Sistah Pat

Pork loin, that is…  I saw this recipe on a talk show last week.  I don’t watch talk shows but happened to turn on the TV and catch Regis and Kelly hosting a chef demonstrating his ginger lime grilled pork tenderloin.  It looked delicious so I looked up the recipe on line and have been marinating a four pound pork loin in the fridge since yesterday.  Now I’m wondering if I can actually grill a four pound pork loin.  It’s one thing to grill a 1 1/2 pound tenderloin, quite another to tackle a four pounder.

The problems for DIL have already begun.  She called me and said the boys are bored.  They don’t have their games and she doesn’t have cable.  DS actually thought of this and brought some stuff over to the house for them on Thursday afternoon.  I told her she could come by and pick it up even though DH and I were headed out of town.  I left the stuff on the porch and she picked it up.  It was a bunch of clothes for them and a TV and their Wii game system.  DS hasn’t let his animosity for her interfere with what’s best for the boys and he wanted to try to make them as comfortable as possible.  He knew they would want a game system.  They have a Wii and a Playstation.  He kept the Playstation and gave her the more expensive Wii because they like it best.  He also brought over a nice TV that they bought for the boys last Christmas because he figured she would only have one TV and he has three.  Now, she wants some of their other toys and the rest of her stuff.  She “suggested” that I meet her at his place and she’ll pack up all her stuff and load it into a truck.  I “suggested” that I meet her at his place and she can pick up all the stuff he already packed that her mother wouldn’t take.  He’s already tagged those items that he feels she should have.  An end table, a dresser, and a large (and very ugly) picture of downtown Louisville’s waterfront that a friend of her’s painted.  Since she robbed him blind and took EVERYTHING they owned four years ago, he doesn’t feel obligated to give her any of the appliances or household items he had to replace on his own and I don’t blame him.  He had to purchase a new stove, fridge, freezer, mixer, blender, coffeemaker, dishes, linens, and furniture all by himself (although we helped out) at that time and she has nothing invested in any of it. 

She said it sounds like a good plan and she’s meeting me this evening to pick up her stuff.  Of course, it would have been a lot easier on everyone if her mother had picked up her stuff a month ago but she didn’t want to deal with it.  Now it falls to me.  I told her she can only pick up the things he’s packed and, if there’s any controversy, I’ll call him on the spot to ask him if she can have whatever item is in question.  I DO NOT want her to be wandering around the house picking up whatever she wants.  Of course, this also places a burden on him because he’s had to sort and pack all her stuff.

Her other concern is on Tuesday.  The court ordered her to attend counseling with the kids and she says they have an appointment around noon on Tuesday.  Since DS is supposed to have them from 9:00 to 6:00, she has to leave work, come by here and pick them up, bring them back after the appointment, and then DS will have to pick them up at my house again.  That means I have to ”babysit” from 8:30 to 9:00 and around 11:00 to 11:30 and from 1:30 or so to 2:00 and then be here for pickup from 5:00 to 5:30.  DS lives 15 miles from my house and that means he’ll have to drive over here, pick up the kids, drive home, drive back over here and drop off the kids, drive home again, drive back over here to pick up the kids, drive back over here to drop them off and then drive back to work.  Or….he’ll be spending the day here.  Which is, of course, the best solution except that he’ll have to “leave” four different times so they aren’t within 1,000 feet of each other.  Otherwise, he’ll have to drive 90 miles in a single day to get his visitation.  Or…. I could tell her I have plans on Tuesday and won’t be available and she’ll have to figure out who can babysit and pay someone and DS will miss a day’s visitation.  That’s probably the best way to go but may come across as DS and I being “unaccommodating” which is not something we want.  I agreed to be the “pickup” person so she can drop the kids off before work and DS can pick them up.  I also agreed to be here for DS to drop them off and for her to pick them up in the evening.  That’s IT!  I do not intend to be an unpaid babysitter for her.  We’ve all been working Mom’s and had to deal with doctor’s appointments and school and all the other stuff it takes to raise kids and she might as well learn to deal with it.  (sigh)  It hasn’t even begun and she’s wanting everyone to jump through hoops to accommodate her.  Welcome to motherhood, DIL.