To want to know a rough time of when exdp is returning the children?

[Myusernameismyusername]

He's taken them away for the weekend - lovely. They having a nice time, everyone's happy.

I am now driving them all around the bend it seems by asking 7 times 'when will you be back tomorrow?'. No one knows.

Shall I just sit indoors looking out of the window all day, or only go out in a 5 mile radius so I am not too far from home when they return and no one is sitting on the doorstep?
Plan for dinner? Lunch? I have on a few occasions been returned 2 kids at 6pm who are hungry and then I have had to do an emergency freezer surprise dinner.

I know exdp and he is very organised and always plans things out. I am sure he has planned what time to leave but either finds it amusing not to tell me, or doesn't think it matters.

(Lighthearted annoying man complaint)

This used to infuriate me too but in those days there were no mobile phones so no way to contact ex-H to find out drop off time.
Re the food issue: prepare a large batch of mince and peppers&onion bolognese so you can just cook pasta to go with it if they come home hungry. It keeps for a few days so you can also top it with mash to make it Shepherds Pie

Re teens and food... Have you seen a hungry teen before?

Erm yes. I have two teens myself. My DC are 16 and 13 and currently with their dad (my ex) so I do have a pretty good idea of your situation

Honestly I think you are bring ridiculous now. Of course a teenager can wait half an hour to eat. They are perfectly capable of making their own food anyway. Of course it's not "spiteful" if you're not home when they get in.

I agree it's annoying that your ex won't tell you an idea of when they'll be home. But the way you've made it into a massive deal is al your doing. And the idea that you have to wait in because they can't be home without you or wait for more than 5 minutes to eat is just stupid.

If thIs situation happened in our house I would text the eldest and day "hey I hope you've had a lovely time. If I'm not in when you get back, I'm only at x. If you're hungry there's y in the fridge. I'll be back at z o'clock. Ring me if you need me. Love you xxx"

Wouldn't it be easier to fix times beforehand?

We have a schedule we do via e-mail once every three months. We have basic contact which we stick to 9 times out of 10. We deal with all swaps necessary in that mail and times of pick up and drop off.

Of course things happen which can't be helped like late trains, getting caught in traffic jams etc.

But its so much easier to do it that way

If my XH has the kids at the weekend I usually pick them up at 6.30pm on Sunday so we work on that assumption and let each other know if we're running late. That avoids the constant checking on times. I'd recommend establishing a regular routine - my XH isn't too good at answering texts all the time so it helps.

For you tomorrow I'd just say I'm going to be out all day tomorrow so best to drop off from ..... onwards. You shouldn't be hanging around waiting for them.

I was with you until I saw your kids are teens and have their own keys they could take.
You're making this more difficult for yourself. Maybe he doesn't want to commit to a time in case they want to stop off on the way home and do something spontaneous. I've had days out with my kids that were meant to be two hours and turned in to 6 and days where we were meant to just be going to the shops and ended up at the water park

I'm with you, OP on what I think you're getting at - just having the manners and respect for the other parent of your children to give some basic information. That shouldn't be too difficult but apparently is for my XH, but that's a whole other several threads...
I don't like my XH, but I let him know of anything that affects him. Sadly, he is unable to do the same for me.

Agree with FTM89 - I didnt pick up the kids are teens and have their own keys. Problem solved. They can arrive and you be out living life. No worries.