I'm not mad at the mom for not coming - she had a migraine, watching two toddlers with a full blown migraine is **** (the nausea and light too, not "just a headache") Besides, their kids are my dd's best friends, so they should have had fun playing together.

Sorry, in this day and age if you cant have the dad watch the kids for a few hours he needs his a$$ kicked. They both work full time anyway. I am a SAHM and I would never tolerate dh being that incompetent with his children. He is a PARENT not a paycheck.

Seriously, I've known this guy for about 11 years and I think he has some kind of attention disorder. We'll be playing cards and if the tv is on in the background, even some stupid kids show he'll be totally mesmerized and wont hear us talking to him. I used to work with him and sometimes he would be in his cubical working and it would take physically contacting him to get his attention. He would just be so "in the zone" he wouldnt notice the world around him. We used to store a squishy ball by his cubicle entrance to hit him with to talk to him.

I did MAKE him take care of his own kids after the initial "Hey why the **** am I doing this" hit, but it pissed me off that I had to keep saying "HEY your kids are spreading chocolate on my walls" and "HEY your kid has a poopy diaper that I can see from across the room because it is all over her back. " He just didnt NOTICE.

(I do take exception to the statement that "an almost 3 year old should be potty trained". Kids train at different rates and pushing them when they are not ready is the worst thing you can do. 2 1/2 -3 1/2 is normal. Her wearing diapers is not an issue, him ignoring it is. )

And I could have turned off the TV every 10 minutes, but then I would have missed the game too. That would have annoyed me even more. It still would have resulted in the same issue as soon as it came back on, because its an attention problem, not an attitude problem

I honestly truly do not believe this was a case of "the woman will watch the kids" I think that when he is home alone with his kids this is about the level of attention they receive. He ignores them until screaming penetrates his brain and they are generally left to their own devices.

It is telling that the minute they walked in the house they started asking ME for permission, asking ME for things. They know I am much stricter with discipline and expect more from them than he does.

Yea for Yoga!!

Glad you're feeling better!

nice comment regarding your husband...I liked that, he's a parent not a paycheck, (in contrast to another opinion that reminded me of the year 1962).

but did you kick his A$$? or did his wife do it?

I dont think this attention deficit thing is an excuse for this man's ridiculous behavior. He knows he has a problem with concentrating too much on one thing and he should fix that, with medication, therapy or whatever. I should start using that one as an excuse when my baby is crying and poop is coming out of her diaper. That way DH will just handle it every time. NOT!

1962 comment! Good old Doctor Spock!

Oh no Mami, I dont think it is a good excuse, I think he does have a serious problem. Frankly, his wife should be scared to leave him home alone with the kids. Really, this event was very eye opening in terms of how his kids behave normally. If normal life requires creating an earthquake to get noticed, guess what level they will run at.

I guess its a matter of ...If I thought he was being a deliberate *** and saying "oh a woman is here so I dont have to watch my kids"...that would be a friendship ending kind of thing. A deliberate Neanderthal action. If I thought his behavior and parenting was worse BECAUSE he knew I was there.

It doesnt make it less annoying or dangerous or MY problem, but at least I dont believe it was INTENTIONAL. I guess is my point.