Xmas this year has been hellish. DH lost his job right around thanksgiving, and got a temp job a couple weeks later that ended on xmas eve. We have the skids this year, and BM has been a giant shit(not really a shock, why should she suddenly be nice just because it's christmas?!). Now xmas is hard on kids, and the skids are young, 6&8, and BM told us she was "not doing xmas at ALL" with the kids because they would be with us. So no pressure, but if we don't make it a good xmas that's all the kids get. Then there was the Nintendo DS bullshit, she told DH not to get skid8 one, then told him to get it, then don't get it, then he would be braking a promise and ruining xmas if he didn't get it, WTF. Then DH ordered one on amazon, and she told him HER FIANCE GOT IT already, and DH had to return it. Then she told him to buy skid 8 games for said DS, but when he picked the kids up SHE FORBADE HIM FROM TAKING THE DS WITH HIM FOR THE WEEK. So. Ugh.
Anyway, DH has been broke for a month, so I bought xmas shit for everyone. I am so broke i have been in tears, but the skids had an embarrassment of toys from me, their grandparents and their aunts and uncles. Seriously, embarrassing. Their little eyeballs glazed over, they shredded presents until there were none left, and they asked for more. Rudely. Then they had little greed-fueled temper tantrums and acted like shits. OMG. They are usually pretty good, but this is just absurd. Skid6 has repeatedly screamed that he hates christmas, he hates us, he wants "his life back" and he "doesn't care if we throw away all is toys". Skid8 is better, but kind of passive aggressive, and i swear to god that some of the shit they have said in the last 48 hours has fallen straight out of BMs mouth. Today we had a screaming meltdown because we wanted to take them sledding, but skid6 said their mom would not let them sled without snowpants, and that was a good point, actually so we decided not to sled, to avoid a huge blowup with BM. Then skid 6 started screaming that we lied to him (about sledding? Which he didn't want to do, which is why he was arguing that BM would not allow them to sled without snowpants). Then skid8 chimes in that "dad always lies" because one time he wanted to go to rollerpark and rollerskate but Dad said no, because he was too fucking broke. I explained (really patiently and in a level and calm voice! I do try to be good) that there is a big difference between "not getting what you want" and a grownup "lying" and that just because a kid asks for something and an adult considers it it is not the same as a broken promise or a lie. Not sure that that bit penetrated because the skids only listen when it suits them, but I tried.
I am never doing a big xmas thing again. Next year one gift each, from me & DH no santa crap, that's it. I am going to ask his aunts and uncles to reign it in, too. The kids have no idea what they even got, but they are ungrateful and selfish, and there was way too much crap. Right now i have abandoned DH with the kids because i cannot listen to them whine and scream and be nasty anymore. i have been calm and cool and gracious for 48 hours and I am done, if i had to sit next to Skid6 through another fucking tantrum right now i would say something i regretted, and it would go straight to BMs ears, because skid8 is the biggest tattletale i have ever met. I am looking forward to going to work tomorrow. I love the kids, but they have been in rare form these last few days. Wow. So angry I am shaking. Then BM called and skid8 tattled on us because of the snowpants meltdown, so BM yelled at DH because why? We didn't go out without the fucking snowpants, but she was angry that we had "blamed her" for it- which we did not do. I want the skids to leave me house now. We have them for several more days. I might move upstairs to the back apartment.