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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to try to find excuses so my guests don't stay beyond tomorrow.

61 replies

Maelstrom · 01/01/2011 21:30

I just came back from a long trip with my child, both totally jet lagged and child misbehaving terribly due to over tiredness, changed routines and being spoiled rotten by the family.

On the day of the arrival, friends I have not seen in years ring to ask if they can come to visit. When? tomorrow. They have come but they now have children and we have not had a very successful mix, my child and theirs together bring the worst in each other, they have played a lot but the house is thrashed. Most toys DS received for Christmas are now broken or missing pieces. Old treasures have been smashed or destroyed. DS is acting like a git because he is obviously upset about the broken toys and tired with the jet lag, and has not have any quiet time since they arrived two days ago. I have asked twice, how long they are staying but have not got an answer yet.

I was looking to some quiet time before starting work on Tuesday, I have been stressing over two days dealing with bad behaviour, shouting, accidents, broken toys, etc. Admitedly, my friends are very nice and considerate, they do nice things like replenishing the fridge and eve cooking a 5 course NYE dinner -from scratch!.

But at the moment, I just want some silence, to be back to my routines, to sort DS' routines and behaviour, to organise the bloody house which looks as a tip, and recover from the jet lag.

Apart of having 2 tablets of valium, what can I do?

OP posts:
K12Mom · 02/01/2011 14:44

FFS, tell them today that you need them to leave tomorrow as you have loads of things to do before you go back to work. Then when they get up tomorrow, strip the beds and put all the bedding in the washing machine. Just in case they don't get the message.

You have been given some good advice here, please take it... for your son's sake. Then take him out and buy him some new Lego (with the money you will be saving by not catering for your 'guests').

plupervert · 02/01/2011 17:15

Hope they are gone by now, Maelstrom?

Maelstrom · 02/01/2011 19:40

Ok, they are gone.

I have been running around like a mad woman until 2 am last night, up at seven today, got them out for a long walk for the whole day which keep all the children busy and away of the house. Wish sometimes Mumsnet had something to say when a poster is logged in... I was not ignoring your posts, I was dealing with the situation.

I won't bill them for the broken toys. TBH I think that's even more rude than breaking the toys. However, I'm going to be reminding DS about this often, I asked him to hide the toys away before they arrived, but he wanted to show them to the children, I told him there was a 3 year old coming over and he insisted not to take anything out. So as I said in my first post, is dealing with a jetlagged-overtired-recently spoiled-rotten child who was challenge even before they arrived and the toys were broken.

One of the other children has ADHD but despite the level of activity he is a very obedient child, his brother is way younger, he is a sweetie but he needs more supervision, his mother... well, I can see a very very tired woman who has also raised her threshold in behaviour expectations as otherwise she would be driven up the wall (My sister has a child with autism and my exhusband has aspergers, I have been parenting on my own for 3 years now, so I know where that tired look/lack of response comes from). So, it is not that the children were bad it is just that the mixture of the three was nothing but explosive.

BTW, DS is not a doormat, actually, much of the stress was about keeping his good manners in place, he is very resilient, patient, and normally a very caring child, but if somebody push his buttons for long enough, he can lash off, which I obviously, as any other parent, find unacceptable.

So well, to update on the day, I came down a bit after my last post this morning, found the kitchen clean, the living room tidy, all the children and adults fed and a cup of coffee was swiftly prepared for me, I explained that I had an important call to make so I needed to plan the day (my mother is going into hospital this evening/morning but with the difference in time use, I couldn't call her before leaving the house). They told me they were leaving before the evening, so we packed all of the children (and luggage) in the cars and went for a long walk. DS was so tired, cold and fed up he had his first "tantrum" in years. The other children were also tired and cold so they ended up taking us all to a restaurant for a late Sunday lunch, after that we took them to the station.

And yes, they are my friends despite the mill we have gone through, that's why I put up with this, because we have a "history" together, they were fantastic friends and TBH, being all of us expats and thousands of miles away from our respective countries, there was a time when I considered them part of the family, so it is nice to have them back in the country.

Now, for next time, I will ensure DS and I are rested and every single breakable toy put away before they arrive. I guess DS will listen this time.

OP posts:
MadamDeathstare · 02/01/2011 19:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Maelstrom · 02/01/2011 19:49

Thank you for the reference. We have already started a hunt for lego pieces around the house, we will know tomorrow how bad the outcome is.

OP posts:
onadietcokebreak · 02/01/2011 20:22

You can also get replacement parts direct from lego

LIZS · 02/01/2011 20:32

Glad you have got your breathing space and hope the dmaage isn't as bad as feared.

K12Mom · 03/01/2011 02:31

And for what it's worth, I think your son behaved with impeccable good manners.

UnderTheRadar2212 · 03/01/2011 02:40

Maelstrom, just remember this bit of your OP next time:

On the day of the arrival, friends I have not seen in years ring to ask if they can come to visit. When? tomorrow. They have come.......

You CAN say NO, it's your house, so it's allowed. Wink

IAPJJLPJ · 03/01/2011 08:26

Maelstrom - they sound like good friends if they cook and clean etc. I often read on here that friends don't help at all - and they did.

I feel it was more the timing of the visit that was an issue - but one that you can learn from. Also the broken toys - again an experience you can learn from.

ABudafulSightWereHappyTonight · 03/01/2011 22:46

Maelstrom can i just say you have been extremely gracious - in the face of a nightmare visit and in the face of some tough words on here. And I agree your DS was great.

I am an expat and know how those friendships are intense and also how expats are used to moving about and coming to stay and also having guests. Your guests were just in the wrong place at the wrong time by the sounds of it. If you had had more time and notice that they were coming and not been tired and jet-lagged yourselves it would have all been different I am sure. However your friends do seem like good guests. We have all had guests who sat about and expected to be waited on hand and foot and also didn't contribute. Your friends did reciprocate your hospitality by helping out and taking you out for lunch etc.

So well done on surviving the experience! And well done on on staying friends.

Hope you manage to sort out your DS's toys.

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