I feel a bit like that martian on Bugs Bunny. Delay seems to be our house building theme. When I first approached my parents about staying with them "for a bit" while the house was being "finished", I never thought that "bit" would translate into three months- plus.
We made some minor interior wall changes to accommodate the library and converting a formal living room into a bedroom. The city building engineers had to look over the plans to make sure we didn't compromise the structural integrity of the house. Now I'm no engineer, but I would think that adding walls would just boost the structural integrity what with all the extra holding up action going on. But again, I digress.
This little review of blueprints has now set us back a month. So instead of closing and moving the first week in June, we are now looking at the first week in July. Hi. Things are going well here at Casa M, but school is in and we are out of the house more than we are in it...for now. Once school lets out it will be a different story and I'm worried that mom and dad will develop the Ben Franklin "House guests, like fish, should only stay around for three days..." kind of a feeling.
Have any of y'all been in this situation? Any ideas on how to extend harmony over an extended stay at someone else's house?
Bueller, Bueller, anyone...anyone?
We had to live with family for awhile while we built our last house. It was the same type of situation that you are in, old house sold quickly, new house wasn't done being built. We kept to our rooms and tried to stay out of everyone's hair. It's hard. Just try and remind yourself that you love your family and they love you and it is only temporary. Focus on the positive over and over and over again. When you feel like you can't handle any more, leave for a little bit. We actually stayed in a hotel one night a week, usually on the weekend. Maybe you and Travis could have a weekly getaway? It honestly was the most refreshing thing we could have done at the time.
ReplyDeleteHang out by the pool as much as you can. You'll have an awesome tan in no time and your parents can't complain that you're under their feet all day.
ReplyDeleteWe bought a camper and lived in it, on my MIL's property, for nearly a year while we waited for our house to get done. Of course, we're in the middle-of-nowhere-hill-country on 21+ acres, so no worries of neighbors not liking our 35' camper parked in the yard. We ate with my MIL, we showered in her house, the kids did their homework in her house ... but, we slept and had our family time in the camper. My biggest issue was that my MIL was parenting our children - and not in the way that we chose to parent them. I finally told her that if I was doing something to endanger my children, she needed to call CPS; otherwise, let ME be the mom and she needed to back off and be their grandmother. She has respected that, and (almost) followed our instructions and leads with the kids. We still live on her property, but we're 10 acres away from her. The camper made our living arrangements bearable - quiet time for anyone who needed it and a place for hubby and I to escape when the demands on our time were taken up with things my MIL wanted done and not things that we needed to do to maintain a happy marriage. Wishing you the best of luck and if you need to escape this summer, come on over as the camper is now in our back yard and set up for company!
ReplyDeleteStart dropping hints to your mom and dad about how much they would love a Mediterranean cruise this time of year.
ReplyDeleteMake sure that you buy the food that your group eats. No matter what mom says, she probably gets upset when she goes looking for something she wanted and it's gone. Make sure your kids know not to take things.
ReplyDeleteGet TVs in their rooms, so the parents can control the remote in the living room. Nothing gets dad as upset as someone clicking the channel change just when he was getting interested in a show.
Personally I'd have murdered my mother by now.. probably within a day, and my in laws... I'd have divorced hubby if we had to move in with them now... Keep your eye on the prize and start plotting lots of daytrips. When I lived in Houston I visted the SPace Centre so many times with our house guests I could land the shuttle perfectly... there's an aim for you!
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