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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Interfering mil

116 replies

mum19821985 · 09/12/2016 18:42

I am going to kill mil tonight! Mil came over today to look after the kids while hubby and I went shopping. I came home and a few minutes after she left I noticed our windowsill looked suspiciously clean and tidy. It's normally covered in paperwork/letters etc. There was a small pile of papers but nothing else. I am going on a spa day so which I was telling mil about this morning. The vouchers and booklet was amongst the paperwork. I looked through it all finding nothing. Looked through all the bins, all through the house, eventually finding the voucher in the kitchen bin underneath loads of food!! I am furious! Voucher was a birthday present off a friend (not cheap) and you can't go without it. I think it was so out of order for her to go through all my stuff like that. Other bits of papers/booklets/leaflets were also in the bin. I wouldn't dream of going into someone's house and chucking away their stuff. Even if it looks like junk!

OP posts:
PaulDacresConscience · 11/12/2016 13:55

I presume her turning up was unexpected?

You've posted about her letting herself in; time to ask for the key back?

mum19821985 · 11/12/2016 15:27

Update! After an hour of general chit chat, tea and biscuits I confronted her. I told her I had found the voucher and that it was in the kitchen bin underneath nappies etc. She looked embarrassed and apologised. I told her what the voucher was worth and could she please be more careful and to not touch any paper work. She said that my son had been eating chocolate and that the wrappers were put on the vouchers then binned. She said she didn't bin it but my fil (who was also over) binned it. Doesn't explain why the whole windowsill was cleared but I will just have to take her word for it. She's said sorry and I feel much better for speaking up. I vow tell her when she steps out of line in future. This should be interesting! Lol

OP posts:
mum19821985 · 11/12/2016 15:29

Her turning up was unexpected but at least she knocked!

OP posts:
holeinmyheart · 11/12/2016 15:38

Excellent result and well done mum and she apologised, which is what she should have done. I hope that she gets the message but ultimately you just want to be able to relax with her and live in peace. This is basically what all MILs and DILs want.
Did you manage to tell her about the ad hoc entry to your house? Do you have Ad hoc entry to her house?

toffeeboffin · 11/12/2016 15:48

Good for you for saying something op.

Did you use your feminine wiles? Grin

mum19821985 · 11/12/2016 16:17

She doesn't have a key anymore thank god. Took it back a while ago! She will let herself in only when the door is already unlocked. Now I always lock it so she has to knock. The talk went well and my New Years resolution is to always speak up when she oversteps her boundaries

OP posts:
Thinkingblonde · 11/12/2016 16:32

Well done. Now you've spoken up it'll be easier next time.

Jengnr · 11/12/2016 17:43

Well done OP. I reckon she's lying but at least she apologised.

Hole the reason it seems like MILs get a bashing on here is because nobody asks for advice/has a rant about good one because they don't need to.

I love my MIL, she's fab. And so does her other DIL. I can confidently say if either of our marriages failed our inlaws would be as devastated to lose us as they would be about the upset caused to their sons/grandchildren. That does mean that I don't have much to post on Mumsnet about though.

Imagine a thread 'My MIL dropped round to pick up the kids and brought me a dress because she thought I'd like it' and the dress wasn't hideous? (it isn't, I'm wearing it right now. :D ) Who wants to read that? Ditto, 'went up to my in laws last week, they cooked us gorgeous food and we all got rat arsed' or 'MIL went to the hairdresser and because she knew I wouldn't get round to it she booked me an appointment, paid for it and watched the kids while I went'

You could possibly spin the last one into her being a bitch and saying I have shit hair (which I do but I don't think that was her intention) but that's the only thread with any mileage in it at all :)

shazza99 · 11/12/2016 18:07

Hole - FYI - your son isn't helping when he cares for his own dc - he is being a father. That's what parents do.

You have a strong streak of misogyny I'm and women will pick up on this. I hope it hasn't rubbed off too much on your son. Btw, I am probably around your age, so this isn't something to be excused by your generation.

OP - well done!

OliviaBensonOnAGoodDay · 11/12/2016 22:14

Olivia I can't believe you haven't heard it all before....but hang on, your grown up sons are not married and you are not a MIL...that's why you haven't heared it all before LOl.

You're right! But your subsequent posts have made me laugh (in a nice way). We all have to find our path in all relationships and you sound good fun. Grin

Anatidae · 12/12/2016 10:06

'Helping'... with his own kids? And his own housework?

Imagine it reversed... oh yes she's such a good mum! She helps out with nappies and she helps with the housework.

It's not helping/babysitting if they are your own kids. It's just parenting. And having a sahm doesn't mean he gets to swan in from work, have his pipe slippers and cocktail laid out for him. It means that during the time he's at work and she's looking after the kids he works. And she looks after the kids.
Household chores / child wrangling that didn't get done in the daytime/work hours are split between parents. Because otherwise one parent is working a full working day and the other is working 24 hours a day. And that can't be right can it?

