual consequences and discipline. I hope he's ready to enter the Thunderdome, cuz that's what it's gonna be.
I hear you! We got all three
I hear you! We got all three desiring to live with us. They know NO boundaries and it's been an uphill struggle to get them to grow a little year by year. The youngest were ten year old, boy and girl fraternal twins. Their mother is a sociopath. HELL ON PERPETUAL TURBO BOOST!! The older boy was 16 and his mother could not handle his attitide, I think I would have given that cuckoo bird more than attitude as a teenager but, still, the kids came to us. It was a huge shift for them, to adjust to a BEDTIME ON SCHOOL NIGHTS; the audacity of us telling them they needed to sleep?? and there was a lot of rebellion, resentment, and any other teenage anxt you can imagine. Poor DH, caught between the devil and the deep blue sea trying to sort it all out. I made sure my feelings were known too! Seven years later, we are making it, they'll all be flying the coop and we'll be semi retired and doing what we want to do. DH and I cheer ourselves up by planning what we might do once the kids are gone.
At least DH is totally on
At least DH is totally on board with the whole "Thunderdome" thing, he's just as irritated by SS11's antics as I am. (Now he's walking in a circle around the living room while complaining about the bathrooms at his school...and saying, "We never get to stay here extra, I can't believe we get to stay here an extra night!" So annoying.) So it really could be worse...but I still don't want it to happen. Maybe if I remind DH that if his kid is constantly in the house, we can't have loud sex anymore, it might cause him to pause and think...