To want my husband to be a better housewifel

[MarianneSolong]

He's retired and I have increased my working hours. So today he was basically at home with our teenage daughter, while I was out all day.

He's not a bad cook and likes shopping but he's not very good at remembering to top up basic supplies, and also sometimes cooks in a way that's ambitious but not very well balanced.

So tonight he served a 3 course dinner

1. Odd starter of fried mango slices with teeny salad garnish. (It tasted okay, but I think I prefer just having mango as a fresh fruit.)
   
2. Omelettes. He'd made those before we had the starter and not put them in a low oven/or on hot plates. So the omelettes were warmish rather than hot. He'd also announced that they would be served with 'garden vegetables' These turned out to be two bits of runner beans, as there were fewer beans and peas to pick in our back garden than he had anticipated. (We did have lots of other veg in the house and salad materials, so he could have supplemented the two bits of bean - but changing to Plan B is not a strong point.)
   
3. A good ready made cheesecake.
   
   I only really got annoyed when he announced afterwards that we were completely out of eggs. I'd reminded him before going out to shop for all the ingredients he'd need for supper - but hadn't said to top up supplies, though I often remind him that shopping is about checking that we have enough basics. I'd just have thought it was obvious that if you were going shopping and cooking with eggs that night, you'd check that there would be some left for the next day.
   
   I am torn between knowing that he's having a go and feeling a bit frustrated at there being stuff he just never quite gets the hang of. (This was also a day on which he'd managed to break/damage something quite major.)

[MarianneSolong]

Oh and the three courses meant three sets of plates and cutlery for guess who to wash up...

[Thebodyloveschocolateandwine]

Of this was a bloke posting then you would be torn apart op.

What was your teen doing a day.

[Thebodyloveschocolateandwine]

Watching with interest.

[ICanSeeTheSun]

Opens wine and gets comfy.

[bakingaddict]

Could you pin a basics list to some kind of kitchen message board such as

'please remember to stock me' and then list your basics so he realizes what always needs to be in

[Thebodyloveschocolateandwine]

Yep wine here too.

[tisrainingagain]

Is this a wind up ?

[Fleecydressinggown]

Eh? I'm thrilled to have spag boll made with the jar sauce and grated cheddar! YABU!

[BookABooSue]

YABU the sky will not fall down because you don't have eggs in the house overnight
Rather than being torn between being frustrated or 'having a go' why not try - 'thanks for a three-course meal, dp'.
He's retired. He's not a DC. Stop acting like a cross between his mother and his boss.

[violetbunny]

We have a shopping list pinned to our fridge, and anytime we run out of something it gets written on the list. Could you have something like that to help prompt him to remember what to buy?

[Eggsaregoodforyou]

OP be thankful for what you have. My DP has not cooked ( or even reheated) a single main meal for me in over ten years and that includes when I have literally just given birth or been ill.

[WorraLiberty]

I'm laughing at the irony of your name Eggsaregoodforyou

How long has he been retired OP and how much of this sort of thing did he do when he worked?

If he's been at it for ages then I can understand your frustration (although the world won't end without eggs in the house overnight), but if he's fairly new to it then YABU.

Also, does your teen pitch in?

[BoneyBackJefferson]

Reverse?
Goady?
Stealth boast?
Joke?

All bets in, you've got to be in it to win it.

[Eggsaregoodforyou]

I reckon this is a real one!!

But if not then a reverse??

[paxtecum]

Is this real?

Why do you need more eggs in the morning?

[SourSweets]

Poor guy!

[aprilanne]

personally i would be thrilled my hubby had made my dinner .i probably would have fainted with the shock .ask the teenager to help with the dishes .they may oblige you never know .

[Lottiedoubtie]

I'm not sure I understand why you would need eggs in the house at all times. You had them for dinner, surely you don't want them for breakfast tomorrow?

[CoffeeBucks]

Yanbu, OP. Bit at posters saying you should be grateful that an adult man has cooked a mediocre meal - it sounds rubbish! Fried mango & lukewarm omelettes? I'd have just gone for the cheesecake!

Chill out about the eggs, though.

[fairylightsintheloft]

with Coffeebucks on this. Op, YANBU. You shouldn't be so pathetically grateful that a man has cooked you any sort of meal that you can't be a bit irritated by the lack of forward planning and attention to detail (eg keeping the omlettes warm). I wouldn't "have a go" but you could maybe suggest that if he's planning on using all the eggs, could he think ahead a bit and replace, or check the veg plants before going shopping. You know stuff that many many "housewives" do all the time.

[whois]

OP be thankful for what you have. My DP has not cooked ( or even reheated) a single main meal for me in over ten years and that includes when I have literally just given birth or been ill

Just because you've married a twat doesn't mean everyone should airm for the lowest common denominator.

If a woman was at home all day with no small shorten and couldn't 'work out' how to shop for basic food supplies, no one would be telling the OP to be thankful.

[Thebodyloveschocolateandwine]

Who has 3 courses anyway except at Christmas. But greedy that mid week!

[WhoMovedMyVuvuzela]

Don't moan about the washing up that you have to do, just get a dishwasher.

I am torn between knowing that he's having a go and feeling a bit frustrated at there being stuff he just never quite gets the hang of. Well that sounds like the problem tbh, he is just 'having a go at it'...with you looking over his shoulder and telling him to remember to buy eggs and probably nagging him about other things.

Decide which jobs both or you are going to do and then let him get on and do his half.