Jiggl · 12/12/2016 11:04

Jengnr , I'm the same - I have a nice MIL and FIL. I'm very fond of them and they of me. My sister has a dream of a MIL too. We would have no need to seek advice from Mumsnet because our relationships tick along nicely.

holeinmyheart · 12/12/2016 11:48

Sorry, can't agree with that. I was a SAHM, then returned to work in a professional, very hard and stressful job. I know which was easier and it was being at home. I could set my own agenda, go out, wasn't liable to get the sack because I wasn't meeting deadlines etc, meet friends, organise play dates, clean or not, etc.
When my dear SIL gets up at the crack of dawn, irons his clothes at the same time as making a cup of tea for me and breakfast for his DC, then sets off for work, gets the train to London, does a hard day's work in a very stressful job, only returning late, and before he has taken his shoes off, gets asked to go to Tesco Express. Goes to Tesco, maybe makes the food, baths the baby etc, Afterwards he may go out to mow the lawn, unblock a drain etc, No food ready from my DD who is a SAHM .... I do think, Wow !

I was a SAHM with lots of DCs under 7, not just one. The DCs weren't boring, but It was boring and tedious because of the repeatition of tasks, but it wasn't what I would call hard work. Going down a coal mine is hard work.
When I returned to work it WAS bloody hard work. Being up at two finishing off reports etc. I have never worked so hard in my life. My line manager was mad. My DH would have done anything to help ( share) and he did, but he also did all the outside work, garden, car washing, boiler seeing to, DIY etc on top of his full time Professional stressful job and sharing the childcare. I meant to say my sons share the housework, not help and they do share! Which is as it should be of course. I don't need a prim lecture about the rights of Women. Honestly, I would have being there carrying Mrs Pankhurst and her banner and throwing myself under horses.

I know it isn't what young Mumsnetters want to hear, but that's my opinion, from my experience of both the world of work and being a SAHM.

Anatidae · 12/12/2016 15:49

I've been on maternity leave this year. From on average 7-7 ish dh is out working ( we both have high powered jobs, long hours, international travel etc.)
While he does that, I'm doing housework and wrangling the baby. When he comes home, it's 50:50. I usually have tea ready.
As he says himself, he knows where the iron is and is old enough to use it.

When both of you are in the house after work, you share

Anatidae · 12/12/2016 16:32

My point is that it's not fair for one person to come in after work and then do nothing at all, regardless of how pressured their job is. Child rearing is 24/7. And it should be shared.
The sahm parent does take on a greater share of the the domestic work but they are NOT a domestic skivvy. It's not fair at all for one parent to be out of the house working say 7-7 (12 hours a day) then come home to a cooked tea and do bugger all else while the sah parent is still 'on shift' looking after kids, cooking, putting them to bed and dealing with all the other stuff. That's not equality.
When I'm back at work it'll be 50:50 totally. You don't need a vagina to operate an iron last time I checked. Dh will do half the pickups and drops offs. I'm sure it'll vary week to week as our work commitments change a lot. One week I might be abroad. Another week he might be. But I'm buggered if I'm going to work 60 hours a week and be expected to iron his shirts and get tea on the table nightly. That's not equality, it's being a doormat

PaulDacresConscience · 12/12/2016 19:15

When my dear SIL gets up at the crack of dawn, irons his clothes at the same time as making a cup of tea for me and breakfast for his DC, then sets off for work, gets the train to London, does a hard day's work in a very stressful job, only returning late, and before he has taken his shoes off, gets asked to go to Tesco Express. Goes to Tesco, maybe makes the food, baths the baby etc, Afterwards he may go out to mow the lawn, unblock a drain etc, No food ready from my DD who is a SAHM .... I do think, Wow

Anyone else feeling sorry for Hole's DD who is presumably totally fiiiine with being judged first thing in the morning by her Mother, as being lacking in the SAHP stakes?

Krampus · 12/12/2016 20:38

I was very confused about the sil, him, her and dd in all that.

Krampus · 12/12/2016 20:42

Ahh, son in law not sister?

MusicIsMedicine · 13/12/2016 07:59

Hole, why is the sil making your tea too while he apparently does all this 'helping' and sahm does nothing (in your view)- why don't you make your own tea or better still, help out once in a while, rather than expecting them to wait on you hand and foot?

You strike me as very entitled and anti-women. Your response that you don't want a prim lecture, when others reply to you shows a lack of respect for the rights of others to hold and express an opinion. Most of your commentary is belittling and demeaning and suggests that you see yourself as superior and beyond reproach. You come across as very arrogant. Implying that sahm do nothing all day and should be servants to their husbands who have worked hard all day is sexist nonsense.

Perhaps the man is ironing his shirt because he wasn't the one to be up at night with the kids/babies. So what if he did a day at work, his work ends when he leaves, children are 24/7.

