Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Other subjects

Flip

Original poster

MIL - am I right to be cross ...

16 replies

BadHair · 17/05/2004 18:19

... or am I an ungrateful cow?

MIL has bought my dses the inflatable mini cooper paddling pool from ELC . I've not seen it "in the flesh" yet, but I do know its big.

She wanted to buy a similar one last year, and I asked her not to as we just don't have the room for it, and it would be a nightmare to put up, fill and take down. But she's gone ahead and done it this year.

We'd have to use the car-tyre inflator to blow the thing up. The car is parked on the street at the front of the house. So it would mean inflating it at the front then somehow wrestling the thing through the house to get to the back garden.

Then there's the problem of filling it up. The outside tap is broken so the hosepipe is out. It takes 8 buckets to fill the tiddly little pool we've already got so I hate to think how many trips it would take to fill this thing.

The garden isn't exactly huge, so in order to have this monstrosity up we'd have to take down the slide and climbing cube.

And we have lots of foxes and cats in the garden at night so I would need to drain it and refill it every day.

Oh, and she also wants to get the kids a playhouse. I feel like asking her exactly where she expects me to put it - in, under, or on top of the bl**dy paddling pool.

So, am I an ungrateful whingebag?

OP posts:

Janstar · 17/05/2004 18:21

How about asking her to keep the pool at her place for when the kids visit?

Nutcracker · 17/05/2004 18:22

Hmm i have seen it set up in the shop and it is quite big, not enormous but large.
Could you not find something you'd prefer them to have and ask her too change it ???

OxfordBaby · 17/05/2004 18:25

I think you are right to be miffed...MIL has had her kids and bought them all the things she wanted already...for something so major a discussion would have been nice....I would take it back and change it for something else..or just tell her 'NO' and the very reasonable reasons why.

Janh · 17/05/2004 18:36

According to the dimensions on the link it's about 6' long and 4' wide so it's not outrageously big (and the inside part would only be about 4' x 2' ) but yes, it would take a long time to fill with a bucket - mind you you can get attachments to connect a hose to your kitchen tap...

Would you be happier if she got them a playhouse? If so could you suggest she exchange the mini-cooper for a house and a small ordinary inflatable pool?

Janh · 17/05/2004 18:37

Alternatively, I like Janstar's idea!

Original poster

BadHair · 17/05/2004 18:51

Janstar - do you know what, I think I'll do just what you suggest. Perfect.

Nutty and Janh - I was thinking partly of the height of the thing - getting all of it through the house when fully inflated would be no mean feat. The grassy bit of our garden is only about 12x10 feet, and she's commented before that its not very big and that we could do with getting rid of the greenhouse / patio etc and putting more grass down. I suspect that her purse was opened before her common sense woke up iykwim.

Now, do I break the news to her that the wretched thing would be better off at her house, or should I let dp do it? Heh heh.

OP posts:

Original poster

BadHair · 17/05/2004 18:55

I think I'll take her up on her kind offer of the playhouse though. It'll be a perfect place to store the monstrously sized toy kitchen she bought ds1 2 christmases ago .

OP posts:

Janh · 17/05/2004 19:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

BadHair · 17/05/2004 19:29

I've often thought that too, and they only show one item in the huge garden at a time. They never show the multitude of slides, swings, climbing frames, abandoned trikes and ride-ons that litter the average small garden.

Speaking of humungous sofas, my friend is an actress and was once hired for a DFS commercial solely because she's so tiny. Apparently they use teeny actresses to make their furniture look bigger.

OP posts:

Davros · 17/05/2004 21:18

You can get a small electric pump (c£15 at ELC and Argos) and inflate it in the garden, or you could stick the nozzle down her throat! I always get the £5 smallest poole each year and throw it away when it gets cold. Solves all those problems and the children are perfectly happy with it. I like to idea of getting her to keep it at her house.

Tommy · 17/05/2004 21:36

My Mum did this to me last year but with a sand pit but, fortunately, because it was my Mum and not MIL I could just tell her that it was ridiculous because our garden is titchy and it took up the whole of the lawn. MILs are a different kettle of fish though aren't they?!
Could you accept it , then take it back to ELC and get something more suitable?
Good luck

Lisa78 · 17/05/2004 21:38

Accept it
Puncture it
Bin it

jac34 · 17/05/2004 21:42

We have a huge paddling pool and it's a pain in the bum.We bought a compressor from Argos which makes blowing up much easier and only takes 5 minutes, but our outside tap is broken this year and it took ages to fill even with the hose.
Must admit though, that DH and I bought it before we had the boys, and we would use it

kalex · 17/05/2004 21:51

LOL Lisa!
That's exactly what I would do!

suedonim · 18/05/2004 21:39

Accept it.
Ebay it.
Buy yourself something nice.

lars · 18/05/2004 22:00

I would suggest that I haven't got the room what about your garden MIL.

I do think it's annoying when they don't ask the parents first if it's ok.

I know my FIL brought my ds and dd a bike for xmas. They didn't ask for one and wasn't that bothered really. But he thought we were going to have the bikes at home - no chance as no garage and a tiny shed - Sorry but the bikes will have to be kept at FIL house - not ungrateful but just pratical. larsxx

Flip