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Step-parenting

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Fed up and really, really annoyed!

19 replies

Tutt · 07/08/2014 11:11

Just back from a 2 week holiday abroad where we took ss and ss's friend ( my ds didn't want to go), we booked this trip because dh was doing the "poor ss, oh he deserves so much etc" disney Dad thing!!
Anyway what I'm so pissed off about is this...
After all the bloody poor kid etc the week before our trip he informs me that he has booked a 3 week trip travelling Europe with his son, oh and did I mind!!! After awful rows I just shut up as I really can't be arsed any more, we got back late last night and they are off this afternoon and won't be back until the day before schools starts. I'm pissed off because a) he knew I can't get the time off and b) all the bloody tears and the oh woe his poor kid when the child lives with us full time, see's his mother and is totally and utterly spoilt but he has to be taken/given everything because he feels sorry for him!!
My DS doesn't even have contact with his father that stopped when I got married because their relationship was just about the father trying to control me and he just dumped his son ( I tried to keep it together but he moved/changed his number and his parents dumped my son too, but my DH has no empathy for this at all and my son wasn't invited.
I know that it is important for a child to spend time alone with the parent but I feel he's taking the piss... I just want him to fuck off now!!

OP posts:
Alita7 · 07/08/2014 11:34

So you're annoyed that this holiday was specially for dss and then they Wizz off on another holiday specially for him without telling you in advance? And although your ds chose not to go on the first holiday, he wasn't invited on the second (baring in mind that he won't have the chance of special father son time ever). I would be too! In fact I'd be annoyed if your dp decided to go on a 3 week holiday without telling you full stop! The money, the ruined plans etc etc etc

ICanSeeTheShardFromHere · 07/08/2014 11:34

Wtf? Your DH has booked a three week holiday just for him and his son and didn't tell you?

Is family money paying for their jolly? Do you get a three week holiday abroad too? Do you and he have DC together?

That is so out of order I don't even know where to begin.

Petal02 · 07/08/2014 11:43

That is so out of order I don't even know where to begin

Ditto. Not sure what to say !

Elizabeth120914 · 07/08/2014 11:44

I'd be moving him out while he's away.. What a low thing to do ...

AlpacaMyBags · 07/08/2014 11:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Tutt · 07/08/2014 11:52

Family money yep,no DC's together and I have no objection of him taking his son and they always have a week away BUT after all the woe is poor son he needs a holiday I am so upset that he has done this.
I try hard as a full time step mother, I ignore all the whispering to my DH about what he wants (demands) and how he "needs" a holiday I ignore because he truly is a spoilt child ( both parents let him do what he wants) I have rules/boundaries in my home which get ignored because"he's only little" he's 13 so not little, I'm not jealous because the time means my son and I get to spend time together but my DH didn't even ask my son which hurts as I included his son in everything!

OP posts:
expectantmum79 · 07/08/2014 12:26

You have a right to be fed up and annoyed. Can you take your son somewhere or no time off left at all?

Tutt · 07/08/2014 13:07

I'm going to take him out for a few day trips as can't take any more time from work as my colleague and I work our holidays around each other and she is off as arranged ( I'm a counsellor and can't let my clients down).

OP posts:
rosepetalsoup · 07/08/2014 13:51

Omg - I would be furious OP.

catsmother · 07/08/2014 15:05

Am fuming for you. Like ICanSee says I really don't know how to begin commenting on what he's done .....

.... to present you with a fait accompli is just so disrespectful. You could say that about anything reasonably major, but when your husband disappears off for 3 whole weeks without any prior discussion or warning, AND your son wasn't even thought of, AND literally, in the weeks just gone, you have included his son in your hioliday arrangements ..... well, talk about bloody double standards.

Going anywhere for that length of time is going to take a fair bit of money. So that's the first consideration and unless you both have independent money and lots of it, I'm gobsmacked that he's taken it upon himself to spend so much without your input.

The second consideration is how he obviously thinks that he and his son are apparently more deserving of holidays than you and your son - because neither of you have been included in this particular jolly. Fair enough your DS declined the previous trip - am assuming he's an older teen so could stay at home alone - but when you've previously been badgered (by the sounds of it) to organise a holiday specifically "for" SS then the least your DH could bloody well do is consider your son in any plans for further trips.

I think he's treating you like a fool. He must have had the idea for this Europe trip before you went away yet was making out that his son was hard done by! How devious ....... so his son, and him, have now had 5 weeks holiday this summer and your son has had none. I also expect that had he been honest about ideas and expectations for holidays right up front, then quite possibly you might have booked a different sort of holiday for you all which your son would have wanted to go on - or, if your DH had suggested this 3 week Europe thing, you might instead have decided to go away alone with your son at the same time or something. But the way he's done this smacks to me of him taking any real choice away from you - there are all sorts of rammifications regarding how you might otherwise have spent family money, organised annual leave, invited SS's friend (or not), chosen a different sort of holiday and so on and so on. I mean, who the hell does he think he is ? ..... I'm not sure I've ever read anything quite so arrogant on here.