Saying you don't mind uninvited guests so you resent having to phone anyone else before visiting because they have different boundaries to yours, is more arrogance. It implies only your view is right. I'm quite sure it must be nice to have the time and means to entertain unannounced guests with no young children or work in the picture, but those with busy lives and routines simply can't operate like that.

Saying you found children easier than work is just bizarre and I don't believe you are being honest. It just suits your arguments to say that. Just because you had time and luxury of swanning about on play dates or socials back in the day doesn't mean that's how all modern mums have it, since the majority of them also have to juggle work. It doesn't sound as if you juggled a job with childcare, so no wonder you had time for playdates. As to the suggestion that work is harder, please - get a grip. Children are 24/7, work isn't. You say you were up to 2 doing reports and has a bad boss. That simply shows a lack of time and work load management on your part and you could have got another job. I run a full time business and do all the daytime childcare and working is far easier. It sounds like you've never juggled working long hours AND doing childcare, hence your stance on uninvited guests. My schedule doesn't permit unplanned guests, it would simply put the whole day out. But as you say, if you can slob about in your pyjamas until midday, no wonder random callers are OK to you, just don't be surprised when others have a different routine.

I think you are a misogynist and frankly your views do your sil and dil a disservice and belong in the last century. Women aren't subservient to men nowadays you know and before you accuse me of giving you a prim lecture, that, lady, is exactly what you have been giving all the hard working ladies here, while implying they are lazy sahm who swan about on social dos and don't do their share at home - maybe you are projecting.

Plenty ladies here wash the car, mow the lawn and do DIY AND the work inside the house, maybe it's you that is a bit lazy and expects men to do anything involving graft.

shazza99 · 13/12/2016 08:31

Music - well said. It was 'the wiles of women' that outed Holes as an utter misogynist.

FuckityShitBalls · 13/12/2016 09:25

Hole- I've read your posts with interest. I am a DIL with a MIL who makes my life hell, and her son's! I'm in no way saying DILs are all perfect, I think it's a relationship that needs working at from both sides but actually I really think that MILs need to initiate a warm relationship with their son's girlfriends. When I met my now MIL I did everything I could to be a "good DIL" so that she would welcome me, as I loved her DS and wanted to be a happy family. I then found out that all that time she had been telling DH that I was no good because "all women are trouble". She has spent all of DH's life telling him that women aren't worth the bother, they will all break his heart etc. I was really sensitive to her feelings around somehow "losing" her DS, even though they were never close and I never wanted to come between them! However, because we started from a position of her wanting rid of me and treating me badly, I stopped my initial efforts and now I hold her at a distance because she has been so nasty to me. DH doesn't want to see her much either, partly because of how she treats me, so she doesn't see as much of the DCs as she would like. I would love a warm, friendly MIL who I could spend time with, who we could trust to babysit without manipulating our DCs against us etc but the relationship is really strained and she sees no wrongdoing on her part, because I am the horrible girl who stole her DS and now keeps her at a distance. If she had been friendly from the start, or apologised at some point, then we might have had a very different relationship. If I have DILs in future I will do my damnedest to welcome them from the offset but not because I think they hold all the power, but that I will recognise that they probably really want my approval and by meeting my DS' are probably hoping to be accepted and welcomed by his family.

MusicIsMedicine · 13/12/2016 13:34

shazza99 - Correct. Judging everyone else based on her own questionable morals.

lurkinghusband · 13/12/2016 13:51

Well my mil is not like other mils. She is very controlling, narsassistic and is a compulsive liar.

So a milder version of my MiL ?

The moment read the OP, I thought (a) the MiL deliberately moved the voucher, and (b) it was done in a way to achieve plausible deniability. Such a small incident, but the potential for years of mischief making.

It was only after we realised how toxic my MiL we fully appreciated some of the tricks she was up to. It's hard to choose the most depraved ... but stealing things from our bedroom, and hiding them in DSs room must score highly. Obviously he got a rocket - aggravated by his "Lying" by denying it all. Then he'd go and tell MiL how evil his parents were.

(That particular trick was killed stone dead when MiL realised I had CCTVd the house inside).

To the OP: you need to stop you MiL having unfettered access to your house. Personally I would just change the locks without saying anything. This would give you a heads up if she tries to get in without your knowing. Then act surprised, and say "of course we must give you a set of new keys" ... and then keep "forgetting". It's a tad P-A, but it does rather put you in the driving seat, as it forces your MiL to keep asking, and makes the whole thing more visible.

PaulDacresConscience · 13/12/2016 18:24

Fucking hell Lurking - what did she say when you confronted her about the CCTV?

lurkinghusband · 13/12/2016 22:03

Fucking hell Lurking - what did she say when you confronted her about the CCTV?

We didn't confront her ... she noticed we'd put it up, and knew she couldn't play her old tricks anymore ...

(This was before I knew about MN, and how NPD manifests as a pattern. MrsLH and I just thought it was "odd incidents". We only realised it was her after going NC.)