anyone elses oh think theyre a housewife?

[buzzy bee]

Get so fed up of him expecting me to have been shopping for milk & bread and doing all the washing up etc. He gets a lunchbreak - he could go to the shop! I'd like to see him go to Morrison's with 3 kids. Rant over!

[funemnx]

It took ages for hubby to understand that just for me to go to the post office in our village to pick up a parcel for him would, take me and hour and a half but he got there in the end and doesn't ask now

[Mouse]

My husband got it...eventually...

He'd phone me up & say "Jimmy's coming round. Can you sort out the season ticket & give it to him". I'd say "no, sorry, just on my way out now". He'd be "but he's on his way now. I told him you'll be at home"...and I'd be "no can do. In a rush, Bye!"

This sort of thing went on for some time, along with "I put my footy kit in the wash this morning. Where is it?" To which I'd reply "probably still in the machine unless you washed it & hung it on the line".

As for bread & milk. He would come home and say "haven't we got any milk left?" I'd say "Wouldn't know. Haven't had time for a drink all day. Didn't you think to get some on your way home?"

He's much better now, but it has taken 18 years of me childminding to get it through to him that I'm working and not just "at home". He'll often run the hoover round in the morning and will make me a coffee as the last child leaves at night. He makes an effort to put the toys away, but me & my OCD prefer him to leave that to me as he'll only put it in the wrong place. He phones before he leaves work to ask if we need anything getting on the way home and he will ask first if I'll be at home to take in a delivery for him.
But on the real plus side, he'll often come home from work with big pots, or boxes (even a notice board once) and say "I saw these and thought you could use them"...you know then that he really "gets" your job

[bunyip]

There are times when my wife thinks I'm a housewife.

I include a lot of domestic stuff (dish-washing, hanging out the socks, etc.) as all part of the day - and I think a lot of parents appreciate this as part of a home setting, and things their lo's just wouldn't get to do at a nursery. I don't mind the odd spot of local shopping too. I only use small local shops and markets, and the children are absolutely amazed to discover you can actually buy stuff from somewhere that isn't a massive supermarket or doesn't get delivered by a Toss-co van.

But she will push it too far sometimes. Like when she leaves a big shopping list with a note on the bottom to say "thought this would be a great learning experience* for the tinies". It wouldn't be so bad but guess where Mrs Bunyip works? Anyone who answered, "in a big shop in the centre of the nearest big city" - give yourself a shiny. She forgets I may have other plans of things to do with the lo's. It's the same when she expects me to wait in for a delivery.

What's really irritating is the flipside of this. Woe betide me if I dare ask Mrs B to pick something up in town. So I am obliged to make a 2 hour round trip into the city on a Saturday to buy a computer ink cartridge from a shop she walks past to get the bus home on a Friday.

* The term "learning experience" has taken on a certain ironic quality in our lexicon of Childminder-ese. One of the local CMs from the CM mafia group I no longer attend used to trip out the phrase with monotonous regularity. It sounded good: every part of her life is a "learning experience" for her mindees. Trouble is, it didn't take too long to figure out she just got on with her life whilst reluctantly dragging her poor little mindees from the school to the shops to the coffee morning with her mates to Zarquon knows what else before dumping them in front of another Barbie video whilst she got in with her sideline 'professional' ironing business in the afternoon. The greatest irony is that this CM saw herself as a cut above everyone else: the ultimate chilcare 'professional', who would've been horrified if anyone considered her to be a housewife!

[FussyElmo]

Its the curse for anyone who works at home. "well you are at home" but Im working.

Smile ignore they will after a few (Ok quite a few) years start to get it

[Kiddleywinks]

Oh I'm so glad I'm single

[Maza]

Not so much now but when I first went on maternity leave he did. I know some women (my mother) take having a new baby in their stride but I didn't! I was totally overwhelmed and exhausted and he was inventing new chores every day. Looking back I can't believe I didn't say anything - I think it's because when I woke up each morning I would think - "right, today I'm going to crack it and get my baby into a routine". I also thought that other women must be able to do it so why can't I?

[ja-lula-belli]

Yep the common comments of " your home all day" " what have you done all day?" " while I'm at work" " having a coffee all day " " you just play all day" ahhhhhhhhhh !

[shortstuff]

Mine learned when I worked nights not to leave a list just cause I was home all day. Still didn't stop him when I started minding.

Oh and me being on light duties didn't last long either. Things aren't getting done unless I do them :-)

[tess1981]

My ex partner was a nightmare for this. He expected. .no demanded is the word .. that I had dinner ready for when he was home . from work. My mindee left at 5.45 and was very demanding. But I did have dinner ready but could not sit to enjoy it as was waiting on parent. Then his work hours changed meaning he was getting home at 5.10 and looking dinner ready at that time. We'll I left cm for a while so no more dinner ready for him lol went back to it after I had the sense t I show him the door now my new boyfriend is very supportive and if he wants me to do something for him during the day he will ring ask who I have that day (he knows own certain ones sleep) and then says if . I get time would I ring X or look up X and if no time don't worry. He even goes looking resources for me.... he's a keeper lol

[caz3007]

Mine is pretty good, but he did learn when he text me 3 times half an hour apart to ask me to look for his driving licence and then rang me cos I hadn't answered his texts.....ummmm he learnt then as he had a flea in his ear after the phone call

[jashol]

Mine same driving me mad right now so much so today ive left the house a mess not put the washer on or made his tea ! The clothes will dry up, the hunger will kick in and if he wishes to not help clean up "because he been working" after ive worked looked after our own children made there tea ect then he have to gwt used to living in a rubbish bin ! Maybe he see I dont sit about all day doing nothing just because I work from home ! He ppops back now and again throughout a day does he think to turn dinner on or wash a cup maybe just put the washer on peg some washing out nope !!! Rant over lol I wonder what the divorce rate is for childminders ! Ha :0)