The way he's done this as well doesn't bode well for step-relations either IMO. I don't know how old your DS is but I wonder how he feels about what's gone on, whether he feels hard done by, left out etc ? I think your DH has acted like a spoilt brat TBH and suspect he's sprung this on you precisely so he could get what he wants, when he wants, without giving you any opportunity to put forward an opinion, discuss compromises, or be inclusive of everyone in one way or another.

Sure, it may be their "tradition" to usually spend a week together and that's fine in itself but courtesy and common decency dictates that he should still have discussed that with you because it could still have a knock on effect on other people and because you're his wife FFS with whom he shares a home, not some casual acquaintance! But 3 weeks is taking the absolute piss and I really don't know what to suggest you do next TBH other than have a long hard think about whether you can bear to remain with someone capable of being so utterly disrespectful, dishonest (this must have been in the pipeline when he was twisting your arm about the 1st holiday) and selfish. Not to mention how casually the holiday "needs" of your son have been so casually disregarded even though both boys live with you.

Probably trying to teach you to suck eggs if you're a counsellor but when he gets back I think you need to read him the riot act about what it and isn't acceptable. I don't mean laying down the law about when he can holiday with his son or for how long, but about honest communication between the pair of you. And about respect for you as his supposed equal, and respect for the joint household budget. And respect for the "needs" (wants?) of both kids. And about reaching joint decisions together when it comes to anything reasonably major to do with money, annual leave and the children. I'm sure you know all this obviously .... but if he baulks at that, do you really want to be with someone so selfish. The whole thing strikes me as a two-tier dynamic where he and his son are the most "important" people in the house and you and your son play second fiddle.

And that's before you even get on to the issue of house rules and boundaries not applying to both boys ....

Am so sorry, you must have a great deal to think about right now and I can only begin to imagine how let down and hurt you must feel.

expectantmum79 · 07/08/2014 19:51

I agree with everything Catsmother has to say. This would be a relationship breaker for most couples.

It shows total disregard for your feelings and your son's.

May I ask how your son has reacted?

Best of luck with however you choose to handle this, I admire you for staying so calm up til this point.

Alita7 · 07/08/2014 19:53

To me it just says my son is more important than yours, which is totally wrong and unfair even if your son is 20... ok his son is obviously more important to him, but you're a blended family and need to work together, if you start taking sides like that then you're just cohabiting and not being a family which is a recipe for disaster!
I hope you're minted op!

NickiFury · 07/08/2014 19:55

Your ds should have gone too, it shouldn't even have been a question. That's beyond crap, I would be furious and so hurt for my ds Sad

lunar1 · 08/08/2014 17:38

Bloody hell, that would be a deal breaker for me even if no children were involved. I'm not my husbands keeper but we would talk about any plans like this.

twizzleship · 08/08/2014 17:57

i would be tempted to do the same in return to him, take the same amount of money out of the family pot and book a holiday just for you and your ds and don't tell them until the last minute. oh, and after what he's done i would only pay in bill money to the joint account, no more 'family' money that he can be sneaky and unfair with.

i would do the above AND get rid of him!

guitarosauras · 08/08/2014 18:04

How long have you lived together?

He seems to feel as though you are two separate families living under one roof rather than A family.

How does your DS feel?

Serious words needed when he gets home! You have two children and they should be treated the same regardless of whos child is whos.

guitarosauras · 08/08/2014 18:04

whose I mean! grr

Tutt · 08/08/2014 19:58

We have been together 7 years married 4 but he was my best friend before for over 20 years (still is) and he is really a lovely man, kind, thoughtful as a rule.
He has his own company so earns much, much more than I do, he's had the company for over 20 years and when we moved in together he signed (legally) half the company to me ( I didn't ask he did it as a surprise so I wouldn't ever have to feel I had to ask for anything), supported me whilst I retrained, encourages me to do/train what I like and in general shows nothing but respect towards me.
My DS isn't bothered in all honesty BUT to me that isn't the point. Even if he had said no thank you he IMHO should have been asked and I should have been consulted ( I wouldn't have said no).
We do have the problem of the mother and how she has taught the son to be manipulative and very sly. When we first got together she told the son to call me slag and not by name ( DH and her weren't together long before she got pregnant and he left when the son was 6 months due to her awfulness so I was never the OW), she has taught him to "spy" on us, I caught him looking through our bank statements etc, she will phone her son and get him to whisper to his Dad, my DH still after all these years and having his son live with us feels guilty for leaving?? TBH he has his son on a pedestal and no matter what he does think his son should always come first :( I thought I was getting somewhere with the talks on how everyone of us is equal and at certain times each of us has to come first and that noone comes first 100% of the time... looks like I failed!

OP posts:
expectantmum79 · 09/08/2014 09:41

I feel worse for you now than before as you both sound like such lovely people. Guilt is prevalent among divorced dads, my OH is stricken with it every time he has to put DSD to bed or he needs to tell her off.
As a counsellor, I suppose I don't need to tell you this.

Additionally, there are other factors than £ to consider. 3 weeks is a long time for him to go off, especially in summer when people have social engagements and get invited out.

You need to address this with him with DSS out of the picture. I'm sure he will have missed you terribly when he returns, wouldn't harm him if you had an impromptu weekend/mid week break for you and your DS organised for when he gets back. Sounds like he could with a little reminder of how it feels to be neglected to know your thoughts.

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