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"Parents of all kinds are welcome"

Dontfeedthetrolls's picture

So first off I know I might get some hate for this post but the thing is I don't care. This is our family and how we handle things anyways.

Last week there was am event at the kids school. My SO originally thought he wouldn't get to go because he had the dates messed up. The day he thought it was he had an appointment on the morning he was unable to move and couldn't miss.

Well because of that appointment and his work hours he still wouldn't have gotten to go because he has alot of trouble with sleep.

So either he misses it or I drive for him. He feel asleep less than 5 minutes into the ride. We got there, and Im settings up outside with my tablet to wait and staff member encouraged me to join them even though me, my partner, and futures step daughter all said I'm not mom. They didn't care.

We get through the program with little issue except at one point BM approches for no reason and comments "I thought you weren't gonna be here." SO said no he wouldn't have but he had the dates mixed up and I was free to drive him.

Well that wasn't good enough. She decided to approach a teacher to try and complain and got shut down. This same woman was quick to bring her guy to the kids school even though she knew him less time.

When it comes to me though I have no right to be there accourding to her and he's a horrible father for involving me.

Mind you we live together and I've helped him with the kids for almost a year and a half now.

SO over heard this and I love that the teachers respond was to remind her that as the paperwork said "all forms of parents are welcome."

BM goes back and forth on how she "feels" about me every other day. If she needs something it's "oh it's so great that the kids have her". If it cuts into her "I'm the perfect and my ex is shit" then of course I'm saten.

I'm around for anything that it would be acceptable to have a good family friend or aunt to be at. I don't enter doctor appointments or parent teacher discussions. Sometimes I look like the nanny.

The big thing is that we talk with the kids. With the youngest the more attention he gets the better. The oldest of course has a higher thinking ability. She's sort of latched onto me when she's in our home. We talk ALOT about how I'm not going to replace her mom and that I'm just another adult who loves and supports her and her brother.

I love how understanding the school seems to be. No shame on you looks. No snide comments. Teachers have even talked to the oldest about me being "sort of a mom". It's nice to know there school understands that not all families are "normal". Even nicer that they basicly told BM to get over herself.

Added note:

I want to say thank you to all the comments and shared stories. I sat on this for a week because not to long ago the tone if replies would have been much more hateful towards me and my partner. I'm so thankful it feels like the sites taken a much more supportive tone. I don't mind advice at all but there was such negativity.

Comments

moving_on_again's picture

I wish SS's school was like this. I don't know what BM told the secretary but she treats me like a doormat. I had to tell her if she was going to keep removing SO from the school website, she should be prepared to tell a Judge why she is doing it. How about that?! It never happened again.

Dontfeedthetrolls's picture

Oh thankfully they are great with SO. It also seems like most the teachers see what's going on. We focused on the kids since they were the reason we were there. I was polite but didn't engage with BM since clearly she was in one of the "doesn't like me" moods.

The kids were happy to see dad and gave me hugs too which is nice. As long as they are happy then I'll stick around for this stuff. But if they every ask me to step back no problem. It's about him and them first.

justkeepstepping's picture

That's great that they don't play the BM games.

The skids schools don't even know what BM looks like. When DH got custody SS's principal admitted that he didn't even know who she was. The skids moved in with us in April and had been in those schools for several months. (moved back to our town in the middle of the school year)

They know I'm the stepmom. Both principals ended up with a horrible habit of contacting me instead of DH. I was always with DH at enrollment, open house, pt conf, plays, ect. Two years of that and I called both schools. They've both been instructed to contact DH first, and me only if he can't be reached. They don't even have BM's info. In the files they have me listed under mom with step mom in quotations.

advice.only2's picture

Meth ex and grandhag always told SD that my children and I were not her family! And that her half brother was her only other sibling..even thought my daughter is her half sister. We had custody of SD from the time she was 10 and on...one time grandhag showed up at our house with a cop demanding her parental rights (meth ex was in jail yet again, or maybe it was rehab) I asked her to show us her "court paperwork" showing her alleged parental rights. She wouldn't even look at me and told me to stay out of her business I was nobody who needed to know my place. I like to think I showed great restraint by only telling her to get off our property or I would have the cop she brought with her arrest her for trespassing.

strugglingSM's picture

That happened to me. DH wanted me to go with him to a separate parent conference from BM. I knew there would be fireworks, but went to support my husband. BM had a fit - "how dare you bring some girl you're dating to a parent conference." "She's not family." "You're so disrespectful to me as a mother." DH and I were a month from getting married and I work in education, so he wanted me to be there to help him. Also, her "husband" (who she's not actually legally married to) has been going to parent conferences since both he and BM were still legally married to other people, but living together.

Some teachers have been good and have made sure DH was included. Others have not.

twoviewpoints's picture

It doesn't surprise me that the teacher/school shut BM down. Kids go to school to learn and parents get invited t come occasionally for programs and activities.

Their note to the homes pretty well made that clear, though some will be more politically correct than others in how it's stated. "Families" are generally the word used in my area rather than "parents". Because a child's homelife is made up in a variety of ways these days. "Families" leaves the door open for an adult involved in the child's life is welcome. Whether that adult happens to be Aunt, Uncle, Grandparent, SF, SM, same sex partner, ect. or actually the biological parents (BM and/or Dad).

School properly handled the spout off from BM. During an activity is absolutely no time for school to stop and try to handle an angry parent throwing a fit that a father brought his SO. Take it outside folks, this ain't the time or place for your jealously and immaturity.

I don't agree that a teacher should talk to a child/student abut how Dad's SO is "sort of a Mom". Nope, you are either SM or Dad's partner. Yes, you might do some things that a mother also does but the "sorta Mom" thing can leave the kid running home and announcing to BM "teacher says Troll is like you". Yeah, not good. Toss another log on a HC parent's fire.

Frankly, unless it is a very open activity/program that means to invite any and all family, you may want to limit the times you d participate. Example, school is asking for room parent to help host the classroom's Valentine's Day party. And that means usually several parents sign up to volunteer to lead games, bring a craft project, hand out treats. Those are the times , IMO, BM or Dad volunteer if one of them want to an are off to do so. I don't believe BM should go to sign up only to find out you already did. The events I'm talking about have limited allowed volunteers. That's why Mom OR Dad , not both (as it cuts out another's child from having room for their parent to volunteer). It's also why I say, BM instead of you if BM can and wants to volunteer.

On the otherhand, if class is looking for a family volunteer for a class student party and BM can't or doesn't want to help, no reason SM can't or shouldn't.

If not already, school should be holding their Open House night pretty soon. If you and Dad attend, I'm sure you'll get the stink eye for going to that from BM. Here, in October are the Parent/Teacher conferences. You'll see lots of blogs/forum post on those. Dad will have to decide how he handles P/T conference. Whether he and BM attend one at same time or Dad schedules his own (most teachers will do individual if time permits). If BM and Dad have only one scheduled for same time, if I were you I'd sit out in the hall or car. If Dad schedules his own appointment , BM can't b*tch if you attend.

Some SM's go to the conferences (on a Dad scheduled one) because she has the kids 50/50 in the home and helps with homework. Nothing wrong with that.

Dontfeedthetrolls's picture

This was an open event.

I wouldn't feel right signing up for something more limited like a class party or fails trip and BM is VERY involved in those things. Honestly it's like she thinks the school is her territory and gets pissy whenever SO is there.

I'm waiting to see what happens in the next few years when the school doesn't need her as much because right now she's in the son's classroom almost every single day. It won't be that way as he starts getting older and I don't see her taking a less visible job of stapling papers in an office. Nope that doesn't fit her image at all.

I agree that I kind of feel the teacher over stepped but I don't know exactly what was said. This was sometime near the end of school last year. We were sitting waiting for something when someone being polite called me mom over something. Daughter said that I wasn't which was fine but went into what the teacher said.

I cleared up that I will never replace her mom or try. When her dad and I get married is be her step mom which is sort of like that but mostly it means I'm just another adult who loves and cares for you.

I think the teachers intention was in the right place just maybe didn't get said or more likely remembered that way.

Aniki-Moderator's picture

It's a BM issue. BioHo has made it a point to make sure Mr. Pinhead (her cuckolded husband) is front and center for skid stuff every chance she gets. In the past (when the skids were younger), she would purposely *forget* to tell DH about events because she knew he needed to know in advance. Once the skids were older and told DH about things, 'Ho could no longer pull that caca.

I'm good enough to be a skid-sitter or skid-taxi, but I apparently have no name. BioHo refers to me as "SHE". I don't answer to "SHE", beeyotch. You can call me Mrs. DHLastName. }:)

queensway's picture

With the divorce rate being 50% in the US most teachers are used to this kind of thing. So glad the teacher spoke up and set things straight. If your step kids are alright with you being there who cares what BM says or does. Some of these BM's just can not move on after divorce. They want to make their ex husband's life miserable. Mine used to do the same thing. I am glad that you feel like you can now post something and not be be worried about negative comments.

Kirby's picture

Stepmoms are MOMS. It's not just some word with no backing. Some lean into the role in a more mothering way than others but none of it is bad. I like bonus mom personally. Although I realize there are exceptions most demons do not run around saying 'I popped this kid out, hes my property' as I see a lot of bio parents acting like children are their property instead of people. We are extra parental figures who love, educate and nurture as much as we can while constantly trying not to step on toes and sometimes it feels like there are toes everywhere. I feel you are doing everything right. I am proud to have a step child. And yes that does make him a child of mine without taking anything away from anyone else. I also get pushed out if the picture unless BM needs me and then it's all good and fine and I can be involved in whatever. I caught DH telling her off for trying to get me involved I pickup/dropoffs when if he needs me to be involved it's the end of the world. I know he stands up for me but it's always nice to hear Smile

secret's picture

That's kind of something we're struggling with now. SS started school last week... and although it's at the same place he was going to daycare, it's in a different wing, if you will... so the teachers aren't the same as the people who were in charge of him before... and I've been doing some occasional pickup/drop offs, since DH sometimes has to work late and doesn't always know until 4pm. Since I get off between 3 and 3:30, and SS needs to be picked up by 5, I'll pick him up at the school if DH has to work late, because otherwise DH will have to pay 10$ for every 5 minutes. Brutal.

Anyway, the first time I got there, I was asked who I was there for before SS saw me... and they called out to him "SS, your mom is here!" and SS didn't said anything... I was a little taken aback so I didn't say anything... he ran up and hugged me then went off to get his bag etc... the second time, he saw me before I signed in... I heard him say my mom's here and ran up to me. When he went back to get his stuff, I told the lady at the sign in that I'm actually his step-mom, and that I didn't want to create any issues if the actual mom ever came by... and she said well then you must both be mom because he talks about you and his siblings all the time...

I don't really care whether SS calls me mom or not, everyone else in the darn house does, even DH, when he's telling the animals to go see mom... and a couple of my kids' friends when they're over... mom2... lol SS doesn't generally call me mom... but he flip flops. He starts off with Mom, then goes with Secret or back and forth... kind of like me when I'm mad at my kdis and go through the entire list before saying the right name...

I'm not trying to take BM's place... but I'll take the position SS puts me in.

WagiMorri's picture

Sounds like BM just broadcast to the world how much of a jealous and petty person she is. The fact that she honestly expected the school staff to throw you out of the event speaks as to how out of touch she is.

Dontfeedthetrolls's picture

Honestly as much as it upset my partner at first he agreed hearing her "told off" felt good. It also helped me feel more comfortable being at the school.

By no means do I want to replace BM in any way but there's no reason we can't be adult when it comes to school plays and other open house events.

Like I've said when we pick up the kids he talks to the teachers, not me. I respect that line but the massive events were I see 10 people there for one child? She can from and and play nice.

Honestly she needs to understand him and I are a team. We work together to support the kids. I'm not her enemy and and would love to get to a space were she and I could work together to some degree. I mean I don't expect those prefect co family pictures but I would like her to feel comfortable sending me a text or something. It's a crazy dream I know.